Hosts and bacteria have coevolved over millions of years, during which pathogenic bacteria
have modified their virulence mechanisms to adapt to host defense systems. Although the …

Evolution is the hallmark of life. Descriptions of the evolution of microorganisms have
provided a wealth of information, but knowledge regarding “what happened” has precluded …

Streptococcus pneumoniae inflicts a huge disease burden as the leading cause of
community-acquired pneumonia and meningitis. Soon after mainstream antibiotic usage …

Streptococcus suis is a zoonotic agent that causes sepsis and meningitis in pigs and
humans. S. suis infections are responsible for large economic losses in pig production. The …

Background The microorganisms intended for use as probiotics in aquaculture should exert
antimicrobial activity and be regarded as safe not only for the aquatic hosts but also for their …

Traditional genetic association studies are very difficult in bacteria, as the generally limited
recombination leads to large linked haplotype blocks, confounding the identification of …

Alterations in the target enzymes for β-lactam antibiotics, the penicillin-binding proteins
(PBPs), have been recognized as a major resistance mechanism in Streptococcus …

ABSTRACT β-Lactam antibiotics are the drugs of choice to treat pneumococcal infections.
The spread of β-lactam-resistant pneumococci is a major concern in choosing an effective …

Antibiotic resistance poses a tremendous threat to human health. To overcome this problem,
it is essential to know the mechanism of antibiotic resistance in antibiotic-producing and …

How the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae coordinates cell-wall synthesis during
growth and division to achieve its characteristic oval shape is poorly understood. The …