Nature Microbiology: Best of 2016!

Trouble viewing this email? Click here to view online.     2016 has been busy! To put things into perspective, we’ve rounded up our editor’s picks of the year along with some of the most popular Nature Microbiology content to highlight research that is being viewed, shared, blogged and picked up in the news.       A new view of the tree of life   An update to the ‘tree of life’ has revealed a dominance of bacterial diversity in many ecosystems and extensive evolution in some branches of the tree. It also highlights how few organisms we have been able to cultivate for further investigation.   Model-based projections of Zika virus infections in childbearing women in the Americas   The Zika virus epidemic could result in infections of 1.65 million childbearing women and 93.4 million people in total, suggests an approach that combines epidemiological theory with data on seroprevalence and drivers of transmission to make location-specific projections.   The physiology and habitat of the last universal common ancestor   A phylogenetic approach was used to illuminate the physiology of the last universal common ancestor, supporting the theory that LUCA was an H2-dependent autotroph in a hydrothermal setting rich in hydrogen, carbon dioxide and iron.   Combating multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria with structurally nanoengineered antimicrobial peptide polymers   Star-shaped engineered peptide nanoparticles are effective at killing a variety of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens in vivo with low host toxicity and resistance.   Reconstructing metabolic pathways of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill   Bacteria enriched from surface and plume waters of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill show that the combined capabilities of community-wide hydrocarbon degradation is greater than its individual components.   Bacterial cell wall biogenesis is mediated by SEDS and PBP polymerase families functioning semi-autonomously   Cell growth requires the SEDS-family protein RodA to provide transglycosylase activity alongside PBPs.   Developmental dynamics of the preterm infant gut microbiota and antibiotic resistome   Antibiotic therapy has varying effects on the species richness of the preterm infant gut microbiota, but can lead to a dominance of multi-drug resistant species and an enrichment of antibiotic resistance genes.   Inactivation of CRISPR-Cas systems by anti-CRISPR proteins in diverse bacterial species   Bioinformatic analysis discovers five new anti-CRISPR–Cas families, including one that targets both CRISPR–Cas I-F and I-E systems.   Drug resistance in eukaryotic microorganisms   Emergence of resistance in eukaryotic microbial pathogens is a major concern. This Review discusses the challenges posed by eukaryotic pathogens, therapies used to target them, emergence of resistance and new approaches to sustaining existing therapies and developing new ones.   The Microbial Olympics 2016   Following the success of inaugural games, the Microbial Olympics returns for 2016, with a new series of events and microbial competitors. The games may have moved to a new hosting venue, but the dedication to training, fitness, competition (and yes, education and humour) lives on. Submit Manuscript   E-alert   Twitter   Subscribe   Community   Recommend to librarian   As a registered user of Nature Publishing Group's Web sites, our database indicates that you have opted-in to receive product information and special offers. If you no longer wish to receive these e-mails please unsubscribe here or to edit your Nature Publishing Group email services please click here to modify your account (Log in to be recognised as a Nature.com registrant). For further information on technical assistance | print subscriptions | other enquiries. Nature Publishing Group | Principal offices: London | New York and Tokyo and offices in cities worldwide including Basingstoke | Boston | Buenos Aires | Delhi | Madrid | Melbourne | Mexico City | Munich | Paris | San Francisco | Sao Paulo | Seoul | Shanghai and Washington DC. Macmillan Publishers Limited is a company incorporated in England & Wales under company number 785998 & whose registered office is located at The Campus, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW. Nature Publishing Group | One New York Plaza, Suite 4500 | New York | NY 10004-1562 | US © 2016 Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.