Approximately 20% of patients with shingles develop postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). We investigated the role of gut microbiota in shingle- and PHN-related pain. Patients with shingles or PHN exhibited significant alterations in their gut microbiota with microbial markers predicting PHN development among patients with shingles. Functionally, fecal microbiota transplantation from patients with PHN to mice

Fungal-bacterial endosymbioses, the most intimate typology of symbioses, have been described in different taxa of Mucoromycota, an early diverging group of Fungi. In a recent issue of Nature, Giger and colleagues describe how they implanted a Burkolderia-related microbe inside a Mucoromycota fungus, giving rise to a functional and stable endosymbiosis.

In a recent Cell paper, Wu et al. identified microbiome guilds based on bacterial co-occurrence among type 2 diabetes patients. Two competing guilds, associated with high-fiber vs. control diets, correlated with healthy biomarkers. The potential of this approach was further verified across 15 diseases in 26 studies.

The sensing of pathogens is the first step for any immune response. A recent paper in Cell reveals that the bacterial Hachiman anti-phage defense system deploys a helicase subunit to sense phage invasion via 3′ DNA recognition and subsequent domain rotation to enable nuclease activation.

Sargen and Helaine discover a prophage competition element in Salmonella that inhibits the lytic cycle of co-resident prophages by cleaving a subset of cellular tRNAs. During Salmonella pathogenesis in macrophages, a persister subset experiences prophage induction and competition, reducing release of immunogenic cellular components and altering macrophage response to infection.

In the dynamic theater of plant-microbe interactions, a new conductor has emerged: selenium nanoparticles. As unveiled by Sun et al. in this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, these microbially synthesized nanoparticles recruit plant growth-promoting microbes, orchestrating a synergy between plants and the rhizosphere microbiome.

In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Peng et al. provide the MAGIC catalog as a resource for studying bacterial and viral diversity of the global gut microbiome in early life. By addressing gaps in geographic and age representation, this database enhances our understanding of early microbiome dynamics.

Bacteriophages have evolved numerous mechanisms to evade targeting by CRISPR-Cas defense systems. However, the evolutionary origin of these so-called “anti-CRISPRs” remains poorly understood. In a recent issue of Nature, Katz et al.1 provide evidence that some anti-CRISPRs were derived from genes of the CRISPR-Cas systems themselves.

Vaginal lactobacilli are key regulators of host inflammation, yet the mechanisms remain understudied. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Glick et al. identify a family of beta-carbolines as anti-inflammatory effectors produced by vaginal Lactobacillus species, highlighting their potential as therapeutics for vaginal inflammatory disorders.

The functions of non-coding small RNAs (sRNAs) within the human microbiome remain largely unexplored. In this Cell Host & Microbe issue, El Mouali et al. identify Segatella RNA colonization factor (SrcF), a sRNA from a prevalent gut bacterium Segatella copri. SrcF promotes colonization of S. copri by regulating bacterial degradation of complex dietary carbohydrates.

In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Zhong et al.1 uncover gut microbiota-host connections that promote cognitive function in honeybees. They discover the role of the microbiota in lipid metabolism and the synthesis of lipid-derived neurotransmitters, which modulate the endocannabinoid system.

Microcins are antibacterial small proteins secreted by gram-negative bacteria. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Kim et al. report the discovery of a V. cholerae microcin, MvcC. MvcC shows antibacterial activity against non-self V. cholerae strains, which do not encode the cognate immunity protein.

Tuberculosis remains a formidable global health challenge, with Mycobacterium tuberculosis responsible for millions of cases and deaths annually. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Worakitchanon et al. present a method to identify structural variants in Mtb and explore associations with bacterial phenotypes such as virulence and antibiotic resistance.

In recent work, Mucker et al.1 demonstrated that mRNA-1769 outperforms modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA), which has been deployed against recent mpox virus (MPXV) outbreaks, in reducing clinical symptoms and controlling viral replication, highlighting its potential as a scalable, safe, and effective next-generation platform for orthopoxvirus vaccination.

