Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Microbiology

Detection of viral pathogens associated with acute lower respiratory infection in children in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea: a matched case-control study

Introduction In Papua New Guinea, acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI) is the most common reason for childhood hospitalisation and death. Recent changes in epidemiology, diagnostic approaches and vaccine policy warrant re-examination of the aetiology of ALRI. Methods A matche...

Immunopeptidomics reveals conserved and abundant Francisella tularensis proteins as immunogenic CD4 T cell antigens in mice

Human tularemia is caused by infection with the intracellular bacterium Francisella tularensis . The ability of the bacterium to cause a severe pneumonic form of the disease has led to concerns in the field of biodefense and efforts to develop a vaccine. F. tularensis LVS provide...

Challenges in establishing epidemiological cut-off values for the Burkholderia cepacia complex

ABSTRACT The Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC) is comprised of 24 species of gram-negative bacteria that cause opportunistic infections. While antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) has historically been used to guide treatment for BCC infections, recent work highlighting pr...

Soil redox potential and plant species identity likely affect root-associated fungi in salt marshes

Abstract Root-associated fungi (RAF) are important for plant performance because they form beneficial, neutral, or pathogenic relationships with their hosts, thus regulating nutrient uptake, stress tolerance, and overall plant fitness. At the transition from marine to terrestrial...

From digital archive to functional virion: the reconstitution and biological rebooting of bacteriophage PRR1

Over time, numerous legacy bacterial isolates and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) have been systematically lost as physical strain collections have been passed down across academic generations. This ongoing attrition has significantly restricted the ability of contemporary scienti...

Noncarbohydrate Inhibitors of Sialic Acid-Binding Immunomodulatory-Type Lectin-7 (Siglec-7) Discovered from Genetically Encoded Bicyclic Peptide Libraries

ABSTRACT Glycan-binding proteins (GBP) are among the most difficult to drug targets. This deficiency delays clinical progress for therapeutically important GBPs. We employed bicyclic genetically encoded libraries (BiGELs), produced by chemical modification of phage-displayed libr...

Ketogenic diet–induced changes in hepatic drug metabolism with potential implications for ozanimod pharmacokinetics in mice

Ketogenic diet (KD) is increasingly considered as an adjunctive therapeutic approach across a range of diseases, but its effects on the pharmacokinetics of concomitantly administered drugs remain unclear. Such interactions may be particularly relevant in multiple sclerosis, where...

Increased receptor binding and spike glycosylation, remodeled immune escape of surging SARS-CoV-2 subvariant BA.3.2.2/RE.2.2/Cicada

SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve. The subvariant BA.3.2 (Cicada), a derivative of the Omicron BA.3 subtype first detected in late 2024, harbors multiple spike protein mutations, ORF7 and ORF8 deletions, and has recently evolved sublineages (BA.3.2.1 and BA.3.2.2), rendering it a cr...

Antibiotic pretreatment with ampicillin or streptomycin differentially shapes Salmonella infection kinetics and associated intestinal inflammation in mice

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Tm) mouse infection models commonly rely on antibiotic pretreatment to disrupt microbiota-mediated colonization resistance and enable reproducible infection. Streptomycin is the primary antibiotic used, but alternative pretreatment regi...

Formation and Ecological Dynamics of Synthetic Biofilms Derived from Microbial Components of the Cladonia arbuscula Thallus

Synthetic multi-species consortia provide valuable insights into the ecological and structural dynamics of complex microbial biofilms. However, the specialized functional contributions of individual components under severe nutrient limitations remain poorly understood. This study...

Haem as a maternal factor of ticks

Abstract Background Ticks are obligate blood-feeding parasites that lack de novo haem biosynthesis and must acquire haem from their hosts. Although host haem is essential for tick reproduction, the extent to which individual ticks rely on dietary haemoglobin-derived haem during i...

‘No, it is a virus, your body will fight it.’ The value of diagnostic testing for managing respiratory viruses in primary care: an observational study from a post-COVID pilot programme

Introduction International studies suggest that advancing diagnostic technologies have the potential to reduce uncertainty and improve management of acute respiratory infections. Aim This study aimed to observe the impact that laboratory-based polymerase chain reaction testing fo...

Microbiome symbiosis, host-pathogen dynamics, and the search for new therapeutics: highlights from the Theobald Smith Society Spring 2026 Symposium

The annual Theobald Smith Society (TSS) spring meeting was convened at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on 8 May 2026. TSS is the New Jersey branch of ASM and holds two annual meetings, in the fall and spring. These meetings bring together microbiologists, trainee...

T cell–intrinsic AIM2 exacerbates lung inflammation in OVA-LPS- and HDM-induced asthma models

Asthma is a heterogeneous inflammatory airway disease characterized by immune dysregulation, airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), and excessive immune activation. Although NLRP3 (NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3) has been extensively studied in asthma, its role rem...

Soil enzyme dynamics under PFAS contamination in arid and Mediterranean soils

Abstract Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are persistent contaminants increasingly detected in agricultural soils, yet their effects on extracellular enzyme activities remain poorly resolved. This study examined the short- and long-term effects of perfluorooctanoic acid...