Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews最新文献

{"title":"From confrontation to co-adaptation: the dynamic dialogue of <i>Candida albicans</i> and macrophages.","authors":"Pedro Miramón, Hannah B Wilson, Michael C Lorenz","doi":"10.1128/mmbr.00191-22","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/mmbr.00191-22","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>SUMMARY<i>Candida</i> is a taxonomically fluid genus that includes several opportunistic pathogens, for which the clinical incidence has been increasing for decades. Though <i>Candida</i> now represents a lower proportion of cases than in the past, <i>Candida albicans</i> remains the most prevalent species in human infections, and disseminated candidiasis remains associated with an unacceptably high mortality rate in immunocompromised patients. Most individuals are protected by the innate immune system, of which phagocytes are a key mediator. The complex dynamic between <i>C. albicans</i> and macrophages has become an important model system for host-pathogen interactions in which both sides engage in intricate developmental programs to respond to the other. In this review, we discuss the molecular mechanisms of recognition and response with a focus on <i>C. albicans</i>, but including other <i>Candida</i> species, with an eye toward therapeutic interventions to improve patient outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":18520,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews","volume":" ","pages":"e0019122"},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148963557","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Phytohormones in fungi: inter-kingdom modulators or fungal self-controlling elements?","authors":"David A García-Estrada, Melanie Ruvalcaba-Villagrán, Axel G Sánchez-Fonseca, Jonathan Duran-Palmerin, Juan Ornelas-Paz, Francisco Vargas-Gasca, Vianey Olmedo-Monfil, Alfredo Herrera-Estrella","doi":"10.1128/mmbr.00261-25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/mmbr.00261-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>SUMMARYLeveraging data from innovative experimental approaches, omics technologies, and bioinformatics, we offer new insights into how fungi communicate with and perceive their environment to achieve ecological success. By integrating comparative data from both the fungal and plant kingdoms, we critically reassessed the evolutionary, biochemical, and functional landscape of phytohormones in fungi, challenging the conventional notion that these molecules serve exclusively as plant regulators or as means of communication with them. Our analysis demonstrates that fungi not only synthesize a diverse array of phytohormones-including auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins, abscisic acid, ethylene, brassinosteroids, salicylic acid, and oxylipins-but also possess hormone-sensing and signal transduction mechanisms architecturally distinct from those of plants. Employing genomics, phylogenetics, and structural analyses, the review uncovers that many hormone biosynthetic and sensing pathways in fungi are evolutionarily ancient, sometimes predating their roles in plant-fungus interactions, and that some pathways show convergence rather than direct gene homology. Fungal phytohormones regulate development, growth, and metabolism, thereby playing key functions in their ecological context. The review emphasizes that, while biosynthetic pathways tend to be highly conserved, perception and signaling mechanisms in fungi are more varied and often remain poorly understood. We conclude that fungi have an intrinsic and autonomous hormonal physiology that underpins their ecological adaptability and success. Collectively, this analysis reframes fungal biology, highlighting the need for deeper investigation into the signaling and regulatory roles of phytohormones in fungi beyond their interactions with plants.</p>","PeriodicalId":18520,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews","volume":" ","pages":"e0026125"},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148963482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"LD-transpeptidation in bacterial cell walls: biochemical principles and functional diversity.","authors":"Barbara Walenkiewicz, Laura Alvarez, Felipe Cava","doi":"10.1128/mmbr.00090-24","DOIUrl":"10.1128/mmbr.00090-24","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>SUMMARYPeptidoglycan (PG) is a dynamic, load-bearing polymer whose crosslinking chemistry governs envelope mechanics, growth modes, and stress tolerance. For decades, PG crosslinking was viewed primarily through the lens of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs). However, accumulating evidence over the past 2 decades has established LD-transpeptidases (LDTs) as important contributors to PG remodeling. Here, we organize the expanding LDT field into macro-domains bridging biochemistry, evolution, and ecology. We initially describe the reaction mechanisms, structural diversification, and convergent solutions and then explore the evolution across species. We highlight non-canonical LD-crosslinking chemistries, including L-Ala-<i>meso</i>-DAP (1-3) linkages, that broaden the design