A wide variety of mechanisms that control gene expression in bacteria are based on conditional transcription termination. Generally, in these mechanisms, a transcription terminator is located between a promoter and a downstream gene(s), and the efficiency of the terminator is controlled by a regulatory effector that can be a metabolite, protein, or RNA.

The Mycobacterium tuberculosis genome is more heterogenous and less genetically stable within the host than previously thought. Currently, only limited data exist on the within-host microevolution, diversity, and genetic stability of M. tuberculosis.

The entry of pathogens into nonphagocytic host cells has received much attention in the past three decades, revealing a vast array of strategies employed by bacteria and viruses. A method of internalization that has been extensively studied in the context of viral infections is the use of the clathrin-mediated pathway.

Ribosyl 1,5-bisphosphate (PRibP) was discovered 65 years ago and was believed to be an important intermediate in ribonucleotide metabolism, a role immediately taken over by its “big brother” phosphoribosyldiphosphate. Only recently has PRibP come back into focus as an important player in the metabolism of ribonucleotides with the discovery of the pentose bisphosphate pathway that comprises, among others, the intermediates PRibP and...