The fight against multidrug-resistant organisms: The role of ZnO crystalline defects.

This article reports the excellent antimicrobial response of nanoparticulate ZnO against multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). We demonstrate that the enhanced antimicrobial activity against MDROs depends on the crystalline defects of ZnO. Hence, this work provides insights on the ZnO-microorganism interactions, and we pose combined physico-chemical action mechanisms against resistant bacteria.

Exploring new roles for the rpoS gene in the survival and virulence of the fire blight pathogen Erwinia amylovora.

Erwinia amylovora causes fire blight in economically important plants of the family Rosaceae. This bacterial pathogen spends part of its life cycle coping with starvation and other fluctuating environmental conditions. In many Gram-negative bacteria, starvation and other stress responses are regulated by the sigma factor RpoS.