A new intricate reciprocity between microbiology and physics results in collective protection from desiccation through differential formation of stable microdroplets around bacterial aggregates on surfaces drying under moderate humidity.

A new multistep hierarchical cascade controls activation of an integrative and conjugative element in a small subpopulation of cells in its bacterial host, yielding proficient DNA transferring cells.

Genome neighborhood networks provide an efficient large-scale approach to mine metabolic pathway context for entire families of proteins and enzymes.

Microscopic water films allow bacteria to survive the seemingly dry surface of plant leaves.

Asymmetric forward and backward swimming speeds reveal that the rotational bias, and not reversal frequencies, is an appropriate measure of chemotaxis signaling in Helicobacter pylori..

Vibrio cholerae uses a conserved ribosome assembly factor to repress biofilm formation at low temperatures.

Population mutation rates are highly flexible and evolvable under extreme stress conditions, matching changes in selective pressure to avoid extinction of the entire population.

The helical rod structure and dynamic spring-like properties of the type 1 pilus are evolutionarily fine-tuned for functioning in host-pathogen interactions during urinary tract infection and gut colonization.

The attempt to manipulate a microbiome in planta to study the ecological consequences under field conditions leaves plants and their microbes surprisingly unimpressed.

The absence of oxygen prompts Staphylococcus aureus cells to rupture resulting in increased formation of biofilms, which are the etiological agents of recurrent infections.