Microbiology

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. Mohd 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

WITHDRAWN: A Comprehensive Hybrid Capture Sequencing Platform for Tick-borne Disease Detection Reveals Zoonotic Emerging Pathogens in a Weather and Vector Transition Zone

1. Chloe M. Murrell
2. Ximena A. Olarte-Castillo
3. Xiyu Wang
4. Aiman Sabaawy
5. Laura W. Alexander
6. Grace E. Gonzalez
7. Joel J. Brown
8. Kristina Ceres
9. Massimiliano S. Tagliamonte
10. Nagi Hashimoto
11. Yining Sun
12. Jordan D. Zehr
13. Gayatri Anil
14. Aine Lehane
15. Emily M. Mader
16. Natalie Bailey
17. Marie V. Lilly
18. Laura D. Plimpton
19. Ursula E. A. Bergwerff
20. Guillaume Reboul
21. Cameron Yi-Jun Guan
22. Kelly L. Sams
23. Sita Sahithi Mullapudi
24. Lauren Singh
25. Ethan Seiz
26. Nisha Khatri
27. Braxton Sizemore
28. Sebastian Llanos-Soto
29. Rebecca Tallmadge
30. Patrick K. Mitchell
31. Renee Anderson
32. Ellie Bourgikos
33. Chantal B.F. Vogels
34. Alexander T. Ciota
35. Victoria Schnurr
36. Jennifer Grenier
37. Xavier Berthet
38. Joellen M. Lampman
39. Stephen G. Ladd-Wilson
40. Ana I. Bento
41. Laura C. Harrington
42. Maria Diuk-Wasser
43. Carla Mavian
44. 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

Flow cytometry-based isolation of Salmonella -containing phagosomes combined with ultra-sensitive proteomics reveals novel insights into host-pathogen interactions

1. Ritika Chatterjee
2. José Luis Marin Rubio
3. Francesca Romana Cianfanelli
4. Andrew Frey
5. Benjamin Bernard Armando Raymond
6. Abeer Dannoura
7. Camila Valenzuela
8. Meihan Meng
9. Tiaan Heunis
10. Mengchun Li
11. Frances Sidgwick
12. Jost Enninga
13. Andrew Filby
14. Matthias Trost

Reviewed by Review Commons

Screening the MMV Pathogen Box reveals the mitochondrial bc1-complex as a drug target in mature Toxoplasma gondii bradyzoites

1. Deborah Maus
2. Elyzana Putrianti
3. Tobias Hoffmann
4. Michael Laue
5. Frank Seeber
6. Martin Blume

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study utilizes a newly developed approach to culture T gondii bradyzoites in myotubes, and then takes advantage of the antiparasitic compound collection known as the Pathogen Box, to find compounds that target both tachyzoite and bradyzoite forms of the parasite. A set of compounds yielding patterns consistent with targeting the mitochondrial bc1 complex was explored further, with convincing evidence for changes in ATP production in bradyzoites to support the conclusions about the importance of this complex. The paper will be interesting for parasitologists studying drug discovery of apicomplexan parasites.

Reviewed by eLife

Mitochondrial protein FgDML1 impacts DON toxin biosynthesis and cyazofamid sensitivity in Fusarium graminearum by affecting mitochondrial homeostasis

1. Chenguang Wang
2. Xuewei Mao
3. Weiwei Cong
4. Lin Yang
5. Yiping Hou

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study tackles an interesting aspect of fungal physiology: how a mitochondria-associated gene influences production of the secondary metabolite DON and fungicide sensitivity. The authors have improved the manuscript and the supporting evidence is convincing.

Reviewed by eLife

A novel rapid host cell entry pathway determines the intracellular fate of Staphylococcus aureus

1. Marcel Rühling
2. Fabio Schmelz
3. Kim Ulbrich
4. Fabian Schumacher
5. Julia Wolf
6. Maximilian Pfefferle
7. Magdalena Priester
8. Adriana Moldovan
9. Nadine Knoch
10. Andreas Iwanowitsch
11. Christian Kappe
12. Kerstin Paprotka
13. Burkhard Kleuser
14. Christoph Arenz
15. Martin J Fraunholz

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This valuable study proposes a novel rapid-entry mechanism for Staphylococcus aureus, involving the rapid release of calcium from lysosomes. The paper's strength lies in its very interesting hypothesis. The methods used are solid and adequately support the conclusions.

Reviewed by eLife