Microbiology

A weaponized phage suppresses competitors in historical and modern metapopulations of pathogenic bacteria

1. Talia Backman
2. Sergio M. Latorre
3. Efthymia Symeonidi
4. Artur Muszyński
5. Ella Bleak
6. Lauren Eads
7. Paulina I. Martinez-Koury
8. Sarita Som
9. Aubrey Hawks
10. Andrew D. Gloss
11. David M. Belnap
12. Allison M. Manuel
13. Adam M. Deutschbauer
14. Joy Bergelson
15. Parastoo Azadi
16. Hernán A. Burbano
17. Talia L. Karasov

Reviewed by Rapid Reviews Infectious Diseases

Engineering probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 to block transfer of multiple antibiotic resistance genes by exploiting a type I CRISPR-Cas system

1. Mengdie Fang
2. Ruiting Zhang
3. Chenyu Wang
4. Zhizhi Liu
5. Mingyue Fei
6. Biao Tang
7. Hua Yang
8. Dongchang Sun

Reviewed by Rapid Reviews Infectious Diseases

Comparative analysis of culture- and ddPCR-based wastewater surveillance for carbapenem-resistant bacteria

1. Siyi Zhou
2. Esther G. Lou
3. Julia Schedler
4. Katherine B. Ensor
5. Loren Hopkins
6. Lauren B. Stadler

Reviewed by PREreview

Starvation of the bacterium Vibrio atlanticus induces simultaneous attacks on the dinoflagellate Alexandrium pacificum

1. Jean Luc Rolland
2. Estelle Masseret
3. Mohamed Laabir
4. Guillaume Tetreau
5. Benjamin Gourbal
6. Anne Thebault
7. Eric Abadie
8. Alice Rodrigues-Stien
9. Carole Veckerlé
10. Elodie Servanne-Meunier
11. Delphine Destoumieux-Garzón
12. Arnaud Lagorce
13. Raphaël Lami

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study convincingly shows that Vibrio bacteria act as predators of ecologically significant algae that contribute to harmful blooms in the lab and in their natural habitat, and that predation is induced by starvation. The authors suggest a working model that can be the basis for future work on this system. The study will be very impactful to those interested in the diversity of microbial predator-prey interactions and controlling toxic algal bloom.

Reviewed by eLife

The role of MICOS in organizing mitochondrial cristae in malaria parasites

1. Silvia Tassan-Lugrezin
2. Irina Bregy
3. Judith López Orra
4. Nicholas I Proellochs
5. Geert-Jan van Gemert
6. Rianne Stoter
7. Felix Evers
8. Taco WA Kooij
9. Laura van Niftrik

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides valuable insights into mitochondrial cristae organization in Plasmodium falciparum, particularly in the context of its divergent MICOS composition. The authors present convincing evidence, supported by phenotypic and morphological analyses, that cristae junction maintenance can be uncoupled from de novo cristae formation, reinforcing an emerging model of mitochondrial inner membrane organization. Notably, the absence of Mic10 alongside an enlarged and divergent MICOS complex highlights an intriguing evolutionary adaptation, although further characterization of the complex would strengthen the study's overall significance.

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

Reviewed by eLife, Review Commons

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 screening an FDA-approved small-molecule library against a leucine-dependent M. tuberculosis strain, this study identifies semapimod as an inhibitor of Mtb growth that functions by impairing leucine import. The work is useful in linking leucine uptake to cell wall lipid biology in Mtb. However, the mechanistic understanding remains incomplete. Additional experimental evidence is required to clarify how PDIM contributes to or regulates leucine uptake.

Reviewed by eLife

TITAN-RNA: A hybrid-capture sequencing panel detects known and unknown Flaviviridae for diagnostics and vector surveillance

1. Chloe M. Murrell
2. Aiman Sabaawy
3. Xiyu Wang
4. Nagi Hashimoto
5. Kristina Ceres
6. Yining Sun
7. Jordan D. Zehr
8. Aine Lehane
9. Emily Mader
10. Natalie Bailey
11. Marie V. Lilly
12. Laura Plimpton
13. Guillaume Reboul
14. Joel J. Brown
15. Kelly Sams
16. Lauren Singh
17. Ethan Seiz
18. Ellie Bourgikos
19. Chantal B.F. Vogels
20. Alexander T. Ciota
21. Victoria Schnurr
22. Jennifer Grenier
23. Xavier Berthet
24. Ana I. Bento
25. Laura Harrington
26. Maria Diuk-Wasser
27. Ximena Olarte-Castillo
28. Laura B. Goodman

Reviewed by PREreview

Evolution of Omicron lineage towards increased fitness in the upper respiratory tract in the absence of severe lung pathology

1. Arthur Wickenhagen
2. Meaghan Flagg
3. Julia R. Port
4. Claude Kwe Yinda
5. Kerry Goldin
6. Shane Gallogly
7. Jonathan E. Schulz
8. Tessa Lutterman
9. Brandi N. Williamson
10. Franziska Kaiser
11. Reshma K. Mukesh
12. Sarah van Tol
13. Brian Smith
14. Neeltje van Doremalen
15. Colin A. Russell
16. Emmie de Wit
17. Vincent J. Munster

Reviewed by Rapid Reviews Infectious Diseases

A Coma Pattern-Based Autofocusing Method Resolves Bacterial Cold Shock Response at Single-Cell Level

1. Sihong Li
2. Zhixin Ma
3. Yue Yu
4. Jinjuan Wang
5. Yaxin Shen
6. Xiaodong Cui
7. Xiongfei Fu
8. Shuqiang Huang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study introduces LUNA, a new autofocusing method that achieves nanoscale precision and robustly corrects focus drift during time-lapse microscopy, improving imaging under temperature shifts. The authors exploit this technical advance to investigate the bacterial cold shock response, providing convincing evidence that individual cells continue to grow and divide in a highly coordinated process that cannot be observed in population-level measurements. This work offers a technical and conceptual framework for reconciling discrepancies between bulk and single-cell growth measurements, with broad relevance for cell biology and microbiology.

Reviewed by eLife

A rapid transfer of virions coated with heparan sulfate from the ECM to CD151 defines an early step in the human papillomavirus infection cascade

1. Annika Massenberg
2. Yahya Homsi
3. Carl Niklas Schneider
4. Snježana Mikuličić
5. Tatjana Döring
6. Luise Florin
7. Thorsten Lang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study provides valuable insight into the role of actin protrusions in mediating early pre-endoyctic steps of human papillomavirus entry at the cell surface. Using state-of-the-art microscopy in an immortalized keratinocyte model, the authors present convincing evidence that filopodia actively promote the transfer of heparin sulfate-coated virions from the extracullar matrix to the viral entry factor CD151. These findings provide a strong framework for future studies aimed at further resolving the dynamics of virion transfer and receptor engagement.

Reviewed by eLife