Pathogens articles within Nature

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  • Letter |

    Analysis of a comprehensive database of mammalian host–virus relationships reveals that both the total number of viruses that infect a given species and the proportion likely to be zoonotic are predictable and that this enables identification of mammalian species and geographic locations where novel zoonoses are likely to be found.

    • Kevin J. Olival
    • , Parviez R. Hosseini
    •  & Peter Daszak

  • Letter |

    Both F17-like and type 1 pili promote intestinal colonization in mouse colonic crypts, and the high-affinity mannoside M4284 reduces intestinal colonization of uropathogenic Escherichia coli while simultaneously treating urinary tract infections without disrupting the composition of the gut microbiota.

    • Caitlin N. Spaulding
    • , Roger D. Klein
    •  & Scott J. Hultgren

  • Article |

    The nasal commensal bacterium Staphylococcus lugdunensis produces a novel cyclic peptide antibiotic, lugdunin, that inhibits colonization by S. aureus in animal models and is associated with a significantly reduced S. aureus carriage rate in humans, suggesting that human commensal bacteria could be a valuable resource for the discovery of new antibiotics.

    • Alexander Zipperer
    • , Martin C. Konnerth
    •  & Bernhard Krismer

  • Letter |

    Antibiotic usage in humans can increase the risk of Salmonella infection by an unknown mechanism; this paper reveals that the antibiotic streptomycin increases the activity of the host-encoded enzyme inducible nitric oxide synthase, this then drives Salmonella expansion by the generation of galactarate — a metabolite normally absent from the gut.

    • Franziska Faber
    • , Lisa Tran
    •  & Andreas J. Bäumler

  • Article |

    A combination of X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy, functional assays and time-lapse fluorescence microscopy shows that a protein of previously unknown function, TssA, forms a dodecameric complex that interacts with components of the tube and sheath of the type VI secretion system of bacteria, and that it primes and coordinates biogenesis of both the tail tube and the sheath.

    • Abdelrahim Zoued
    • , Eric Durand
    •  & Eric Cascales

  • Letter |

    Documented cases of horizontal gene transfer from bacteria to eukaryotes are rare, but now, not only is a new class of transferred genes identified, the function of one representative is also demonstrated in its new setting, where it controls bacterial growth.

    • Seemay Chou
    • , Matthew D. Daugherty
    •  & Joseph D. Mougous

  • Letter |

    Using a model of tuberculosis in zebrafish, granuloma formation is shown to coincide with hypoxia and angiogenesis; furthermore, the pharmacological inhibition of the pro-angiogenic VEGF pathway reduces infection burden, suggesting a possible treatment strategy in patients with the disease.

    • Stefan H. Oehlers
    • , Mark R. Cronan
    •  & David M. Tobin

  • Article |

    Lipopolysaccharide, an essential component of the outer membranes of Gram-negative bacteria, is inserted by LptD–LptE, a protein complex with a unique ‘barrel and plug’ architecture; the structure, molecular dynamics simulations and functional assays of the LptD–LptE complex of Salmonella typhimurium suggest that lipopolysaccharide may pass through the barrel and is then inserted into the outer leaflet of the outer membrane through a lateral opening between two β-strands of LptD.

    • Haohao Dong
    • , Quanju Xiang
    •  & Changjiang Dong

  • Letter |

    Three Neisseria meningitidis RNA thermosensors important for resistance against complement-mediated immune killing are identified, located in the 5′ untranslated regions of genes necessary for capsule biosynthesis, expression of factor H binding protein and sialyation of lipolysaccharide; increased temperature may act as a warning signal for the bacterium, prompting it to enhance mechanisms of immune evasion.

    • Edmund Loh
    • , Elisabeth Kugelberg
    •  & Christoph M. Tang

  • Letter |

    Cellular immune responses in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) vaccinated with cytomegalovirus vectors expressing SIV proteins are able to stringently control highly pathogenic SIV infection, regardless of the route of challenge, after systemic spread; immunological and virological analyses of protected macaques followed for up to 3 years suggest that persistent immune surveillance by vaccine-elicited immune responses may have cleared the infection.

    • Scott G. Hansen
    • , Michael Piatak Jr
    •  & Louis J. Picker

  • Article |

    Cell-type-specific anthrax toxin receptor CMG2-null mice are generated and used to show that the Bacillus anthracis toxins lethal toxin (LT) and oedema toxin (ET) target distinct cell types; in contrast to previous suggestions, it is shown that endothelial cells are not key targets for either toxin and instead LT targets cardiomyocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells whereas ET targets hepatocytes.

