Microbiology Open Access Research

_{Host-hijacking and planktonic piracy: how phages command the microbial high seas}

_{Microbial communities living in the oceans, where nutrients are limited across great swathes, are major drivers of global bio-geochemical cycles. As viruses have by necessity hijacked microbial cells, this review by Warwick-Dugdale et al. evaluates the mechanisms used by bacteriophages to reconfigure host metabolism to maximise their own reproduction.}

_{Moulding a network – How fungi establish and maintain a dynamic mycelial colony}

_{What it is that makes a fungal colony so fascinating unfolds itself once you recognize it as an organism – an entity that excels at adapting to an ever-changing environment..}

_{Small RNAs: a new weapon in the war between plants and phytopathogens?}

_{Could small RNAs be an eco-friendly way to control fungal diseases of crops? Yohann Petit tells us more.}

_{Biobutanol production from coffee silverskin}

_{Coffee silverskin, an as-of-yet underutilised by-product of the coffee roasting industry is investigated for its viability as a feedstock for acetone–butanol–ethanol fermentation.}

_{Antibiotic resistance, the 3 As and the road ahead}

_{Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most important health threats of our time. In this review, the topic is addressed through 3 concepts that can be summarised by 3 As: Awareness through good information tools; Availability of antibiotics or the lack thereof; Alternatives to be found as a response to antibiotic resistance.}