Microbiology

Lipopolysaccharide integrity primes bacterial sensitivity to a cell wall-degrading intermicrobial toxin

1. Kristine L Trotta
2. Beth M Hayes
3. Johannes P Schneider
4. Jing Wang
5. Horia Todor
6. Patrick Rockefeller Grimes
7. Ziyi Zhao
8. William L Hatleberg
9. Melanie R Silvis
10. Rachel Kim
11. Byoung Mo Koo
12. Marek Basler
13. Seemay Chou

Reviewed by Review Commons

Extensive remodelling of the cell wall during the development of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia

1. Edward JA Douglas
2. Nathanael Palk
3. Tarcisio Brignoli
4. Dina Altwiley
5. Marcia Boura
6. Maisem Laabei
7. Mario Recker
8. Gordon YC Cheung
9. Ryan Liu
10. Roger C Hsieh
11. Michael Otto
12. Eoin O'Brien
13. Rachel M McLoughlin
14. Ruth C Massey

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study uses an innovative GWAS approach and targeted testing to highlight S. aureus genes that modify susceptibility to serum, serum-derived antimicrobial products, and commonly used antibiotics. These findings are significant in that they highlight evidence of evolution of virulence determinants in the setting of exposure to host stressors expected to be present during bacteremia and antibiotic therapy. Compelling results build on a foundation of work attributing loss-of-function mutations in tcaA to glycopeptide non-susceptibility.

Reviewed by eLife

The importance of cellulolytic and xylanolytic activities of Bacillus subtilis on dairy cow feed digestibility

1. Valeria Bontà
2. Marco Battelli
3. Erlinda Rama
4. Michela Casanova
5. Lorenzo Pasotti
6. Gianluca Galassi
7. Stefania Colombini
8. Cinzia Calvio

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Amino acid auxotrophies in human gut bacteria are linked to higher microbiome diversity and long-term stability

1. Svenja Starke
2. Danielle M M Harris
3. Johannes Zimmermann
4. Sven Schuchardt
5. Mhmd Oumari
6. Derk Frank
7. Corinna Bang
8. Philip Rosenstiel
9. Stefan Schreiber
10. Norbert Frey
11. Andre Franke
12. Konrad Aden
13. Silvio Waschina

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Optimizing expression of Nanobody® molecules in Pichia pastoris through co-expression of auxiliary proteins under methanol and methanol-free conditions

1. Manu De Groeve
2. Bram Laukens
3. Peter Schotte

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

A toxin-mediated policing system in Bacillus optimizes division of labor via penalizing cheater-like nonproducers

1. Rong Huang
2. Jiahui Shao
3. Zhihui Xu
4. Yuqi Chen
5. Yunpeng Liu
6. Dandan Wang
7. Haichao Feng
8. Weibing Xun
9. Qirong Shen
10. Nan Zhang
11. Ruifu Zhang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This manuscript reports important findings regarding the potential for self-policing and a division of labor among biofilm-inhabiting Bacillus cells. Overall, this work is robust in its use of various techniques and provides solid insights into the intersections of well-understood regulatory controls and the suppression of cheaters. Despite some concerns about the data, all reviewers were excited by the potential impact of this work. Colleagues interested in microbial social interactions should find this study's narrative about the internal mediation of cell differentiation particularly valuable.

Reviewed by eLife

A TRAF-like E3 ubiquitin ligase TrafE coordinates ESCRT and autophagy in endolysosomal damage response and cell-autonomous immunity to Mycobacterium marinum

1. Lyudmil Raykov
2. Manon Mottet
3. Jahn Nitschke
4. Thierry Soldati

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study presents important findings on the mechanism as to how Mycobacterium-containing vacuoles are recognized by host cell factors and subjected to membrane repair or autophagic degradation using Dictyostelium discoideum as a useful model. The evidence for the role of TrafE in damaged-membrane repair and xenophagy induction is convincing, but that in autophagosome closure is rather incomplete.

Reviewed by eLife

A simple mechanism for integration of quorum sensing and cAMP signalling in Vibrio cholerae

1. Lucas M Walker
2. James RJ Haycocks
3. Julia C Van Kessel
4. Triana N Dalia
5. Ankur B Dalia
6. David C Grainger

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This paper provides valuable new information on the mechanisms by which Vibrio cholerae integrates and responds to environmental signals. The strength of the evidence provided in support of the conclusions made and the model proposed is solid. The revision resolved many of the issues raised by the reviewers and improved the manuscript. The work is relevant for a broad audience of microbiologists interested in the mechanisms by which bacteria sense their environment.

Reviewed by eLife

Formation and three-dimensional architecture of Leishmania adhesion in the sand fly vector

1. Ryuji Yanase
2. Flávia Moreira-Leite
3. Edward Rea
4. Lauren Wilburn
5. Jovana Sádlová
6. Barbora Vojtkova
7. Katerina Pružinová
8. Atsushi Taniguchi
9. Shigenori Nonaka
10. Petr Volf
11. Jack D Sunter

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This important study provides compelling observations of the organization and architecture of haptomonads, a distinct and poorly understood developmental form of Leishmania found in sand fly vectors at later stages of infection. The authors used 3D electron microscopy techniques, including serial block face scanning electron microscopy and electron tomography, to visualize the colonization sand fly by haptomonads in impressive detail.

Reviewed by eLife

Structure–function analysis of Lactiplantibacillus plantarum DltE reveals D-alanylated lipoteichoic acids as direct cues supporting Drosophila juvenile growth

1. Nikos Nikolopoulos
2. Renata C Matos
3. Stephanie Ravaud
4. Pascal Courtin
5. Houssam Akherraz
6. Simon Palussiere
7. Virginie Gueguen-Chaignon
8. Marie Salomon-Mallet
9. Alain Guillot
10. Yann Guerardel
11. Marie-Pierre Chapot-Chartier
12. Christophe Grangeasse
13. François Leulier

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This is an important study on the role of a bacterial cell wall component, D-alanylated lipoteichoic acid, as a bacteria cue in Drosophila melanogaster-microbiome interactions. Overall, the evidence supporting the conclusions is compelling, with a solid approach combining crystallography with biochemical and cellular assays, that take advantage of both fly and bacterial mutants, to demonstrate a physiological role in juvenile growth promotion. The work will be of broad interest to those studying host-microbe interactions, especially as it is related to immunology and metabolism mediated by the microbiome.

Reviewed by eLife