This week’s articles describe how bacteria sense surfaces; the lysine acylation of host proteins mediated by a Vibrio cholerae toxin; and druggable proteases of malaria parasites.
MICROBIOLOGY
Bacterial surface sensing
Hug et al. and Ellison et al. shed light on the mechanisms by which bacteria sense surfaces through their flagellae and pili (see also Hughes and Berg).
Bacterial toxin acetylates lysine residues
Zhou et al. describe the mechanism of action of a toxin from the bacterium that causes cholera.
Plasmodium entrance and exit
Nasamu et al. and Pino et al. identify promising protease targets for antimalarial drugs that regulate merozoite invasion and release from red blood cells (see also Boddey).