space of the sacculus. We then map functional repertoires across lineages-from reinforcement during envelope stress to outer membrane tethering, predation, specialized secretion, dormancy, and biofilms. In pathogens where LD-crosslinking is dominant or essential, carbapenems and penems remain particularly effective inhibitors of LDTs, yet family-wide diversity calls for structure-guided selectivity and ecological awareness. We also chart underexplored connections to microbiome ecology and propose LDT-derived biomarkers that report growth modes and dormancy. We integrate dispersed evidence into a complete landscape in which two-component systems and environmental cues coordinate LD pathways. Building on these threads, we propose a unifying model of LDTs as adaptive architects of PG whose acyl-enzyme intermediate and modular substrate gating endow reversibility, partner choice, and context-dependent outcomes-reinforcement, remodeling, anchoring, or controlled self-breach. Finally, we outline methods that enabled the discovery of LDTs and explore future directions. Together, these perspectives reframe LDTs from auxiliary enzymes to central designers of envelope architecture and bacterial fitness.</p>","PeriodicalId":18520,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews","volume":" ","pages":"e0009024"},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148430677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Typhoid toxin: reframing enteric fever.","authors":"Jorge E Galán","doi":"10.1128/mmbr.00008-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/mmbr.00008-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>SUMMARY<i>Salmonella enterica</i> serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A cause enteric (typhoid/paratyphoid) fever, a systemic disease that remains a major source of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The most distinctive clinical manifestations, such as sustained fever with relative bradycardia, leukopenia, neuropsychiatric symptoms/encephalopathy, and ileal perforation, have long lacked a unifying mechanistic explanation. Over the past two decades, studies of typhoid toxin have reframed how we understand this disease. Typhoid toxin is a human-adapted, chimeric A₂B₅ exotoxin assembled exclusively inside infected cells. It couples an ADP-ribosyltransferase (PltA) and a DNase I-like nuclease (CdtB) on a pentameric delivery ring (PltB or the alternate, PltC), that recognizes N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac)-terminated human sialoglycans. The toxin is produced by bacteria residing within the <i>Salmonella</i>-containing vacuole (SCV), secreted across the bacterial envelope into the SCV lumen by a phage-derived pathway now classified as type 10 secretion system, sorted for export by the host CI-M6PR/COPII trafficking machinery, and then re-enters distant target cells via retrograde transport to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Recent work has linked typhoid toxin to leukopenia, blood-brain barrier disruption causing encephalopathy, gut-vascular and immune dysfunction leading to intestinal perforation, and hepatobiliary injury. The discovery of an alternate B-subunit (PltC) established a paradigm of modular B-subunit exchange that diversifies receptor usage, tissue tropism, and biology. Collectively, these insights redefine typhoid fever as a toxin-driven immunovascular disease and identify actionable targets for neutralizing antibodies and barrier-protective therapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":18520,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews","volume":" ","pages":"e0000825"},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13296355/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147776050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Single-molecule fluorescence imaging and tracking in live bacteria: observing proteins in action.","authors":"Chenwei Xiong, Qiqi Hao, Xiaoming Zhu, Chenming Lu, Yang Zhou, Xusan Yang, Feifan Wang, Bing Fu","doi":"10.1128/mmbr.00138-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/mmbr.00138-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>SUMMARYLive-cell study at the molecular level is essential for understanding the complexities of bacterial systems and protein functions <i>in vivo</i>. While ensemble biochemical approaches have been widely used to characterize protein functions, they suffer from heterogeneities arising from variations in individual cells' different physiological states and microenvironments. Single-molecule techniques have enhanced our abilities to resolve these heterogeneities by enabling the observation of individual cells and molecules, one at a time. Particularly, fluorescence single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) and single-molecule tracking (SMT) have emerged as powerful tools for real-time, <i>in vivo</i> analysis of biomolecular dynamics. SMT can reveal the heterogeneity and dynamic behaviors of individual molecules within their native cellular contexts, providing insights that are often obscured in ensemble studies. This review highlights recent progress on imaging probes and modalities and focuses on several key scientific discoveries in microbial systems, including metal regulation, electron transfer, cell division, and DNA repair. By showcasing novel insights gained from single-molecule imaging techniques, this review underscores their vital role in advancing our understanding of cellular processes at the single-molecule level and discusses future challenges and opportunities in the field.