Microbiology

Regulative synthesis of capsular polysaccharides in the pathogenesis of Streptococcus suis

1. Xingye Wang
2. Jie Wang
3. Ning Li
4. Xin Fan
5. Beinan Wang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This useful study uses a model of Streptococcus suis (a pig pathogen) infection in mice using an intranasal route, the natural route of infection ignored in most of the literature. The study aims to understand how capsular polysaccharides (CPS) contribute to neuropathology and virulence. The findings suggest that the olfactory route may lead to meningitis before bacteremia occurs and that CPS down-regulation may play a role in this process. However, the study remains incomplete as presented.

Reviewed by eLife

Amidase and lysozyme dual functions in TseP reveal a new family of chimeric effectors in the type VI secretion system

1. Zeng-Hang Wang
2. Ying An
3. Ting Zhao
4. Tong-Tong Pei
5. Dora Yuping Wang
6. Xiaoye Liang
7. Wenming Qin
8. Tao Dong

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study describes how a single effector of the Type Six Secretion System (T6SS) has two distinct functions, which may contribute to bacterial survival and the development of novel antibacterials. The authors utilized various methods in biochemistry, microbiology, and microscopy to produce convincing data supporting their claims about the protein's function; however, they could clarify the implications for non-experts to enhance the accessibility of this work. This manuscript is of interest to those studying T6SS, particularly those interested in effectors and bacterial enzymes.

Reviewed by eLife, Arcadia Science

Structure-guided secretome analysis of gall-forming microbes offers insights into effector diversity and evolution

1. Soham Mukhopadhyay
2. Muhammad Asim Javed
3. Jiaxu Wu
4. Edel Pérez-López

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents an important discovery regarding the diversity and evolution of gall-forming microbial effectors. Supported by convincing computational structural predictions and analyses, the research provides insights into the unique mechanisms by which gall-forming microbes exert their pathogenicity in plants. This study also offers guidance that is of value for future studies on pathogen effector function and co-evolution with host plants.

Reviewed by eLife

Applying 3D correlative structured illumination microscopy and X-ray tomography to characterise herpes simplex virus-1 morphogenesis

1. Kamal L Nahas
2. Viv Connor
3. Kaveesha J Wijesinghe
4. Henry G Barrow
5. Ian M Dobbie
6. Maria Harkiolaki
7. Stephen C Graham
8. Colin M Crump

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This fundamental manuscript comprehensively examines the roles of nine structural proteins in herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) assembly and nuclear egress. By integrating cryo-light microscopy and soft X-ray tomography, the study presents an innovative approach to investigating viral assembly within cells. The research is thoroughly executed, yielding compelling data that explain previously unknown functions of these structural proteins. This work is of broad interest to virologists, cellular biologists, and structural biologists, offering a robust, contextually rich methodology for studying large protein complex assembly within the cellular environment, serving as an excellent starting point for high-resolution techniques.

Reviewed by eLife

The influence of the pre-membrane and envelope proteins on structure, pathogenicity and tropism of tick-borne encephalitis virus

1. Ebba Rosendal
2. Kyrylo Bisikalo
3. Stefanie M.A. Willekens
4. Marie Lindgren
5. Jiří Holoubek
6. Pavel Svoboda
7. Amanda Lappalainen
8. Ebba Könighofer
9. Ekaterina Mirgorodskaya
10. Rickard Nordén
11. Federico Morini
12. William Rosenbaum
13. Daniel Růžek
14. Ulf Ahlgren
15. Maria Anastasina
16. Andres Merits
17. Sarah J Butcher
18. Emma Nilsson
19. Anna K Överby

Reviewed by Review Commons

Impaired fatty acid import or catabolism in macrophages restricts intracellular growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

1. Nelson V Simwela
2. Eleni Jaecklein
3. Christopher M Sassetti
4. David G Russell

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study reveals that disrupting fatty acid metabolism in macrophages significantly restricts the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, showing that impaired lipid processing triggers various antimicrobial responses. Overall, the approach is robust, utilizing CRISPR-Cas9 knockout of multiple genes involved in lipid metabolism which yielded convincing data. This work highlights how host lipid metabolism affects the ability of tubercle bacilli to thrive intracellularly, pointing to potential new therapeutic targets.

Reviewed by eLife

SATAY-based chemogenomic screening uncovers antifungal resistance mechanisms and key determinants of ATI-2307 and chitosan sensitivity

1. Matthew T Karadzas
2. Agnès H Michel
3. Andreas Mosbach
4. George Giannakopoulos
5. Ruairi McGettigan
6. Gabriel Scalliet
7. Benoît Kornmann

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important manuscript proposes a new strategy for the identification of new mechanisms of drug resistance based on SAturated Transposon Analysis in Yeast (SATAY), a powerful transposon sequencing method in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This method allows us to uncover loss- and gain-of-function mutations conferring resistance to 20 different antifungal compounds. The method is convincing, allowing the authors to identify a novel interaction of chitosan with the cell wall mannosylphosphate, and show that the transporter Hol1 concentrates the novel antifungal ATI-2307 within yeast.

Reviewed by eLife

Avian-specific Salmonella transition to endemicity is accompanied by localized resistome and mobilome interaction

1. Chenghao Jia
2. Chenghu Huang
3. Haiyang Zhou
4. Xiao Zhou
5. Zining Wang
6. Abubakar Siddique
7. Xiamei Kang
8. Qianzhe Cao
9. Yingying Huang
10. Fang He
11. Yan Li
12. Min Yue

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study analyzes a large dataset of Salmonella gallinarum whole-genome sequences and provides findings regarding the population structure of this avian-specific pathogen. The convincing results indicate regional adaptation of the mobilome-driven resistome and a role in the evolutionary trajectory of this pathogen that will interest microbiologists and researchers working on genomics, evolution, and antimicrobial resistance.

Reviewed by eLife

Evolutionary rescue of spherical mreB deletion mutants of the rod-shape bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25

1. Paul Richard J Yulo
2. Nicolas Desprat
3. Monica L Gerth
4. Barbara Ritzl-Rinkenberger
5. Andrew D Farr
6. Yunhao Liu
7. Xue-Xian Zhang
8. Michael Miller
9. Felipe Cava
10. Paul B Rainey
11. Heather L Hendrickson

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study combines convincing evolution experiments with molecular and genetic techniques to study how a genetic lesion in MreB that causes rod-shaped cells to become spherical, with concomitant deleterious fitness effects, can be rescued by natural selection. The detailed mechanistic investigation increases our understanding of how mreB contributes to cell wall synthesis and shows how compensatory mutations may reestablish its homogeneity.

Reviewed by eLife, Arcadia Science

2-oxoglutarate triggers assembly of active dodecameric Methanosarcina mazei glutamine synthetase

1. Eva Herdering
2. Tristan Reif-Trauttmansdorff
3. Anuj Kumar
4. Tim Habenicht
5. Georg Hochberg
6. Stefan Bohn
7. Jan Schuller
8. Ruth Anne Schmitz

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study reveals a novel mechanism of glutamine synthetase (GS) regulation in Methanosarcina mazei, demonstrating that 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG) directly promotes GS activity by stabilizing its dodecameric assembly. Using mass photometry, activity assays, and cryo-electron microscopy, the authors show that GS transitions from a dimeric, inactive form at low 2-OG concentrations to a fully active dodecameric complex at saturating 2-OG levels, highlighting 2-OG as a key effector in C/N sensing. The findings are valuable, supported by solid data, and provide new insights into archaeal GS regulation, though further clarification of interactions with known partners like Glnk1 and sp26 is needed.

Reviewed by eLife