{"title":"Kin Recognition Systems and Their Role in Multicellular Behaviors.","authors":"Karin Yaniv, Karine A Gibbs","doi":"10.1146/annurev-micro-051724-092527","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-micro-051724-092527","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Interactions between individuals are at the foundation of every community. Furthermore, multicellular behaviors can emerge when individuals come together. Microbes-bacteria, fungi, archaea, and parasites-can engage in multicellular behaviors, which help with population dispersal, infections, and protection from environmental threats. A critical interaction in collectives is determining whether the interacting neighbor is a sibling (kin) or a nonsibling (nonkin). Multiple (molecular) ways exist to achieve kin recognition and discrimination, especially when fitness is essential. This review considers four bacterial and eukaryotic microorganisms that engage in collective migration and where recognition is known or implied as part of their emergent behavior. This comparative analysis considers shared themes about recognition behaviors among these social microbes, as well as open questions. As more is learned about why kin recognition occurs in different species, a greater understanding will emerge about its evolutionary history and the potential for exogenous control of microbial social groups.</p>","PeriodicalId":7946,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":9.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144939483","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}
David M Norte, Luis Alfredo Avitia-Dominguez, Daniel E Rozen
{"title":"Evolution and Ecology of <i>Streptomyces</i>.","authors":"David M Norte, Luis Alfredo Avitia-Dominguez, Daniel E Rozen","doi":"10.1146/annurev-micro-051524-032254","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-micro-051524-032254","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Streptomyces</i> are among the most well-studied and important groups of bacteria, largely owing to their prolific production of biomedically important compounds like antibiotics and antifungals. Research over more than a half-century has elucidated the molecular and mechanistic details of <i>Streptomyces</i> multicellular development and the production of secondary metabolites. In contrast, the evolutionary and ecological mechanisms that underlie these phenotypes are comparatively understudied. Our aim in this review is to examine these aspects of <i>Streptomyces</i> biology, with a focus on the benefits associated with their complex life cycle, their multicellular architecture and development, and their production of antibiotics. In addition to highlighting existing studies, we point to clear knowledge gaps that can serve to motivate further research on these bacteria. A greater understanding of <i>Streptomyces</i> evolution and ecology is needed to improve our ability to exploit these organisms for biomedical and agricultural applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":7946,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":9.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144881914","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}
Michael G Hadfield, Marnie Freckelton, Brian T Nedved
{"title":"Marine Bacterial Biofilms: Shaping Surface Communities.","authors":"Michael G Hadfield, Marnie Freckelton, Brian T Nedved","doi":"10.1146/annurev-micro-051524-024455","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-micro-051524-024455","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The assembly of marine benthic communities has become a focal point in marine ecology. We address how the bottom layers of benthic communities (i.e., the microbes inhabiting the basal biofilm) influence the complex accumulation of eukaryotes that grow on top of them. Specifically, we discuss (<i>a</i>) what organisms make up benthic biofilms, what brings about their attachment to surfaces, and how they vary in space and time; (<i>b</i>) what eukaryotic organisms are in marine benthic communities, how they vary in space and time, and the nature of microbial cues that bring about their recruitment to particular benthic sites; (<i>c</i>) the roles of bacterial-animal symbiosis in the composition of benthic communities; (<i>d</i>) what is happening to biofilms and their roles as habitat engineers in the rapidly changing world; and (<i>e</i>) how the geological history of bacteria and microbial mats on the ocean floor powerfully influenced the evolution of larval-bacterial interactions.</p>","PeriodicalId":7946,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":9.