    • Shihui Liu
    • , Yi Zhang
    •  & Stephen H. Leppla

  • Letter |

    The crystal structure of the complex formed by the B and C toxin complex proteins is reported, revealing how toxin complexes are processed and protected; the proteins assemble to form a large hollow structure that sequesters the cytotoxic portion of the C protein, and a β-propeller domain mediates attachment to the A protein in the native ABC complex.

    • Jason N. Busby
    • , Santosh Panjikar
    •  & J. Shaun Lott

  • Letter |

    Unlike most salmonellae, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi causes life-threatening systemic infections known as typhoid fever, for which the molecular basis is unknown; here administration of typhoid toxin produced by S. Typhi reproduces many of the acute symptoms of typhoid fever, carbohydrates on cell surface glycoproteins are identified as receptors for typhoid toxin and the toxin’s crystal structure is determined, providing insights into these interactions.

    • Jeongmin Song
    • , Xiang Gao
    •  & Jorge E. Galán

  • Letter |

    The CRISPR/Cas system known to aid bacterial defences by targeting invading DNA can also act to evade eukaryotic defences through a different class of small RNAs downregulating an endogenous immunogenic bacterial lipoprotein.

    • Timothy R. Sampson
    • , Sunil D. Saroj
    •  & David S. Weiss

  • Letter |

    Hepatitis A virus particles released from cells can hijack and become wrapped in host-derived membranes by using proteins that facilitate the budding of many enveloped viruses, calling into question the traditional distinction between enveloped and non-enveloped viruses.

    • Zongdi Feng
    • , Lucinda Hensley
    •  & Stanley M. Lemon

  • Letter |

    The crystal structure of the inner-membrane urea channel HpUreI from Helicobacter pylori, the causative organism of peptic ulcers, reveals how the channel selectively transports urea across the membrane and buffers the pathogen’s periplasmic pH against the acidic gastric environment.

    • David Strugatsky
    • , Reginald McNulty
    •  & Hartmut Luecke

  • News & Views |

    Our immune system usually ignores 'friendly' gut bacteria. But when infection with a pathogen damages the intestine's mucosal lining, the resident microbes can invade the body, inducing immune responses directed at themselves.

    • David Masopust
    •  & Vaiva Vezys

  • News |

    US National Academy of Sciences reassesses risks of high-security work in cattle country.

    • Susan Young

  • News & Views |

    The mammalian immune system can fight a myriad of pathogens. In part, this involves a superfamily of cytoplasmic receptors that dictate assembly of specific pro-inflammatory inflammasome complexes. See Letters p.592 & p.596

    • Denise M. Monack

  • Article |

    CRISPR is a microbial RNA-based immune system protecting against viral and plasmid invasions. The CRISPR system is thought to rely on cleavage of a precursor RNA transcript by Cas endonucleases, but not all species possessing CRISPR-type immunity encode Cas proteins. This study now describes an alternative pathway in Streptococcus pyogenes that employs trans-encoded small RNA that directs the processing of precursor RNA into crRNAs through endogenous RNase III and the CRISPR-associated Csn1 protein.

    • Elitza Deltcheva
    • , Krzysztof Chylinski
    •  & Emmanuelle Charpentier

  • News & Views |

    A type of sugar transporter has been discovered that exports glucose from cells. In plants, these transporters are targeted by disease-causing microbes that divert sugar production for their own use. See Article p.527

    • Nicholas J. Talbot

  • Article |

    Sugar efflux transporters are essential for diverse processes such as nectar production and seed and pollen development, as well for the maintenance of blood glucose levels in animals. These authors identify and characterize a novel sugar transporter family, SWEET, and show that several Arabidopsis, rice and metazoan homologues mediate glucose transport. In addition, some of these transporters are exploited by plant pathogens for nutritional gain and virulence.

    • Li-Qing Chen
    • , Bi-Huei Hou
    •  & Wolf B. Frommer

  • Letter |

    A survey of organic and conventional potato fields shows that species evenness is greater under organic management. Replicating these levels of evenness in a field trial shows that the evenness of natural enemies found in organic fields promotes pest control and increases crop biomass. This is independent of the identity of the dominant enemy species, so is a result of evenness itself.

    • David W. Crowder
    • , Tobin D. Northfield
    •  & William E. Snyder

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