A Minimal Replicon Enables Efficacious, Species-Specific Gene Deletion in Chlamydia and Extension of Gene Knockout Studies to the Animal Model of Infection Using Chlamydia muridarum.

The genus Chlamydia consists of diverse, obligate intracellular bacteria that infect various animals, including humans. Although chlamydial species share many aspects of the typical intracellular lifestyle, such as the biphasic developmental cycle and the preference for invasion of epithelial cells, each chlamydial strain also employs sophisticated species-specific strategies that contribute to an extraordinary diversity in organ and/or tissue tropism and disease manifestation. In order to discover and understand the mechanisms underlying how these pathogens infect particular hosts and cause specific diseases, it is imperative to develop a mutagenesis approach that would be applicable to every chlamydial species.

Reduction of a Heme Cofactor Initiates -Nitroglycine Degradation by NnlA.

Linear nitramines are potentially carcinogenic environmental contaminants. The NnlA enzyme from sp. strain JS1663 degrades the nitramine -nitroglycine (NNG)-a natural product produced by some bacteria-to glyoxylate and nitrite (NO).

d-Proline Reductase Underlies Proline-Dependent Growth of Clostridioides difficile.

Clostridioides difficile is a nosocomial pathogen that colonizes the gut and causes diarrhea, colitis, and severe inflammation. Recently, C. difficile has been shown to use toxin-mediated inflammation to promote host collagen degradation, which releases several amino acids into the environment.

Predictable Changes in Eelgrass Microbiomes with Increasing Wasting Disease Prevalence across 23° Latitude in the Northeastern Pacific.

Predicting outcomes of marine disease outbreaks presents a challenge in the face of both global and local stressors. Host-associated microbiomes may play important roles in disease dynamics but remain understudied in marine ecosystems. Host-pathogen-microbiome interactions can vary across host ranges, gradients of disease, and temperature; studying these relationships may aid our ability to forecast disease dynamics.

Meaningful Use of Pathogen Genomic Data.

Population genomic analysis is a powerful tool to understand the evolutionary history of pathogens and the factors contributing to the success or failure of lineages. These studies have significant implications for human health, as evident from our ongoing tracking of SARS-CoV-2. In their article, Gill et al.

E-Cigarette Aerosol Exposure Favors the Growth and Colonization of Oral Streptococcus mutans Compared to Commensal Streptococci.

E-cigarettes (e-cigs) have drastically increased in popularity during the last decade, especially among teenagers. While recent studies have started to explore the effect of e-cigs in the oral cavity, little is known about their effects on the oral microbiota and how they could affect oral health and potentially lead to disease, including periodontitis and head and neck cancers. To explore the impact of e-cigs on oral bacteria, we selected members of the genus Streptococcus, which are abundant in the oral cavity.

Microbial Communities in Retail Draft Beers and the Biofilms They Produce.

In the beer brewing industry, microbial spoilage presents a consistent threat that must be monitored and controlled to ensure the palatability of a finished product. Many of the predominant beer spoilage microbes have been identified and characterized, but the mechanisms of contamination and persistence remain an open area of study. Postproduction, many beers are distributed as kegs that are attached to draft delivery systems in retail settings where ample opportunities for microbial spoilage are present.