Editor’s Selections: Endosymbiotic bacteria in leafhoppers, XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome, and bacterial endocytosis
July 9th, 2010 Editor's Selections No Comments
Vincent Racaniello selects several notable posts each week from molecular and cellular biology and virology. He blogs at virology blog.
- Leafhoppers feed almost exclusively on the phloem or xylem fluid of plants. They depend on endosymbiotic bacteria to convert the plant fluids to essential precursors.
- A CDC study has failed to provide a connection between the retrovirus XMRV and chronic fatigue syndrome. But a positive NIH study is being held back from publication in PNAS at the request of the Department of Health and Human Services.
- Endocytosis is the process by which eukaryotic cells take up proteins from the extracellular environment. Some bacterial have the ability to carry out a similar process, a finding with implications for eukaryotic evolution.
I’ll be back next Friday with more selections.
