Nature Microbiology, Published online: 17 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02449-6In this Perspective, Levin and Wang give a brief history of bacterial growth rate and discuss how it is connected to nutrient availability and macromolecule synthesis, with a focus on (p)ppGpp as a central hub regulating resource allocation and, indirectly, growth rate at the single-cell level.

Gabija acts early during phage infection, preventing phage genome circularization and replication. Phage DNA end-binding proteins prevent RecBCD loading onto linear DNA, and the absence of RecBCD lice...

In a process known as phenotypic heterogeneity or phenotypic variation, bacteria can produce distinct phenotypes within an isogenic population in response to shifting environmental conditions. Noise i...

The T7 bacteriophage deactivates bacterial defence systems through T7K phosphorylation of nearly all host and phage proteins during infection.

The Department of Biology at ETH Zurich invites applications for the above-mentioned tenured professorship at the Institute of Biochemistry

The emergence of the eukaryotes coincided with the diversification of histone proteins and their post-translational modifications by enzymes that constitute the core of eukaryotic chromatin. Yet the e...

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Yang et al. reveal a dynamic DdmDE-mediated plasmid clearance pathway. Transient DNA bubbles permit promiscuous DdmE binding, while target specificity arises from slower dissociation at matched sites. DdmE then recruits a DdmD dimer to drive target-centered, bidirectional dsDNA unwinding. Free DdmD subsequently coats extruded ssDNA to enable site-specific endonucleolytic cleavage.

The potential functions of circadian clocks in non-photosynthetic bacteria are poorly understood. Here, the authors show that the Bacillus subtilis circadian clock regulates the spatiotemporal organis...

The activation of an antiphage defence system relies on host factors targeted by phages, a mechanism analogous to the way that eukaryotic innate immune systems detect pathogen-induced perturbations of...

Dynamic relocalization of MinD in Bacillus subtilis arises from membrane binding of monomers and dimers with membrane-triggered ATP hydrolysis, suggesting MinE-like activators are unnecessary for Min ...