Research Highlights in 2024

In a recent study, Lin et al. uncovered that a single substitution in the bovine influenza H5N1 haemagglutinin protein switches the specificity to human receptors.

A recent study found that soil microbial communities show consistent and predictable responses to extreme climatic events.

A recent study shows that the commensal bacterium Lactiplantibacillus plantarum recognizes the foregut of the fruit fly as its physical niche via sugar-binding adhesins.

In this study, Castells-Nobau et al. show that bacteriophages present in the gut microbiome contribute to the regulation of food addiction.

This study shows that the Campylobacter jejuni-derived genotoxin named cytolethal distending toxin promotes colorectal cancer metastasis.

In this study, Padhi et al. demonstrate the potential of metagenomics-based approaches for the discovery of natural products from complex ecosystems.

In a recent study, Gaborieau, Vaysset, Tesson et al. developed a method to predict phage–host specificity using genomic data.

In a recent study, Liu, Huang, Guo, McCallum et al. present a method to create functional, customized coronavirus receptors, which could facilitate the development of infection models that do not rely on native receptors.

Loveridge and Sigala uncover a divalent metal transporter that is required for cellular iron metabolism in Plasmodium falciparum parasites.

In this study, Tofani et al. demonstrate that the gut microbiota regulates stress responsiveness in mice via the circadian system.

This study provides insights into how adaptive changes in evolved microbial communities can affect pathogen invasion.

In this study, Ge et al. develop a mimic of natural killer cells to target and eliminate intracellular Staphylococcus aureus.

This study shows that high-level resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus involves an alternative mode of cell division.

This study describes the discovery of a previously uncharacterized phylogenetically distinct group of viroid-like human microbiome-associated RNAs.

This new study shows that the leading region of plasmids has a key role in overcoming host immunity by functioning as ‘anti-defence islands’ that protect the invading plasmid following entry.

In this study, Lu et al. identify the gut symbiont Tomasiella immunophila as a contributor to the degradation of murine secretory immunoglobulin A, with effects on mucosal immunity.

The recent re-emergence of Oropouche virus in Central and South America and the Caribbean poses a public health threat and highlights the need for improved surveillance and control measures.

An increasing number of countries in Africa are reporting cases of mpox, prompting the World Health Organization to declare it a public health emergency of international concern.

Nature Reviews Microbiology attended the 19th biennial meeting of the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) in Cape Town, South Africa.

A new study reports sustained HIV remission in an individual who underwent allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation with cells from a donor with wild-type CCR5.