May 2013

Research articles

1. 1. Genetics and Genomics

   The rise and fall of the Phytophthora infestans lineage that triggered the Irish potato famine

   Kentaro Yoshida, Verena J Schuenemann ... Hernán A Burbano

   The strain of Phytophthora infestans that caused the Great Famine in the late 1840s was caused by a single genotype that is distinct from, but closely related to, the most prevalent modern genotype.
2. 1. Neuroscience

   Decoding the neural mechanisms of human tool use

   Jason P Gallivan, D Adam McLean ... Jody C Culham

   Imaging experiments reveal that some brain regions do not distinguish between actions performed using tools and those performed using the hands, while others represent these two types of action separately.
3. 1. Cell Biology
   2. Neuroscience

   Pharmacological brake-release of mRNA translation enhances cognitive memory

   Carmela Sidrauski, Diego Acosta-Alvear ... Peter Walter

   A compound that prevents stressors such as UV light and viral infection from downregulating protein synthesis inside cells improves memory performance in mice.
4. 1. Cell Biology

   TRPM5-mediated calcium uptake regulates mucin secretion from human colon goblet cells

   Sandra Mitrovic, Cristina Nogueira ... Vivek Malhotra

   Goblet cells secrete mucins—which are key components of mucus—in a process that is regulated by calcium ions, which enter the goblet cells via a mechanism involving a channel protein called TRPM5.
5. 1. Physics of Living Systems

   Sequence-dependent base pair stepping dynamics in XPD helicase unwinding

   Zhi Qi, Robert A Pugh ... Yann R Chemla

   The ability of an enzyme called XPD helicase to unwind the double helix is influenced by the DNA sequence and the availability of energy.
6. 1. Epidemiology and Global Health

   Predicting mosquito infection from Plasmodium falciparum gametocyte density and estimating the reservoir of infection

   Thomas S Churcher, Teun Bousema ... María-Gloria Basáñez

   Identifying and treating those groups of individuals that are most likely to transmit the malaria parasite to mosquitoes could help to control the spread of the disease.
7. 1. Developmental Biology

   A novel sphingolipid-TORC1 pathway critically promotes postembryonic development in Caenorhabditis elegans

   Huanhu Zhu, Huali Shen ... Min Han

   A lipid acts to promote the development of nematode worm larvae through activation of an enzyme complex called TORC1.
8. 1. Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine
   2. Immunology and Inflammation

   MicroRNA-146a acts as a guardian of the quality and longevity of hematopoietic stem cells in mice

   Jimmy L Zhao, Dinesh S Rao ... David Baltimore

   Chronic and excessive inflammation can lead to exhaustion of the supply of hematopoietic stem cells and to myeloid malignancies in mice, mimicking important aspects of the myelodysplastic syndrome found in humans.
9. 1. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
   2. Neuroscience

   Structure of a pore-blocking toxin in complex with a eukaryotic voltage-dependent K⁺ channel

   Anirban Banerjee, Alice Lee ... Roderick MacKinnon

   Charybdotoxin, a toxin produced by scorpions, blocks a K⁺ channel by binding in a lock-and-key fashion to the mouth of the channel and presenting a lysine amino group, which serves as a K⁺ mimic in the selectivity filter.
10. 1. Immunology and Inflammation
    2. Microbiology and Infectious Disease

    EBI2-mediated bridging channel positioning supports splenic dendritic cell homeostasis and particulate antigen capture

    Tangsheng Yi, Jason G Cyster

    The receptor EBI2 is essential for correctly positioning CD4+ dendritic cells in the spleen so that they can present blood-borne antigens to T cells and thereby provoke an antibody response.
11. 1. Neuroscience

    Controlling gain one photon at a time

    Gregory W Schwartz, Fred Rieke

    Single absorbed photons trigger adaptational mechanisms that help the retina maintain sensitivity across a wide range of background illumination.
12. 1. Ecology
    2. Neuroscience

    Feeding-induced rearrangement of green leaf volatiles reduces moth oviposition

    Silke Allmann, Anna Späthe ... Bill S Hansson

    The ability of Manduca moths to recognize changes in the profile of volatile compounds released by plants being attacked by Manduca caterpillars allows them to lay their eggs on plants that are less likely to be attacked by insects and other predators, and to avoid competing against other caterpillars of the same species for resources.
13. 1. Evolutionary Biology
    2. Microbiology and Infectious Disease

    Stability-mediated epistasis constrains the evolution of an influenza protein

    Lizhi Ian Gong, Marc A Suchard, Jesse D Bloom

    Some of the mutations that occur during influenza evolution can only be tolerated in conjunction with other mutations that increase the stability of a viral protein.
14. 1. Cell Biology

    ER-associated mitochondrial division links the distribution of mitochondria and mitochondrial DNA in yeast

    Andrew Murley, Laura L Lackner ... Jodi Nunnari

    Sites at which mitochondria contact the endoplasmic reticulum co-localize the replication of mitochondria and their DNA to help ensure that DNA is distributed appropriately between the newly formed organelles in cells.