</p>","PeriodicalId":18520,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews","volume":" ","pages":"e0013825"},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13296356/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147486553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"<i>Escherichia coli</i> and <i>Salmonella</i>: their past, present, and future in scientific research and publications.","authors":"Harris D Bernstein, Corrella S Detweiler, Lydia Freddolino, Peter Karp, Susan T Lovett, James M Slauch, Alfredo G Torres","doi":"10.1128/mmbr.00105-26","DOIUrl":"10.1128/mmbr.00105-26","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":18520,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews","volume":" ","pages":"e0010526"},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13296351/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148144006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A 60-year journey with a fungal transporter: from classical genetics to functional, structural, and evolutionary insights.","authors":"George Diallinas, Claudio Scazzocchio","doi":"10.1128/mmbr.00364-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/mmbr.00364-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>SUMMARYTransporters are transmembrane proteins that mediate the selective translocation of metabolites, ions, and drugs across biological membranes. Their activity is essential for cellular communication, nutrition, detoxification, homeostasis, and responses to stress. Despite their fundamental biological and biomedical importance, particularly their involvement in genetic diseases and multidrug resistance in microbes and cancer cells, transporters remained relatively understudied until recently. This was largely due to the technical challenges of isolating and functionally characterizing these dynamic proteins, whose structure, function, and cellular expression continuously depends on specific interactions with membrane lipids. Nevertheless, since the mid-1960s, several transporters have been identified and extensively characterized at the genetic and physiological levels in model microorganisms, including fungi. In this review, we trace the 60-year research journey of UapA, a uric acid-xanthine transporter from the filamentous fungus <i>Aspergillus nidulans</i> (Ascomycota). The UapA story spans from early classical genetic analyses to the recent determination of its high-resolution structure. We describe the development of genetic, molecular, and cellular tools and how these enabled the functional dissection of UapA and were subsequently used for other <i>A. nidulans</i> transporters, including studies on cellular expression and turnover regulation. We additionally highlight up-to-date structural approaches that refined our knowledge on the transport mechanism, how substrate specificity is determined, and on membrane trafficking pathways underlying biogenesis and endocytosis of UapA and other transporters. The concepts developed through 60 years of persistent work on UapA have established important paradigms relevant to fungal physiology that have proven to be broadly applicable to understanding transporter-linked processes in other eukaryotic organisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":18520,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews","volume":" ","pages":"e0036425"},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13296365/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147775956","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Roles of transcription factors and chromatin remodelers in regulating innate immune responses in <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i>.","authors":"Paaramitha S Warushavithana, Dustin T Howard, Jordan D West, Vladimir Lažetić","doi":"10.1128/mmbr.00170-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/mmbr.00170-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>SUMMARYEffective immunity requires the ability to mount strong pathogen defenses while minimizing detrimental effects on organismal fitness. To achieve this balance, many immune genes are maintained in a transcriptionally repressed but responsive state, ensuring rapid induction upon infection and timely repression once the threat subsides. This dynamic regulation is controlled by transcription factors and chromatin remodelers that fine-tune the accessibility of immune loci. The nematode <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> provides a powerful model for dissecting these mechanisms in non-professional immune cells. Its antiviral RNA interference (RNAi) pathway serves as a rapid, sequence-specific silencing system targeting viral RNA. Complementing RNAi, the intracellular pathogen response represents a specialized, inducible transcriptional program that protects <i>C. elegans</i> from intracellular pathogens, including viruses and microsporidia. In addition, pathways regulated by STAT family transcription factors coordinate immune activation in a pathogen- and tissue-specific manner, providing further regulatory diversity. This review explores how transcriptional and chromatin mechanisms coordinate these distinct immune programs to maintain effective yet balanced immune responses. Investigating these pathways in <i>C. elegans</i> continues to uncover both conserved and novel principles of immune regulation, offering insight into how organisms integrate transcriptional control with physiological constraints to thrive in a pathogen-rich environment.