The pathogenic bacterium Listeria monocytogenes spreads infection using a two-tiered strategy, where most bacteria spread locally but a few 'pioneers' move further, increasing the likelihood of a persistent infection.
Metabolomics and stable isotope labelling studies of virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis reveal a de-centralised metabolic network able to utilise various amino acids as nitrogen sources to a better extent than ammonium.
TRIM28 was found to be a versatile dual-function latency contributor by bridging both suppressive epigenetic modifications and RNAP II transcriptional-pausing, and can be a novel target to develop latency-reversing agents.
Antibody paratopes can be added to the human repertoire by CRISPR-Cas9 editing of B lymphocytes using a strategy that allows for hypermutation and class switching of resulting B cell receptors.
Gene knock-out of the omega-1 ribonuclease of Schistosoma mansoni eggs resulted in immunologically impaired phenotype, showcasing the novel application of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing and utility for functional genomics in schistosomes.
An analysis of papers in which two or more authors shared first-author position found that male authors were more likely than female authors to appear first in the author list.
A quorum-sensing-controlled program of multicellularity, aggregation, is identified in Vibrio cholerae, which may be important for transitions between the marine niche and the human host.
