Volume 14 Issue 1, January 2013

Hog1 minimizes collisions between the transcription and replication machinery during osmostress.

KIF4, condensin and topoisomerase IIα function to shape mitotic chromosomes.

Hedgehog signalling regulates autophagy.

YAP restricts the proliferation of intestinal stem cells by antagonizing WNT signals.

Autophagy regulates microRNAs by degrading DICER and AGO.

The methyltransferase G9A represses adipogenesis by inhibiting PPARγ and promoting WNT10A expression.

A crucial role for the ubiquitin–proteasome system in regulating chloroplast plasticity by controlling protein import.

Dying cells promote the proliferation of neighboring cells and thus promote tissue growth.

The ARP2/3 complex, which nucleates branched actin filament networks, is itself activated by nucleation-promoting factors (NPFs). New understanding is being gained into NPF control of ARP2/3 and the biological roles of ARP2/3 branched actin.

The nuclear A-type and B-type lamins, key components of the lamina underlying the nuclear envelope, have been linked to the regulation of several nuclear processes. However, studies in mice have questioned the essentiality of these lamins and have provided new understanding of how lamins function in different cells and tissues.

Chromosome segregation during cell division is facilitated by the kinetochore, which attaches chromosomes to spindle microtubules and relays the microtubule-binding status to the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC). How kinetochore-dependent processes ensure faithful chromosome segregation is coming to light, as are the essential roles of the KMN network and kinase–phosphatase signalling.

The heart undergoes physiological hypertrophy in response to developmental signals and increased workload. The structural and molecular characteristics of physiological cardiac hypertrophy are now being elucidated, as are the endocrine effectors and associated signalling pathways that regulate it.

Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) comprise a nonspecific nuclease fused to a sequence-specific DNA-binding domain. This domain can be engineered so that TALENs can target virtually any sequence. TALENs are an efficient tool to modify genes in a wide range of cell types and organisms.

An increasing number of proteins have been discovered that evade turnover and instead are maintained over a cell's lifetime. Accumulation of damage in these long-lived proteins may contribute to the ageing process.