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Stocker and colleagues review how combining dynamic imaging techniques with microfluidics has furthered our understanding of the hydrodynamic signature of individual microorganisms, the mechanics of their locomotion, and the effects of surfaces, fluid flow and crowded habitats on microbial motility.
This study shows that processing of merozoite surface protein 1 (MSP1) by thePlasmodiumsubtilisin-like serine protease SUB1 enables MSP1 to interact with the host cell cytoskeleton, enabling parasite egress from red blood cells.
This study identifies a physiological role for bacterial ion channels, showing that they can propagate electrical signals throughout biofilms in a long-range process that coordinates the metabolic responses of the microbial community.
This month's Genome Watch highlights how single-cell transcriptomic analysis of infected macrophages has provided insight into the diversity in host–pathogen interactions.
The first bacterial genome sequence was published 20 years ago. In this Timeline, Loman and Pallen review the first two decades of bacterial genome sequencing, discussing how advances in sequencing technologies and bioinformatics have furthered our understanding of the biology, diversity and evolution of bacteria.
Phages were discovered 100 years ago, and since then phage research has transformed fundamental and translational biosciences. In this Timeline, Salmond and Fineran discuss a century of phage research, describing the roles of phages in ecosystems and in driving bacterial evolution and virulence, and highlight their impact as a source of novel reagents that revolutionized molecular biology and biotechnology.
It has recently been suggested that p53, which regulates the survival and metabolism of host cells, is commonly manipulated by intracellular bacterial pathogens. In this Progress article, Siegl and Rudel discuss mechanisms of p53 manipulation and consider the consequences for pathogenesis.
Streptomycetes have a complex life cycle that involves several regulated developmental transitions. In this Review, Buttner and colleagues discuss the factors that have recently been shown to regulate these transitions, including a novel role for the second messenger c-di-GMP.
The gut microbiota has a strong impact on host physiology. In this Review, Mazmanian and colleagues describe the mechanisms that control the biogeography of bacteria in the gut and discuss the importance of the spatial localization of the gut microbiota during health and disease.
