Bacteria have developed a large array of motility mechanisms to exploit available resources
and environments. These mechanisms can be broadly classified into swimming in aqueous …

The human innate and adaptive immune systems consist of effector cells producing
cytokines (interleukins, interferons, chemokines, and numerous other mediators). Usually, a …

The urogenital tract is a complex environment composed of many different types of epithelial
tissues and innate immune cells that sample the surrounding milieu. As a host-adapted …

Pili are crucial virulence factors for many Gram-negative pathogens. These surface
structures provide bacteria with a link to their external environments by enabling them to …

The blood–brain barrier, which is one of the tightest barriers in the body, protects the brain
from insults, such as infections. Indeed, only a few of the numerous blood-borne bacteria …

Motility often plays a decisive role in the survival of species. Five systems of motility have
been studied in depth: those propelled by bacterial flagella, eukaryotic actin polymerization …

Processes of molecular innovation require tinkering and shifting in the function of existing
genes. How this occurs in terms of molecular evolution at long evolutionary scales remains …

The bacterial type IV pilus (T4P) is a versatile molecular machine with a broad range of
functions. Recent advances revealed that the molecular components and the biophysical …

Highlights•e-Pili enable unprecedented long-range biological electron transfer.•e-Pili are
electrical connectors for interspecies electron transfer and Fe (III) oxide reduction.•Aromatic …

Myxococcus xanthus, a soil bacterium, predates collectively using motility to invade prey
colonies. Prey lysis is mostly thought to rely on secreted factors, cocktails of antibiotics and …