microbiology, evolution, bacteria

The poorly understood Fonticula alba, a relative of fungi and animals, hunts bacteria with a mechanism that resembles cancer and fungal growth.

Researchers propose that some of the planet’s earliest photosynthesizers benefited from a slowing of the Earth’s rotation that allowed them to produce a surplus of oxygen and paved the way for more complex life.  

Researchers are using experiments and observational studies to look for host genetic variation that could be partly determined by the gut microbiota.

Bacteria that live in the digestive tracts of animals may influence the adaptive trajectories of their hosts.

Researchers report chemical and molecular signatures of microbial activity from millions of years ago in mineral samples from abandoned mines in Sweden and nearby countries.

The finding that a bacterium within a bacterium within an animal cell cooperates with the host on a biosynthetic pathway suggests the endosymbiont is, practically speaking, an organelle.

The 12-year-long endeavor reveals Prometheoarchaeum as a tentacled cell, living in a symbiotic relationship with methane-producing microbes.

The blue lagoons of the Cuatro Ciénegas Basin provide a glimpse into the planet’s ancient past.

Identification of new archaea species elucidates the domain’s unique  biology and sheds light on its relationship to eukaryotes.

Rather than getting a gene for its original function, a horizontal gene transfer provides the raw material for evolutionary innovation.

Drug-free environments, such as a designated ward in a hospital, might reduce the strength of selection for resistance.

As E. coli bacteria spread over increasingly concentrated antibiotics, researchers discover novel evolutionary pathways that confer resistance.

Scientists generate new protein-protein interactions at an impressive PACE.

A bacteriophage must evolve certain variants of a protein or die.

A red alga appears to have adapted to extremely hot, acidic environments by collecting genes from bacteria and archaea.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria keep their protective genes, even when antibiotics are no longer given.

Editor's choice in microbiology