Cryo-EM and X-ray structures of α-xenorhabdolysin in soluble and pore form of Xenorhabdus nematophila give novel insights into the mechanism of action of bi-component α-pore-forming toxins.

By changing the smell of their host, entomopathogenic nematodes attract future hosts and increase their predation success.

Physiological differentiation during symbiosis leads to division of labor between smaller and larger cells in an uncultured bacterial tubeworm symbiont population and results in remarkable metabolic diversity and complexity.

Beneficial symbiotic bacteria encode an exceptional number of toxin-related genes that are all expressed by the symbionts in the host, supporting their key role in host-microbe interactions.

The insect pathogenic bacterium Photorhabdus has evolved astonishing nano-scale analogues of hypodermic syringes that it uses to inject toxins into host cells.