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144881915","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":"Cellular Olympics: Ultrafast Cellular Motility Across the Tree of Life.","authors":"Ray Chang, Manu Prakash","doi":"10.1146/annurev-micro-041020-021038","DOIUrl":"10.1146/annurev-micro-041020-021038","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Surprisingly, many single-celled organisms and specialized cell types can achieve speed and acceleration significantly faster than those of multicellular animals. These remarkable cellular machines must integrate energy storage and amplification in actuation, latches for triggered release, and energy dissipation without failure-all implemented in macromolecular assemblies inside a single cell. In this review, we first map the atlas of single cells across the tree of life that use ultrafast motility. We then quantitatively compare extreme acceleration, speed, area strain rate, volume expansion strain rate, and density change rate among single cells. Next, we generalize these ideas by placing various trigger, actuation, and dissipation mechanisms within a unified framework. We conclude with a detailed summary of the diverse functions enabled by ultrafast cellular motility, providing a comprehensive foundation for understanding extreme biophysics and its diverse role at the cellular scale.</p>","PeriodicalId":7946,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":9.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144871035","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}
Peter Bing Svendsen, Lauge Alfastsen, Lone Gram, Nathalie N S E Henriksen, Mikkel Bentzon-Tilia, Sheng-Da Zhang
{"title":"Roles of Marine Microbial Natural Products.","authors":"Peter Bing Svendsen, Lauge Alfastsen, Lone Gram, Nathalie N S E Henriksen, Mikkel Bentzon-Tilia, Sheng-Da Zhang","doi":"10.1146/annurev-micro-040824-022431","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-micro-040824-022431","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Over billions of years, marine microorganisms evolved a vast genetic potential to produce the molecules we denote as natural products or secondary metabolites. While these molecules show promise as therapeutics, their ecological roles, beyond those as antimicrobials, are receiving increasing attention. This review examines recent advances in our understanding of the ecological functions of marine microbial natural products and highlights both known and emerging roles. We summarize the involvement of these natural products in biological, ecological, and biogeochemical processes in the oceans; outline how their production may profoundly affect the producing organism; and discuss how the presence of natural product-producing microorganisms may affect microbiome composition and function. Despite progress, knowledge about the ecological roles of marine microbial natural products remains limited, and we also discuss challenges and opportunities in this field, including promising new technologies that could provide novel insights.</p>","PeriodicalId":7946,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":9.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144788093","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":"The Invisible Extinction.","authors":"Martin J Blaser, Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello","doi":"10.1146/annurev-micro-051024-092416","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-micro-051024-092416","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The characterization of the human microbiome has opened a new chapter in understanding human biology and its relationship to health and disease. Yet we also have learned that our ancient coevolved microbiome has been changing across recent human generations; we have been losing a substantial amount of its diversity. This is especially concerning because the microbiota that we acquire early in life has important bearing on our developmental trajectory, especially with regard to metabolism, immunity, and cognition. Collectively, the early-life microbiota is a partner in our human developmental biology. We detail the medical, public health, and dietary phenomena bearing on the acquisition, maintenance, and loss of members of the microbiota and then consider the linkages between the altered microbiome and the diseases that have been emerging in recent years. Finally, we highlight ways to address and solve these problems associated with modernization.</p>","PeriodicalId":7946,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":9.9,"publicationDate":"2025-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144783303","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}
Elizabeth R Hughes, Maria E Panzetta, Agastya Sharma, Raphael H Valdivia
{"title":"The Biology of <i>Akkermansia</i>.","authors":"Elizabeth R Hughes, Maria E Panzetta, Agastya Sharma, Raphael H Valdivia","doi":"10.1146/annurev-micro-051524-032131","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-micro-051524-032131","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Members of the genus <i>Akkermansia</i> are the only known representatives of <i>Verrucomicrobiota</i> within the gastrointestinal tract. <i>Akkermansia muciniphila</i>, the best-characterized representative of the genus, is a mucin-degrading specialist that has emerged as a microbe of significant interest due to its influence on the health of its hosts. We describe emerging themes in the biology of <i>Akkermansia</i> species, including their diversity; cellular structures; physiology; interactions with other intestinal microbes; responses to diet; and effects on mammalian hosts, particularly their role in modulating immune responses. We also describe some of the tools available to explore the molecular biology of <i>Akkermansia</i> and discuss its increasingly complex interactions with other members of the microbiota and their implications for gastrointestinal health.