Microbiology

Chikungunya virus glycoproteins transform macrophages into productive viral dissemination vessels

1. Zhenlan Yao
2. Sangeetha Ramachandran
3. Serina Huang
4. Yasaman Jami-Alahmadi
5. James A. Wohlschlegel
6. Melody M.H. Li

Reviewed by Review Commons

C. difficile may be overdiagnosed in adults and is a prevalent commensal in infants

1. Pamela Ferretti
2. Jakob Wirbel
3. Oleksandr M Maistrenko
4. Thea Van Rossum
5. Renato Alves
6. Anthony Fullam
7. Wasiu Akanni
8. Christian Schudoma
9. Anna Schwarz
10. Roman Thielemann
11. Leonie Thomas
12. Stefanie Kandels
13. Rajna Hercog
14. Anja Telzerow
15. Ivica Letunic
16. Michael Kuhn
17. Georg Zeller
18. Thomas SB Schmidt
19. Peer Bork

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study points out discrepancies between the clinical diagnosis of Clostridioides difficile infection and the lack of detectable C. difficile in gut microbiome samples, as well as different relationships between asymptomatic C. difficile carriage and adult or infant gut microbiota compositions. While the solid analysis of a comprehensive and diverse metagenomic dataset suggests an over-diagnosis of C. difficile infection and an under-diagnosis of other putative enteric pathogens, the work requires addressing the detection limitations of the approach to be more convincing. This work will interest microbiologists and clinicians concerned with understanding the role of C. difficile in gut microbiota health and dysbiosis.

Reviewed by eLife

Extracellular vesicles are the main contributor to the non-viral protected extracellular sequence space

1. Dominik Lücking
2. Coraline Mercier
3. Tomas Alarcón-Schumacher
4. Susanne Erdmann

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Erythrocyte invasion-neutralising antibodies prevent Plasmodium falciparum RH5 from binding to basigin-containing membrane protein complexes

1. Abhishek Jamwal
2. Cristina F Constantin
3. Stephan Hirschi
4. Sebastian Henrich
5. Wolfgang Bildl
6. Bernd Fakler
7. Simon J Draper
8. Uwe Schulte
9. Matthew K Higgins

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This elegantly performed and rigorous study generates new and conceptually important insights into the interaction between an essential malaria parasite invasion ligand (and vaccine candidate) called PfRH5, and its erythrocyte surface integral membrane receptor basigin. The authors provide compelling evidence based on rigorous biochemical assays that erythrocyte basigin is predominantly expressed in a complex with one of two distinct erythrocyte membrane proteins called PMCA and MCT1 and that PfRH5 binds to these complexes better than to isolated basigin. Certain invasion-inhibitory antibodies, that do not prevent binding of PfRH5 to isolated basigin, do in contrast prevent binding to the basigin complexes, explaining the mode of action of these previously enigmatic antibodies and providing valuable data towards the improved design of vaccines based on PfRH5.

Reviewed by eLife

Evolution of a functionally intact but antigenically distinct DENV fusion loop

1. Rita M Meganck
2. Deanna Zhu
3. Stephanie Dong
4. Lisa J Snoderly-Foster
5. Yago R Dalben
6. Devina Thiono
7. Laura J White
8. Arivianda M DeSilva
9. Ralph S Baric
10. Longping V Tse

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This valuable study describes engineered dengue virus variants that can be used to dissect epitope specificities in polyclonal sera, and to design candidate vaccine antigens that dampen antibody responses against undesirable epitopes. While the major claims are supported by solid evidence, experiments to distinguish the impact on antibody binding from neutralizing activities would have strengthened the study. This work will be of interest to virologists and structural biologists working on antibody responses to flaviviruses.

Reviewed by eLife

Discovery of antimicrobial peptides in the global microbiome with machine learning

1. Célio Dias Santos-Júnior
2. Marcelo D.T. Torres
3. Yiqian Duan
4. Álvaro Rodríguez del Río
5. Thomas S.B. Schmidt
6. Hui Chong
7. Anthony Fullam
8. Michael Kuhn
9. Chengkai Zhu
10. Amy Houseman
11. Jelena Somborski
12. Anna Vines
13. Xing-Ming Zhao
14. Peer Bork
15. Jaime Huerta-Cepas
16. Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez
17. Luis Pedro Coelho

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Metabolic diversity in commensal protists regulates intestinal immunity and trans-kingdom competition

1. Elias R. Gerrick
2. Soumaya Zlitni
3. Patrick T. West
4. Matthew M. Carter
5. Claire M. Mechler
6. Matthew R. Olm
7. Elisa B. Caffrey
8. Jessica A. Li
9. Steven K. Higginbottom
10. Christopher J. Severyn
11. Frauke Kracke
12. Alfred M. Spormann
13. Justin L. Sonnenburg
14. Ami S. Bhatt
15. Michael R. Howitt

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Analysis of CDPK1 targets identifies a trafficking adaptor complex that regulates microneme exocytosis in Toxoplasma

1. Alex W Chan
2. Malgorzata Broncel
3. Eden Yifrach
4. Nicole R Haseley
5. Sundeep Chakladar
6. Elena Andree
7. Alice L Herneisen
8. Emily Shortt
9. Moritz Treeck
10. Sebastian Lourido

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study in the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii significantly advances our understanding of calcium signaling mediated by the kinase CDPK1 in this species. The authors' conclusions are supported by convincing evidence, with rigorous biochemical experiments and microscopy analysis. The work will be of broad interest to researchers in the fields of signal transduction and protozoan biology.

Reviewed by eLife

Non-invasive Analysis of Peptidoglycan from Living Animals

1. Karl L. Ocius
2. Sree H. Kolli
3. Saadman S. Ahmad
4. Jules M. Dressler
5. Mahendra D. Chordia
6. Brandon L. Jutras
7. Melanie R. Rutkowski
8. Marcos M. Pires

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Characterization of a selective, iron-chelating antifungal compound that disrupts fungal metabolism and synergizes with fluconazole

1. Jeanne Corrales
2. Lucia Ramos-Alonso
3. Javier González-Sabín
4. Nicolás Ríos-Lombardía
5. Nuria Trevijano-Contador
6. Henriette Engen Berg
7. Frøydis Sved Skottvoll
8. Francisco Moris
9. Oscar Zaragoza
10. Pierre Chymkowitch
11. Ignacio Garcia
12. Jorrit M. Enserink

Reviewed by Arcadia Science