Nature Reviews Microbiology contents July 2012 Volume 10 Number 7 pp 439-515

TABLE OF CONTENTS
July 2012 Volume 10 Number 7
Impact Factor 20.686 *	In this issue Editorial Research Highlights News and Analysis Reviews Analysis Perspectives Also this month  Featured article: Replication–transcription conflicts in bacteria Houra Merrikh, Yan Zhang, Alan D. Grossman & Jue D. Wang
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EDITORIAL		Top
Next-generation training p439 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2830 Graduate training programmes must provide the tools and information necessary to help trainees make informed decisions about their future career path, whether in science or not. Abstract | Full Text | PDF
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Top Host response: Destructive interference in immunity p441 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2816 Viral infections activate immune signalling pathways that suppress the expression of interleukin-12 subunit p40, a cytokine subunit required for efficient clearance of bacterial pathogens. PDF Bacterial physiology: Another brick in the wall p442 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2817 The addition of glycine residues to the lipid A core of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) component in the Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor cell wall confers polymyxin B resistance. PDF Bacterial pathogenesis: TB blurs the lines p442 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2825 New data reveal how Mycobacterium tuberculosis accesses the macrophage cytosol during infection. PDF Bacterial Transcription: Introducing the excludon p443 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2822 In Listeria spp. long antisense RNAs can simultaneously activate and inhibit adjacent operons, representing a novel mechanism of gene regulation in bacteria. PDF Fungal pathogenesis: Ustilago gives plants a Pep talk p444 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2823 Ustilago maydis secretes an effector protein, Pep1, which inhibits the plant peroxidase POX12 to block the oxidative burst associated with the plant defence response. PDF Protozoan parasites: Directing traffic in apicomplexan parasites p444 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2824 Toxoplasma gondii TgSORTLR is a cargo receptor that delivers proteins to the rhoptries and micronemes and is essential for the formation of these secretory organelles. PDF Microbiome: Pathogens and commensals fight it out p445 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2818 Successful infection by enteric pathogens depends on the expression of pathogen virulence genes and the ability of the pathogens to outcompete the gut microbiota for nutrients. PDF IN BRIEF Bacterial physiology: Stress makes cells suicidal | Symbiosis: Ants and fungi stay faithful | Antimicrobials: S-layers to the rescue PDF Microbiology JOBS of the week Professorial Opportunities in Microbiology Institute of Food Research Postdoctoral Position in Biology with focus on Microbiology Orebro University Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Faculty positions The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Financial Analyst (m / f) - Sales Effectiveness- Process Solutions 1945 Millipore S.A.S. Positions in Plant Biology and Soil Microbiology BioAtlantis Ltd. More Science jobs from Microbiology EVENT 1st Swiss International Conference on Industrial Microbiology 16th - 17th October 2012 Olten, Switzerland More science events from
NEWS AND ANALYSIS		Top
GENOME WATCH Finding a needle in a haystack Lia Chappell p446 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2821 This month's Genome Watch highlights some of the technical challenges that need to be overcome to gain further insight into microbial metatranscriptomes. PDF
DISEASE WATCH In the news p447 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2829 Our monthly round up of infectious diseases news, which this month includes a new treatment for amoebic dysentery, a new drug target for cerebral malaria, and a measles outbreak ahead of the Euro 2012 football championship. PDF
REVIEWS		Top
Replication–transcription conflicts in bacteria Houra Merrikh, Yan Zhang, Alan D. Grossman & Jue D. Wang p449 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2800 Encounters between the replication and transcription machineries occur frequently in bacterial cells and are detrimental to fitness. Here, Grossman, Wang and colleagues review the two different types of replication–transcription conflict and describe the mechanisms that bacteria use to prevent and resolve these conflicts. Abstract | Full Text | PDF
The microbiology of asthma Michael R. Edwards, Nathan W. Bartlett, Tracy Hussell, Peter Openshaw & Sebastian L. Johnston p459 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2801 Asthma is a heterogeneous, complex disease, and its causes have environmental, immunological, genetic and microbial components. In this Review, Edwards et al. describe how microorganisms can influence the risk, severity and pathogenesis of asthma, and protection against the disease. Abstract | Full Text | PDF
Gene transfer agents: phage-like elements of genetic exchange Andrew S. Lang, Olga Zhaxybayeva & J. Thomas Beatty p472 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2802 Gene transfer agents (GTAs) have been identified in four bacterial and archaeal lineages. These genetic entities resemble phages, but the genes encoding the phage-like structure of the GTA particle are encoded within the genome of the producing cell, and GTAs instead package random pieces of the producing cell's genome. Here, the defining characteristics, potential functions and possible origins of GTAs are reviewed. Abstract | Full Text | PDF
The twin-arginine translocation (Tat) protein export pathway Tracy Palmer & Ben C. Berks p483 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2814 The twin-arginine translocation (Tat) protein export system is present in the membranes of most bacteria and archaea and transports folded proteins while maintaining the permeability barrier of the membrane. Here, Palmer and Berks summarize the recent advances in our understanding of how this remarkable system functions. Abstract | Full Text | PDF
ANALYSIS		Top
Beyond biogeographic patterns: processes shaping the microbial landscape China A. Hanson, Jed A. Fuhrman, M. Claire Horner-Devine & Jennifer B. H. Martiny p497 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2795 Like larger organisms, microorganisms display distinct distributions in space and time. Martiny, Hanson and colleagues propose that four processes — selection, drift, dispersal and mutation — can shape such microbial biogeographic patterns, and analyse the literature to assess the evidence for their importance in shaping one pattern, the distance–decay relationship. Abstract | Full Text | PDF
PERSPECTIVES		Top
OPINION The early evolution of lipid membranes and the three domains of life Jonathan Lombard, Purificación López-García & David Moreira p507 | doi:10.1038/nrmicro2815 Did the cenancestor have a phospholipid membrane? In this Opinion article, Lombard, López-García and Moreira discuss how recent top-down phylogenomic analyses have provided new information to address this question. Abstract | Full Text | PDF
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