Showing papers in "Trends in Microbiology in 2004"

TL;DR: It is argued that studies on "filamentous forms" should always include a formal analysis to determine whether the cells are hyphae or pseudohyphae and some simple experimental criteria that can be applied to achieve this are suggested.

TL;DR: Evidence is accumulating to support the hypothesis that intestinal bacteria not only exchange resistance genes among themselves but might also interact with bacteria that are passing through the colon, causing these bacteria to acquire and transmit antibiotic resistance genes.

TL;DR: These findings have revealed that the mammalian intestine is poised for interaction with its prokaryotic partners, which are essential for its normal development.

TL;DR: The post-developmental functions that the microbiota plays in regulating immunological tolerance to allergen exposure outside the GI tract are covered and the question: is the microbiota a major regulator of the immune system?

TL;DR: This review describes the relationships among flagellin molecular structure, bacterial virulence and host defenses, with special emphasis on mucosal tissues.

TL;DR: A review discusses recent findings and future challenges in the study of plant-microbe interactions in the rhizosphere, a biologically active zone of the soil that contains soil-borne microbes including bacteria and fungi.

TL;DR: The recent sequencing of seven strains of S. aureus provides unprecedented information about its genome diversity, and dramatic differences in the carriage and spread of accessory genes, including those involved in virulence and resistance, contribute to the emergence of new strains with healthcare implications.

TL;DR: This work has shown that cooperative protein interactions in receptor clusters play a crucial role in the signal processing during bacterial chemotaxis in Escherichia coli.

TL;DR: Recent studies have shown that cell surface TLR4-MD-2 physically interacts with LPS and triggers the release of an LPS signal, revealing a host-pathogen interaction mediated by TLR.

TL;DR: Greater community surveillance and further investigation of carbohydrate receptor-binding properties could provide further insights into norovirus transmission, susceptibility and pathogenesis, and should aid in developing vaccines and antiviral therapies for this common viral disease.

TL;DR: The 6kDa early secreted antigenic target from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, ESAT-6, is the prototype of a novel family of small proteins of unknown function produced by Actinobacteria, and there is growing evidence that the corresponding genes are subject to selective pressure imposed by the immune system of the host.

TL;DR: It is proposed that bacteria use their intracellular flexibility, involving signal transduction networks and genomic plasticity, to collectively maintain linguistic communication: self and shared interpretations of chemical cues, exchange of chemical messages (semantic) and dialogues (pragmatic).

TL;DR: A wide range of hypothetical mechanisms by which cheaters might be constrained are outlined to generate an interpretive framework for future research in microbial behavioural ecology.

TL;DR: Recent studies with Actinomyces naeslundii, Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Streptococcus parasanguis suggest that some sortase enzymes catalyze protein polymerization leading to the formation of pili on the surface of Gram-positive bacteria.

TL;DR: A new perspective is introduced to the current understanding of the factors that mediate the ability of bacteria to cause disease, and it is demonstrated that neuroendocrinology and microbiology intersect to form the interdisciplinary field of microbial endocrinology.

TL;DR: It is shown that host nutritional status can influence not only the host response to the pathogen, but can also influence the genetic make-up of the viral genome.

TL;DR: Patients with cirrhosis are at high risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma and the role of HCV proteins in hepatocarcinogenesis is unknown.

TL;DR: The use of the zebrafish as a host for studying infectious diseases, and also the challenges, benefits and hurdles associated with using this model are discussed.

TL;DR: How SARS-CoV S facilitates viral entry into target cells and current approaches that are used to inhibit this process are discussed and illustrated.

TL;DR: Genetic analyses suggest that signal transduction pathways are conserved between mating cell fusion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and vegetative hyphal fusion in filamentous fungi, which provides a paradigm for self-signaling mechanisms in eukaryotic microbes and might also provide a model for somatic cell fusion events in other eUKaryotic species.

TL;DR: The mazEF system, which is a regulable suicide module located on the chromosome of E. coli, holds promise for a rational chemical design of a new class of antibiotics that directly activate chromosomal suicide modules by interacting with their components.

TL;DR: A re-examination of the utility of multilocus sequencing, and in particular the choice of gene loci, is now appropriate.

TL;DR: Recent molecules include several integrins and a heat shock protein, which have been found to be associated with cell membrane lipid microdomains, and could explain the selective cell and tissue tropism of these viruses.

TL;DR: The suggestion that retroviruses be regarded as "viral exosomes" and the emerging evidence that compartments of the endocytic pathway play important roles in the biogenesis of both the internal vesicles of MVB and viruses are discussed.

TL;DR: From the organization of paralogs in the genome, it is concluded that duplicated genes in bacteria appear to have been mainly created by small-scale duplication events, such as tandem and operon duplications.

TL;DR: Recent studies of uropathogenic Escherichia coli have found that it can carry out a complex developmental program within the superficial epithelial cells of the mouse bladder, forming intracellular bacterial communities with many biofilm-like properties.

TL;DR: The significance of horizontal gene transfer and patchwork assembly for bacterial adaptation to pollutants under real environmental conditions remains uncertain, but recent publications suggest that these processes do occur in a polluted environment.

TL;DR: The importance of sortase enzymes in the virulence of several pathogens is now becoming apparent, as are some of the more detailed workings of the enzyme and anchoring pathway.

TL;DR: Toll-like receptors are probably the most important class of pattern-recognition receptors, but in certain situations the activation of particular TLR responses by microorganisms might serve as an escape mechanism from the host defense.

TL;DR: Several commonly used antibiotics induce the SOS response, potentially hastening genetic change and the evolution of pathogenic populations and the use of such antibiotics should be reconsidered.