{"title":"A New “Parasitism”: Mitochondrial Genome-Based Hypertension","authors":"D. Holzman","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.338.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.338.1","url":null,"abstract":"Mothers with a specific mutation in a mitochondrial transfer RNA (tRNA) gene may pass a predisposition to high blood pressure on to their children, according to Min-Xin Guan of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, and his collaborators. The observation that hypertension within the three families studied appeared to be inherited exclusively maternally led them to suspect mitochondrial involvement, he says. Details appear in the July 2016 Molecular and Cellular Biology (doi:10.1128/MCB.00199–16).","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1128/MICROBE.11.338.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63641314","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Synthetic DNA for Data Storage—Tantalizing but Pricey, Not yet Practical","authors":"B. Digregorio","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.337.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.337.1","url":null,"abstract":"Synthetic DNA is looking increasingly promising as a compact means for storing and retrieving different types of data, including text and images, according to Luis Ceze and Georg Seelig at the University of Washington, Doug Carmean and Karin Strauss of Microsoft Research, also in Seattle, and their collaborators. Their approach to exploiting DNA for data storage offers improved “controllable redundancy, reliability, and [information-storage] density” over previous attempts and is one of the first systems that uses DNA molecules to store digital images and retrieve them intact, they say. Details were presented last April in Atlanta during the annual Association for Computing Machinery International Conference on Architectural Support for Programming Languages and Operating Systems (https://homes.cs.washington.edu/luisceze/publications/dnastorage-asplos16.pdf).","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1128/MICROBE.11.337.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63641298","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fermented Foods, Lactobacillus, and Health: Lactobacillus bacteria serve as a gateway for understanding transitory host-microbe interactions in the digestive tract","authors":"M. Marco, Benjamin L. Golomb","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.349.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.349.1","url":null,"abstract":"The earliest development of fermented foods, among the most ancient agricultural products, coincided with the rise of civilizations around the world. According to archeological records, wine was produced during the Neolithic Period from 8500 to 4000 BC, while beer and bread were mass-produced shortly thereafter. These foods, as well as others such as cheese, yogurt, and miso, are mentioned in ancient texts, including the Bible, the Iliad, and the Odyssey. Although modern preservation and processing methods reduced reliance on these products, fermented foods and beverages remain an important part of diets throughout the world.","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1128/MICROBE.11.349.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63641032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Host-Targeted TB Therapies of Limited Efficacy So Far","authors":"Shannon Weiman","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.335.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.335.1","url":null,"abstract":"Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is notoriously difficult to eradicate even with combinations of antibiotics, leading researchers to pursue alternate strategies, including one aimed at bolstering host defenses against this pathogen. “Our inability to effectively treat all infected individuals necessitates a deeper understanding of the host-pathogen interface to facilitate new approaches,” says Amy Barczak of the Ragon Institute and Massachusestts General Hospital in Boston, Mass. She was one of several experts who participated in the symposium “Aiming at Non-Conventional Approaches to TB Therapies,” held at the 2016 ASM Microbe Conference in Boston last June.","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1128/MICROBE.11.335.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63640689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Branches: ASM Activities at the Local Level:","authors":"T. Soule","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.360.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.360.1","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1128/MICROBE.11.360.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63641165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Obituary: Arthur L. Koch:Arthur L. Koch","authors":"Y. Brun, C. Fuqua","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.321.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.321.1","url":null,"abstract":"Arthur L. Koch, 90, passed away on May 10, 2016, from Alzheimer's Disease. Arthur has been described as “one of the true Renaissance scientists of the past several decades.” He published on diverse topics, including metabolic rates and cell growth, antibiotic resistance, cellular evolution, gliding motility, bacterial growth and division, bacterial shape, solute transport, bacterial light scattering, adaptive responses of bacteria, the interferon dose response curve, and even problems faced by migrating sea turtles! His last paper, from 2008, is on “Stone-Age Diseases and Modern AIDS.”","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63640960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Zika Virus Research Outpaces Commitments To Fund Such Efforts","authors":"J. Fox","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.296.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.296.1","url":null,"abstract":"Despite prolonged wrangling over how and how much to fund U.S. research on the Zika virus, the research community is making considerable progress studying this pathogen, quickly confirming its capacity to interfere with fetal development. Beyond careful tracking of this flavivirus and extensive analyses of its structure and genome, recent research efforts focus on understanding its impact on infected individuals, particularly when pregnant, on developing diagnostic tests for the virus, and on vaccine development as well as control of the mosquitoes that spread this virus.","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1128/MICROBE.11.296.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63640721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reviews and Resources:Climate Change and Microbial Ecology: Current Research and Future Trends: BOOKS","authors":"Daniel P. Haeusser","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.325.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.325.2","url":null,"abstract":"As one might expect, this new text nicely reviews important topics in environmental microbiology research related to the increasing trends of global climate change. Editor Jurgen Marxsen does a great job with the breadth of coverage, including chapters on viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protists alike, in a range of environments from marine, freshwater, to soil. Chapters address both the data that is known regarding alterations in biochemistry, biogeology, and community interactions due to climate change, but also highlight areas where data is particularly lacking, such as in sediments and inland waters. The first chapters also incorporate relevance to rising pathogenic risks due to climate change through alterations in abundance of cyanobacteria or Vibrio species, or expansion of freshwater parasite ranges. With multiple black-and-white and color figures typical of journal review articles in each chapter, this is an impressive short overview of a topic with likely broad student appeal.","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63641003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bacterial Diversity Is Dominant Feature in New Tree of Life","authors":"C. Potera","doi":"10.1128/microbe.11.292.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/microbe.11.292.1","url":null,"abstract":"A new rendition of the tree of life includes 92 named bacterial phyla, 26 archaeal phyla, and all five of the eukaryotic supergroups. This tree highlights how bacteria dominate all of biology in terms of diversity. Moreover, although many of the most abundant bacteria have never been seen, they were identified using reconstructed genome sequences. “It was a surprise to see the massive scale of diversity in Domain Bacteria, including many lineages that lack isolated representatives,” says study leader Jill Banfield of the University of California, Berkeley. Details appeared 11 April 2016 in Nature Microbiology (doi:10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.48).","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63640540","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reviews and Resources:Practical Handbook of Microbiology, 3rd Ed.: BOOKS","authors":"Daniel P. Haeusser","doi":"10.1128/MICROBE.11.326.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1128/MICROBE.11.326.1","url":null,"abstract":"For those who may not get much use out of the mammoth two-volume reference above, but would appreciate a more compact volume that also extends past clinical application, this volume may be of interest. Like the work above, this handbook starts with a section of chapters that cover general microbiological practices and principles, including sterilization, antibiotics, identification and quantitation, and epidemiology. A particularly fascinating chapter on the “Business of Microbiology” ends the first section, with details on hospital management, health insurance, and government regulations (among others). The second section narrows focus to specific groups of organisms with greatest emphasis on bacteria. But it also includes chapters on viruses (including some on phage), fungi, parasites, and archaea. The lack of figures in this handbook makes it unsuitable for something like an undergraduate textbook, but as a supplementary resource for student or instructor it would be very beneficial in its comprehensive scope across general microbiology.","PeriodicalId":87479,"journal":{"name":"Microbe (Washington, D.C.)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1128/MICROBE.11.326.1","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"63640564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}