Microbiology

Cyclical MinD membrane affinity differences are not necessary 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

  This important study provides solid mechanistic and modeling data suggesting that the polar localization of MinCD in Bacillus subtilis 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 previously proposed. The work is generally strong but is incomplete without some additional quantitative analysis, as well as clarification of the underlying assumptions and details used for the modeling experiments.

Reviewed by eLife

Mechanistic Insights into MinD Regulation and Pattern Formation in Bacillus subtilis

1. Helge Feddersen
2. Marc Bramkamp

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This useful study provides data suggesting that subcellular localization of the spatial regulator of cell division, MinD, is an intrinsic feature of the protein's ability to associate with the membrane as both a dimer and a monomer. These findings distinguish the behavior of MinD in B. subtilis from its counterpart in E. coli and suggest that there is not a need to invoke additional localization factors. However, all three reviewers agreed that the study is incomplete: experimentally, quantitation and assessment of MinD behavior in the presence of proteins previously implicated in its localization are missing, among other assays, and the molecular modeling necessary to support the authors' conclusion that their data support a reaction-diffusion model is completely absent. Finally, the manuscript itself is difficult to read with an overly long discussion and disorganized introduction and results sections, and it will require significant revision.

Reviewed by eLife

A metabolic modeling-based framework for predicting trophic dependencies in native rhizobiomes of crop plants

1. Alon Avraham Ginatt
2. Maria Berihu
3. Einam Castel
4. Shlomit Medina
5. Gon Carmi
6. Adi Faigenboim-Doron
7. Itai Sharon
8. Ofir Tal
9. Samir Droby
10. Tracey Somera
11. Mark Mazzola
12. Hanan Eizenberg
13. Shiri Freilich

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  By developing a framework to integrate metagenomic and metabolomic data with genome-scale metabolic models, this study establishes a toolkit to investigate trophic interactions between microbiota members in situ. The authors apply this method to the native rhizosphere bacterial communities of apple rootstocks, producing solid evidence and numerous detailed hypotheses on specific trophic exchanges and resource dependencies. The framework represents a valuable method to disentangle features of microbial interaction networks and will be of interest to microbiome scientists as well as plant and computational biologists.

Reviewed by eLife

Two newly cultivated eukaryotrophic flagellates represent distinct anaerobic lineages within Rhizaria

1. Yana Eglit
2. Maggie Lawton
3. Alastair G.B. Simpson
4. Ryan M.R. Gawryluk

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Latent infection of an active giant endogenous virus in a unicellular green alga

1. Maria P. Erazo-Garcia
2. Uri Sheyn
3. Zachary K. Barth
4. Rory J. Craig
5. Petronella Wessman
6. Abdeali M. Jivaji
7. W. Keith Ray
8. Maria Svensson-Coelho
9. Charlie K. Cornwallis
10. Karin Rengefors
11. Corina P. D. Brussaard
12. Mohammad Moniruzzaman
13. Frank O. Aylward

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Acute targeted induction of gut-microbial metabolism affects host clock genes and nocturnal feeding

1. Giorgia Greter
2. Claudia Moresi
3. Stefanie Oswald
4. Alice de Wouters d’Oplinter
5. Daria Künzli
6. Elisa Cappio Barazzone
7. Jiayi Lan
8. Emma Slack
9. Markus Arnoldini

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  Feeding, the circadian rhythm, and the gut microbiota are all intimately linked, motivating new approaches to identify causal relationships while minimizing confounding factors. The authors employ an innovative combination of the stool softener lactulose and a defined 3-member gut microbiota to acutely induce gut bacterial metabolism in mice during the daytime, resulting in changes in the ileal expression of clock genes and altered feeding behavior. Together, this study utilizes solid methods to provide important new insights into the role of gut microbiota in the circadian rhythm, setting the stage for follow-on studies aimed at better understanding the mechanisms responsible.

Reviewed by eLife

Bam complex associated proteins in Escherichia coli are functionally linked to peptidoglycan biosynthesis, membrane fluidity and DNA replication

1. Jack A Bryant
2. Kara A Staunton
3. Hannah M Doherty
4. Micheal B Alao
5. Xuyu Ma
6. Joanna Morcinek-Orłowska
7. Emily CA Goodall
8. Jessica Gray
9. Mathew Milner
10. Jeffrey A Cole
11. Felicity de Cogan
12. Timothy J Knowles
13. Monika Glinkowska
14. Danesh Moradigaravand
15. Ian R Henderson
16. Manuel Banzhaf

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This is a useful study that generated a rich inventory of genetic interactions with the potential to produce new insight into the molecular function of Bam-associated proteins. The interactions with genes of unknown function are of special interest as they may suggest experiments to find the functions of these genes. The overall data provided to support their conclusions is solid, but there is a major concern with known polar effects on certain mutations, which should be addressed by complementation.

Reviewed by eLife

Apoptotic caspases cleave DRP1 to promote mitochondrial fusion and anti-viral immune responses

1. Yujie Fang
2. Zihan Guan
3. Xiangtao Zhu
4. Zhenqiong Guan
5. Shufen Li
6. Ke Peng

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This manuscript describes an unexpected role of cellular caspases in cleaving Drp1, a protein involved in mitochondrial fission, in virus-infected cells. Drp1 cleavage augments mitochondrial fission, reinforcing MAVS-dependent type-1 IFN response against multiple viruses. The findings presented in this manuscript are important and the strength of evidence is solid. Additional studies may allow for more robust mechanistic substantiation of the proposed model.

Reviewed by eLife

Zika virus remodels and hijacks IGF2BP2 ribonucleoprotein complex to promote viral replication organelle biogenesis

1. Clément Mazeaud
2. Stefan Pfister
3. Jonathan E Owen
4. Higor Sette Pereira
5. Flavie Charbonneau
6. Zachary E Robinson
7. Anaïs Anton
8. Cheyanne L Bemis
9. Aïssatou Aïcha Sow
10. Trushar R Patel
11. Christopher J Neufeldt
12. Pietro Scaturro
13. Laurent Chatel-Chaix

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable study combines multidisciplinary approaches to examine the role of insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 2 (IGF2BP2) as a potential novel host dependency factor for Zika virus. The main claims are supported by the data but remain incomplete. The evidence would be strengthened by improving the western blot analyses and adjusting the toning of their claims in relation to the role of IGF2BP2 for viral replication. With the experimental evidence strengthened, this work will be of interest to virologists working on flaviviruses.

Reviewed by eLife

Drug-induced differential culturability in diverse strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis

1. Valerie F. A. March
2. Nino Maghradze
3. Kakha Mchedlishvili
4. Teona Avaliani
5. Rusudan Aspindzelashvili
6. Zaza Avaliani
7. Maia Kipiani
8. Nestani Tukvadze
9. Levan Jugheli
10. Selim Bouaouina
11. Anna Doetsch
12. Galo A. Goig
13. Sebastien Gagneux
14. Sonia Borrell

Reviewed by PREreview