Trends in Microbiology最新文献

As antimicrobial resistance threatens the future of the aquaculture industry, numerous studies have investigated the use of phages against aquaculture diseases over the past decades. Despite reports of efficient pathogen control, commercial phage solutions are sparse. We discuss limitations of phage therapy and provide suggestions for the progression towards commercially viable solutions. We argue that phage therapy in aquaculture should focus on disease prevention rather than on treatment to reduce the need for antimicrobials. Further, the phage-delivery methods should target the variable pathogen distribution throughout the production chain. Finally, the key challenges of host-specificity and resistance should be tackled by developing predictive tools that can be used to assess phage-pathogen compatibility within a realistic timeframe.

Staphylococcus aureus is a formidable pathogen and major challenge to human health. However, the bacterium is dichotomous and also acts as an asymptomatic coloniser. Given its ubiquity, every individual has been exposed to the bacterium, which may 'tune' the host immune system. This prior exposure potentially hampers the efficacy of anti-S. aureus vaccines, diminishing their protective effect. Conversely, by preserving its niche as a commensal coloniser, the bacterium simultaneously contributes to host defence through interbacterial competition and stimulation of host immune responses, potentially fending off pathogenic threats. This review examines how S. aureus shapes host immunity via infection and colonisation and explores how S. aureus-associated immune tuning can be both problematic and beneficial for the host.

Microplastics pose hidden risks to the food chain by acting as vehicles for microbial colonization. The plastisphere may facilitate pathogen transfer through seafood, agricultural products, and food processing, raising major concerns for food safety. Standardized methodologies, stronger regulations, and further research are urgently needed to address these emerging risks.

The global burden of antimicrobial resistance demands the urgent development of new antibiotics. To face this threat, Torres et al. leveraged deep-learning models to identify archaeal encrypted peptides (termed 'archaeasins') with potential antimicrobial activity. This work highlights Archaea as an underexplored but potentially rich source of antibiotics.

Alphaviruses are mosquito-borne pathogens causing rheumatological disease and encephalomyelitis. Their spread, enhanced by climate change, presents a growing global health threat. To date, no specific treatments and, except for chikungunya virus, no preventive vaccines exist. Alphavirus infection induces cross-reactive antibodies targeting conserved epitopes in glycoprotein E1 and E2. While cross-reactivity can facilitate the development of broad-spectrum vaccines, it complicates serological diagnosis in regions with multiple co-circulating alphaviruses. This review examines how antibody cross-reactivity can foster development of cross-protective vaccines and therapeutics but also how it may present challenges such as antibody-dependent enhancement of disease and diagnostic misinterpretation. Understanding the conservation of epitopes is crucial for designing effective therapies, vaccines, and precise diagnostics to mitigate the alphavirus disease burden globally.

TnPedia provides a curated framework for understanding prokaryotic transposable elements (TEs), including general and historical information and basic concepts, while integrating mechanistic insights, family-level classification, and representative examples. It summarizes key developments reshaping the field, including RNA-guided transposition, and provides information on TE acquisition and transmission of antimicrobial resistance-associated transposons.

Invasive human fungal pathogens cause significant morbidity and mortality. Both environmental and host factors have driven the evolution of key traits, such as pathogenicity and drug resistance. This has led to the emergence and spread of novel pathogens and drug-resistant variants, posing a substantial threat to public health. Unlike well-reviewed bacterial or viral pathogens, fungal pathogens can utilize eukaryote-specific mechanisms to rapidly acquire adaptive traits. Understanding the drivers and molecular mechanisms behind these traits is essential. This review systematically elucidates these processes in common and emerging fungal pathogens. We highlight the urgent need for next-generation antifungal strategies with high resistance barriers, discussing their necessity and feasibility to limit the emergence of drug resistance.

Flaviviruses, such as Dengue, Zika, and West Nile virus, cause a significant global health burden and have earned attention as high-pandemic risk pathogens. Flaviviruses interact closely with cell membranes at every stage of their life cycle, and mounting evidence demonstrates that flaviviruses rely on specific lipids and lipid-remodeling proteins, presenting potential therapeutic opportunities for targeting the host's lipid metabolism. Our understanding of lipid function in infection has expanded considerably in recent years, partly thanks to advances in lipidomics, cryo-electron tomography, lipid-based chemical tools, and biophysical characterization techniques. In this review, we highlight recent breakthroughs that have clarified flavivirus lipid requirements and functions, as well as ongoing technological advances in the virus-lipid interaction field, which are poised to enable the next wave of discoveries.

RNA viruses, exemplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, pose a significant threat to global health. Their rapid mutation and host adaptability highlight the need for advanced tools for efficient viral studies and timely countermeasure development. Imaging technologies, such as cryo-electron microscopy and super-resolution microscopy, have been pivotal in advancing our understanding of viral structures, infection mechanisms, and virus-host interactions. However, each technique has limitations in the field of view or resolution. Recent advancements have focused on developing integrated multiscale imaging to better understand RNA virus pathogenesis. In this review, we examine recent progress in RNA virus imaging across molecular, cellular, and tissue scales, including cryo-electron tomography and correlative multiscale imaging, which link structural mapping with functional insights.