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.

Daptomycin is a last resort antibiotic used to treat vancomycin-resistant enterococcal infections, but daptomycin resistance (DAPR) arises quickly ...

Gut microbiota interactions with mucus during early intestinal colonization are critical for establishing stable communities and influencing host health. Using human colonic organoids combined with Tn-seq and live imaging, this study reveals how Enterococcus faecalis adapts to the mucosal surface by forming microcolonies and reprogramming its metabolism. This integrative approach provides a powerful platform to study other microbiota members in the native-like environment of the large intestine and evaluate potential therapeutic interventions.

Pathogenic bacteria rely on the stringent response to adapt to environments within the host. Here, Michaud et al. show that iron-sulfur cluster damage acts as a conserved signal that triggers the stri...

In July 2025, we lost Mike Cashel, a gifted scientist and critical contributor to the bacterial research community, after a long illness. Through his studies on (p)ppGpp and its modes of action, Mike ...

Infective endocarditis (IE) is an understudied biofilm-associated infection. Here, analyses of preclinical and clinical data reveal that the Fsr quorum sensing (QS) system of Enterococcus faecalis is ...

Bacterial pathogens must withstand metal-induced stress during infection, yet the mechanisms by which they sense and respond to toxic metal ions remain incompletely understood. Here, we uncover a prev...

The 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Streptococcal Biology will be held in Lucca (Barga), Lucca Italy. Apply today to reserve your spot.

The discovery of organisms that have been alive for many thousands of years requires a revolution in how we understand life

Machine learning methods have emerged as promising tools to predict antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and uncover resistance determinants from genomic data. This study shows that sampling biases driven b...