{"title":"Microbial siderophores for One Health.","authors":"Zhong Wei, Shaohua Gu, Vera Vollenweider, Yuanmei Zuo, Zhiyuan Li, Rolf Kümmerli","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.05.002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2025.05.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>One Health is an integrative concept striving for healthy environments, animals, and humans. Microbes play a fundamental role for this concept as they are key drivers of ecosystem stability and host health. A central microbial feature across various environments is the secretion of siderophores, low-molecular-weight metabolites that chelate ferric iron (Fe<sup>3+</sup>) with high affinity. We propose that, by steering iron and metal availability, siderophores can be important for One Health in four key areas via: (i) enhancing crop yield, (ii) mitigating heavy metal pollution, (iii) preventing pathogen colonization, and (iv) serving as potential treatments for established infections. Collectively, siderophores are attractive molecules to complement our efforts in increasing human, animal, and environmental health.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144226813","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":"Fast phages outcompete by depleting host resources.","authors":"Josie Elliott, Anne Chevallereau","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.05.011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2025.05.011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In nature, phages frequently coinfect bacteria, leading to inter-species competition. Furthermore, phage therapy often involves using a cocktail of different species to circumvent bacterial resistance. Bürkle et al. investigated the competition dynamics between two virulent phages, demonstrating that faster assembly can allow a phage to dominate over its competitor.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144226812","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}
Roseline Assiah Yao, Jean-Guy Berrin, Lauren S McKee, Bastien Bissaro
{"title":"Fungal cell walls: the rising importance of carbohydrate-active enzymes.","authors":"Roseline Assiah Yao, Jean-Guy Berrin, Lauren S McKee, Bastien Bissaro","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.05.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2025.05.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As the interface between the fungal cell and its surroundings, the fungal cell wall (FCW) plays an essential physiological role in a myriad of biological processes. It provides support, protection, and enables material exchange with the environment, playing a key role in microbiome and host-microbe interactions. The fact that FCWs are mainly composed of complex carbohydrates makes carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) the main players in FCW remodelling and degradation. Despite the biological importance of these processes, our understanding of the underlying enzymology remains limited. In this review, we discuss the role of FCW-active CAZymes in various contexts, including fungal physiology, pathogenesis, human gut microbiomes, and the global carbon cycle, while highlighting knowledge gaps and potential applications in agriculture, biotechnology, and health.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144217026","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 : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2025-02-19DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2025.01.009
Dikla Nachmias, Béla P Frohn, Carsten Sachse, Itzhak Mizrahi, Natalie Elia
{"title":"ESCRTs - a multi-purpose membrane remodeling device encoded in all life forms.","authors":"Dikla Nachmias, Béla P Frohn, Carsten Sachse, Itzhak Mizrahi, Natalie Elia","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.01.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.01.009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The ESCRT (endosomal sorting complexes required for transport) membrane remodeling complex, found across all life forms, exhibits a versatility that transcends evolutionary boundaries. From orchestrating the constriction of micron-wide tubes in cell division to facilitating the budding of 50 nm vesicles in receptor degradation, ESCRTs perform diverse functions in animal cells. However, the basis of this functional diversity remains enigmatic. While extensively studied in eukaryotes, the role of ESCRTs in prokaryotes is only beginning to emerge. This review synthesizes data on ESCRT systems across the tree of life, focusing on microorganisms and drawing parallels to their functions in human cells. This comparative approach highlights the remarkable plasticity of the ESCRT system across functional, structural, and genomic levels in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. This integrated knowledge supports a model in which the ESCRT system evolved as a multipurpose membrane remodeling tool, adaptable to specific functions within and across organisms. Our review not only underscores the significance of ESCRTs in microorganisms but also paves the way for exciting avenues of research into the intricacies of cellular membrane dynamics, offering valuable insights into the evolution of cellular complexity across diverse organisms and ecosystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"665-687"},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143469352","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 : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2025-03-05DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2025.02.005
Phaik Yeong Cheah, Sonia Lewycka, Jantina de Vries
{"title":"Tracing epistemic injustice in global antimicrobial resistance research.","authors":"Phaik Yeong Cheah, Sonia Lewycka, Jantina de Vries","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.02.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.02.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This commentary explores whether there is epistemic injustice in global antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research - who sets priorities, who produces knowledge, and which types of knowledge are valued. We argue that epistemic injustice may have created blind spots in policy. Addressing this requires a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"577-579"},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12135944/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143574135","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}
