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Khabre desk
Recent reporting, analysis and explainers from the microbiology desk.
science
Researchers brought two archaeal strains from a lineage closely related to the ancestor of eukaryotic cells into culture. Their simple internal organization, elaborate surfaces, microbial partnerships and protein-dependent lifestyle offer clues about how complex cells arose.
health
A bioRxiv preprint reports that ciprofloxacin resistance mutations selected in laboratory experiments largely matched those found in in vivo data for E. coli and P. aeruginosa. The authors say this supports using experimental evolution to help forecast resistance risks, while noting that other bacteria–drug combinations need study.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that lipopolysaccharide supports several distinct functions in the cell envelope of two Gram-negative bacteria. Experiments suggest that its mechanical role alone cannot explain why it is essential for growth.
science
In a preprint, researchers report that antibiotic selection on human airway tissue favoured Pseudomonas aeruginosa clones that preserved the tissue and survived treatment better. The finding suggests that standard susceptibility measurements can miss infection traits shaped by the host environment.
health
A bioRxiv preprint reports that the bacterial enzyme LysM can kill several Gram-negative hospital pathogens and disrupt their biofilms, particularly when combined with EDTA. Tests included laboratory experiments and a human airway organoid model, not treatment in patients.
science
A 30-month study of wild mosquitoes in western Kenya found that Microsporidia MB infection was associated with lower odds of Plasmodium falciparum infection. The association was stronger in mosquitoes with high-intensity symbiont infections.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports cryo-EM structures of the flagellar motor in Borrelia burgdorferi, revealing stators that remain attached to the motor while disengaged from its rotor. The authors propose that this arrangement lets the bacterium regulate torque by switching individual stators in and out of engagement.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that three enzymes in Escherichia coli release polysaccharide cargo from the lipid carrier undecaprenyl. The findings connect carrier recycling to several bacterial cell-envelope pathways.
science
A bioRxiv preprint describes TriComm, a three-strain microbial community maintained in continuous culture to study plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance. The authors report that resistance plasmids protected the community from collapse under antimicrobial treatment, with protection depending on plasmid transfer.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports Epulopiscium-related 16S sequences across human and animal gut samples. In human samples, the authors found age- and disease-associated differences in their abundance.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that ibuprofen increased ciprofloxacin tolerance in Campylobacter jejuni in a screen of 2,415 small molecules. The same study identified human-targeted drugs that inhibited the bacterium while sparing commensal microbes.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that tunicamycin, a compound produced by Streptomyces bacteria, induced unisexual reproduction in Cryptococcus fungi. The reported cycle included meiotic recombination and spore formation.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that LptZ connects surface lipoprotein transport with outer membrane vesicle formation in Bacteroides. Experiments in an lptZ mutant also point to an expanded role for the bacterial Lpt transport machinery.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that oversampling closely related prokaryotic strains makes genome collections less informative than their raw counts suggest. Applying the authors’ PhyloThin method to 402 species, the study estimates that the effective sample count is 41% below the actual count.
science
NASA-funded research reports that Incendiamoeba cascadensis can reproduce at 63°C in heated waters at California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park. The finding raises the known upper temperature limit for reproduction among eukaryotes.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that trimethoprim reduced phage production and toxin production in laboratory experiments with a clinical Shiga toxin-producing E. coli isolate. The effect persisted alongside DNA-damaging antibiotics that normally increase phage activity.
science
A bioRxiv preprint describes BRIDGE, a platform that transferred a 16-kilobase, five-gene violacein pathway into ten phylogenetically diverse yeast genera. Expression was strongest across six tested Saccharomyces species and varied in other yeasts.
science
A bioRxiv preprint links a focal 2026 meningococcal outbreak in Kent, UK, to genetic changes that may have been acquired from carriage-associated Neisseria. The researchers propose that such highly invasive variants can emerge briefly and then disappear because they are poorly suited to sustained transmission.
science
A bioRxiv preprint tracking seven Burkholderia multivorans strains from chronic infections in eight cystic fibrosis patients found that the emergence of a dominant bacterial lineage was associated with faster lung-function decline. The study also identified repeated evolutionary changes affecting bacterial functions linked to persistence in the airways.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that insertions and deletions in several classes of repeated DNA sequences can change antibiotic susceptibility in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Laboratory reconstruction identified a ppe53 repeat deletion that produced intermediate resistance to isoniazid, rifampicin and streptomycin.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that synthetic, taxonomically complex bacterial communities rapidly evolved after adapting to novel plant hosts. The changes improved colonisation fitness while preserving the stability of the root microbiota.
science
A bioRxiv preprint presents Sma3s v3, a scalable workflow for assigning functions to proteins in proteomes, pangenomes and metagenomes. In tests on a Vibrio cholerae pangenome and a metagenomic catalogue, it reported higher annotation coverage than the cited comparator tools.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports that the bacterial protein RfaH helps Escherichia coli RNA polymerase continue through prolonged pauses during long-range transcription. In experiments using reconstituted transcription and in vivo depletion, RfaH supported longer transcription runs than NusG and was required for successful conjugation.
science
A Purdue University team reports a loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for detecting Balamuthia mandrillaris. In laboratory testing, the assay detected multiple isolates with higher sensitivity than conventional PCR and produced a visible colour-based result.
science
A bioRxiv preprint presents Rsearch, an R package that integrates VSEARCH with visualisation, parameter optimisation and conversion tools for metabarcoding analysis. In a mock-community comparison with DADA2, the two pipelines produced abundance profiles that closely matched the expected composition, with differences in OTU counts and computational performance.
science
A bioRxiv preprint maps bacterial host factors involved in infection by single-stranded RNA and DNA bacteriophages. The study identifies conserved requirements for F-pilus-dependent infection and links an E. coli capsule architecture to selective phage access.
science
A bioRxiv preprint identifies the soil bacterium genus Trinickia as a candidate for supporting soybean drought resilience. Its abundance was strongly associated with greater root biomass during drought, while drought and rewetting produced different responses in the rhizosphere and bulk soil.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports the first three-dimensional structure of a class II GalT enzyme from Bifidobacterium longum at 2.25 Å resolution. The study links its unusual architecture to a preference for N-acetylated sugars involved in human milk oligosaccharide metabolism.
science
A bioRxiv preprint reports reproducible shifts in seawater microbial community composition after controlled near-space exposure, while overall diversity remained relatively stable.
science
A bioRxiv preprint identifies a previously undescribed association between the Saccharimonadia bacterium Candidatus Lutisaccharimonas and the phosphorus-accumulating Candidatus Phosphoribacter in wastewater treatment plants. The findings suggest that this microbial interaction could be relevant to biological phosphorus removal.
science
Researchers are culturing Asgard archaea, rare microbes whose genomes link them to the ancestors of eukaryotic cells. Microscopy is revealing cell protrusions, movement and possible partnerships that may illuminate how complex life began.
science
A bioRxiv preprint describes a hydrogel made from the extracellular matrix produced by Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1. The material can be modified for light-triggered crosslinking and is reported as porous, injectable, cytocompatible and suitable for 3D bioprinting.
science
A bioRxiv preprint introduces LucaCell, a foundation model that represents genes through mRNA sequence embeddings instead of fixed gene identifiers. The authors report applications spanning cross-species cell annotation, microbial analysis, chromatin accessibility and influenza infection states.