Mostly Microbes and Infection - by David Ojcius

Highlights • Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure significantly alters the ocular surface microbiome (OSM) in children aged 3–18 years. • Microbial diversity is significantly reduced on ocular surface in SHS-exposed children. • Beneficial commensal taxa are depleted in SHS-exposed children. • Environmental stress-related metabolic pathways and immune-related pathways are significantly altered in SHS-exposed children.

Highlights • Disinfectants trigger adaptive, strain-specific responses in Arcobacter butzleri. • Overexpression of AMR and virulence genes in A. butzleri. • Antibiotics induced limited transcriptomic changes.

Highlights • Antibodies direct viruses and bacteria for post-infection xenophagy • TRIM21 regulates ADX via its ubiquitination activity • ADX protects against pathogenic Salmonella infection in vivo

Highlights • Mucin modulates phage-host dynamics in Yersinia enterocolitica. • Temperature and nutrient availability further shape phage infection outcomes. • Bacterial pre-exposure to mucin leads to 2-log increase in phage titers. • Mucin supplementation reduces biofilm formation in all tested conditions. • Phage-resistant variants carry mutations in metabolism, quorum sensing, antimicrobial resistance genes.

Highlights • HCAs dominate meconium (>50%) as primary bile acids produced by fetal CYP3A7 • HCAs shape intestinal immune tolerance by promoting Treg cells and suppressing Th17 cells • High neonatal HCAs protect against gastrointestinal disorders and infections

Highlights • Respiratory growth with cysteine increases H 2 S production in U. maydis. • Endogenous H 2 S promotes mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolic remodeling . • H 2 S shifts respiration toward alternative oxidase-dependent electron transport . • Elevated H 2 S increases global protein S-sulfenylation and S-persulfidation. • Endogenous H 2 S modulates disease severity during maize infection.

Highlights • Epigenetic phase variations (ePVs) are prevalent in the human gut microbiome • Long- and short-read metagenomic data reveal ePVs associated with antibiotics and FMT • An ePV in an A. muciniphila strain regulates mucC , enhancing tolerance to amoxicillin • ePV creates intra-strain heterogeneity, enhancing bacterial adaptation via bet-hedging