Microbiology

Antibiotic-induced accumulation of lipid II synergizes with antimicrobial fatty acids to eradicate bacterial populations

1. Ashelyn E Sidders
2. Katarzyna M Kedziora
3. Melina Arts
4. Jan-Martin Daniel
5. Stefania de Benedetti
6. Jenna E Beam
7. Duyen T Bui
8. Joshua B Parsons
9. Tanja Schneider
10. Sarah E Rowe
11. Brian P Conlon

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  The authors here present how specific fatty acids modulate the bactericidal effect of the antibiotic vancomycin. The authors find that palmitoleic acid significantly increases the bactericidal activity of vancomycin and investigate the mechanism responsible. The key finding will be of interest to a broad audience of researchers focused on microbiology, host-pathogen interactions, and antimicrobial development, as well as to clinicians that treat antibiotic-recalcitrant infections.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

A toolbox of engineered mosquito lines to study salivary gland biology and malaria transmission

1. Dennis Klug
2. Katharina Arnold
3. Raquel Mela-Lopez
4. Eric Marois
5. Stéphanie A. Blandin

Reviewed by Review Commons

Combining transgenesis with paratransgenesis to fight malaria

1. Wei Huang
2. Joel Vega-Rodriguez
3. Chritopher Kizito
4. Sung-Jae Cha
5. Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This study tests the potential of using a combination of mosquito-based approaches, transgenesis and paratransgenesis, for malaria control relative to the use of the individual technologies. The results show that a combination of approaches can be more powerful at preventing the transmission of malaria parasites, opening the possibility of using similar combination approaches to reduce the malaria burden. The findings will be interesting for a broad audience of mosquito biologists and malaria researchers, but as they are limited to a specific transgenic-paratransgenic combination, more work will be needed to determine the true potential of this strategy for disease control.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Discovery of Fungus-Specific Targets and Inhibitors Using Chemical Phenotyping of Pathogenic Spore Germination

1. Sébastien C. Ortiz
2. Mingwei Huang
3. Christina M. Hull

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This study is an extension of previous work by the same authors, which established a two step high-throughput screening approach to monitor germination and growth of fungal spores of the human pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans and identified an FDA-approved drug with antifungal activity (DOI: 10.1128/AAC.00994-19). The current work extends this approach to three libraries of drug-like molecules comprising 75,000 candidate compounds and employs automated image analysis methods to identify classes of inhibition phenotypes. The key result of this work is the identification of 191 inhibitors, of which 76 could be grouped in to 8 classes based on chemical structure - inhibitors that share structural similarities tend to share phenotypic impact.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript.The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Force-Induced Changes of PilY1 Drive Surface Sensing by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

1. Shanice S. Webster
2. Marion Mathelié-Guinlet
3. Andreia F. Verissimo
4. Daniel Schultz
5. Albertus Viljoen
6. Calvin K. Lee
7. William C. Schmidt
8. Gerard C. L. Wong
9. Yves F. Dufrêne
10. George A. O’Toole

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This study demonstrates that a cysteine residue (C152) in the vWA domain of the type-iV pili tip-associated protein, PilY1 impacts surface sensing, biofilm formation and cyclic-di-GMP signaling in Pseduomonas aeruginosa. Well-executed experiments provide insight into the events that initiate cell adhesion and colonisation, the understanding of which has important implications for human health. The work will be of interest to microbiologists in general.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

A Tad-like apparatus is required for contact-dependent prey killing in predatory social bacteria

1. Sofiene Seef
2. Julien Herrou
3. Paul de Boissier
4. Laetitia My
5. Gael Brasseur
6. Donovan Robert
7. Rikesh Jain
8. Romain Mercier
9. Eric Cascales
10. Bianca H Habermann
11. Tâm Mignot

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  In this manuscript, the authors explore mechanisms involved in predation of other bacteria by Myxococcus xanthus. They identify two gene clusters, which encode proteins with homology to proteins of the Tad pilus system and some of which are important for predation. The work represents a good starting point for understanding how Myxococcus cells may engage in contact-dependent killing of other bacteria.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1, Reviewer #2 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

The acid ceramidase/ceramide axis controls parasitemia in Plasmodium yoelii-infected mice by regulating erythropoiesis

1. Anne Günther
2. Matthias Hose
3. Hanna Abberger
4. Fabian Schumacher
5. Ylva Veith
6. Burkhard Kleuser
7. Kai Matuschewski
8. Karl Sebastian Lang
9. Erich Gulbins
10. Jan Buer
11. Astrid M Westendorf
12. Wiebke Hansen

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This study provides evidence that murine acid ceramidase (Ac) is required for normal erythropoiesis and development of rodent malaria. The findings are of interest in understanding molecular processes involved in regulating erythropoiesis, as well as the potential to develop host-directed therapies for malarial parasites that target human reticulocytes.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Zika virus causes placental pyroptosis and associated adverse fetal outcomes by activating GSDME

1. Zikai Zhao
2. Qi Li
3. Usama Ashraf
4. Mengjie Yang
5. Wenjing Zhu
6. Jun Gu
7. Zheng Chen
8. Changqin Gu
9. Youhui Si
10. Shengbo Cao
11. Jing Ye

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  The manuscript addresses an important question with broad relevance to the fields of virology, reproductive biology and immunology, and cell death. The primary conclusion of viral-induced cell death is well supported. Some mechanistic details of the pathway remain unclear.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

The giant mimivirus 1.2 Mb genome is elegantly organized into a 30-nm diameter helical protein shield

1. Alejandro Villalta
2. Alain Schmitt
3. Leandro F Estrozi
4. Emmanuelle RJ Quemin
5. Jean-Marie Alempic
6. Audrey Lartigue
7. Vojtěch Pražák
8. Lucid Belmudes
9. Daven Vasishtan
10. Agathe MG Colmant
11. Flora A Honoré
12. Yohann Couté
13. Kay Grünewald
14. Chantal Abergel

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  Giant dsDNA viruses, with genomes in excess of 1Mb that encode more than a thousand genes, were only recently discovered and their study offers new opportunities to understand life's evolved mechanisms. In this manuscript, Villalta and colleagues report results on one of the most complex known viruses, the Mimivirus. Its genome is compacted into magnificent fibers comprising apparently repurposed GMC-type oxidoreductase paralogs assembled as a helical coat around genomic dsDNA. Cryo-EM and cryo-ET image analysis yielded a structural model of the fiber in multiple states. The authors also provide some evidence that additional viral enzymes, including RNA polymerases, exist within the fiber assemblies. Pending the resolution of certain issues that emerged in peer review, the study will be of broad interest to biologists.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 and Reviewer #3 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Vaccination decreases the risk of influenza A virus reassortment but not genetic variation in pigs

1. Chong Li
2. Marie R Culhane
3. Declan C Schroeder
4. Maxim C-J Cheeran
5. Lucina Galina Pantoja
6. Micah L Jansen
7. Montserrat Torremorell

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  Vaccines are a major influenza control strategy in swine, but perform sub-optimally and are under-utilized. The manuscript describes a detailed genetic characterization of influenza virus variants in vaccinated versus unvaccinated pigs. The results indicate that viral reassortment, which is an important process yielding new strange of importance to man and animals, may be less common in pigs that have been vaccinated against influenza.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife