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Cell polarity is important for the function of many animal cells, and several aspects of its establishment are conserved across species, from worm to human. Ahringer and colleagues have performed large-scale genetic interaction screens in Caenorhabditis elegans to identify a network of polarity regulators that includes genes not previously associated with polarity, such as the nuclear pore protein NPP-2.
Clark and colleagues have characterized the stages during which global epigenetic reprogramming occurs in human primordial germ cells, and delineate the appearance of these changes at 16 days of differentiation.
Brown and colleagues take a systems-level approach to the DNA damage response by analysing the changes in localization and abundance of proteins in response to replication stress, using a budding yeast GFP fusion library and high-throughput microscopy.
Watt and colleagues carried out an RNAi screen to identify epigenetic modifiers involved in the control of epidermal differentiation. They delineate a network of genetic interactions using a Bayesian mixture model approach, and uncover two complexes of modifiers that differentially affect self-renewal and differentiation of epidermal stem cells.
Pepperkok, Simpson and colleagues performed genome-wide RNAi screens in human cells to uncover regulators of the secretory pathway. They also identify protein networks with previously unappreciated roles in secretory pathway regulation.
Wedlich-Söldner and colleagues characterize the localization of plasma membrane proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by total internal reflection microscopy and deconvolution. Their data reveal a self-organization of proteins into patterns and demonstrate that association of the arginine transporter Can1 with its membrane domain is important for its function.
Elledge and colleagues performed siRNA (short interfering RNA) screens in human cells to identify regulators of homologous recombination (HR), a mechanism for the repair of double-strand breaks in DNA. Validation of screen data reveals the susceptibility of HR siRNA screens to off-target effects but defines the heterogeneous ribonucloprotein RBMX as a regulator of HR.
Cowan and colleagues have developed a method to efficiently differentiate human pluripotent stem cells into functional white or brown adipocytes, through the transient expression of PPARG2 alone or in combination with CEBP and PRDM16. The programmed cells are able to give rise to ectopic fat pads with white or brown adipose tissue characteristics.