Month: May 2026

Genomic Diversity of Vaginal Lactobacillus crispatus Prophages from South African Women

Viruses. 2026 Apr 30;18(5):519. doi: 10.3390/v18050519. ABSTRACT Lactobacillus crispatus is widely associated with optimal sexual and reproductive health outcomes. While L. crispatus genomes commonly harbor prophages, little is known about their genomic diversity and potential inducibility by clinically relevant compounds. We induced and characterized four bacteriophages from four L. crispatus strains isolated from vaginal secretions … Read more

Mammal-infecting DNA viruses identified in lemurs and rodents in Madagascar mirror the evolutionary history of their hosts

Microb Genom. 2026 May;12(5). doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.001728. ABSTRACT Given that some DNA viruses have been found to exhibit virus-host co-evolution and establish lifelong infection, mammals with unique evolutionary histories in island ecosystems likely host exceptionally diverse viruses. Madagascar is inhabited by endemic non-human primate and rodent lineages interacting with expansive populations of introduced non-native rodents across … Read more