This Genome Watch highlights the recent developments of prokaryotic nomenclature leading to the coexistence of two parallel prokaryotic nomenclatural codes.

This study shows that healthy individuals are reservoirs for genotypically and phenotypically diverse Candida albicans strains that retain their capacity to cause disease.

In this study, Liu et al. demonstrate that the T7SS of the rhizobacterium Bacillus velezensis SQR9 and its effector protein YukE cause iron leakage in plant roots to support root colonization.

This study shows that substrate stiffness has an impact on early microcolony formation.

This study reports a bacterial antiphage protein that contains a NACHT domain, which is also found in metazoan proteins that mediate immunity and inflammation.

This study reports the identification of an inhibitor of a Toxoplasma gondii myosin motor protein that could be exploited to prevent or treat infections with T. gondii and other apicomplexan parasites.

This study reports that the resident panicle microbiota in rice modulates host metabolism to prevent Ustilaginoidea virens infection.

In this study, Brown et al. show that nutrient deprivation increases Plasmodium falciparum survival and tolerance to the antimalarial drug artemisinin.

Shigella spp. that are resistant to almost all antimicrobial classes are increasing in prevalence and becoming globally dominant. The situation is critical and highlights a trend that is mirrored by other enteric bacterial pathogens. New interventions to prevent and treat these infections are essential to tackle a potential public health catastrophe.

In this study, Gencay et al. develop a cocktail of engineered phages to target clinically relevant Escherichia coli strains.

In this study, Tawk et al. explore the impact of infection and inflammation on the adaptations of the commensal population in the mouse gut.

In this study, Carfrae et al. show that inhibition of biotin and fatty acid synthesis restores colistin activity against Gram-negative bacteria and prevents colistin resistance.

This Genome Watch highlights how combining next-generation sequencing and imaging technologies sheds light on the diverse and intricate symbiotic relationships of uncultivated archaea and bacteria. This Genome Watch highlights how combining next-generation sequencing and imaging technologies sheds light on the diverse and intricate symbiotic relationships of uncultivated archaea and bacteria.

A recent study reports that uropathogenic Escherichia coli infection triggers trained immunity in urinary tract tissue, which affects the immune response to subsequent infections.

This study investigated the environmental microbiomes of cities by sampling urban beehives, providing insight into the surrounding metagenomic landscape that is relevant to beehive and human health.

This study reports a mechanism of norovirus-induced cell death that promotes viral egress.

In this study, Fackelmann et al. show that microplastics impair the gastrointestinal microbiome of two seabird species.

In this study, Kreitz et al. examine a bacterial extracellular contractile injection system that can deliver diverse proteins into different target cells.

In this study, Lubin et al. show that an immature microbiome during weaning affects the development of the immune system and increases the risk of enteric infections in mice.

In this study, Stubbendieck et al. show that commensal bacteria Rothia spp. inhibit the growth of the nasal pathobiont Moraxella catarrhalis.

This study shows that SARS-CoV-2 restructures host chromatin.

This study reports that some bacterial species of the Lachnospiraceae family can suppress colorectal cancer progression by modulating CD8+ T cell immune surveillance activity.

This study reports that heat treatment can increase the bactericidal activity of aminoglycosides against multi-drug resistant pathogens.

This study shows the development of a chimeric dengue virus bivalent vaccine that generated serotype-specific neutralizing antibodies in vivo.

A recent study uncovered a relationship between sensory neurons and immune cells in the meninges that facilitates brain invasion by two Streptococcus species and the development of meningitis in mice.

This study reports how fluid flow is linked to changes in gene expression in bacterial pathogens.

This study reveals a role of contractile injection systems in regulated cell death and developmental processes.

This study analysed sorption, stability and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewers.

This new study reports that a fungal ectosymbiont metabolizes resin monoterpenes of the host tree and that the volatile products possibly function as cues for beetles to locate breeding sites with beneficial fungal symbionts.

This Genome Watch highlights recent metagenomics studies in fish that reveal unique microbiomes with low functional diversity, which could help to improve our understanding of host–microorganism dynamics in non-mammalian species.

This study set out to increase our understanding of how viruses might mediate responses of microbial communities to climate warming.

This study evaluates the efficacy of exogenous pegylated IFNλ in the treatment of patients with COVID-19.

This study shows that the orphan kinesin KLIF is a non-processive dimeric kinesin that bundles microtubules in Trypanosoma brucei.

This Genome Watch explores how large-scale microbiome studies are facilitating discoveries in bacteriophage biology and functional capabilities that are prime for translation towards advances in biotechnology and biotherapeutics.

Vincent et al. investigate the impact of viral infection on the microbial communities of algal blooms and carbon cycling.

Khan et al. show that mycelial nutrients can promote bacterial biodegradation of hexachlorocyclohexane pesticide in nutrient-deprived habitats.

Decades of coronavirus research and intense studies of SARS-CoV-2 since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to an unprecedented level of knowledge of coronavirus biology and pathogenesis, yet many outstanding questions remain. Here, we discuss knowledge gaps and research priorities in the field.

This study shows that Listeria monocytogenes and Enterococcus faecalis can evade phage predation by transient conversion to a cell wall-deficient L-form state.

Brown et al. perform a randomized trial with 218 women and show that the copper intrauterine device contraceptive disrupts the vaginal microbiota.

This month’s Genome Watch explores how synonymous mutations may have wider implications for protein function than previously acknowledged.

Invasive fungal diseases are on the increase globally. The World Health Organization fungal priority pathogens list highlights fungi of critical or high importance to human health and provides pathways for action. The report calls for improved surveillance (diagnostics and antifungal resistance monitoring), research and innovation (implementation research) and public-health interventions.

Mazzolini and colleagues have developed an engineered Mycoplasma pneumoniae strain to treat and prevent Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in the lung.

Yang et al. present the fluorogenic reversible reporter SURF to monitor real-time interactions between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and ACE2, and identify compounds that block such interaction.