Microbiology

Quantification of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium population dynamics in murine infection using a highly diverse barcoded library

1. Julia A Hotinger
2. Ian W Campbell
3. Karthik Hullahalli
4. Akina Osaki
5. Matthew K Waldor

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study reports a detailed quantification of the population dynamics of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in mice. Bacterial burden and founding population sizes across various organs were quantified, revealing pathways of dissemination and reseeding of the gastrointestinal tract from systemic organs. Using various techniques, including genetic distance measurements, the authors present compelling evidence to support their conclusions, thus presenting new knowledge that will be of broad interest to scientists focusing on infectious diseases.

Reviewed by eLife

Single-molecule imaging reveals the role of membrane-binding motif and C-terminal domain of RNase E in its localization and diffusion in Escherichia coli

1. Laura Troyer
2. Yu-Huan Wang
3. Shobhna
4. Seunghyeon Kim
5. Jeechul Woo
6. Emad Tajkhorshid
7. Sangjin Kim

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study uses single-molecule imaging for characterization of factors controlling the localization, mobility, and function of RNase E in E. coli, a key bacterial ribonuclease central for mRNA catabolism. While the supporting evidence for the differential roles of RNAse E's membrane targeting sequence and the C-terminal domain (CTD) is solid, the work could be further strengthened by clarifying some experimental discrepancies, restructuring the narration order, and exploring the generality of some observations and their physical basis, such as the membrane-RNase E interactions and the unstructured nature of the RNase E C-terminal domain. This interdisciplinary study will be of interest to cell biologists, microbiologists, biochemists, and biophysicists.

Reviewed by eLife

Purging viral latency by a bifunctional HSV-vectored therapeutic vaccine in chronically SIV-infected macaques

1. Ziyu Wen
2. Pingchao Li
3. Yue Yuan
4. Congcong Wang
5. Minchao Li
6. Haohang Wang
7. Minjuan Shi
8. Yizi He
9. Mingting Cui
10. Ling Chen
11. Caijun Sun

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In this useful study, the authors tested a novel approach to eradicate the HIV reservoir by constructing a herpes simplex virus (HSV)-based therapeutic vaccine designed to reactivate HIV from latently infected cells and induce an immune response to kill such infected cells. Testing this approach with SIV in a primate model, the authors report that the SIV reservoir was reduced. However, the evidence presented appears to be incomplete because the animal group size was small and the SIV reservoir size highly variable.

Reviewed by eLife

Nuclear body reorganization by the viral RNA kaposin promotes Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus gene expression

1. Mariel Kleer
2. Michael J. Johnston
3. Jennifer A. Corcoran

Reviewed by PREreview

The second messenger signaling molecule cyclic di-AMP drives developmental cycle progression in Chlamydia trachomatis

1. Junghoon Lee
2. Scot P. Ouellette

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In this valuable study, ectopic expression and knockdown strategies were used to assess the effects of increasing and decreasing Cyclic di-AMP on the developmental cycle in Chlamydia. The authors convincingly demonstrate that overexpression of the dacA-ybbR operon results in increased production of c-di-AMP and early expression of the transitionary gene hctA and late gene omcB. Whilst these results are intriguing, the model currently proposed is over-simplified and likely incomplete.

Reviewed by eLife

Anti-tubercular potential and pH-driven mode of action of salicylic acid derivatives

1. Janïs Laudouze
2. Thomas Francis
3. Emma Forest
4. Frédérique Mies
5. Jean-Michel Bolla
6. Céline Crauste
7. Stéphane Canaan
8. Vadim Shlyonsky
9. Pierre Santucci
10. Jean-François Cavalier

Reviewed by Rapid Reviews Infectious Diseases

Late killing of Plasmodium berghei sporozoites in the liver by an anti-circumsporozoite protein antibody

1. Manuela C Aguirre-Botero
2. Olga Pacios
3. Susanna Celli
4. Eduardo Aliprandini
5. Anisha Gladston
6. Jean-Michel Thiberge
7. Pauline Formaglio
8. Rogerio Amino

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study shows that a monoclonal antibody against the repetitive region of the circumsporozoite protein (CSP) of the Malaria-causing parasite P. berghei has neutralizing activity on parasite invasion and development. The authors present convincing in vivo data confirming previous in vitro work, that suggested the intracellular post -invasion effect for this antibody. The findings offer insights into the inhibitory action of this anti-CSP antibody, which could inform the development of more effective malaria vaccines and therapeutic antibodies."

  [Editors' note: this paper was reviewed by Review Commons.]

Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

Induction of hepatitis B core protein aggregation targeting an unconventional binding site

1. Vladimir Khayenko
2. Cihan Makbul
3. Clemens Schulte
4. Naomi Hemmelmann
5. Sonja Kachler
6. Bettina Böttcher
7. Hans Michael Maric

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable work presents an interesting strategy to interfere with the HBV infectious cycle as it identifies two previously unexplored HBc-Ag binding pockets. The experimental data is compelling and opens the door to generating and testing novel anti-HBV therapies.

Reviewed by eLife

ATP burst is the dominant driver of antibiotic lethality in Mycobacterium smegmatis

1. Tejan Lodhiya
2. Aseem Palande
3. Anjali Veeram
4. Gerald Larrouy-Maumus
5. Dany JV Beste
6. Raju Mukherjee

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In this important work, Lodhiya et al. provide evidence that excessive ATP underlies the killing of the model organism Mycobacterium smegmatis by two mechanistically-distinct antibiotics. The data are generally solid as the authors deploy multiple, orthogonal readouts and methods for manipulating reactive oxygen species and ATP. The work will be of interest to those studying antibiotic mechanisms of action.

Reviewed by eLife

Artesunate, EDTA, and colistin work synergistically against MCR-negative and -positive colistin-resistant Salmonella

1. Yajun Zhai
2. Peiyi Liu
3. Xueqin Hu
4. Changjian Fan
5. Xiaodie Cui
6. Qibiao He
7. Dandan He
8. Xiaoyuan Ma
9. Gongzheng Hu

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study addresses the growing threat of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) pathogens by focusing on the enhanced efficacy of colistin when combined with artesunate and EDTA against colistin-resistant Salmonella strains. The evidence is solid, supported by comprehensive microbiological assays, molecular analyses, and in vivo experiments demonstrating the effectiveness of this synergic combination.

Reviewed by eLife