Trends in MicrobiologyPub Date : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2025-03-05DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2025.01.013
Leonardo Oña, Shryli K Shreekar, Christian Kost
{"title":"Disentangling microbial interaction networks.","authors":"Leonardo Oña, Shryli K Shreekar, Christian Kost","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.01.013","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.01.013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The structure and function of microbial communities is shaped by intricate ecological interactions amongst the constituent microorganisms. Thus, a mechanistic understanding of emergent community-level functions requires knowledge on how the architecture of the underlying interaction networks affects these properties. To address this, researchers employ different sequencing-based and experimental approaches to infer the topology of a given network. However, it remains generally unclear which method is best suited for quantifying critical network parameters. Here we provide a comparative overview of different approaches serving this purpose, with particular emphasis on their strengths and weaknesses. In this way, our work can help to guide the design of studies that aim at unraveling structure-function relationships in microbial communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"619-634"},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143568310","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 : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2025-03-06DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2025.01.011
Rianne C Prins, Sonja Billerbeck
{"title":"Small proteins and peptides conferring protection against antimicrobial compounds.","authors":"Rianne C Prins, Sonja Billerbeck","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.01.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.01.011","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The secretion of antimicrobials is widespread among microorganisms, many of which have developed protection mechanisms. While well-characterized protection mechanisms involve relatively large proteins - such as exporters or compound- or target-modifying enzymes - we discuss how small proteins and peptides can also confer protection. Recent technological advances have revealed the functional capacity and importance of the small proteome, as well as its potential for de novo evolution. We consolidate examples of diverse small proteins that play a protective role against antimicrobial agents, highlighting characteristics and exploring their mechanisms of protection where data are available. We advocate for further examination of their mechanisms of protection as they may constitute an intriguing, mechanistically, and evolutionary distinct part of the antimicrobial resistome.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"586-602"},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143586966","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 : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2025-04-25DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2025.03.012
Etienne Ruppé, Vladimir Lazarevic, Jacques Schrenzel
{"title":"9th International Conference on Clinical Metagenomics (ICCMg9): meeting report.","authors":"Etienne Ruppé, Vladimir Lazarevic, Jacques Schrenzel","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.03.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.03.012","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"573-576"},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144055114","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 : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2025-02-13DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2025.01.008
Elias R Gerrick, Michael R Howitt
{"title":"The Lost Kingdom: commensal protists in the gut microbiota.","authors":"Elias R Gerrick, Michael R Howitt","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.01.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.01.008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The gut microbiota critically influences many aspects of host biology, from nutrient acquisition to immunological function, and is integral to metazoan life. While most microbiome research has focused on bacteria, the intestinal microbiota encompasses a diverse constellation of microorganisms, including viruses, fungi, archaea, and protists. Among these microbes, commensal protists have been particularly neglected, to the point that their status as true members of the microbiota remained contentious. However, findings over the past decade revealed that commensal protists, particularly those in the Parabasalia phylum (parabasalids), perform keystone roles within the intestinal ecosystem. Emerging evidence highlights how parabasalids dramatically impact host immunity, gut microbiome ecology, and host susceptibility to both infectious and inflammatory diseases. In this review, we discuss the recent discoveries of the varied and powerful roles of commensal parabasalids in the intestinal microbiota and outline the challenges and opportunities in this burgeoning new area of the microbiome field.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"603-618"},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143426335","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 : 2025-06-01Epub Date: 2025-03-24DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2025.02.008
Kieran A Bates, Gonçalo M Rosa, Trenton W J Garner
{"title":"Ranavirus.","authors":"Kieran A Bates, Gonçalo M Rosa, Trenton W J Garner","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.02.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.02.008","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"701-702"},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143711410","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}