{"title":"Harnessing microbiomes to redefine medicinal plant agriculture.","authors":"Ji Zhang, Bin Yang, Francis M Martin","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2026.04.007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2026.04.007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Medicinal plants link agriculture, ecosystem health, and human therapeutics, with bioactive compound profiles providing a direct and economically meaningful readout of microbiome function. Although microbial inoculation can enhance pharmacologically relevant metabolites under controlled conditions, these effects are context dependent and rarely reproducible in the field. This efficacy gap reflects three ecological constraints: introduced microbes are excluded by resident communities, environmental variation overrides laboratory-optimised functions, and inoculants fail to persist without mutualistic feedback. Addressing these barriers requires shifting from disposable inputs to microbiome stewardship: rewilding beneficial communities, designing climate-adapted consortia, and managing soil as living infrastructure. Whether such stewardship produces measurably different bioactive profiles and therapeutic outcomes under field conditions remains the empirical question on which its One Health rationale ultimately depends.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147843175","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":"Beyond methanogenesis: expanding roles for methanogenic archaea.","authors":"Yunfeng Yan, Xin Huang, James G Ferry, Zhen Yan","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2026.04.005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2026.04.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As key players in anoxic environments, methanogenic archaea account for the vast majority of biogenic methane emissions and play important roles during organic matter mineralization. Growing evidence indicates potential for broader ecological roles beyond methanogenesis. This review summarizes the physiology of biogeochemically relevant transformations of iron minerals, humic acid, biochar, and toxic heavy metals/metalloids. We examine how methanogenic archaea couple carbon cycling with other element cycles through methanogenic pathways and electron transfer processes. We also discuss known and potential molecular mechanisms that underlie these interactions. Furthermore, we highlight the discovery of the reversal of methanogenesis driven by extracellular electron transfer and its potential for methane bioconversion technologies. This work underscores the physiological versatility of methanogenic archaea, suggesting their diverse roles in biogeochemical cycles.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147821217","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}
Trends in MicrobiologyPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-01-15DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2025.12.005
Xiaoyu Ma, Junhua Cui, Ying Tao, Guojian Liao, Linqi Wang
{"title":"Emergence of traits in human fungal pathogens.","authors":"Xiaoyu Ma, Junhua Cui, Ying Tao, Guojian Liao, Linqi Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.12.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.12.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Invasive human fungal pathogens cause significant morbidity and mortality. Both environmental and host factors have driven the evolution of key traits, such as pathogenicity and drug resistance. This has led to the emergence and spread of novel pathogens and drug-resistant variants, posing a substantial threat to public health. Unlike well-reviewed bacterial or viral pathogens, fungal pathogens can utilize eukaryote-specific mechanisms to rapidly acquire adaptive traits. Understanding the drivers and molecular mechanisms behind these traits is essential. This review systematically elucidates these processes in common and emerging fungal pathogens. We highlight the urgent need for next-generation antifungal strategies with high resistance barriers, discussing their necessity and feasibility to limit the emergence of drug resistance.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"497-508"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145990830","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}
Trends in MicrobiologyPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-04-11DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2026.04.001
Huan Du, Yang Liu
{"title":"Rethinking eukaryogenesis: genomic signatures suggest an aerobic host.","authors":"Huan Du, Yang Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2026.04.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2026.04.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The long-standing paradigm of a strictly 'anaerobic host' for eukaryogenesis is fundamentally challenged by an expanded genomic catalog of Asgard archaea. Recent genomic predictions by Appler et al. reveal that Heimdallarchaeia, the closest archaeal relatives to eukaryotes, encode hallmark proteins of an aerobic lifestyle, suggesting they may have harbored the potential for aerobic respiration prior to mitochondrial endosymbiosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"461-462"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147677050","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}
Trends in MicrobiologyPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2025-12-17DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2025.11.016
Ingo B Autenrieth, Laetitia Bury, Ashley M Rooney, Matthias Willmann, Maria J G T Vehreschild, Adrian Egli
{"title":"Paradigms for microbiome analysis in infectious and non-communicable diseases.","authors":"Ingo B Autenrieth, Laetitia Bury, Ashley M Rooney, Matthias Willmann, Maria J G T Vehreschild, Adrian Egli","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.11.016","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.11.016","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics paved the way in deciphering the human gut microbiome and challenged fundamental postulates on the causal role of the microbiota for health and pathogenesis of infectious and noncommunicable diseases. To exploit the clinical relevance and potential of microbiome diagnostics and therapy, deep metagenomic sequencing with standardized, validated laboratory procedures, aiming at deciphering the microbiome at strain level and applying index-scores to allow classification of individual microbiomes as dysbiotic (associated with disease) or eubiotic (associated with health) should be implemented. By this means, metagenomically informed therapies with live biotherapeutic products, fecal microbiota transfer, pro-, pre-, or postbiotics might become a standard in personalized prevention and treatment of infectious and non-communicable diseases.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"472-484"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145783008","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}
