Trends in Microbiology最新文献

Cyanidiophyceae red algae dominate many geothermal habitats and provide important tools for investigating the evolution of extremophilic eukaryotes and associated microbial communities. We propose that resource sharing drove genome reduction in Cyanidiophyceae and enabled the neofunctionalization of genes in multi-enzyme pathways. Utilizing arsenic detoxification as a model, we discuss how the sharing of gene functions by other members of the microbial assemblage weakened selection on homologs in the Cyanidiophyceae, allowing long-term gene persistence via the putative gain of novel functions. This hypothesis, referred to as the Integrated Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) Model (IHM), attempts more generally to explain how extremophilic eukaryotes may have transitioned from 'hot start' milieus by functional innovations driven by the duplication and divergence of HGT-derived genes.

Two-component systems allow bacteria to respond to specific environmental signals with defined adaptive phenotypic changes, a process that requires time and may be inadequate for contending with rapidly changing environments. In contrast, phase variation generates baseline levels of phenotypic heterogeneity that helps to ensure survival of the population as a whole. This strategy may be better suited to confront abrupt environmental changes but may produce transiently less-fit subpopulations. Many bacteria have integrated phase variation and two-component signaling - how combining these stochastic and deterministic mechanisms affects bacterial fitness is unclear. Here, we identify three distinct schemes for integration of phase variation and two-component signaling. Using well-characterized examples, we speculate the circumstances in which each integration scheme confers a fitness advantage.

Nitrification is a key process in the nitrogen cycle performed by several functional groups of chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms. The order Nitrospirales plays a central role in this process. Comprehensive genomic analysis conducted by Kop et al. revealed unexplored phylogenetic diversity, habitat range, and metabolic versatility within the order Nitrospirales.

Unlike many fungi, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi have proven recalcitrant to genetic manipulation due to their obligate biotrophic lifestyle and multinucleate, coenocytic cellular structure. In this review, we examine past attempts at AM fungal transformation, we identify key biological and technical barriers and explore recent advances to overcome them. We focus on techniques never before applied in AM fungi, including CRISPR/Cas9, microinjection, and protoplast-based transformation, and we explore how they provide viable strategies for achieving this elusive goal. We conclude by outlining guidelines for future research, distinguishing between established approaches that are readily applicable to AM fungi and others that first require addressing key outstanding questions in AM fungal cell biology and genetics to ensure success.

This commentary outlines ways in which health researchers can advance health equity. We focus on often-overlooked areas, including identifying context-specific drivers of inequity, carefully selecting research questions and priorities, engaging stakeholders, including those whose voices are seldom heard, improving diversity and inclusiveness among study participants, and using equity-oriented study designs.

Cells must maintain an equilibrium between external and internal sources of oxidation while also employing endogenously generated reactive species to support intracellular signaling and proliferation. This balancing act is crucial for fungal pathogens, as their survival depends on the skillful coordination of attack and defense mechanisms to overcome stressors encountered in the hostile host environment. In this review, we examine recent findings on the contributions of small-molecule and protein thiols to fungal pathogenesis, and place this information in the context of the thiol-based redox systems that support the response to oxidative stress in fungal pathogens of humans. The emerging view is that small molecules and thiol-active proteins/enzymes maintain a redox balance during infection thereby avoiding irreversible oxidative damage and ultimately supporting fungal growth and pathogenesis.

Fungal infections are a major contributor to human infectious diseases. To address this in Latin America, international groups formed the Fungal Disease Interest Group (FDIG). At the Brazil conference of the International Society for Human and Animal Mycoses (ISHAM), FDIG hosted a forum highlighting key challenges and priorities to advance fungal disease research, education, and public health across the region.

Soils are highly heterogeneous ecosystems hosting multiple organisms engaged in trophic interactions. We introduce the economic spectrum of soil food webs - a trait-based framework spanning a fast-to-slow continuum - that offers a more integrative understanding than previous classifications. This framework highlights the complexity of multiple organismal traits shaping soil food web structure, dynamics, and soil functionality.