Mostly Microbes and Infection - by David Ojcius

Gut microbiome diversity and composition differed across predefined age groups in a Taiwanese cohort. Several age‑associated genera showed partial agreement across complementary analytic methods. Adult gut microbiome profiles could predict chronological age, though only with modest accuracy, underscoring both biological signal and methodological limits.

Bacterial endosymbionts in Fusarium oxysporum enhance fungal virulence by reshaping the rhizosphere microbiome. Achromobacter spp. endosymbionts reduce disease‑suppressive bacteria, including Streptomyces, through beauvericin production. This tripartite interaction weakens microbiome‑based plant defense and intensifies pathogen impact.

Paired oral–fecal microbiomes from 507 individuals revealed elevated mouth‑to‑gut bacterial transmission in gastrointestinal cancers. A mouth‑to‑feces index captured disease‑specific signatures and powered a classifier that outperformed fecal occult blood testing, enabling sensitive, non‑invasive detection across multiple cohorts.

Gut microbes convert dietary nitrate and non‑heme iron into dinitrosyl iron complexes (DNICs) that circulate systemically and improve host metabolism. DNICs were detected in conventional but not germ‑free mice, and supplementation or synthetic DNICs boosted tissue levels and reduced cardiometabolic dysfunction. DNICs also lowered steatosis and normalized sGC‑mTORC1 signaling.

Structured RNA elements across the norovirus genome were mapped and functionally tested, revealing conserved motifs that regulate replication and translation. Disrupting key structures reduced viral fitness in cells and animals, enabling design of a stable attenuated virus that elicits protective immunity and supports RNA‑guided antiviral strategies.

A comprehensive proteomic analysis of Plasmodium falciparum chromatin identified 214 proteins associated with heterochromatin, euchromatin, and (peri)centromeric regions. Using three proximity-labeling methods, researchers uncovered new epigenetic factors, complexes involved in histone variant exchange and chromatin-RNA interactions, and evidence for a spindle assembly checkpoint previously thought absent.