To address drug-resistant tuberculosis, the leading single-pathogen infectious killer, drugs with novel modes of action (MoAs) are urgently needed. Phenotypic screening of chemical libraries can ident...

Cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) resolves and quantifies an almost complete view of bacterial translation, revealing how gene expression machineries coordinate across the processes of transcription,...

In 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 ce...

DNA damage is an important component of the antibacterial response of phagocytes, but which DNA repair mechanisms are active in intracellular bacteria remains unclear. We developed a live-cell single-...

Magnesium supplementation permits deletion of otherwise essential genes involved in cell envelope biogenesis in the Gram-positive model bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Yet, the specific underlying mechan...

Author summary Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacterium that causes a wide variety of infections. It is especially problematic given its propensity to become resistant to antibiotics. One antibiotic used...

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...

Bacterial ribosomes can synthesize proteins encoded within their own RNA.

Abstract The WalRK two-component system monitors cell wall biosynthesis, and its activity decreases when biosynthesis is inhibited. As WalRK is essential for many Gram-positive bacteria, including Sta...

The slow growth displayed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been historically associated with pathogen’s persistence and drug tolerance. Unexpectedly, here the authors identify a rare subpopulation of...

In this Review, Papenfort discusses established and emerging aspects of bacterial small RNAs (sRNAs), their molecular mechanisms and regulatory principles, and the global impact of sRNAs on cellular g...

Understanding how the host environment impacts pathogen behavior is crucial for developing effective treatments for infections. Here, we provide evidence that the mucosal glycoprotein, mucin, and the ...

Clostridioides difficile is a major cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. This pathogen produces toxins essential for disease and flagella that promote intestinal colonization. Flagella and toxins ...

Abstract. Transfer RNA (tRNA)-modifying enzymes are emerging as key regulators of bacterial physiology. MiaA, a tRNA isopentenyltransferase, is well studie

Author summary Pathogenic microorganisms emerge and adapt to new niches posing problems for host health, such as when disease outbreaks occur. Microorganisms may quickly adapt by modifying their genom...

Author summary Biofilm formation by the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa represents a major clinical challenge, with biofilms typically associated with chronic infection, increased antibi...

SUMMARYRNA modifications in the tRNA, rRNA, and mRNA constitute a widespread layer of post-transcriptional gene regulation, commonly known as the epitranscriptome. In bacteria, tRNA and rRNA modifications are well documented and play essential roles in tRNA folding, rRNA maturation, translation, and peptidyl transfer. Although mRNA modifications have been extensively characterized in eukaryotes, their functional implications for mRNA fate in prokaryotes remain uncertain, and their identities and locations are the subject of an emerging field of research. Importantly, RNA modification is a dynamic process, and variation in the presence and abundance of these modifications has significant consequences for bacterial physiology. Here, we discuss current knowledge of modified RNA nucleotides in bacteria, with a particular focus on their roles in bacterial adaptation to environmental stress.

Steady-state RNA abundance measurements mask the synthesis and decay rates that shape gene expression. Analog intrinsic recoding sequencing (AIR-seq) repurposes the base-pairing properties of N4-hydro...

Small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) are key players in bacterial adaptation to stress. They often occupy central positions in regulatory networks and control the expression of multiple targets. In a strikin...

Spratt et al. evaluate the transcriptional regulation of Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 (SPI-2) at the single-cell level, revealing temporally tunable phenotypic heterogeneity that allows for proba...

Highly conserved mRNA 3′ UTRs act as co-translational chaperones for intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), preventing inter-domain misfolding and enabling biogenesis of fully active proteins.

RNase E localization and translation initiation coordinate transcription, translation and mRNA degradation during the life cycle of an mRNA, explaining gene- and species-specific variations in this co...

Salmonella strains that cause gastroenteritis remain a leading cause of illness and deaths related to foodborne disease. These bacteria follow a cyclical life cycle (i.e., host → environment → host) that is key to their continued success as pathogens. Here, we built a dual reporter strain to study the infectious single cells and biofilm cell types of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, one of the most common gastroenteritis-causing serovars worldwide. Studying infectious and persistent cell types simultaneously and how they interact with host tissues in vivo will provide new insights into the Salmonella lifecycle and will be important to develop interventions that reduce outbreaks and disease.

Bacteria tune transcription bursts through early termination, enabling switch-like and gradual adaptation to nutrients.

The mutation frequency decline (Mfd) enzyme mediates transcription-coupled repair in transcribed genes by directly interacting with RNA polymerase (RNAP) during transcription of coding sequences. Howe...