In this Perspective, Levin and Wang give a brief history of bacterial growth rate and discuss how it is connected to nutrient availability and macromolecule synthesis, with a focus on (p)ppGpp as a central hub regulating resource allocation and, indirectly, growth rate at the single-cell level.

To successfully translate microbiome knowledge into practical interventions for farmers, research must be designed with agriculture in mind and shift from retrospective observation to predictive actions.

Air quality and climate factors alter the risk of invasive pneumococcal diseases such as meningitis. Importantly, the lineage and serotype (population structure) of circulating bacteria can alter how quickly disease risk rises in the weeks following exposure.

Integron insertion sites engineered into counterselection markers allow large-scale and high-throughput capture of integron-encoded genes from genetically tractable bacteria or DNA samples.

Host-induced fungal CAZymes act as disease determinants and drive multihost compatibility.

Fusobacterium nucleatum promotes toxin expression in enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis that induces apoptosis in enteric neurons. This eventually leads to gut dysmotility that persists even after bacterial clearance but can be alleviated by using a probiotic cocktail.

Hybridization of wild and cultivated rice plants improves nitrogen use efficiency through microbiome re-domestication.

Whole-organism malaria vaccine efficacy relies on host cell traversal by Plasmodium parasites, which promotes protective liver-resident CD8 T cell responses independently of intrahepatic parasite development.

Plasmodium sporozoites trigger innate immune activation through cell traversal-induced membrane damage. This wounding response, sensed via γδ T cells, is required for protective CD8⁺ T cell priming and underlies the immunogenicity of sporozoites.

This study extends the Pango lineage nomenclature system beyond SARS-CoV-2, introducing a dynamic framework for tracking and communicating viral diversity, demonstrated through its application to CHIKV.

Despite major advances in HIV therapies and access to care, an HIV vaccine or cure strategy has yet to be realized. To achieve these goals, more support for collaborative research is needed.

To successfully translate microbiome knowledge into practical interventions for farmers, research must be designed with agriculture in mind and shift from retrospective observation to predictive actions.

Platforms for community-led but globally connected knowledge and resource sharing can move us towards more equitable and more effective research and solutions for infectious diseases.

Synthetic microbiology has the potential to transform microorganisms into engineered tools for a sustainable future. Nature Microbiology aims to be a platform for sharing innovative breakthroughs and constructive dialogue around the promise and pitfalls of the field.