🦠 Category

microbiology

771 papers

Microbiology explores the invisible world of tiny life forms that shape our health, environment, and even the air we breathe. From bacteria and viruses to fungi and parasites, this field investigates how these microscopic organisms interact with us and each other, driving everything from disease outbreaks to beneficial fermentation processes. Understanding them is crucial for developing new medicines, improving food safety, and combating global health challenges.

At Gist.Science, we make the latest discoveries in this dynamic field accessible to everyone. We process every new preprint uploaded to bioRxiv in this category, transforming dense academic findings into both clear, plain-language explanations and detailed technical summaries. This ensures that whether you are a student, a researcher, or simply curious, you can grasp the significance of cutting-edge science without getting lost in jargon.

Below are the most recent papers in microbiology, curated and summarized directly from the bioRxiv server to keep you at the forefront of discovery.

🦠 microbiology

Developing a sensitive indoor air surveillance approach for nosocomial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance

This study evaluates a sensitive high-volume air sampling method for detecting nosocomial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance, demonstrating its ability to distinguish genuine low-biomass signals from controls and revealing that while hospital wards with effective filtration show negligible airborne risks, workplace environments with high human activity sustain persistent bioaerosol transmission linked to surface contamination.

Chen, S., Kostoulias, X., Sharma, P., Greening, C., Peleg, A., Lappan, R.2026-08-28
🦠 microbiology

A genome-wide genetic interaction platform for MRSA reveals connections between cell division and the cell envelope

This study establishes a dual-CRISPRi platform for genome-wide genetic interaction profiling in MRSA, revealing that cell division is critically linked to the cell envelope through suppressive interactions with lipid biosynthesis and synthetic lethal relationships with teichoic acid modification.

Bhowmick, S., Ramos-Leon, F., Ramamurthi, K. S., Dickey, S. W.2026-08-27
🦠 microbiology

An operon encoding two secreted nucleases mediates virulence in Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

This study identifies a highly conserved operon in Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) encoding two secreted nucleases that are essential for the bacterium's virulence, as demonstrated by the attenuation of infection in a mouse model upon mutation of the operon's genes.

Zilinskas, A. H., Ni, M., Netter, Z., Chen, K.-H., Swaney, D. L., Balakhmet, A., Krogan, N. J., Stanley, S.2026-08-27
🦠 microbiology

Quantitative modeling of SARS-CoV-2 replication reveals phase-specific bottlenecks and antiviral targets

By integrating high-resolution time-resolved experimental data with mechanistic mathematical modeling, this study establishes a predictive framework for SARS-CoV-2 replication that identifies key kinetic bottlenecks and accurately forecasts the efficacy of antiviral treatments, including combination therapies.

Herrmann, S. T., Kapischke, T., Westhoven, S., Heinen, N., Bertzbach, L. D., Meister, T. L., Sitek, B., Bracht, T., Pfae (…)2026-08-26
🦠 microbiology

Real-time near-infrared imaging distinguishes nasopharyngeal colonization from aspiration of Streptococcus pneumoniae and identifies aspiration as a trigger of severe disease

This study utilizes real-time near-infrared imaging to demonstrate that aspiration of *Streptococcus pneumoniae* into the lower respiratory tract, rather than mere nasopharyngeal colonization, is the critical trigger for severe disease and high mortality, particularly in aged hosts.

Saito, T., Kobayashi, M., Sun, Z., Muraoka, S., Motooka, D., Yoshida, T., Shiomi, S.-i., adachi, j., Yamaguchi, M.2026-08-26
🦠 microbiology

A Selenium-Deficient Mouse Model of Mouse-Adapted SARS-CoV-2 Demonstrates Variant Emergence Observed in SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Variants

This study demonstrates that host selenium deficiency drives the emergence of diverse SARS-CoV-2 variants, including those observed in natural human pandemics, by expanding the viral quasispecies landscape and altering the host's antiviral cytokine response.

Graham, M. E., Oluwasemowo, O., Murugesh, D. K., Rangel, M. V., Kimbrel, J. A., Avila-Herrera, A., Thiessen, J., Zemla (…)2026-08-26
🦠 microbiology

Characterizing the interaction of a type VII-secreted antimycobacterial toxin with its small helical partner proteins

This study utilizes site-directed mutagenesis and bacterial two-hybrid assays to characterize the structural interaction between the *Mycobacterium abscessus* toxin EatA and its partner proteins TapA1 and TapA2, proposing a stacked alpha-helical bundle model while also investigating potential links to the ESX-4 machinery components EsxT and EsxU.

Lee, E., Bowran, K., Boardman, E., Palmer, T.2026-08-25
🦠 microbiology

Scarless SARS-CoV-2 Genome Engineering and Variant Analysis

This study introduces a safe, scarless BAC-based reverse genetics system for SARS-CoV-2 that enables precise engineering of viral variants to quantitatively assess antiviral drug efficacy, resistance mechanisms, and the impact of drug efflux transporters without requiring wildtype isolates.

Dabrowska, A., Cuell, A., Basu, R., Vishwakarma, J., Delgado, R., Barreto Duran, E., Liu, X., He, L., Xiang, Y., Ye, C. (…)2026-08-24
🦠 microbiology

Nationwide multi-omics profiling of Japanese jack mackerel reveals geographic gut microbiome structuring despite host panmixia

Despite the Japanese jack mackerel (*Trachurus japonicus*) exhibiting a panmictic host genome with no detectable geographic population structure, nationwide multi-omics profiling reveals that its gut microbiome displays significant geographic structuring, demonstrating that microbial communities can serve as effective markers for regional differentiation in highly connected marine species where host genetics fail.

Yoshida, M.-a., Tsunoda, K., Kasane, H., Kishimoto, A., Mori, S., Komiya, K., Hamada, M., Sekiguchi, T., Goto, Y., Ishik (…)2026-08-22
🦠 microbiology

L-Serine potentiates the efficacy of Isoniazid, and Rifampicin as host-directed adjunctive treatment for Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

This study demonstrates that L-Serine acts as a promising host-directed therapeutic adjunct that potentiates the efficacy of standard tuberculosis antibiotics (such as isoniazid and rifampicin) by enhancing antimicrobial immunity and promoting bacterial clearance in both macrophages and murine infection models.

Sharma, N., Sharma, R., Kumar, A., Singh, L. K., Ayanur, A., Hadda, V., Singh, A. K., Prakash, H.2026-08-21