</p>","PeriodicalId":7946,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":9.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144758906","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":"The Structure and Mechanism of Energy Transfer in Phycobilisomes.","authors":"Jindong Zhao, Yuxiang Weng, Zhenggao Zheng","doi":"10.1146/annurev-micro-051024-074722","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-micro-051024-074722","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Phycobilisomes (PBSs) are the major light-harvesting antenna of photosynthesis in cyanobacteria and red algae. Different types of PBSs exhibit a basic structure: a central core that interacts with photosystem II (PSII) and peripheral rods that are attached to the core and that expand the light-absorption cross-section area. This review summarizes recent progress in the study of PBS structures, with an emphasis on protein-bilin chromophore interactions. We describe the mechanisms of excitation energy transfer (EET) in PBSs with near-unity efficiency, as recent studies using two-dimensional electron spectroscopy showed that both Förster EET and coherent EET are involved in this process. Recent studies that provided insights into the mechanism of the PBS-thylakoid membrane association, particularly of PBS-PSII interactions, are also described. In addition, we discuss progress and some unsettled issues from studies on state transitions, which regulate energy distribution between PSII and PSI, in PBS-containing organisms.</p>","PeriodicalId":7946,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":9.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144741010","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}
José I Costa, Felipe Muñoz-Guzmán, Luis F Larrondo
{"title":"Clock Regulation and Fungal Physiology: Molecular Mechanisms Underpinning the Timely Control of Just About Everything.","authors":"José I Costa, Felipe Muñoz-Guzmán, Luis F Larrondo","doi":"10.1146/annurev-micro-060424-051158","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-micro-060424-051158","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Circadian clocks enable organisms to anticipate daily environmental changes. In fungi, <i>Neurospora crassa</i> has been the premier model for studying these rhythms, allowing the revelation of intricate phosphorylation dynamics, protein interactions, and the pivotal role of Casein Kinase 1 in clock regulation. FREQUENCY, an intrinsically disordered protein, plays a central role in the spatial and temporal control of <i>N. crassa</i> and coordinates interactions that define clock function at large. Recent findings highlight the extent of circadian regulation in <i>N. crassa</i> and span transcriptional and translational processes that dynamically reshape the daily proteome. Additionally, circadian control of metabolism and organismal interactions has emerged as a vibrant area of research, and multiple efforts have focused on uncovering circadian mechanisms in fungi other than <i>Neurospora</i>. And while the study of <i>Neurospora</i> will remain central to advancing the field, comparative studies across fungal systems offer unique perspectives on the evolution of clock mechanisms and further position fungi as a platform for unraveling the intricacies of complex eukaryotic systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":7946,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144607212","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}
Endrews Delbaje, Patrícia Alves de Castro, Mônica T Pupo, Antonis Rokas, Gustavo H Goldman
{"title":"Gliotoxin Production and Self-Defense in Filamentous Fungi.","authors":"Endrews Delbaje, Patrícia Alves de Castro, Mônica T Pupo, Antonis Rokas, Gustavo H Goldman","doi":"10.1146/annurev-micro-040324-032342","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-micro-040324-032342","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Gliotoxin (GT) is a sulfur-containing secondary metabolite that belongs to a class of naturally occurring 2,5-diketopiperazines produced by fungi. Although GT production has been observed only in a few species, GT is the most studied fungal secondary metabolite, and the GT biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) is broadly present in filamentous fungi. GT has a multitarget mechanism of action: It is fungicidal and bacteriostatic, it induces apoptosis in mammalian cells, and it modulates phagocytosis and neutrophil attraction. GT is important for <i>Aspergillus fumigatus</i> virulence and pathogenesis in humans and in animals and for <i>Trichoderma</i> spp. symbiotic and antagonistic behavior. GT is also toxic for producer and nonproducer organisms. Consequently, very sophisticated mechanisms of GT self-protection have evolved in producers; some of these protective mechanisms are also found in nonproducer organisms. This review discusses the distribution of the GT BGC among filamentous fungi and discusses GT biosynthesis, mechanisms of action and self-defense, and ecological properties.</p>","PeriodicalId":7946,"journal":{"name":"Annual review of microbiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144590294","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}