: Microbiology Articles
Research Highlight: Parasitology: The Plasmodium stage managerA new report shows that phosphorylation of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2? regulates the conversion of Plasmodium spp. salivary gland sporozoites into liver-stage sporozoites. Nature Reviews Microbiology, vol. 8 #9, pp611-611 |
Research Highlight: Innate immunity: PD1 turns down the heatTwo recent papers show that PD1 has a key role in regulating the innate immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Nature Reviews Microbiology, vol. 8 #9, pp612-612 |
Research Highlight: Biofilms: eDNA limits biofilm attachmentExtracellular DNA binds to the holdfast of Caulobacter crescentus swarmer cells, promoting biofilm dispersal. Nature Reviews Microbiology, vol. 8 #9, pp612-613 |
Research Highlight: Viral pathogenesis: Baculoviruses 'ride' actinBaculoviruses migrate intracellularly using actin-based motility. Nature Reviews Microbiology, vol. 8 #9, pp612-613 |
Research Highlight: In BriefSymbiosisAdaptation via symbiosis: recent spread of a Drosophila defensive symbiontJaenike, J.et al. Science329, 212?215 (2010)The maternally transmitted bacterial endosymbiont Spiroplasma increases the fertility of Drosophila neotestacea that is parasitized Nature Reviews Microbiology, vol. 8 #9, pp613-613 |
Research Highlight: Bacterial pathogenesis: Chlamydia gets a NUE lookA type III secretion system effector produced by Chlamydia trachomatis is targeted to the nucleus of the host cell and functions as a histone methyltransferase. Nature Reviews Microbiology, vol. 8 #9, pp614-614 |
Research Highlight: Symbiosis: TCA signals a switchChanging growth phases, signalled through the TCA cycle, induces a switch from the pathogenic state to the mutualistic state in a symbiont. Nature Reviews Microbiology, vol. 8 #9, pp614-614 |
Review: The biofilm matrixThe microorganisms in biofilms live in a self-produced matrix of hydrated extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that form their immediate environment. EPS are mainly polysaccharides, proteins, nucleic acids and lipids; they provide the mechanical stability of biofilms, mediate their adhesion to surfaces and form a cohesive, Nature Reviews Microbiology, vol. 8 #9, pp623-633 |
Review: A field guide to bacterial swarming motilityHow bacteria regulate, assemble and rotate flagella to swim in liquid media is reasonably well understood. Much less is known about how some bacteria use flagella to move over the tops of solid surfaces in a form of movement called swarming. The focus of bacteriology Nature Reviews Microbiology, vol. 8 #9, pp634-644 |
Review: A hitchhiker's guide to the nervous system: the complex journey of viruses and toxinsTo reach the central nervous system (CNS), pathogens have to circumvent the wall of tightly sealed endothelial cells that compose the blood?brain barrier. Neuronal projections that connect to peripheral cells and organs are the Achilles heels in CNS isolation. Some viruses and bacterial toxins interact Nature Reviews Microbiology, vol. 8 #9, pp645-655 |
Review: The role of secretory antibodies in infection immunityThe mucosal secretory immune system provides an important primary defence against disease, as studies of humans with mucosal humoral immunodeficiencies suggest that the absence of secretory immunoglobulin A leads to an increase in mucosal infections. However, the infection risks posed do not seem to provide Nature Reviews Microbiology, vol. 8 #9, pp656-667 |
Perspectives: Evasion of innate immunity by Mycobacterium tuberculosis: is death an exit strategy?Virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis inhibits apoptosis and triggers necrosis of host macrophages to evade innate immunity and delay the initiation of adaptive immunity. By contrast, attenuated M. tuberculosis induces macrophage apoptosis, an innate defence mechanism that reduces bacterial viability. In this Opinion article, we Nature Reviews Microbiology, vol. 8 #9, pp668-674 |
