Volume 3 Issue 2, February 2018

APOBEC3G is an antiviral protein that has long been known to inhibit retrovirus replication by hypermutating viral DNA. An additional mechanism is now identified, in which APOBEC3G binds to the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, inhibiting viral DNA synthesis.

Functional and structural studies highlight the remarkable evolution and features of the typhoid toxin from Salmonella Typhi. This reveals that attachment of the toxin to specific N-glycan chains accounts for its tropism for selected human tissues.

Detailed biochemical, structural and growth studies reveal how Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron coordinates a complex enzymatic response to deconstruct pectins — complex dietary components that comprise a tremendous diversity of monosaccharide units and glycosidic linkage combinations.

In recent years, there has been a growing appreciation of the role metabolism plays in controlling nearly all aspects of cellular function. Three recent articles explore how host metabolic cues influence different aspects of Plasmodium biology during infection, including parasite growth and sexual differentiation.

The colonization resistance paradigm is explored, with a focus on the benefits and limitations of current murine models used to assess the role of the microbiota in enteric infection.

Zika virus infection of astrocytes in Ifnar^–/– mice results in breakdown of the blood–brain barrier and CD8⁺ effector T-cell infiltration, which limits neuron infection but leads to Zika-virus-associated paralysis.

Using a soft-lithography method that enables single-cell analysis of Halobacterium salinarum, this study shows that archaeal cells achieve homogeneity in cell size by growing a constant size between two cell cycle events (that is, the adder model).

Multiantennal glycan receptors associated with in vivo tropism of Salmonella Typhi typhoid toxin.

The receptor tyrosine kinase EphA2 is found to be an important determinant of EBV entry and fusion in epithelial cells. EphA2 depletion or absence, or the use of anti-EphA2 antibodies, inhibits oropharyngeal epithelial cell infection.

The receptor tyrosine kinase EphA2 is identified as an EBV entry and fusion receptor in epithelial cells. EphA2 depletion or absence, or the use of anti-EphA2 antibodies, precludes infection of epithelial cell lines and oropharyngeal carcinoma cells.

A mutation in ppe38, commonly seen in Beijing-lineage strains, alters protein secretion and increases virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

A machine-learning approach accounting for methodological differences in studies and complex interactions among taxa allows independent soil studies to be combined at the taxonomy-based level to assess bacterial community structure.

The four PASTA domains of StkP, a critical regulator of cell division in Streptococcus pneumoniae, play distinct roles in controlling septal cell wall thickness and cell separation.

This study describes the dynamic mechanisms driving utilization of pectins by Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, where specific polysaccharide-utilization loci target specific pectin molecules with the products available for use by other bacteria.

APOBEC3G is shown to induce a potent, non-site-specific interference with reverse transcription through direct interaction with HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, and host DNA repair machinery is shown to cleave HIV-1 cDNA.

Inoculation of pregnant dams with an antibiotic-perturbed microbiota resulted in vertical transmission to the offspring in the absence of antibiotics and increased colitis in IL10^–/– mice, indicating that antibiotic treatment has long-term effects.

Vibrio cholerae quorum sensing mitigates infection-induced wasting of a Drosophila host.