Microbiology

Effect of Azithromycin treatment on the microbial composition, functional dynamics and resistomes of endocervical, vaginal and rectal microbiomes of women in Fiji with Chlamydia trachomatis infection

1. Sankhya Bommana
2. Olusola Olagoke
3. Yi-Juan Hu
4. Roselle Wang
5. Mike Kama
6. Morgan Dehdashti
7. Reshma Kodimerla
8. Timothy D. Read
9. Deborah Dean

Reviewed by Rapid Reviews Infectious Diseases

Function and firing of the Streptomyces coelicolor contractile injection system requires the membrane protein CisA

1. Bastien Casu
2. Joseph W Sallmen
3. Peter E Haas
4. Govind Chandra
5. Pavel Afanasyev
6. Jingwei Xu
7. Martin Pilhofer
8. Susan Schlimpert

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study provides insights into the structure and function of bacterial contractile injection systems that are present in the cytoplasm of many Streptomyces strains. A convincing high-resolution model of the structure of extended forms of the cytoplasmic contractile injection system assembly from Streptomyces coelicolor is presented, with some investigation of the membrane protein CisA in attachment of the extended assembly to the inner face of the cytoplasmic membrane and the firing of the system. The work expands the current understanding of these diverse bacterial nanomachines.

Reviewed by eLife

The microbiome interacts with the circadian clock and dietary composition to regulate metabolite cycling in the Drosophila gut

1. Yueliang Zhang
2. Sara B Noya
3. Yongjun Li
4. Jichao Fang
5. Amita Sehgal

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents valuable findings about daily rhythm changes of the Drosophila melanogaster adult gut metabolome, which is shown to be dependent on the circadian clock genotype, dietary regime and composition, and gut microbiota. The phenomena observed are supported by convincing experimental evidence. The general descriptive approach limits the power of the proposed conclusions. The work will be of interest to a broad range of physiology specialists

Reviewed by eLife

Common biological features of Mycobacterium tuberculosis MmpL3 inhibitors

1. Lauren Ames
2. Renee Allen
3. Helena I. Boshoff
4. Laura Cleghorn
5. Curtis Engelhart
6. Dirk Schnappinger
7. Tanya Parish

Reviewed by Rapid Reviews Infectious Diseases

Myosin light chain 3 serves as a receptor for nervous necrosis virus entry into host cells via the macropinocytosis pathway

1. Lan Yao
2. Wanwan Zhang
3. Xiaogang Yang
4. Meisheng Yi
5. Kuntong Jia

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The findings in this manuscript are fundamental because they identify an entry receptor MYL3 that belongs to the myosin family as a possible target that could inhibit a virus that has a high impact on aquaculture. The evidence is convincing as it contains strong in vitro and in vivo data that support their conclusions; however, studies on the presence of MYL3 in NNV target tissues will further strengthen their claims

Reviewed by eLife

Transcriptional antitermination integrates the expression of loci of diverse phage origin in the chimeric Bartonella Gene Transfer Agent BaGTA

1. Aleksandr Korotaev
2. Quirin Niggli
3. Valeria Congedi
4. Christoph Dehio

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript describes an important finding of the transcriptional control of a chimeric gene transfer agents (GTA) cluster in Bartonella by a processive anti-termination factor (BrrG). The evidence provided is convincing. This manuscript will interest researchers working on transcriptional regulation, horizontal gene transfer, and phages.

Reviewed by eLife

Bacteriophage infection drives loss of β-lactam resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

1. My Tran
2. Angel J Hernandez Viera
3. Patricia Q Tran
4. Erick D Nilsen
5. Lily Tran
6. Charlie Y Mo

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The manuscript explores how bacterial evolution in the presence of lytic phages modulates b-lactams resistance and virulence properties in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). This important work improves our knowledge of how mutation in genes required for phage infection confers sensitivity to b-lactams and alter virulence properties. Altogether, the findings are convincing.

Reviewed by eLife

Fast evolution of SOS-independent multi-drug resistance in bacteria

1. Le Zhang
2. Yunpeng Guan
3. YuenYee Cheng
4. Nural N Cokcetin
5. Amy L Bottomley
6. Andrew Robinson
7. Elizabeth J Harry
8. Antoine M van Oijen
9. Qian Peter Su
10. Dayong Jin

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents a valuable observation of how deletion of a major repair protein in bacteria can facilitate the rise of mutations that confer resistance against a range of different antibiotics. The data presented are convincing, and the authors addressed the concerns raised by the reviewers in their resubmission, improving the strength of their findings.

Reviewed by eLife

Identifying a novel mechanism of L-leucine uptake in Mycobacterium tuberculosis using a chemical genomic approach

1. Nisheeth Agarwal
2. Himanshu Gogoi
3. Eeba
4. Linus Augustin
5. Md. Younus Khan
6. Yashwant Kumar
7. Sayan Kumar Bhowmick
8. Bappaditya Dey

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  By performing a chemical screen of an FDA-approved library of small molecules against a leucine-dependent Mtb strain, this work discovered that semapimod inhibits Mtb growth by impairing leucine import. The work is useful because it connects leucine uptake with the cell wall lipids in Mtb; however, it remains incomplete as the evidence supporting semapimod's ability to target leucine uptake needs more substantial proof. The work requires significant experimental evidence to identify leucine transporter(s) and determine how PDIM participates in leucine uptake.

Reviewed by eLife

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester protects Clostridioides difficile infection by toxin inhibition and microbiota modulation

1. Yan Guo
2. Yong Zhang
3. Guizhen Wang
4. Hongtao Liu
5. Jianfeng Wang
6. Xuming Deng
7. Liuqin He
8. Jiazhang Qiu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study by Guo and colleagues reports the inhibitory activity of caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) against TcdB, a key toxin produced by Clostridioides difficile. C. difficile infections are a major public health concern, and this manuscript provides interesting data on toxin inhibition by CAPE, a potentially promising therapeutic alternative for this disease. The strength of the evidence to support the conclusions is solid, with some concerns about the moderate effects on the mouse infection model and direct binding assays of CAPE to the toxin.

Reviewed by eLife