Volume 12 Issue 6, June 2011

Phosphatase PP2A regulates centriole assembly inC. elegansembryos.

RAC1 regulates mTOR signalling independently of its effects on actin polymerization.

Describes insights into the type of DNA interactions that are influenced by SMC5–SMC6.

Elongated mitochondria form in response to starvation and resist autophagy.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress in obesity is caused by changes in lipid metabolism.

The ribosomal protein RPL38 can regulate translation of specific Hox mRNAs.

An excess of histones causes genomic instability inSaccharomyces cerevisiae.

RhoC activity promotes cofilin phosphorylation around, but not inside, invadopodia.

Muscle differentiation during development is regulated by transcription factor networks and microRNAs, and postnatal changes in muscle phenotype and mass are controlled by anabolic and catabolic signalling. Recent studies have elucidated the hierarchies of these signalling networks and have identified proteins that act both during development and in postnatal adaptation.

The ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF) and ARF-like (ARL) family of G proteins, which are known to regulate membrane traffic and organelle structure, are emerging as regulators of diverse processes, including lipid and cytoskeletal transport. Although traditionally viewed as part of a linear signalling pathway, ARFs and their regulators must now be considered to exist within functional networks, in which both the 'inactive' ARF and the regulators themselves can mediate distinct effects.

The production of mature and export-competent messenger ribonucleoproteins (mRNPs) is a multistep process that is regulated in a spatial and temporal manner. Recent studies suggest that post-translational modifications play a part in coordinating the co-transcriptional assembly, remodelling and export of mRNP complexes through nuclear pores.

The improper distribution of chromosomes during mitosis can contribute to malignant transformation. Higher eukaryotes have developed strategies for eliminating mitosis-incompetent cells, one of which is mitotic catastrophe. From a functional perspective, mitotic catastrophe can be defined as an oncosuppressive mechanism that precedes (and is distinct from) apoptosis, necrosis or senescence.

Alan Turing showed that spatial patterns can be generated when two morphogens diffuse and react. Although he realized the importance of mechanics, it has only recently become clear that mechanical processes (forces and flows generated by motors) can also contribute to patterning when coupled to chemical reactions.