Microbiology

Glutamine synthetase mRNA releases sRNA from its 3′UTR to regulate carbon/nitrogen metabolic balance in Enterobacteriaceae

1. Masatoshi Miyakoshi
2. Teppei Morita
3. Asaki Kobayashi
4. Anna Berger
5. Hiroki Takahashi
6. Yasuhiro Gotoh
7. Tetsuya Hayashi
8. Kan Tanaka

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study revealed the biogenesis of the 3'UTR-derived sRNA GlnZ by RNase E-mediated processing and identified target mRNAs in both E. coli and S. enterica. By introducing point mutations within the predicted seed region of GlnZ and analyzing compensatory mutations in the target mRNAs, the sRNA binding site in those targets could convincingly be mapped. This is an important piece of work and the findings are relevant for researchers within the microbiology and RNA communities and should inspire future studies of 3'derived sRNAs in bacteria. Overall, most of the statements are sufficiently supported by experimental data, but certain amendments to the work are required to fully support the conclusions.

Reviewed by eLife

Community composition shapes microbial-specific phenotypes in a cystic fibrosis polymicrobial model system

1. Fabrice Jean-Pierre
2. Thomas H Hampton
3. Daniel Schultz
4. Deborah A Hogan
5. Marie-Christine Groleau
6. Eric Déziel
7. George A O'Toole

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This article establishes a model experimental bacterial community to represent the microbiome found in ~1/3 of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) with the goal of understanding why these infections do not respond to treatments that are effective in single-species infections. The authors show that susceptibility to the most common antibiotic used against the dominant pathogen P. aeruginosa is different when grown in this mixed community, and a mutant of this pathogen (lasR) that frequently occurs during infections alters this sensitivity. This study is significant for producing an experimental resource for the microbiology of CF, and it could be strengthened by more detailed measures of interactions between species and how the phenotypes produced by lasR alter species interactions.

Reviewed by eLife

The RAM signaling pathway links morphology, thermotolerance, and CO2 tolerance in the global fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans

1. Benjamin J Chadwick
2. Tuyetnhu Pham
3. Xiaofeng Xie
4. Laura C Ristow
5. Damian J Krysan
6. Xiaorong Lin

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This study provides compelling evidence for the involvement of RAM pathway in the survival of C. neoformans in high CO2 concentrations. The work is important to understand how this fungus adapts to the high CO2 concentrations in host tissues. The experimental approach combines genetic and biochemical approaches to explore a complex topic that is of essential for cryptococcal pathogenesis.

Reviewed by eLife

Acetylation of a fungal effector that translocates host PR1 facilitates virulence

1. Jingtao Li
2. Xiaoying Ma
3. Chenyang Wang
4. Sihui Liu
5. Gang Yu
6. Mingming Gao
7. Hengwei Qian
8. Mengjie Liu
9. Ben F Luisi
10. Dean W Gabriel
11. Wenxing Liang

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  The authors provided strong evidence that the Fusarium oxysporum effector protein FolSpv1 enhances virulence by targeting tomato SlPR1 and preventing the generation of the SlPR1-derived phytocytokine CAPE1, which otherwise positively regulates disease resistance in tomato plants. Strikingly, they show that FolSpv1 translocates SlPR1 from the apoplast back into the nucleus of tomato cell, suggesting a previously unknown mechanism employed by pathogenic microbes.

Reviewed by eLife

Parallel expansion and divergence of an adhesin family in pathogenic yeasts

1. Rachel A Smoak
2. Lindsey F Snyder
3. Jan S Fassler
4. Bin Z He

Reviewed by Review Commons

A choline-releasing glycerophosphodiesterase essential for phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis and blood stage development in the malaria parasite

1. Abhinay Ramaprasad
2. Paul-Christian Burda
3. Enrica Calvani
4. Aaron J Sait
5. Susana Alejandra Palma-Duran
6. Chrislaine Withers-Martinez
7. Fiona Hackett
8. James Macrae
9. Lucy Collinson
10. Tim Wolf Gilberger
11. Michael J Blackman

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This high-quality study characterizes a key enzyme in asexual red blood stages of the malaria parasites that is used to salvage lipid precursors needed for membrane biogenesis and parasite growth in red blood cells. A previously identified glycerophosphodiesterase (PfGDPD), is shown to mediate the hydrolysis of host lyso-phosphatidycholine to generate choline, which in turn is required for parasite de novo phosphatidylcholine synthesis. Extensive analysis of the localization, growth phenotype and lipidomic profiles of PfGDPD deficient parasites indicate that this salvage pathway is essential for lipid homeostasis and asexual parasite development.

Reviewed by eLife

Promoting Fc-Fc interactions between anti-capsular antibodies provides strong immune protection against Streptococcus pneumoniae

1. Leire Aguinagalde Salazar
2. Maurits A den Boer
3. Suzanne M Castenmiller
4. Seline A Zwarthoff
5. Carla de Haas
6. Piet C Aerts
7. Frank J Beurskens
8. Janine Schuurman
9. Albert JR Heck
10. Kok van Kessel
11. Suzan HM Rooijakkers

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This paper will be of interest to immunologists and infectious disease experts, as it reports the investigation of a novel treatment of invasive pneumococcal diseases using complement-activating monoclonal antibodies. Using a combination of in vitro and in vivo methods, the authors demonstrate convincingly that the introduction of specific mutations in human monoclonal antibodies that target the surface of pneumococcus bacteria can result in enhanced complement activation after these antibodies bind to the bacterial surface.

Reviewed by eLife

A novel class of sulphonamides potently block malaria transmission by targeting a Plasmodium vacuole membrane protein

1. Sabrina Yahiya
2. Charlie N. Saunders
3. Sarah Hassan
4. Ursula Straschil
5. Oliver J. Fischer
6. Ainoa Rueda-Zubiaurre
7. Silvia Haase
8. Gema Vizcay-Barrena
9. Mufuliat Toyin Famodimu
10. Sarah Jordan
11. Michael J. Delves
12. Edward W. Tate
13. Anna Barnard
14. Matthew J. Fuchter
15. Jake Baum

Reviewed by Review Commons

Genetic glyco-profiling and rewiring of insulated flagellin glycosylation pathways

1. Nicolas Kint
2. Thomas Dubois
3. Patrick H. Viollier

Reviewed by Review Commons

Genome-wide profiling of histone modifications in Plasmodium falciparum using CUT&RUN

1. Riward Campelo Morillo
2. Chantal T Harris
3. Kit Kennedy
4. Samuel R Henning
5. Björn FC Kafsack

Reviewed by Review Commons