Microbiology

Chalkophore-mediated respiratory oxidase flexibility controls M. tuberculosis virulence

1. John A Buglino
2. Yaprak Ozakman
3. Chad E Hatch
4. Anna Benjamin
5. Derek S Tan
6. Michael S Glickman

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In this important study, the authors advance our understanding of copper uptake by chalkophores and their targeted metalloproteins in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These convincing data demonstrate that chalkophore-acquired copper is solely incorporated into the Mtb bcc:aa3 copper-iron respiratory oxidase under low copper conditions, and that chalkophore-mediated protection of the respiratory chain is critical to Mtb virulence. These findings may be leveraged for drug discovery and will be of broad interest to those studying bacterial pathogenesis.

Reviewed by eLife, Rapid Reviews Infectious Diseases

In vitro and in vivo synergy of Vancomycin and β-lactams against drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Non-tuberculous mycobacteria

1. Alok Kumar Singh
2. Pradip Malik
3. Atri Mukhopadhyay
4. Mohmmad Imran
5. Mohammad Naiyaz Ahmad
6. Juned Ali
7. Sangita Pramanik
8. Reetu Maindolia
9. Aditi Ghosh
10. Pratiksha Karaulia
11. Umesh D Gupta
12. Kalyan Mitra
13. Sidharth Chopra
14. Arunava Dasgupta

Reviewed by PREreview

Closest relatives of poxviruses are spread in the gut of humans and animals worldwide: the egoviruses

1. Morgan Gaïa
2. Hans-Joachim Ruscheweyh
3. A. Murat Eren
4. Eugene V. Koonin
5. Shinichi Sunagawa
6. Mart Krupovic
7. Tom O. Delmont

Reviewed by Arcadia Science

Complex system modeling reveals oxalate homeostasis is driven by diverse oxalate-degrading bacteria

1. Sromona D Mukherjee
2. Carlos Batagello
3. Ava Adler
4. Jose Agudelo
5. Anna Zampini
6. Mangesh Suryavanshi
7. Andrew Nguyen
8. Terry Orr
9. Denise Dearing
10. Manoj Monga
11. Aaron W Miller

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This work presents a valuable approach based on a complex systems theoretical framework to characterize diet-host-microbe interactions and develop targeted bacteriotherapies through a three-phase workflow. Despite the partial support of the description and experimental setup of the 'complex systems theoretical approach,' the collected data are solid and advance our understanding of oxalate bacterial metabolism in microbial communities. This study will interest researchers working on gut microbiomes and the possible modulation of host-microbial interactions.

Reviewed by eLife

Wag31, a membrane tether, is crucial for lipid homeostasis in mycobacteria

1. Yogita Kapoor
2. Himani Khurana
3. Debatri Dutta
4. Arnab Chakraborty
5. Anshu Priya
6. Archana Singh
7. Siddhesh S Kamat
8. Neeraj Dhar
9. Thomas John Pucadyil
10. Vinay Kumar Nandicoori

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  Understanding bacterial growth mechanisms potentially uncover novel drug targets which are crucial for maintaining cellular viability, particularly for bacterial pathogens. In this important study, Kapoor et al, investigate the role of Wag31 in lipid and peptidoglycan biosynthesis in mycobacteria. A detailed analysis of Wag31 domain architecture revealed a role in membrane tethering. More specifically, the N-terminal and C-terminal domains appeared to have distinct functional roles. The data presented are solid and support the conclusion made. This study will be of broad interest to microbiologists and molecular biologists.

Reviewed by eLife

Enhanced virulence and stress tolerance are signatures of epidemiologically successful Shigella sonnei

1. Sydney L Miles
2. Dilys Santillo
3. Vincenzo Torraca
4. Ana Teresa López Jiménez
5. Claire Jenkins
6. Stephen Baker
7. Kate S Baker
8. Vanessa Sancho-Shimizu
9. Kathryn E Holt
10. Serge Mostowy

Reviewed by PREreview

Screening Envelope Genes Across Primate Genomes Reveals Evolution and Diversity Patterns of Endogenous Retroviruses

1. Saili Chabukswar
2. Nicole Grandi
3. Elena Soddu
4. Liang-Tzung Lin
5. Enzo Tramontano

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The manuscript provides an important assessment of the number and distribution of different retrovirus env genes present in primate genomes in the form of ancient endogenous retroviruses (ERV loci) and the potential role that viral recombination played in the diversification of retrovirus env genes and their propagation in the primate germline over millions of years. The paper convincingly describes how intermixing/recombination occurs with this viruses, representing a conceptual advance with potentially broad implications.

Reviewed by eLife

Teichoic acids in the periplasm and cell envelope of Streptococcus pneumoniae

1. Mai Nguyen
2. Elda Bauda
3. Célia Boyat
4. Cédric Laguri
5. Céline Freton
6. Anne Chouquet
7. Benoit Gallet
8. Morgane Baudoin
9. Yung-Sing Wong
10. Christophe Grangeasse
11. Christine Moriscot
12. Claire Durmort
13. André Zapun
14. Cecile Morlot

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The bacterial cell wall is crucial to maintain viability. It has previously been suggested that Gram positive bacteria have a periplasmic region between the cell membrane and peptidoglycan cell wall that this is maintained by the presence of teichoic acids. In this valuable study, Nguyen et al. make clever use of electron microscopy and metabolic labelling to interrogate the role of teichoic acids in supporting the maintenance of the periplasmic region in Streptococcus pneumoniae. The findings are solid and close some crucial knowledge gaps whilst providing novel tools to further interrogate discrepancies in the field. This work will be of broad interest to microbiologists.

Reviewed by eLife

A general mechanism for initiating the bacterial general stress response

1. Rishika Baral
2. Kristin Ho
3. Ramasamy P Kumar
4. Jesse B Hopkins
5. Maxwell B Watkins
6. Salvatore LaRussa
7. Suhaily Caban-Penix
8. Logan A Calderone
9. Niels Bradshaw

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study combines genetic analysis, biochemistry, and structural modeling to reveal new insights into how changes in protein-protein structure activate signal transduction as part of the bacterial general stress response. The data, which was collected using validated and standard methods, and its interpretations are convincing; however, to fully meet the title's promise, additional experimental evidence is needed to strengthen the proposed model and its potential application to other systems. This manuscript will be of broad interest to microbiologists, structural biologists, and cell biologists.

Reviewed by eLife

Commensal acidification of specific gut regions produces a protective priority effect against enteropathogenic bacterial infection

1. Jane L. Yang
2. Haolong Zhu
3. Puru Sadh
4. Kevin Aumiller
5. Zehra T. Guvener
6. William B. Ludington

Reviewed by PREreview