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Bacterial systems biology is the scientific study of the functions and properties of bacteria in an integrative, systematic way, based on the analysis and modelling of large data sets. Systems biology is, for example, used to build networks of bacterial metabolism.
It is debated whether the two replisomes in Escherichia coli move independently along the two chromosome arms during replication or if they remain spatially confined. Here the authors present data in support of spatially confined replisomes.
Gupta, Johnson et al. quantify the turnover rates of ~3200 E. coli proteins, demonstrating that cytoplasmic proteins are recycled when nitrogen is limited and that protein degradation rates are generally uncoupled from cell division rates.
Single-cell transcriptomics of bacteria is challenging. microSPLiT is a high-throughput method for single-cell RNA sequencing of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria using combinatorial barcoding without the need for specialized equipment.
Live tubeworm incubations reveal that chemoautotrophic symbionts regulate the Calvin–Benson–Bassham and reductive tricarboxylic acid pathways to suit geochemistry and metabolism.
Trade-offs play a key role in controlling bacterial growth and shaping microbial phenotypes, which further drives the emergence of ecologically relevant phenomena including co-existence, population heterogeneity and oligotrophic/copiotrophic lifestyles.
In this Review, Snyder et al. discuss the global impacts of food spoilage, mechanisms and causative agents, and strategies and emerging tools to control microbial food spoilage.
Bacteria use CRISPR–Cas systems as adaptive defence weapons against attacking phages. A new study shows that under severe stress conditions, Serratia turn off their CRISPR immune system to increase the uptake of potentially beneficial plasmids.
Microbiome research has attracted considerable attention, partially because of the potential to manipulate the microbiome for human health. To fulfil this promise, tractable methods and cautious interpretation of results are needed.
It has been assumed that bacteria adapt to nutrient limitation by adjusting the number of ribosomes, no matter what they are being starved for. Instead, two recent studies show that Escherichia coli uses different approaches depending on whether its growth is limited by the availability of carbon, nitrogen or phosphate.