</p>","PeriodicalId":18520,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews","volume":" ","pages":"e0017025"},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13296363/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147931374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Turning defects into defenses: the potential and challenges of defective viral genome-based antiviral strategies.","authors":"Dongsheng Li, Min-Hsuan Lin, Hongyun Hao, Ping Zhou, Pramila Maniam, David Harrich","doi":"10.1128/mmbr.00090-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/mmbr.00090-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>SUMMARYViral defective interfering particles (DIPs) are produced during replication by many RNA viruses, acting as non-infectious particles containing defective viral genomes (DVGs). DVGs are most clearly defined and mechanistically understood in positive- and negative-strand RNA viruses, and this review focuses on these RNA viruses in which DVGs and DIPs are best characterized. DVGs function as molecular parasites that rely on co-infection with a standard virus to obtain essential viral proteins needed for their replication. This parasitic relationship interferes with wild-type virus replication, making DIPs attractive antiviral candidates because they resist viral escape through mutation. Beyond replication interference, DVGs have emerged as potent stimulators of innate immunity, capable of inhibiting diverse, unrelated viruses by triggering robust antiviral responses. These dual mechanisms, direct interference and immune activation, highlight the value of DIPs/DVGs as a versatile antiviral strategy. Advances in understanding DIP/DVG formation, immune modulation, and therapeutic engineering underscore their promise for broad-spectrum antiviral applications. This review explores recent breakthroughs and addresses the critical remaining challenges for DIPs/DVGs to progress from promising preclinical agents to effective clinical antivirals.</p>","PeriodicalId":18520,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews","volume":" ","pages":"e0009025"},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13296353/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147840089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Moonlighting in metabolism: bifunctional enzymes control nitrogen metabolism in <i>Bacillus subtilis</i>.","authors":"Johannes Gibhardt, Michelle M Lieber, Christin S Götz, Frederik Völker, Lars M Blank, Karl Forchhammer, Vijay Jayaraman, Lianet Noda-Garcia, Fabian M Commichau","doi":"10.1128/mmbr.00430-25","DOIUrl":"10.1128/mmbr.00430-25","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>SUMMARYGlutamate is an essential building block and the most important amino group donor in the cell. The reactions involved in synthesis and degradation link carbon to nitrogen metabolism. The synthesis and activity of the enzymes catalyzing these reactions must, therefore, be precisely regulated. In the Gram-positive model bacterium <i>Bacillus subtilis</i>, glutamate is exclusively synthesized by the combined action of the glutamine synthetase (GS) and the glutamate synthase (GOGAT). The GS catalyzes the ATP-dependent assimilation of ammonium, resulting in the formation of glutamine. Glutamine is converted together with 2-oxoglutarate by the GOGAT into glutamate, which can be used either for further assimilation of ammonium, or as a building block, or amino group donor. The glutamate dehydrogenases (GDHs) GudB and RocG are strictly devoted to glutamate degradation. In recent years, exciting new observations have been made in nitrogen metabolism in <i>B. subtilis</i>. The GS, GOGAT, and the GDHs are multifunctional enzymes, with the GS and GDHs acting as trigger enzymes in the control of gene expression, in addition to their enzymatic activity. The glutamate-synthesizing GOGAT acts as a counter enzyme, inactivating the major GDH GudB to prevent a futile cycle. In this review, we intend to summarize the current state of knowledge about nitrogen metabolism in <i>B. subtilis</i> and discuss open questions that need to be answered in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":18520,"journal":{"name":"Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews","volume":" ","pages":"e0043025"},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13296358/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147931464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}