🦠 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

Transcriptomic profile of Anopheles gambiae Kisumu mosquitoes infected by neglected malaria parasite Plasmodium ovale from gametocyte-carriers in Cameroon

This study characterizes the transcriptomic profile of *Anopheles gambiae* mosquitoes infected with the neglected malaria parasite *Plasmodium ovale* at multiple time points, revealing distinct gene expression patterns during ookinete invasion and identifying both known and novel candidate genes that could serve as targets for transmission-blocking strategies.

Nguete Nguiffo, D., Tepa, A., Yougang, A., Nkemngo Nongley, F., Ndo, C., Boussougou-Sambe, S. T., Ntoumi, F., Adegnika (…)2026-01-29
🦠 microbiology

Longitudinal Changes in Nasal and Oral Microbiome and Antimicrobial Resistance Gene Profiles in Response to Human Fecal Microbiota Transplantation

This longitudinal study demonstrates that fecal microbiota transplantation for recurrent *Clostridioides difficile* infection not only restores gut microbial diversity but also induces significant, albeit partially transient, shifts in the nasal microbiome and antimicrobial resistance gene profiles, providing evidence for systemic gut-lung axis interactions while leaving the oral microbiome largely unaffected.

Vallecillo-Zuniga, M. L., Akeefe, A., Brown, D. G., Wahlig, T. A., Marchetti, M., Heiner, T., Davis, K. L., Nieznanski (…)2026-01-28
🦠 microbiology

Death & Chemotaxis: Bacterial chemotaxis enables collective escape from phage predation

This study demonstrates that motile *Escherichia coli* can collectively escape lytic phage predation in spatially extended environments by forming chemotactic fronts that outrun trailing phage bursts, a mechanism governed by the balance between chemotactic speed and predation rates rather than the development of genetic resistance.

Muir, V. G., Martinez-Calvo, A., Wingreen, N. S., Datta, S. S.2026-01-28
🦠 microbiology

Anti-σ28 factor FlgM secretion regulates Vibrio cholerae adaptability in adult mice through quorum sensing and methionine metabolism

This study reveals that in *Vibrio cholerae*, the secretion level of the anti-σ28 factor FlgM acts as a molecular switch that trades motility for enhanced host adaptability by regulating the FlgM-FliA-HapR axis to reprogram quorum sensing and methionine metabolism.

Chen, G., Qin, Z., Fan, F., Luo, M., Wang, H., Xue, B., Li, S., Chen, S., Yang, X., Mao, X., Yi, L., Yi, C., Li, W., Liu (…)2026-01-27
🦠 microbiology

A bireporter recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 for in vitro and in vivo studies

This study describes the development and validation of a recombinant SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 strain expressing dual ZsGreen and NanoLuciferase reporters, which faithfully mimics wild-type viral replication and pathogenicity while enabling efficient, real-time tracking of infection and high-throughput screening of antivirals and neutralizing antibodies both in vitro and in vivo.

Castro, E., Barre, R., Ye, C., Imbiakha, B., Ezzatpour, S., Cupic, A., Walter, M. R., Kobie, J., Plemper, R. K., Garcia- (…)2026-01-26
🦠 microbiology

Understanding the role of membrane lipids in mechanism of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy in Escherichia coli

This study demonstrates that reducing cardiolipin levels in *Escherichia coli* significantly enhances susceptibility to antimicrobial photodynamic therapy by disrupting membrane microdomains that normally function as scaffolds for stress-defense systems, suggesting that modulating membrane lipid composition is a promising strategy to potentiate treatment efficacy.

Piksa, M., Bromke, M. A., Marques, C. M., Lecuyer, S., Daira, P., Fourmaux, B., Samuel, I. D. W., Matczyszyn, K., Pawlik (…)2026-01-26
🦠 microbiology

Conserved assembly architecture of the essential herpesvirus packaging accessory factor

This study utilizes cryo-EM to reveal that essential herpesvirus packaging accessory factors from HSV-1 and HCMV, despite adopting distinct oligomeric states, share a conserved pentameric assembly architecture with a positively charged central channel critical for viral genome packaging and infectious virus production.

Bailey, E. J., Devarkar, S. C., Szczepaniak, R., Meissner, L. M., Chen, X., Wu, C., Weller, S. K., Xiong, Y., Didychuk (…)2026-01-22