🦠 Category

microbiology

560 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

Leveraging DNA and RNA oscillatory dynamics to investigate the ecology and physiology of a freshwater microbial community

By analyzing multi-year paired DNA and RNA time series from a freshwater microbial community, this study reveals strong seasonal oscillations in microbial dynamics, develops a macroecological model incorporating time-dependent carrying capacity, and demonstrates that while RNA:DNA ratios across species reflect growth, they have limited predictive power for tracking physiological changes within individual species.

Shoemaker, W. R., Dal Bello, M., Grilli, J.2026-02-24
🦠 microbiology

Acute IFN-gamma responses drive sensory neuron injury and chronic pain after chikungunya virus infection

This study demonstrates that acute IFN-gamma responses drive chronic pain and sensory neuron injury following Chikungunya virus infection through a neuroimmune mechanism, identifying elevated acute-phase IFN-gamma as a key predictor of persistent arthralgia in both mouse models and human patients.

Colodeti, L. C., Goncalves, T. B. P., Mota-Araujo, H. P., Araujo, S. M., Pires, G. N., Santiago, B. V., Bacelar, T. S. (…)2026-02-23
🦠 microbiology

Oral 4`fluorouridine provides postexposure protection against lethal Nipah virus infection

This study demonstrates that daily oral administration of 4-fluorouridine (4-FlU) starting three days after exposure provides complete post-exposure protection against lethal Nipah virus infection in a hamster model, supporting its further development as a medical countermeasure.

Cross, R. W., Pigeaud, D. D., Borisevich, V., Agans, K. N., Harrison, M. B., O'Toole, R., Prasad, A. N., Geisbert, T. W.2026-02-23
🦠 microbiology

Post-transfer instability, not initial transfer, limits dissemination of IncI1-blaCTX-M-1 plasmids between chicken and human Escherichia coli.

Although IncI1-blaCTX-M-1 plasmids transfer readily from chicken to human *E. coli*, their dissemination is primarily limited by significantly higher post-transfer plasmid loss rates and host-specific evolutionary instability in human strains rather than by the initial conjugation efficiency.

Buffoni, M., Fischer, E. A. J., DelaFuente, J., San Millan, A., Schurch, A. C., Willems, R. J. L. C., de Visser, A. J. G (…)2026-02-21
🦠 microbiology

Fluorescent probes as markers of cell envelope structure and function in halophilic archaea

This study evaluates the compatibility of six fluorescent probes for assessing cell envelope structure and function in halophilic archaea under extreme conditions, identifying specific limitations such as the unreliable performance of propidium iodide to guide future research on prokaryotes in non-standard environments.

Ravaro, E., Burr, D. J., Xavier Marques, X., Elsaesser, A., Kish, A.2026-02-21
🦠 microbiology

Slow-growing human cell lines are a suitable alternative to rabbit Sf1Ep cells for in vitro cultivation of Treponema pallidum

This study establishes that slow-growing human epithelial cell lines, specifically CAL-39 and HepG2, serve as viable alternatives to rabbit Sf1Ep cells for the long-term in vitro cultivation of *Treponema pallidum*, enabling new insights into host-pathogen interactions and facilitating future research into syphilis pathogenesis.

Capuccini, K., Govender, D., Goulding, D., Kyanya, C., Pasricha, S., Giacani, L., Thomson, N. R., Grillova, L.2026-02-20
🦠 microbiology

Environmental temperature is a strong driver of subspecies competition in the Drosophila microbiome

This study demonstrates that environmental temperature acts as a strong selective force driving competition and functional differentiation among three distinct clades of *Lactiplantibacillus plantarum* within the *Drosophila* microbiome, highlighting the critical importance of considering intraspecific diversity to fully understand microbiome dynamics.

Gracia Alvira, J. B., Migotti, S., Tian, X., Nolte, V., Schlotterer, C.2026-02-20
🦠 microbiology

Gene synteny and translational coupling of sctS and sctT facilitate assembly of the unique helical T3SS export apparatus in Salmonella Typhimurium

This study reveals that in *Salmonella* Typhimurium, the gene synteny and translational coupling of *sctS* and *sctT* via a stem-loop structure ensure the precise stoichiometric assembly of the T3SS export apparatus by preventing the toxic overexpression and futile multimerization of SctT.

Kim, E., Forberger, M., Weichel, F., Paroll, C., Zhou, J., Grin, I., Wagner, S.2026-02-20