🦠 Category

microbiology

407 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.

Clinical isolates of Fusobacterium nucleatum display strain-specific virulence and modulation by indole derivatives

This study reveals significant strain-specific heterogeneity in *Fusobacterium nucleatum* virulence and indole production among clinical isolates, demonstrating that indole derivatives can differentially inhibit biofilm formation and cancer cell invasion while offering a potential pathway for precision therapeutic targeting of pathogenic strains without harming beneficial commensals.

Scano, C. J., Choudhury, A., Rojo, M., Lavado, R., Zaharas, G., Hawkins, J., Greathouse, L.2026-05-11🦠 microbiology

Discovery of orally bioavailable Zika virus NS2B-NS3 protease inhibitors with efficacy in a murine infection model

Researchers discovered potent, orally bioavailable, non-covalent inhibitors of the Zika virus NS2B-NS3 protease through a fragment-based drug design approach, demonstrating significant efficacy in reducing viral loads in a murine infection model.

Kenton, N. T., Barr, H., Cherepakha, A., Coelmont, L., Collard, C., Cousins, D., Davies, G. H. M., Degtyarenko, O., Dirksen, A., Elbrecht, D., Fearon, D., Gayvert, J., Griffen, E., Jochmans, D., Kapte (…)2026-05-11🦠 microbiology

Activity of a three-phage combination against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in disease-relevant conditions

This study demonstrates that a three-phage combination effectively reduces actively replicating *Mycobacterium tuberculosis* loads and prevents regrowth in planktonic cultures, but exhibits limited antimycobacterial activity against non-replicating bacteria found in disease-relevant hypoxic and acidic conditions, highlighting the necessity of bacterial replication for phage lytic efficacy.

Janssen, S., Larsen, S. E., Torres, M. P., Beldjenna, M., Guerrero Bustamante, C., Florian, I., Smytheman, T., Guo, T., van Wijk, R., Hatfull, G. F., Diacon, A. H., Coler, R., van Ingen, J.2026-05-11🦠 microbiology

Human Histone Fragments Display Antibacterial Properties against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

This study demonstrates that a specific human histone H1.2 peptide fragment exhibits potent, non-toxic antibacterial activity against *Pseudomonas aeruginosa* by disrupting outer membrane protein biogenesis and forming NET-like structures, suggesting its potential as a novel therapeutic agent against antimicrobial resistance.

Jaber, N., Di Somma, A., Rodriguez-alfonso, A. A., Cane, C., Read, C., Ständker, L., Wiese, S., Duilio, A., Münch, J., Spellerberg, B.2026-05-11🦠 microbiology

Phage N4 uses a SAR endolysin-holin system for host cell lysis

This study characterizes the unique SAR endolysin-holin system of bacteriophage N4, demonstrating that despite lacking conservation with the T4 lysis mechanism, N4 employs a distinct regulatory strategy to control lysis timing and maximize progeny yield through lysis inhibition.

Awuah, M. B., Martin, C., Chamblee, J. S., Tomaszewski, A. J., Sullivan, T. E., Emilia, Q., Tran, S., Snowden, J. H., Niemiec, K. A., Zhu, J., Ramsey, J.2026-05-10🦠 microbiology

IscR-mediated morphological regulation confers virulence and stress resistance by reducing stress molecule uptake in Acinetobacter baumannii

This study reveals that the transcriptional regulator IscR enables *Acinetobacter baumannii* to survive oxidative stress and antibiotic treatment by upregulating *pbp1a* to induce a rod-to-coccoid morphological shift, which reduces cell surface area and limits the uptake of harmful stress molecules.

Yeom, J., Ngo, H. V., Kim, N., Park, J.2026-05-07🦠 microbiology

Characterization of the urinary DNA virome of hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipient and healthy cynomolgus macaques

This study characterizes the urinary DNA virome of hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients and healthy Mauritian cynomolgus macaques, identifying three host-specific polyomaviruses that exhibit significantly higher shedding loads in transplant recipients and are associated with urologic disease.

Vogel, H., Neal, T. T., Wu, H. L., Kukula, K., Kievit, P., Sacha, J., Starrett, G. J.2026-05-07🦠 microbiology

A novel dimerization site in non-structural protein 5A of hepatitis C virus regulates viral replication fitness

This study identifies a novel dimerization site in the hepatitis C virus NS5A protein's replication enhancing domain that, when strengthened, releases NS5A's inhibitory interaction with viral helicase and polymerase to significantly increase viral replication fitness, a mechanism modulated by specific interactions with NS3 and NS5B.

Rothhaar, P., Tubiana, T., Förster, C., Vanegas Arias, G., Arand, T., Schäfer, N., Ralfs, P., Heuss, C., Piras, A., Pichlmair, A., Hanoulle, X., Bressanelli, S., Lohmann, V.2026-05-07🦠 microbiology

Bacteriophage genomics: What has five years of INPHARED taught us?

This paper evaluates the five-year growth and evolution of the INPHARED bacteriophage reference database, highlighting a doubling in genome count alongside a decline in novel species discovery due to redundant sequencing, while also detailing updates in taxonomy, host diversity, and functional annotations.

Cook, R., Rihtman, B., Ponsero, A. J., Michniewski, S., Telatin, A., Sicheritz-Ponten, T., Adriaenssens, E. M., Millard, A. D.2026-05-07🦠 microbiology