Articles

Sexual reproduction in eukaryotes involves gamete fusion, mediated by fusogenic proteins. Here, the authors identify fusogenic protein homologs encoded within mobile genetic elements in archaeal genomes, solve the crystal structure of one of the proteins, and show that its ectopic expression can fuse mammalian cells, suggesting potential roles in cell-cell fusion and gene exchange.

Impaired sociability is often interpreted as social avoidance. Here, the authors show that the problem is actually failure to distinguish social from nonsocial stimuli, caused by indistinguishable coactivity patterns in the medial prefrontal cortex.

New study investigates heat-induced labor loss in 231 Chinese cities, finding that lower-paid sectors could be disproportionately affected in coming decades, although adaptation measures may mitigate inequality related impacts.

The contribution of ancient haplotypes to domestication is largely unknown. Here, the authors develop an ancestral genomic haploblock dissection method to generate a mosaic pan-ancestry genomic map and reveal that the domesticated polyploidy wheat emerged from the admixture of six founder wild emmer linages.

The whipworm Trichuris trichiura is a soil-transmitted helminth that causes the neglected tropical disease trichuriasis in humans. Here, the authors produce whole genome sequences of modern and ancient samples from humans and non-human primates to characterise the genomic diversity and evolution of this pathogen.

Bacteroides species are prominent members of the human gut microbiota. Here the authors develop a platform technology (consortium transcriptional programming) in five human donor Bacteroides chassis cells—enabling complex decision-making within said community, which can be used for the development of living therapeutics.

Survival outcomes in Burkitt lymphoma differ between adult and paediatric patients. Here, the authors show differences in mutational frequencies between age groups, and a transition between mutational profiles which occurs between 25 and 40 years.

AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a master regulator of cellular metabolism, but how AMPK activity is spatiotemporally regulated remains unclear. Here, Schmitt et al develop a sensitive biosensor for AMPK, which they use to uncover mechanisms for AMPK activity in the lysosome and nucleus.

Efficient solubilization of plant cell wall carbohydrates is required for microbial production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass. Here, the authors employ metaproteomics to interrogate enzymatic strategies of a methanogenic microbiome deconstructing switchgrass at increasing solids loading.

Infrared spectroscopy with plasmonic nanoantennas is limited by small overlap between molecules and hot spots, and sharp resonance peaks. The authors demonstrate spectral multiplexing of hook nanoantennas with gradient dimensions as ultrasensitive vibrational probes in a continuous ultra-broadband region and utilize machine learning for enhanced sensing performance.

Estimating the effectiveness of malaria vector control interventions has typically relied on resource-intensive cluster randomised trials. Here, the authors estimate changes in malaria prevalence using entomological data from experimental hut trials, which may provide an alternative route to approval of interventions in some situations.

The O139 Vibrio cholerae serogroup emerged in the 1990s and spread rapidly but did not become globally dominant. Here, the authors describe the genomic epidemiology of this strain and identify changes in virulence and antimicrobial resistance characteristics that they hypothesise may have contributed to its decline.

In plants, DNA methylation in the CHG context is maintained by the CMT3 chromomethylases. Here the authors provide a structure-function characterization of a maize CMT3 ortholog to show how recognition of histone modifications stimulate DNA methylation.

Optimization of biological networks is often limited by wet lab labor and cost, and the lack of convenient computational tools. Here, aimed at democratization and standardization, the authors describe METIS, a modular and versatile active machine learning workflow with a simple online interface for the optimization of biological target functions with minimal experimental datasets.

Most attempts to co-cultivate the artificial microbial communities fail mostly due to the mismatched rates of consumption and production of nutrients among subpopulations. Here, the authors develop a microbial swarmbot mediated spatial segregation method to assemble stably coexisting consortia with both flexibility and precision.

Here, Leviatan et al. produce 241,118 genome assemblies to produce a new human gut microbiome reference set of 3,594 species genomes, of which 310 represent previously undescribed species, making the catalog a valuable resource for further research.

The causes of long-lasting behaviors of multi-year El Niño are still not fully understood. Here, the authors find that persistent two-way teleconnections between the North Pacific Oscillation and the tropical Pacific constitute a key source of multi-year El Niño.

Prior to its implantation into the uterus, the mammalian embryo stores substantial lipids. Here the authors unveil how lipid storage and morphogenesis of pluripotent stem cells are fundamentally connected during peri-implantation development.

T cell receptors are generally thought to contact antigens presented in an end to end configuration. Here the authors show a geometrically alternate sideways mode of recognition of the antigen-presenting molecule CD1a by a γδ T cell receptor.

Bacteria in biofilms present unique metabolic conditions that limit the traditional antibiotic treatment. Here, the authors show a photodynamic therapy-activated chemotherapy potentiating the hypoxia of biofilms of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, by developing hyaluronic acid nanoparticles functionalized with chlorin e6 and metronidazole.