E. S. Snitkin

Flagellar switch inverted repeat impacts flagellar invertibility and varies Clostridioides difficile RT027/MLST1 virulence.

The paper identifies that longer inverted repeats in the flagellar switch region of C. difficile RT027 strains correlate with greater virulence and phenotypic heterogeneity in flagellar gene expression.

Virulence and genomic diversity among clinical isolates of ST1 (BI/NAP1/027) Clostridioides difficile

This study identifies a 69 base-pair deletion in the cdtR gene that attenuates virulence in ST1 C. difficile strains without affecting colonization.

Vaginal microbiota of adolescents and their mothers: A preliminary study of vertical transmission and persistence

This study examines the vaginal microbiota of adolescent daughters and their mothers, finding that vaginal delivery is associated with similar microbiota between mothers and daughters.

Strain variation in Clostridioides difficile toxin activity associated with genomic variation at both PaLoc and non-PaLoc loci

This study identifies non-PaLoc genomic variants associated with toxin activity and other in vitro phenotypes in C. difficile using phylogenetic, statistical, and GWAS approaches.

Ferric Citrate Uptake is a Virulence Factor in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

This study identifies the ferric citrate uptake system as a virulence factor in UPEC, showing its role in iron acquisition during UTI and its importance for bacterial fitness.

Phenotypic and genomic diversification in complex carbohydrate degrading human gut bacteria

The paper identifies genomic and phenotypic diversity in carbohydrate-degrading gut bacteria, showing variation in substrate utilization and evidence of gene transfer shaping metabolic capabilities.

Strain population structure varies widely across bacterial species and predicts strain colonization in unrelated individuals

The study quantifies strain population sizes across bacterial species and finds prevalent strains in common gut microbiota are more likely to be shared among unrelated individuals.

hogwash: Three Methods for Genome-Wide Association Studies in Bacteria

This paper introduces hogwash, an R package for bacterial genome-wide association studies, with three methods and simulated data for testing.

Multiple phase-variable mechanisms, including capsular polysaccharides, modify bacteriophage susceptibility in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron

This study shows that capsular polysaccharides and other phase-variable cell surface structures in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron influence bacteriophage susceptibility, enabling bacterial persistence through phase variation.

Genetically diverse uropathogenic Escherichia coli adopt a common transcriptional program in patients with urinary tract infections

The paper identifies a common transcriptional program in genetically diverse UPEC strains from UTI patients, marked by upregulated translational machinery and specialized catabolism.