Existing theory, empirical, clinical and field research all predict that reducing the virulence of individuals within a pathogen population will reduce the overall virulence, rendering disease less severe. Here, we show that this seemingly successful disease management strategy can fail with devastating consequences for infected hosts. We deploy cooperation theory and a novel synthetic system involving the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. In vivo infections of rice demonstrate that M.

Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections are on the rise and pose a serious threat to society. The influence of genetic resistance mechanisms on antibiotic therapy is well described. However, other factors, such as epigenetic resistance or the impact of the environment on antibiotic therapy, are less well understood. Here, we describe and characterize a mechanism of noninherited antibiotic resistance that enables the survival and outgrowth of genetically susceptible bacteria during antibiotic therapy.

Bacterial and archaeal diversity of two alkaline Indian hot springs, Jakrem (Meghalaya) and Yumthang (Sikkim), were studied. Thirteen major bacterial phyla were identified of which Firmicutes, Chloroflexi and Thermi were dominant in Jakrem and Proteobacteria in Yumthang. The dominant genera were Clostridium, Chloroflexus and Meiothermus at Jakrem (water temperature 46 °C, pH 9) and Thiobacillus, Sulfuritalea at Yumthang (water temperature 39 °C, pH 8) hot springs.

Pathogens, and antipathogen behavioral strategies, affect myriad aspects of human behavior. Recent findings suggest that antipathogen strategies relate to political attitudes, with more ideologically conservative individuals reporting more disgust toward pathogen cues, and with higher parasite stress nations being, on average, more conservative. However, no research has yet adjudicated between two theoretical accounts proposed to explain these relationships between pathogens and politics.

The objective of the study was to evaluate the association between the income status of a country and the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the three most common bacteria causing infections in hospitals and in the community: third-generation cephalosporin (3GC)-resistant Escherichia coli, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and 3GC-resistant Klebsiella species.

Original Source

Whereas studies have extensively examined the ability of bacteria to influence Plasmodium infection in the mosquito, the tripartite interactions between non-entomopathogenic fungi, mosquitoes, and Plasmodium parasites remain largely uncharacterized. Here we report the isolation of a common mosquito-associated ascomycete fungus, Penicillium chrysogenum, from the midgut of field-caught Anopheles mosquitoes. Although the presence of Pe.

Legionella pneumophila is, by far, the species most frequently associated with Legionnaires’ disease (LD). Human infection occurs almost exclusively by aerosol inhalation which places the bacteria in juxtaposition with alveolar macrophages. LD risk management is based on controlling water quality by applying standardized procedures. However, to gain a better understanding of the real risk of exposure, there is a need (i) to investigate under which conditions Legionella may be aerosolized and (ii) to quantify bacterial deposition into the respiratory tract upon nebulization.

Stromatolite fossils formed around 3,700 million years ago in what is now Greenland predate the previous oldest fossil evidence for life on Earth by more than 200 million years.