(Cell Host & Microbe 31, 1185–1199.e1–e10; July 12, 2023)

Fungal disease poses a growing threat to public health that our current antifungal therapies are not well equipped to meet. As the population of immunocompromised hosts expands, and ecological changes favor the emergence of fungal pathogens, the development of new antifungal agents, including vaccines, becomes a global priority. Here, we summarize recent advancements in the understanding of fungal

A recent Nature paper1 reveals that gut microbes metabolize N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)-nitrosamine (BBN) into the bladder carcinogen N-n-butyl-N-(3-carboxypropyl)-nitrosamine (BCPN) in the intestines, establishing a direct link between gut microbial activity and the development of bladder cancer.

Anti-phage defenses must rapidly sense and respond to diverse viruses. A recent pair of papers in Nature reveal via structural and functional assays how the PARIS defense system, a recently discovered toxin-antitoxin system, senses phage-associated molecular patterns (PhAMPs), thereby activating an endonuclease toxin that cleaves tRNA to block phage replication.

The role of fatty acids in shaping vaginal microbiota remains unclear. In an issue of Cell, Zhu et al. use genomic and transcriptomic analyses to reveal that oleic acid (OA) selectively inhibits L. iners while promoting L. crispatus, suggesting new strategies for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis (BV).

Vertical transmission of plant viruses through seeds has been known for a century, yet the mechanism for seeds to combat viral infection remains unclear. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Liu and Ding demonstrate the genetic requirement of RNA silencing (RNAi) pathway for plants to suppress seed transmission.

Recent findings suggest that HIV-1 capsids mimic nuclear transport receptors to engage FG-nucleoporins for entry into host nuclei. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Moschonas et al. report that MX2 forms cytoplasmic condensates comprising FG-nucleoporins resembling nuclear pore complexes to capture viral capsids and hinder their nuclear transport.

Paneth cells located within intestinal crypts support epithelial stem cells and immunity through growth factors and antimicrobial peptides. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Wallaeys et al. report that TNF sensing by Paneth cells disrupts the unfolded protein response and decreases antimicrobial peptides, causing bacterial translocation and sepsis.

Environmental exposures substantially influence the infant gut microbiome. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Thänert et al.1 characterize how medical interventions in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) shape gut microbiome dynamics in the first months of life by analyzing over 2,500 fecal samples with metagenomics and metatranscriptomics.

Candida spp. are members of the human mucosal microbiota that can cause opportunistic diseases ranging from superficial infections to life-threatening invasive candidiasis. In humans, the most common infection caused by Candida spp. is vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC), which affects >70% of women at least once in their lifetime. Of those women, ∼5%–10% develop recurrent VVC (RVVC). In this review, we

The resident microbiota are a key component of a healthy organism. The vast majority of microbiome studies have focused on bacterial members, which constitute a significant portion of resident microbial biomass. Recent studies have demonstrated how the fungal component of the microbiota, or the mycobiome, influences mammalian biology despite its low abundance compared to other microbes. Fungi are known

(Cell Host & Microbe 32, 1822–1837.e5; October 9, 2024)

Two recent studies in Cell Host & Microbe (Cury et al. and van den Berg et al.) uncover cross-kingdom links between antiphage and antiviral immune defenses. Through reciprocal computational and wet lab approaches, they each discover and experimentally validate proteins used for host immunity.

Chemotherapy is associated with the induction of intestinal microbiota dysbiosis and gastrointestinal injuries. In this Cell Host & Microbe issue, Anderson et al. demonstrate that chemotherapy-induced epithelial cell apoptosis drives microbiota imbalance and transcriptional rewiring, which in turn delays intestinal recovery.

Breastfeeding provides infection protection for several pathogens but not for noroviruses. Mechanisms explaining this discrepancy have been unclear. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Peiper et al. demonstrate that while breastmilk protects mice from intestinal damage, it promotes neonatal murine norovirus infection due to maternal-derived bile acids.1

During opportunistic pathogenic episodes, Candida albicans employs classical strategies such as the yeast-to-hyphae transition and immunogenic masking. In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Luo et al. unveil that the effector protein Cmi1 can be translocated into host cells and targets TBK1, thereby negatively regulating the host’s antifungal immune responses.

The molecular mechanism of plant disease tolerance is less studied compared to disease resistance. In this issue of Cell Host &Microbe, Tang et al. revealed that Arabidopsis Hematopoietic protein-1 (HEM1) and Bax-inhibitor 1 (BI-1) condensates diminish disease tolerance by disrupting lipid homeostasis.