To protect their food and themselves against detrimental mould fungi, the eggs of a wasp species synthesize and emit remarkable amounts of gaseous nitrogen oxides that are highly effective antimicrobials.
NETs induction, a central component of the innate immune response, utilises assorted signalling pathways as demonstrated through the analysis of healthy and patient neutrophils treated with five distinct stimuli.
Mutations in several components of a bacterial ribosome are shown to broadly decrease antibiotic and stress sensitivity, and readily accessible reversion mutations allow these ribosomal mutations to serve as stepping stones to high level antibiotic resistance.
Quantifiable bioenergetic parameters, determined from extracellular flux analyses, are distinct between macrophages infected with Mycobacteriumtuberculosis or vaccine strain M. bovis BCG, enabling assessment of future vaccine and drug efficacy.
Parallel horizontal gene transfer has spread a bacteriolytic gene family to all domains of life, and has bestowed a niche-transcending adaptation in recipients that must deploy antibacterial molecules to survive in a bacterial world.
While antimicrobial cocktails are highly effective for defence against pathogenic microbes, the innate immune response may instead employ highly specific peptidic antibiotics to combat certain natural enemies.