Microbiology

A synthetic peptide mimic kills Candida albicans and synergistically prevents infection

1. Sebastian Schaefer
2. Raghav Vij
3. Jakob L. Sprague
4. Sophie Austermeier
5. Hue Dinh
6. Peter R. Judzewitsch
7. Eric Seemann
8. Britta Qualmann
9. Amy K. Cain
10. Nathaniel Corrigan
11. Mark S. Gresnigt
12. Cyrille Boyer
13. Megan D. Lenardon
14. Sascha Brunke

Reviewed by Rapid Reviews Infectious Diseases

Transcriptional regulation of SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 by SP1

1. Hui Han
2. Rong-Hua Luo
3. Xin-Yan Long
4. Li-Qiong Wang
5. Qian Zhu
6. Xin-Yue Tang
7. Rui Zhu
8. Yi-Cheng Ma
9. Yong-Tang Zheng
10. Cheng-Gang Zou

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This is a valuable report that describes that ACE2 expression is upregulated by SARS-CoV-2 infection via activation of transcription factor Sp1 and inhibition of HNF4α through the PI3K/AKT pathway. Inhibition of Sp1 reduces SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro and in an animal model. This work is solid and will be of interest to those interested in ACE2 biology and its impact in COVID-19.

Reviewed by eLife

Uncovering the Hidden Antibiotic Potential of Cannabis

1. Maya A. Farha
2. Omar M. El-Halfawy
3. Robert T. Gale
4. Craig R. MacNair
5. Lindsey A. Carfrae
6. Xiong Zhang
7. Nicholas G. Jentsch
8. Jakob Magolan
9. Eric D. Brown

Reviewed by PREreview

A Chemical Reaction Similarity-Based Prediction Algorithm Identifies the Multiple Taxa Required to Catalyze an Entire Metabolic Pathway of Dietary Flavonoids

1. Ebru Ece Gulsan
2. Farrhin Nowshad
3. Pomaikaimaikalani Yamaguchi
4. Xiaokun Dong
5. Arul Jayaraman
6. Kyongbum Lee

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This paper reports useful findings regarding gut bacteria that metabolize dietary flavonoids, which can enhance, reduce, or otherwise alter the flavonoid bioactivities. With a newly developed bioinformatics tool, the authors predict bacterial species that can metabolize parts of the flavonoid tilianin. Formal proof of concept is missing, but if experimentally confirmed, the study will change the way we think about metabolism of flavonoids and would be of broad interest regarding gut bacterial metabolism. Most of the analyses are compelling, but others require further inquiry.

Reviewed by eLife

Structure of a tripartite protein complex that targets toxins to the type VII secretion system

1. Timothy A. Klein
2. Prakhar Y. Shah
3. Polyniki Gkragkopoulou
4. Dirk W. Grebenc
5. Youngchang Kim
6. John C. Whitney

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Divergent and diversified proteome content across a serially acquired plastid lineage

1. Anna M. G. Novák Vanclová
2. Charlotte Nef
3. Adél Vancl
4. Fuhai Liu
5. Zoltán Füssy
6. Chris Bowler
7. Richard G. Dorrell

Reviewed by Review Commons

NAD(H) homeostasis is essential for host protection mediated by glycolytic myeloid cells in tuberculosis

1. Hayden T. Pacl
2. Krishna C. Chinta
3. Vineel P. Reddy
4. Sajid Nadeem
5. Ritesh R. Sevalkar
6. Kierveshan Nargan
7. Kapongo Lumamba
8. Threnesan Naidoo
9. Joel N. Glasgow
10. Anupam Agarwal
11. Adrie J. C. Steyn

Reviewed by preLights

The commensal protist Tritrichomonas musculus exhibits a dynamic life cycle that induces extensive remodeling of the gut microbiota

1. Ana Popovic
2. Eric Yixiao Cao
3. Joanna Han
4. Nirvana Nursimulu
5. Eliza V.C. Alves-Ferreira
6. Kyle Burrows
7. Andrea Kennard
8. Noor Alsmadi
9. Michael E. Grigg
10. Arthur Mortha
11. John Parkinson

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Structural basis for kinase inhibition in the tripartite E. coli HipBST toxin–antitoxin system

1. René L Bærentsen
2. Stine V Nielsen
3. Ragnhild B Skjerning
4. Jeppe Lyngsø
5. Francesco Bisiak
6. Jan Skov Pedersen
7. Kenn Gerdes
8. Michael A Sørensen
9. Ditlev E Brodersen

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study presents an exhaustive structural analysis of a complete tripartite HipBST toxin-antitoxin system of the Enteropathogenic E. coli O127:H6, which represents a fascinating variation on the well-studied HipAB toxin-antitoxin system. The convincing data show that major features of the canonical HipAB system have been rerouted to form the tripartite HipBST, revealing a new mode of inhibition of a toxin kinase.

Reviewed by eLife

Antibiotic potentiation and inhibition of cross-resistance in pathogens associated with cystic fibrosis

1. Nikol Kadeřábková
2. R. Christopher D. Furniss
3. Evgenia Maslova
4. Lara Eisaiankhongi
5. Patricia Bernal
6. Alain Filloux
7. Cristina Landeta
8. Diego Gonzalez
9. Ronan R. McCarthy
10. Despoina A.I. Mavridou

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study demonstrates that disrupting a common protein-folding system restores sensitivity to antibiotics in drug-resistant clinical bacterial pathogens. Although some additional controls would be welcome, the work is overall convincing in showing that targeting protein folding can be used to combat multi-drug resistant pathogens, both by potentiating the efficacy of existing drugs and by therapeutic use of small-molecule inhibitors. This study is significant and timely as it furnishes a new strategy that is relevant to microbiologists and clinicians interested in combating antimicrobial resistance.

Reviewed by eLife