In Brief in 2020

This study found that blacklegged ticks resist skin Staphylococcus commensals with an immune factor of bacterial origin.

A recent study reports the development of a DNA-based vaccine that protects against Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever virus disease in cynomolgus macaques.

A recent study found that slow movement is important when bacteria move as dense collectives because faster bacteria cause topological defects that trap cells in place.

This study reports the widespread endogenization of nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses in diverse green algae.

This study links anthropogenic disturbance, coral symbioses and heat stress resilience.

This study shows that the toxin of a toxin−antitoxin system triggers the rapid transformation of spiral-shaped Helicobacter pylori into coccoids.

This study reports a mutant Clamydia muridarum strain that infects the gastrointestinal tract and protects against genital tract infection in mice.

This study reported the diversity of CMV, HIV-1 and RSV viral populations during acute infection from clinical samples.

This study reports that retrons function in defence against phage infection by inducing abortive infection.

A recent study found that oligomerization of the Zika virus NS5 protein causes ciliopathy of neuronal progenitor cells and premature neurogenesis.

This study uncovered a list of host variables that confound gut microbiota studies of human disease.

A recent study found that Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in mice reprogrammes haematopoietic stem cells, limiting myelopoiesis and impairing trained immunity.

This study reported the discovery of two new relatives of rubella virus, ruhugu virus in bats and rustrela virus in mice.

This study provides evidence that bacterial nanotubes produced by Bacillus subtilis and other bacteria are a feature of cell death rather than physiological structures.

This study found that Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms impede the motility of the nematode bacterivore Caenorhabditis elegans.

This study discovered that the maternal gut microbiota of mice modulates fetal neurodevelopment during homeostasis and the behaviour of offspring in adult life.

This study found that the oral pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis promotes the progression of oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

A recent study suggests that anthropogenic disturbance of grasslands changes the sensitivity of plant pathogens to climate change.

This paper found that cytoplasmic control of intranuclear polarity by human cytomegalovirus leads to segregation of viral DNA from heterochromatin, thus promoting virus replication.

A recent study investigated bacterial–fungal symbioses and found that fungal responses to bacteria differed depending on whether the relationship was mutualistic or antagonistic.