September 2013

Research articles

1. 1. Plant Biology

   Phenotypic landscape inference reveals multiple evolutionary paths to C₄ photosynthesis

   Ben P Williams, Iain G Johnston ... Julian M Hibberd

   Computational modelling indicates that C₄ photosynthesis in distantly related plant species arose through a number of independent evolutionary paths.
2. 1. Cell Biology

   Cavin-3 dictates the balance between ERK and Akt signaling

   Victor J Hernandez, Jian Weng ... Peter Michaely

   Cavin-3 is a tumor suppressor protein that inhibits Akt signaling, suppresses Warburg metabolism, promotes apoptosis, and protects against cachexia.
3. 1. Developmental Biology

   Apoptotic cells can induce non-autonomous apoptosis through the TNF pathway

   Ainhoa Pérez-Garijo, Yaron Fuchs, Hermann Steller

   A common mechanism might regulate the communal death of cells in flies and mammals.
4. 1. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics

   Complete dissection of transcription elongation reveals slow translocation of RNA polymerase II in a linear ratchet mechanism

   Manchuta Dangkulwanich, Toyotaka Ishibashi ... Carlos J Bustamante

   Quantification of all the major on- and off-pathway kinetic parameters in the transcription elongation cycle reveals that RNA polymerase II translocates slowly in a linear, non-branched Brownian ratchet mechanism.
5. 1. Chromosomes and Gene Expression

   Direct observation of frequency modulated transcription in single cells using light activation

   Daniel R Larson, Christoph Fritzsch ... Robert H Singer

   Steroid hormone receptors control the expression of their target genes through a digital on-off switch in individual cells, which leads to an analogue dose-response relationship at the level of the whole organism.
6. 1. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
   2. Cell Biology

   Bub3 reads phosphorylated MELT repeats to promote spindle assembly checkpoint signaling

   Ivana Primorac, John R Weir ... Andrea Musacchio

   The spindle assembly protein Bub3 recruits the checkpoint kinase Bub1 to kinetochores by binding to phosphorylated MELT repeats in the kinetochore subunit Knl1.
7. 1. Microbiology and Infectious Disease

   The antigenic switching network of Plasmodium falciparum and its implications for the immuno-epidemiology of malaria

   Robert Noble, Zóe Christodoulou ... Mario Recker

   The first comprehensive analysis of antigenic switching in the malaria-causing parasite Plasmodium falciparum provides new insights into the process that prevents individuals from acquiring immunity to the disease.
8. 1. Cell Biology

   Caveolae internalization repairs wounded cells and muscle fibers

   Matthias Corrotte, Patricia E Almeida ... Norma W Andrews

   Cells repair damage to their outer membranes not by patching them as previously thought, but by using proteins called caveolins to remove the damaged regions by endocytosis.
9. 1. Biochemistry and Chemical Biology
   2. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics

   The structure of the COPII transport-vesicle coat assembled on membranes

   Giulia Zanetti, Simone Prinz ... John AG Briggs

   A structure of the complete, membrane bound, COPII coat solved by sub-tomogram averaging reveals the arrangement of all protein subunits on the membrane and suggests a mechanism for coating heterogeneously-shaped carriers.
10. 1. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
    2. Cell Biology

    Crystal structures of the CPAP/STIL complex reveal its role in centriole assembly and human microcephaly

    Matthew A Cottee, Nadine Muschalik ... Mark van Breugel

    Structural analyses of the centriole proteins CPAP and STIL identify domains that are critical for centriole formation and provide a structural explanation for a mutation that causes human microcephaly.
11. 1. Developmental Biology
    2. Neuroscience

    MEGF8 is a modifier of BMP signaling in trigeminal sensory neurons

    Caitlin Engelhard, Sarah Sarsfield ... David D Ginty

    A protein called Megf8 regulates the activity of key signaling molecules involved in the development of the peripheral nervous system.
12. 1. Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine

    Tissue absence initiates regeneration through Follistatin-mediated inhibition of Activin signaling

    Michael A Gaviño, Danielle Wenemoser ... Peter W Reddien

    Flatworm regeneration of lost tissue relies on a mechanism distinct from that used for routine tissue turnover.
13. 1. Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine
    2. Neuroscience

    Imaging-based chemical screening reveals activity-dependent neural differentiation of pluripotent stem cells

    Yaping Sun, Zhiqiang Dong ... Su Guo

    A chemical screen reveals that a compound used to treat a parasitic disease can trigger pluripotent stem cells to become neurons, uncovering a novel mechanism behind neuronal development.
14. 1. Developmental Biology

    An essential role for maternal control of Nodal signaling

    Pooja Kumari, Patrick C Gilligan ... Karuna Sampath

    Regulation of conserved Nodal factors by a maternal protein ensures that Nodal signaling is repressed until the appropriate time in embryonic development.
15. 1. Neuroscience

    High-order social interactions in groups of mice

    Yair Shemesh, Yehezkel Sztainberg ... Elad Schneidman

    Tracking individual mice within a group makes it possible to quantify and model social behavior, and reveals that the behavior of the group goes beyond pairwise interactions, and is shaped by complex interactions between multiple individuals.
16. 1. Biochemistry and Chemical Biology
    2. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics

    Mechanism of synergistic activation of Arp2/3 complex by cortactin and N-WASP

    Luke A Helgeson, Brad J Nolen

    Single-molecule TIRF microscopy, biochemical assays and mathematical modeling demonstrate how actin-branch nucleation by the Arp2/3 complex is coordinately regulated by two biochemically distinct activators.
17. 1. Neuroscience

    Ultrafast endocytosis at Caenorhabditis elegans neuromuscular junctions

    Shigeki Watanabe, Qiang Liu ... Erik M Jorgensen

    Optogenetics has revealed that synaptic vesicles can be recycled extremely rapidly in nematodes, indicating that existing models for how synapses 'reload' may need to be revised.
18. 1. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics
    2. Cell Biology

    Cytoplasmic dynein crosslinks and slides anti-parallel microtubules using its two motor domains

    Marvin E Tanenbaum, Ronald D Vale, Richard J McKenney

    The motor domains of dynein are sufficient to crosslink microtubules and slide them antiparallel to each other.
19. 1. Biochemistry and Chemical Biology
    2. Genetics and Genomics

    DNA methylation presents distinct binding sites for human transcription factors

    Shaohui Hu, Jun Wan ... Heng Zhu

    A comprehensive study of human transcription factors reveals that a greater number of these proteins bind to methylated DNA sequences than previously thought.
20. 1. Biochemistry and Chemical Biology
    2. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics

    Three-color single molecule imaging shows WASP detachment from Arp2/3 complex triggers actin filament branch formation

    Benjamin A Smith, Shae B Padrick ... Jeff Gelles

    New insights into the mechanism responsible for the nucleation of branches on networks of actin filaments shed light on a process that is essential for eukaryotic cell motility and endocytosis.
21. 1. Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine

    Mammalian genes induce partially reprogrammed pluripotent stem cells in non-mammalian vertebrate and invertebrate species

    Ricardo Antonio Rosselló, Chun-Chun Chen ... Erich D Jarvis

    Cells from vertebrate and invertebrate model systems can be reprogrammed into stem-like cells using mouse genes.