Trends in MicrobiologyPub Date : 2025-04-01Epub Date: 2024-12-29DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2024.11.013
Shani Cheskis, Avital Akerman, Asaf Levy
{"title":"Deciphering bacterial protein functions with innovative computational methods.","authors":"Shani Cheskis, Avital Akerman, Asaf Levy","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2024.11.013","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2024.11.013","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bacteria colonize every niche on Earth and play key roles in many environmental and host-associated processes. The sequencing revolution revealed the remarkable bacterial genetic and proteomic diversity and the genomic content of cultured and uncultured bacteria. However, deciphering functions of novel proteins remains a high barrier, often preventing the deep understanding of microbial life and its interaction with the surrounding environment. In recent years, exciting new bioinformatic tools, many of which are based on machine learning, facilitate the challenging task of gene and protein function discovery in the era of big genomics data, leading to the generation of testable hypotheses for bacterial protein functions. The new tools allow prediction of protein structures and interactions and allow sensitive and efficient sequence- and structure-based searching and clustering. Here, we summarize some of these recent tools which revolutionize modern microbiology research, along with examples for their usage, emphasizing the user-friendly, web-based ones. Adoption of these capabilities by experimentalists and computational biologists could save resources and accelerate microbiology research.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"434-446"},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142907676","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 : 2025-04-01Epub Date: 2025-03-19DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2025.03.001
Katherine J Sniezek, Nashaly Soto-Echevarria, Mark P Brynildsen
{"title":"Solidification of protein aggregates deepens bacterial dormancy.","authors":"Katherine J Sniezek, Nashaly Soto-Echevarria, Mark P Brynildsen","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.03.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.03.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bacteria can exist in different states of dormancy, with persisters and viable-but-nonculturable cells (VBNCs) constituting two modes thought to contribute to infections. Recently, Bollen and colleagues discovered that the state of protein aggregates inside cells impacts the depth of dormancy in individual bacteria, with solidification pushing them further into quiescence.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":"385-386"},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143670867","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":"Current trends in electromicrobiology of methane oxidation.","authors":"Xueqin Zhang, Zhiguo Yuan, Shihu Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.02.012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2025.02.012","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>With many methane oxidation processes now recognized as being electrochemically driven, microbial methane oxidation is becoming an emerging focus in electromicrobiology. This review examines the current trends in the electromicrobiology of methane oxidation. We begin by reviewing recent advances in the understanding of the microbial and physiological diversity involved in microbial methane oxidation. We highlight the versatile role of aerobic methane-oxidizing bacteria in electrochemically driven methane oxidation, and the non-syntrophic lifestyle of anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME) enabled by their extracellular electron transfer (EET) pathways. These aspects are followed by a review of recent findings on the potential reversibility of methanogen metabolism, with a focus on the proposed EET pathways that may facilitate their shift to a methane-oxidizing phenotype, a topic that remains under active investigation and debate. Finally, we examine the biogeochemical cycles and the application potential involving electrochemically driven methane oxidation.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143754532","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":"Hortaea werneckii.","authors":"Rebecca J Busch, José M Vargas-Muñiz","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.03.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2025.03.003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143743680","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":"Rare taxa in the core microbiome.","authors":"Ditam Chakraborty, Alexandre Jousset, Zhong Wei, Samiran Banerjee","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.03.002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2025.03.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rare taxa are an important constituent of the microbiome and play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics. However, little is known about rare taxa within the core microbiome (i.e., core rare taxa), nor do we understand the factors that drive their distribution and occupancy in ecosystems. In this opinion article, we define and explore the role of core rare taxa and the ecological and genetic drivers of their persistence. We also discuss 'innate' and 'adaptive' resilience in relation to core rare taxa and their drivers. Finally, we emphasize the need to develop appropriate metrics to quantify core rare taxa and their functions, as this can have significant implications for biodiversity conservation and microbiome engineering in the long run.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143743696","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":"Digging deep: microbial PFAS-degradation in landfill sediments.","authors":"E W Omagamre, G F Custer","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.03.004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2025.03.004","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are detrimental to human and environmental health. Here, we discuss obstacles hindering PFAS biodegradation, addressing challenges from chemical and microbial ecotoxicological perspectives. We then highlight the unique eco-evolutionary landscapes of buried landfills and consider the importance of these underexplored xeno-ecological niches for promoting PFAS biodegradation.</p>","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143711409","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}
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":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2025.02.008","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","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}
{"title":"Providencia stuartii.","authors":"Sandra Witteveen, Antoni P A Hendrickx","doi":"10.1016/j.tim.2025.02.009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2025.02.009","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23275,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143693397","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}