Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33784388›Full record

ReviewPathogens and disease2021

The enigmatic biology of rickettsiae: recent advances, open questions and outlook.

Jon McGinn, Rebecca L Lamason

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Pathogens and disease, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
36citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

36 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Hybrid capture RNA-seq defines temporal gene expression inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  7. Bioinformatics and biology insights · 2026
    Article
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Microbiology spectrum · 2025
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Cat Flea Coinfection withVector borne and zoonotic diseases (Larchmont, N.Y.) · 2024
    Article
  18. Article
  19. PathogenicJournal of bacteriology · 2024
    Review
  20. Metabolism and physiology of pathogenic bacterial obligate intracellular parasites.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Jon McGinnDepartment of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States.
Rebecca L LamasonDepartment of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States.

Funding

Mechanisms of SFG Rickettsia-Host InteractionsR01AI155489 · NIAID · MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · PI REBECCA L LAMASON · 2021 to 2026
$3.7M
Elucidating how intracellular bacterial pathogens hijack host intercellular communication to promote spreadR00GM115765 · NIGMS · MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · PI LAMASON, REBECCA L · 2017 to 2020
$807k
NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI155489NIGMS NIH HHS R00 GM115765
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Rickettsiae are obligate intracellular bacteria that can cause life-threatening illnesses and are among the oldest known vector-borne pathogens. Members of this genus are extraordinarily diverse and exhibit a broad host range. To establish intracellular infection, Rickettsia species undergo complex, multistep life cycles that are encoded by heavily streamlined genomes. As a result of reductive genome evolution, rickettsiae are exquisitely tailored to their host cell environment but cannot survive extracellularly. This host-cell dependence makes for a compelling system to uncover novel host-pathogen biology, but it has also hindered experimental progress. Consequently, the molecular details of rickettsial biology and pathogenesis remain poorly understood. With recent advances in molecular biology and genetics, the field is poised to start unraveling the molecular mechanisms of these host-pathogen interactions. Here, we review recent discoveries that have shed light on key aspects of rickettsial biology. These studies have revealed that rickettsiae subvert host cells using mechanisms that are distinct from other better-studied pathogens, underscoring the great potential of the Rickettsia genus for revealing novel biology. We also highlight several open questions as promising areas for future study and discuss the path toward solving the fundamental mysteries of this neglected and emerging human pathogen.

Indexed as

Genome, BacterialAnimalsBacterial ProteinsDNA Transposable ElementsGene Expression Regulation, BacterialHost SpecificityHumansLife Cycle StagesNeglected DiseasesProtein Interaction MappingRickettsiaRickettsia InfectionsType IV Secretion SystemsBacterial ProteinsDNA Transposable ElementsType IV Secretion Systemsarthropod-borne pathogenshost–pathogen interactionsmicrobial geneticsobligate intracellular bacteriapathogenesisRickettsia

Identifiers

PMID33784388
PMCPMC8035066

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.