Role of the Quorum-Sensing System in Enterococcus faecalis Bloodstream Infection.

Enterococcus faecalis is an important intestinal colonizing bacteria and can cause various tissue infections, including invasive blood infection (BI). The annual incidence of E. faecalis BI has been estimated to be ~4.

A chromosome-encoded T4SS independently contributes to horizontal gene transfer in Enterococcus faecalis.

Bacterial type IV secretion systems (T4SSs) are the specific devices that mediate the dissemination of antibiotic resistant genes via horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Multi-drug-resistant Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) represents a clinical public health threat because of its transferable plasmid with a functional plasmid-encoded (PE)-T4SS.

Alteration of microbiota and immune response of mice gavaged with Klebsiella oxytoca.

Interactions between the microbiota and immune system play a vital role in the host homeostasis. Increasing studies have investigated environmental perturbations affecting the microbiota. However, studies also are needed to model how an organ-specific immune response affects the microbiota to understand the dynamic changes between the immune system and microbiota.

Specific Redistribution of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Variants in the Respiratory System and Intestinal Tract.

Intrahost analysis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genomic sequences identified 2 viral haplotypes comprised of 3 genetically linked mutations from the respiratory and intestinal tracts of a patient with coronavirus disease 2019. Spatiotemporal data suggest that this patient initially had dual infection of 2 SARS-CoV-2 variants, which subsequently redistributed into the 2 systems.