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Huanle Liu et al. report draft genomes of two Symbiodinium species, one from the most dominant type of symbionts in reef-building corals. They find evidence of positive selection in genes related to stress response, meiosis and other traits required for forming successful symbiotic relationships.
Priyanka Chaurasia et al. report crystal structures of the SpaD backbone pilin from a gut-adapted bacteria, Lactobacillus rhamnosus. The observed bent conformation of the N-terminal domain has not been seen in other Gram-positive pilin structures.
Lawrence Reeves et al. report evidence that adult females of the mosquito species Uranotaenia sapphirina feed primarily on annelid hosts. This is the first known example of a mosquito species that specializes on invertebrate blood and suggests that mosquito host use patterns are more diverse than previously recognized.
Taro Maeda et al. report a high degree of sequence polymorphism and lack of tandem repeat structure in the ribosomal DNA of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus irregularis. This study puts forward an adaptation strategy that uses diverse translation systems to generate phenotypic plasticity.
Dijun Chen et al. present HTPmod, a Shiny web application for modeling and visualization of large-scale genomic and phenomic datasets. The authors show that HTPmod can quickly reproduce analyses of high-throughput biological datasets and produce publication-quality figures.
David Colatriano et al. analyze Chloroflexi metagenomic assemblies sampled from the Arctic Ocean to determine whether these bacteria have the ability to degrade terrestrial-derived organic matter. They identify six near-complete genomes and find that they contain genes involved in aromatic compound degradation.
Peter Kennedy et al. report on the successful tracking of Asian hornets, an invasive species in Europe that threatens bee populations. Their method enabled them to track individual hornets over long distances and follow them to locate five previously undiscovered nests in France and the Channel Islands.
Pezhman Mohammadi et al. report the design of spidroin-inspired engineered proteins that separate from solution into coacervates with distinct properties depending on protein or salt concentration. These coacervates serve as intermediate assembly steps for self-fusing, adhesive fibers with useful biomechanical properties.
Techniques for characterizing the mode of action of antibiotic resistance are crucial for developing new antimicrobial drugs. Arno Germond et al. have used Raman spectroscopy combined with gene expression to investigate large metabolic changes that occur when bacteria acquire antibiotic resistance.
Lian Willetts et al. demonstrate that vesicle-associated membrane protein 7 (VAMP 7), a principal component of the membrane fusion machinery, promotes eosinophil degranulation in allergic airway inflammation. This study suggests VAMP7 as a therapeutic target for ameliorating asthma.
Zhigang Wu, Dongming Fang, Rui Yang, et al. present the genome assembly of a wild rice species Oryza granulata, revealing critical insights about the rapid genome expansion and evolution observed in the Oryza genus. They find that recent bursts of LTR retrotransposons have led to the rapid increase in O. granulate genome size following speciation.
Diankun Yu et al. show that deacetylase SIRT1 rapidly modulates synaptic properties of the dentate gyrus granule cells and anxiety behaviors through deacetylation of BK channel α subunits. This study provides mechanistic insight into how SIRT1 regulates fight-or-flight stress response.
Rumi De presents a model for focal adhesion dynamics under static stretch and cyclic stretch conditions. The predictions agree with prior observations and may explain the puzzling observation that focal adhesions orient toward the parallel direction in the presence of static or quasi-static stretch, but toward the perpendicular direction under fast varying cyclic stretch.
Feier Song and colleagues have examined Kir4.1 channels in the mouse brain, and found global expression of functional channels during development. They also show that depletion of Kir4.1 channels impacts demyelination in ischemic stroke
Christoph Borchers, Albert Sickmann and colleagues present multiple reaction monitoring/mass spectrometry assays for reproducible quantification of 500 plasma proteins in mice. They report reference protein concentrations in five mouse strains, and inter- and intra-strain phenotypic variations.
Nikolaos Alachiotis and Pavlos Pavlidis present RAiSD, a computational method for identifying multiple signatures of selective sweeps using single nucleotide polymorphism vectors. They show that RAiSD has higher sensitivity and accuracy with reduced computational complexity than current methods.
Sweta Maheshwari et al. present X-ray crystal structures of the two-copper enzyme peptidylglycine α-hydroxylating monooxygenase and three inactive mutant forms. They show that full copper occupancy is needed to maintain the catalytically competent (open) conformation of the enzyme.
Shanzheng Yang et al. show that Zeb2 expression in the embryonic ventral midbrain is regulated by a negative feedback loop that involves miR-200c. This Zeb2-miR-200c loop provides novel insight into the mechanisms that properly cue the differentiation of midbrain dopaminergic neuronal progenitors.
Kyra Burnett et al. present a simple and economical method to encapsulate small living organisms for long-term microscopy in a photo-crosslinked polyethylene glycol hydrogel. This method provides a fast and gentle mounting for continuous imaging over hours, and works with light-sheet microscopy and optogenetic stimulation.
Niloufar Khosravi et al. present a cranial window model to facilitate the study of neovascularization during healing around metallic implants. They find that the topography of the implant can be engineered to improve the formation of bone over the implant through an expedited neovascularization.