Towards a synthetic yeast endosymbiont with a minimal genome

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6999831/

we developed a synthetic strategy to establish E. coli endosymbionts within host yeast cells to mimic mitochondrial evolution

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https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-new-study-from-brazil-shows-cognitive-impairment-in-long-covid-is-caused-by-sars-cov-2-spike-protein-inducing-long-term-tlr4-mediated-synapse

TLR4 is most well known for recognizing lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component present in many Gram-negative bacteria and selected Gram-positive bacteria. Its ligands also include several viral proteins, polysaccharide, and a variety of endogenous proteins such as low-density lipoprotein, beta-defensins, and heat shock protein.

TRL4 can be activated by binding to the lipid A portion of lipopolysaccharide found in Gram-negative bacteria. Exaggerated and uncontrolled inflammation triggered by TRL4 during infection can lead to sepsis and septic shock.

reinforces the idea that bacteria is directly involved as co-infection, knock-out gene as chemical mimicking to disable TLR4, allowing gram negative bacteria to become stealth pathogen, bypassing immunity.