The Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most frequent pathogens that causes severe morbidity and mortality throughout the world. S. aureus can infect skin and soft tissues or become invasive leading to diseases such as pneumonia, endocarditis, sepsis or toxic shock syndrome. In contrast, S. aureus is also a common commensal microbe and is often part of the human nasal mi...

Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) strains are E.coli strains with enhanced ability to cause infection outside the intestinal tract such as in the blood stream, cerebrospinal fluid, or urinary tract of mammalian and human hosts (Johnson and Russo., 2002). The barrier between commensalism and virulence results from a complex balance involving host condition, presence and express...

Viruses affect host physiology beyond causing acute disease, thereby giving rise to the concept that the virome is a component of the microbiome. However, the role of the enteric virome is understudied relative to the fast-paced research examining commensal bacteria in the intestine. In this article, I discuss our recent work on murine norovirus indicating that an animal virus in the intestine ...

Background Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Mycoplasma flocculare are two closely related mycoplasma species often found in the porcine respiratory tract[1]. However, M. hyopenumoniae is pathogenic, being the causative agent of enzootic pneumonia, while M. flocculare is a commensal bacterium. Enzootic pneumonia is a contagious respiratory disease characterized by chronic cough, growth retardation, ...

Metabolism is integral to the pathogenicity of Candida albicans, a major fungal pathogen of humans. As well as providing the platform for nutrient assimilation and growth in diverse host niches, metabolic adaptation affects the susceptibility of C. albicans to host-imposed stresses and antifungal drugs, the expression of key virulence factors, and fungal vulnerability to innate immune defences....