Trends in Microbiology最新文献

Traditional antifungal agents such as polyene, azole, and echinocandin antifungals are restricted because of antifungal resistance and off-target effects. Given these limitations, there is an urgent need to explore novel antifungal strategies by identifying alternative targets. RNA modifications, such as m⁶A, m⁵C, m¹A, m⁷G, s²U, ac⁴C, and A-to-I editing, hold promise as such targets on the basis of their roles in post-transcriptional regulation in plant pathogenic fungi, affecting RNA processing, stability, translation, and localization. This review summarizes the current understanding of RNA modifications in plant pathogenic fungi, focusing on their roles in infection and their potential as novel antifungal targets. While promising, the field is still emerging, and further experimental validation is essential to translate these findings into practical antifungal strategies.

The recently published paper by Mital et al. elegantly employs a simple yet extremely powerful and effective approach to increase the solubility of Escherichia coli-produced proteins usually destined for aggregation.

Gut microbiota-derived bile acids are emerging as pivotal regulators of viral pathogenesis. They exhibit dual roles by directly blocking or promoting viral entry, while also systemically tuning immune responses. This forum discusses how spatiotemporal mapping of these interactions can address unresolved questions and inspire novel microbiome-based antiviral strategies.

Daily dynamics in the composition and function of the human gut microbiota have been recognized since 2014, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying these rhythms and their impact on human health remain unclear. Disrupted microbial oscillations are increasingly linked to metabolic diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, and to inflammatory conditions in the gut and beyond. We propose advancing from observational studies to experimentally targeting microbial rhythms and clocks to uncover causal relationships. In vivo and in vitro models offer opportunities to uncover how signaling cues and dietary patterns influence microbial oscillations and, in turn, host metabolic and immune functions. Manipulating microbial rhythmicity independent of host physiology represents a new frontier for microbiota-based strategies to promote health and prevent diseases.

Cellulose, a ubiquitous polysaccharide with critical roles in life, provides structural integrity to cells in plants and aids biofilm formation in many bacteria. Although bacterial cellulose biosynthesis is well studied in certain groups, its diversity in other lineages remains underexplored. Recent insights from filamentous streptomycetes reveal that cellulose is directly incorporated into the cell wall at growing tips, likely protecting hyphae during growth. This review examines cellulose biosynthesis, regulation, and secretion mechanisms in Streptomyces, and highlights how its structural organization supports distinct cellular functions. We also discuss the evolutionary context of this system. Together, these insights broaden our understanding of bacterial cellulose diversity and suggest that cellulose biosynthesis has evolved convergently to support different lifestyles, growth modes, and morphogenetic strategies.

Palur et al. developed a tunable microbial platform that converts d-glucose into d-sedoheptulose and d-mannose at food-relevant levels. Their platform may be a starting point for exploring the metabolism of additional rare C7 sugars while unlocking a wide array of natural products derived from d-sedoheptulose-7-phosphate.

Protein post-translational modifications (PTMs) serve as essential molecular switches that dynamically modulate cell signaling in response to developmental or external cues. Effective interference with host signaling is critical for successful infection, and such interference is often carried out by PTMs. It has long been believed that pathogens exploit host signaling pathways through biochemical mechanisms utilized by eukaryotic cells. Interestingly, several recent studies have revealed that some pathogenic bacteria employ orthogonal post-translational modifications (oPTMs) that are distinct from those in hosts for the creation of niches permissive for their replication. In this review, we highlight the catalytic mechanisms and biological functions of several oPTMs induced by bacterial virulence factors.