The dominant conceptual framework for understanding innate immunity has been that host
cells respond to evolutionarily conserved molecular features of pathogens called pathogen …

Production of beta-lactamases, the enzymes that degrade beta-lactam antibiotics, is the
most widespread and threatening mechanism of antibiotic resistance. In the past, extensive …

Bacteria can respond to adverse environmental conditions by drastically reducing or even
ceasing metabolic activity. They must then determine that conditions have improved before …

The phenomenon of peptidoglycan recycling is reviewed. Gram-negative bacteria such as
Escherichia coli break down and reuse over 60% of the peptidoglycan of their side wall each …

Peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) are innate immunity molecules that are present
in most invertebrate and vertebrate animals. All PGRPs function in antimicrobial defence …

While the recognition of microbial infection often occurs at the cell surface via Toll-like
receptors, the cytosol of the cell is also under surveillance for microbial products that breach …

Lytic transglycosylases are an important class of bacterial enzymes that act on
peptidoglycan with the same substrate specificity as lysozyme. Unlike the latter enzymes …

The commensal fungus Candida albicans often causes life-threatening infections in patients
who are immunocompromised with high mortality. A prominent but poorly understood risk …

Human serum potently induces hyphal development of the polymorphic fungal pathogen
Candida albicans, a phenotype that contributes critically to infections. The fungal adenylyl …

Bacteria can exist in metabolically inactive states that allow them to survive conditions that
are not conducive for growth. Such dormant cells may sense when conditions have …