Trends in MicrobiologyPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-01-10DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2025.12.006
Judah Evangelista, Carsten Schultz, Fikadu G Tafesse
{"title":"Emerging roles of lipids in the flavivirus life cycle.","authors":"Judah Evangelista, Carsten Schultz, Fikadu G Tafesse","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.12.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.12.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Flaviviruses, such as Dengue, Zika, and West Nile virus, cause a significant global health burden and have earned attention as high-pandemic risk pathogens. Flaviviruses interact closely with cell membranes at every stage of their life cycle, and mounting evidence demonstrates that flaviviruses rely on specific lipids and lipid-remodeling proteins, presenting potential therapeutic opportunities for targeting the host's lipid metabolism. Our understanding of lipid function in infection has expanded considerably in recent years, partly thanks to advances in lipidomics, cryo-electron tomography, lipid-based chemical tools, and biophysical characterization techniques. In this review, we highlight recent breakthroughs that have clarified flavivirus lipid requirements and functions, as well as ongoing technological advances in the virus-lipid interaction field, which are poised to enable the next wave of discoveries.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"509-521"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145953174","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}
Trends in MicrobiologyPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-04-01DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2026.03.007
Andres Moreira-Soto
{"title":"Scientific mobility in microbiology-17.","authors":"Andres Moreira-Soto","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2026.03.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2026.03.007","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"445-448"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147609817","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}
Trends in MicrobiologyPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-03-27DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2025.12.017
Philipp Bruno, Stephan P Rosshart
{"title":"Game of microbes: a wildling's guide.","authors":"Philipp Bruno, Stephan P Rosshart","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.12.017","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.12.017","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Laboratory mice housed under specific pathogen-free conditions are the standard model in biomedical research. However, frequent germ-free rederivation and barrier housing restrict microbial exposure and interactions with commensal and pathogenic microorganisms. In contrast, wild mice encounter diverse microbial environments, undergo natural selection, and rely on robust immune responses for survival. Consequently, lifelong microbial exposure is a key driver in shaping mammalian physiology, establishing the need for naturalizing rodent models in biomedical research. By defining the concepts of 'microbial self' and 'microbial nonself', we propose a four-step guide for establishing a multigenerational wildling colony that accounts for both microbial self and microbial nonself. This reestablishes the common biological link shared by all free-living mammals, thereby improving the comparability between murine and human studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"522-533"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147575430","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}
Louisa B Faherty-McGrath, Douwe van Sinderen, Hilary P Browne
{"title":"Developing spore-forming gut bacteria as model organisms.","authors":"Louisa B Faherty-McGrath, Douwe van Sinderen, Hilary P Browne","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2026.04.006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2026.04.006","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Anaerobic gut bacteria have highly evolved functions that promote transmission between human hosts. These include resilient spores produced by many Bacillota (formerly Firmicutes) bacteria, which are tolerant to extended ambient oxygen exposure. Recent culturing and genomic studies have revealed the taxonomic diversity of gut spore-formers and their prevalence in human populations. However, due to a reliance on spore-forming model organisms that are not representative of commensal gut bacteria, we still have a limited understanding of gut microbiome-specific sporulation processes and their underlying genetics. In this opinion article, we outline a rational path for development of new model organisms derived from commensal spore-forming gut bacteria in order to obtain fundamental insights into sporulation and to provide a discovery platform for novel probiotic or microbiome-based therapeutic development.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147821255","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}
Trends in MicrobiologyPub Date : 2026-05-01Epub Date: 2026-04-16DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2026.04.002
Viet-Cuong Han, Sarita Jane Bennett
{"title":"When soils learn to suppress nematodes.","authors":"Viet-Cuong Han, Sarita Jane Bennett","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2026.04.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2026.04.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>An evaluation of banana plantations, sown between 1 and 10 years ago, suggested that over time soils can become suppressive to root-knot nematodes. Lu et al. linked this transition to shifts in rhizosphere microbiomes, enrichment of free-living nematodes, and the emergence of a keystone Bacillus taxon, highlighting cross-kingdom interactions.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"463-464"},"PeriodicalIF":14.9,"publicationDate":"2026-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147718181","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}