Microbiology

Pathogen-Phage Geomapping to Overcome Resistance

1. Camilla Do
2. Keiko C Salazar
3. Justin R Clark
4. Austen L Terwilliger
5. Paul Ruchhoeft
6. Paul Nicholls
7. Anthony W Maresso

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study establishes a workflow based on environmental sampling for the discovery of bacteriophages capable of infecting antibiotic-resistant pathogens. The experimental design, analysis, and results demonstrating the effectiveness of the workflow are convincing, although a broader sampling scheme and more careful framing of the data within the current limitations of viral taxonomy could strengthen the work. This study will interest researchers working on bacterial infections, environmental microbiology, and phage-based alternatives for addressing antimicrobial resistance.

Reviewed by eLife

Symbiont diversity and light-organ morphology in Sepiola affinis

1. Clotilde Bongrand
2. Raphael Lami
3. Marcelino T. Suzuki
4. Eric J. Koch

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

The PPE2 protein of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is responsible for the development of hyperglycemia and insulin resistance during tuberculosis

1. Manoj Kumar Bisht
2. Vandana Maurya
3. Priyanka Dahiya
4. Vijaya Lakshmi Valluri
5. Sudip Ghosh
6. Sangita Mukhopadhyay

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable work demonstrates that M. tuberculosis protein PPE2 perturbs adipose tissue biology by modulating adipogenesis, lipolysis, and inflammatory remodeling, thereby contributing to fat loss and insulin resistance during TB. Using M. smegmatis overexpression strains, PPE2-deficient Mtb mutants, and mouse models, the study links PPE2 to downregulation of PPAR-γ, C/EBP-α, adiponectin, and broader transcriptional changes in host fatty acid metabolism. These findings convincingly highlight, for the first time, a direct role for a bacterial virulence factor in TB-associated wasting. However, despite strong associative evidence, the mechanistic basis of PPE2-mediated regulation remains unresolved.

Reviewed by eLife

Targeted disruption of phage liquid crystalline droplets abolishes antibiotic tolerance of bacterial biofilms

1. Abul K. Tarafder
2. Miles Graham
3. Luke K. Davis
4. Shawna Pratt
5. Jan Böhning
6. Pavithra Manivannan
7. Zhexin Wang
8. Camila M. Clemente
9. Raymond J Owens
10. George A. O’Toole
11. Philip Pearce
12. Tanmay A.M. Bharat

Reviewed by Review Commons

A dual role for PGLYRP1 in host defense and immune regulation during B. pertussis infection

1. David M Rickert
2. Sasha Cardozo
3. Nicholas H Carbonetti
4. William E Goldman
5. Karen M Scanlon
6. Ciaran Skerry

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Rickert and colleagues demonstrate that the host peptidoglycan-binding protein PGLYRP1 has both beneficial and detrimental effects on Bordetella pertussis infection in mice. Using a solid array of techniques, the study provides useful insights into how peptidoglycan species may alter host immune responses. The data on the bactericidal effects on B. pertussis are incomplete, and further experiments are needed to draw conclusions on this question.

Reviewed by eLife

Membrane affinity difference between MinD monomer and dimer is not crucial for MinD gradient formation in Bacillus subtilis

1. Laura C Bohorquez
2. Henrik Strahl
3. Davide Marenduzzo
4. Martin J Thiele
5. Frank Bürmann
6. Leendert W Hamoen

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In the gram-positive model organism Bacillus subtilis, the membrane associated ParA family member MinD, concentrates the division inhibitor MinC at cell poles where it prevents aberrant division events. This important study presents compelling data suggesting that polar localization of MinCD is largely due to differences in diffusion rates between monomeric and dimeric MinD. This finding is exciting as it negates the necessity for a third, localization determinant, in this system as has been proposed by previous investigations.

Reviewed by eLife

Niche exclusion of a lung pathogen in mice with designed probiotic communities

1. Kelsey E Hern
2. Ashlee M Phillips
3. Catherine M Mageeney
4. Kelly P Williams
5. Anupama Sinha
6. Hans K Carlson
7. Kunal Poorey
8. Nicole M Collette
9. Steven S Branda
10. Adam P Arkin

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study reports a valuable method to predict the capacity of a candidate probiotic bacterium to metabolically outcompete a bacterial pathogen in the ecological niche of the murine respiratory tract (niche exclusion) based on the overlap of used carbon sources in vitro. The in vivo confirmation of the in vitro/in silico predicted efficacy is, at this stage, incomplete and would require more persuasive experimental evidence for the elimination of alternative mechanisms of action.

Reviewed by eLife

Microbial Feast or Famine: dietary carbohydrate composition and gut microbiota metabolic function

1. Blake Dirks
2. Alex E. Mohr
3. Karen D. Corbin
4. Elvis A. Carnero
5. Steven R. Smith
6. Corrie M. Whisner
7. Bruce E. Rittmann
8. Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown

Reviewed by preLights

Dynamic protrusions mediate unique crawling motility in Asgard Archaea (Promethearchaeota)

1. Philipp Radler
2. Tobias Viehboeck
3. Zhen-Hao Luo
4. Nevena Maslać
5. Katharina Schmidt
6. Robert Hauschild
7. Masaru Nobu
8. Silvia Bulgheresi
9. Theresia E.B. Stradal
10. Klemens Rottner
11. Hiroyuki Imachi
12. Michael Sixt
13. Christa Schleper

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

A system for functional studies of the major virulence factor of malaria parasites

1. Jakob Cronshagen
2. Johannes Allweier
3. Joëlle Paolo Mesén-Ramírez
4. Jan Stäcker
5. Anna Viktoria Vaaben
6. Gala Ramón-Zamorano
7. Isabel Naranjo-Prado
8. Max Graser
9. Patricia López-Barona
10. Susann Ofori
11. Pascal WTC Jansen
12. Joëlle Hornebeck
13. Florian Kieferle
14. Agnes Murk
15. Elicia Martin
16. Carolina Castro-Peña
17. Richárd Bártfai
18. Thomas Lavstsen
19. Iris Bruchhaus
20. Tobias Spielmann

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study introduces an important approach using selection linked integration (SLI) to generate Plasmodium falciparum lines expressing single, specific surface adhesins PfEMP1 variants, enabling precise study of PfEMP1 trafficking, receptor binding, and cytoadhesion. By moving the system to different parasite strains and introducing an advanced SLI2 system for additional genomic edits, this work provides compelling evidence for an innovative and rigorous platform to explore PfEMP1 biology and identify novel proteins essential for malaria pathogenesis including immune evasion.

Reviewed by eLife