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High fidelity, ultra-deep sequencing of a modified replicon system revealed >1000-fold differences in mutation rate across the hepatitis C virus genome, with extreme variation even between adjacent nucleotides.
An update to the ‘tree of life’ has revealed a dominance of bacterial diversity in many ecosystems and extensive evolution in some branches of the tree. It also highlights how few organisms we have been able to cultivate for further investigation.
The fungal pathogen Fusarium oxysporum is shown to use a functional homologue of the plant regulatory peptide RALF (rapid alkalinization factor) to induce alkalinization and cause disease in plants.
Antibiotic-mediated selection may promote or suppress conjugation dynamics, dependent on the population structure, physiological status of cells and energy availability.
Comparative genomic analyses suggest that Lokiarchaeota, the closest known prokaryotic relative of eukaryotes, are hydrogen dependent, supporting the ‘hydrogen hypothesis’ for the origin of eukaryotic cells.
Enrichment of oral microbiota in the bronchoalveolar lavage of apparently healthy people is associated with a pro-inflammatory phenotype, suggesting that aspiration-derived microbiota play a role in regulating basal inflammatory status.
A GWAS method that captures lineage-level associations even when locus-specific associations cannot be fine-mapped, detects genes and genetic variants underlying resistance to antimicrobials in M. tuberculosis, S. aureus, E. coli and K. pneumoniae.
Global phylogenetic analyses of Shigella dysenteriae isolates uncover the transcontinental transmission events and evolution of antibiotic resistance behind the major dysentery epidemics in the modern era.
Influenza A virus polymerase has a β-hairpin in the thumb subdomain, which is shown to be essential for the initiation of viral replication, but auxiliary for other replicative steps and viral transcription.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi have traditionally been considered an ancient asexual lineage. Comparative genomic analyses of Rhizophagus irregularis provides evidence of sexual reproduction in these fungi.
The mosquito gut microbiome utilizes C-type lectins to evade the bactericidal capacity of host-derived antimicrobial peptides, providing a mechanism for microbiome-induced manipulation of host immunity and maintenance of gut homeostasis.
A host SHP1 phosphatase dephosphorylates and antagonizes the function of the Helicobacter pylori virulence factor CagA. EBV co-infection dampens SHP1 expression, leading to CagA hypervirulence.
Interactions amongst Bacillus subtilis cells in a defined spatial environment are sufficient to enable the formation of self-organized patches that allow survival at cell densities otherwise too low to sustain growth.
Binding of type 3 secretion system translocons to host intermediate filaments mediate Shigella, Salmonella and Yersinia docking and facilitate effector translocation.
Evolution of high levels of multidrug tolerance in E. coli occurs rapidly via single point mutations and adapts to drug treatment frequency. Conversely reversion in the absence of antibiotic treatment is slow and only partially effective.
Antibiotic therapy has varying effects on the species richness of the preterm infant gut microbiota, but can lead to a dominance of multi-drug resistant species and an enrichment of antibiotic resistance genes.
Light sensing in Aspergillus nidulans is shown to depend on the SakA (HogA) pathway, known to be crucial for osmosensing and now revealed as a hub for environmental signal integration in fungi.
Rapid variation in the phytoplankton and bacterioplankton communities of a spring bloom provides new insights into the biological and physical parameters affecting plankton succession.