About this Research Topic
Bacterial growth and survival in the host is closely linked to their ability to utilize specific nutrients in distinct niches, including intracellular localisations. Upon macronutrients, the carbon sources, most often carbohydrates, are the most abundant components. Prime examples of the importance of sugar uptake systems in bacteria are the glucose-6-phosphate transporters or glycerol uptake systems which are key for the intracellular replication of many Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens or the fundamental aspect of carbon source management in the complex situation of the colonizing microbiota. Genomic signatures of sugar uptake and metabolic operons are also evident indicators for niche adaptations and host specificity. The power of high throughput genomics also opens new hints as, for example, the genome-wide association study, identifying a phosphotransferase system as serotype independent target for interventions against pneumococci with high invasive disease potential. Although comprehensive analyses of the vaccine or drug target potential of the bacterial proteins involved in carbohydrate scavenging, uptake, or catabolism are yet to be undertaken, such studies offer a novel approach to tackling invasive bacterial diseases.
In this Research Topic, we aim to highlight the importance of carbohydrate utilization systems on bacterial survival, emphasizing the molecular and cellular mechanisms used by pathogenic bacteria to establish and maintain the infection in the human host. The aim is to include genetic, genomic, and phenotypic analyses on single bacterial pathogens but also on the complex multicellular environment of the microbiota. As the carbon source is quantitatively the most abundant metabolic component its impact on within-host bacterial metabolism can be effectively tested. Such insight is aimed at providing an alternative point of view of the complex interaction of bacteria and the human host potentially leading to the identification of novel drug and vaccine targets.
The scope of this Research Topic includes, but is not limited to, the following research areas:
1. The role of bacterial metabolism in host infection (adhesion, invasion, and survival within the host)
2. Bacteria/host metabolic pathways that contribute to pathogenesis.
3. The role of genomic variation in bacterial pathogenesis and sugars uptake.
4. The role of carbon source utilization in the human microbiota
In this Research Topic, we aim to highlight the importance of carbohydrate utilization systems on bacterial survival, emphasizing the molecular and cellular mechanisms used by pathogenic bacteria to establish and maintain the infection in the human host. The aim is to include genetic, genomic, and phenotypic analyses on single bacterial pathogens but also on the complex multicellular environment of the microbiota. As the carbon source is quantitatively the most abundant metabolic component its impact on within-host bacterial metabolism can be effectively tested. Such insight is aimed at providing an alternative point of view of the complex interaction of bacteria and the human host potentially leading to the identification of novel drug and vaccine targets.
The scope of this Research Topic includes, but is not limited to, the following research areas:
1. The role of bacterial metabolism in host infection (adhesion, invasion, and survival within the host)
2. Bacteria/host metabolic pathways that contribute to pathogenesis.
3. The role of genomic variation in bacterial pathogenesis and sugars uptake.
4. The role of carbon source utilization in the human microbiota
Keywords: Sugar, Bacteria pathogenesis, Infection, Microbiota, Metabolic Pathways
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
