Physiology articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Testosterone-dependent traits are thought to give an honest signal of male immune function, however, the exact effects remain unclear. This study shows a positive relationship between testosterone, facial attractiveness and the immune response to a hepatitis B vaccine, which is moderated by naturally co-occurring cortisol.

    • Markus J. Rantala
    • , Fhionna R. Moore
    •  & Indrikis Krams

  • Article |

    Hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia (HTT) is caused by mutations in TGFβ/bone morphogenetic protein signalling genes. Here, Benzinouet al. show that variants of PTPN14, a gene within a mouse Tgfb1 modifier locus, associate with pulmonary arteriovenous malformation in HTT patients, shedding light on the molecular aetiology of this disease.

    • Michael Benzinou
    • , Frederic F. Clermont
    •  & Rosemary J. Akhurst

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Experience-dependent plasticity and functional adaptation are thought to be restricted to the central nervous and immune systems. This study shows that long-lasting experience-dependent plasticity is a key feature of endocrine cell networks, allowing improved tissue function and hormone output following repeat demand.

    • David J. Hodson
    • , Marie Schaeffer
    •  & Patrice Mollard

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The tumour suppressor BRCA1 is mutated in familial breast and ovarian cancer. Now, Shuklaet al.demonstrate that mice lacking BRCA1 in cardiomyocytes are more sensitive to ischaemia than control mice, and that BRCA1 is elevated in human tissues exposed to ischaemia, suggesting a cardioprotective role for BRCA1.

    • Praphulla C. Shukla
    • , Krishna K. Singh
    •  & Subodh Verma

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Female Swallowtail butterflies will only lay their eggs on a small number of plants, which they choose by detecting specific chemicals on the leaf surface. Here, a gustatory receptor,PxutGr1, is identified in Papilio xuthus, which is used by the butterfly to detect synephrine when selecting a host plant.

    • Katsuhisa Ozaki
    • , Masasuke Ryuda
    •  & Hiroshi Yoshikawa

  • Article |

    The role of phosphatidylinositol(4,5)bisphosphate in exocytosis is unclear. This study shows that inhibition of the p110δ isoform of PI3-kinase promotes a transient increase in phosphatidylinositol(4,5)bisphosphate, leading to a potentiation of exocytosis in chromaffin cells.

    • Peter J. Wen
    • , Shona L. Osborne
    •  & Frédéric A. Meunier

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cytoplasmic flows—the movement of cytoplasmic material—can be detected following the fertilization of an egg by a sperm in many species. In this study, rhythmic cytoplasmic flows are shown to be induced in mice by calcium-induced cytoskeleton contractions which could be used to predict the successful outcome of fertilization.

    • Anna Ajduk
    • , Tagbo Ilozue
    •  & Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz

  • Article |

    Why some species have evolved to produce sterile individuals working for the benefit of others has yet to be fully explained. Now, a mathematical model of the dynamics of insect colony foundation, growth and death shows that monogamy and haplodiploidy facilitate the evolution of this societal structure.

    • Lutz Fromhage
    •  & Hanna Kokko

  • Article |

    Studies of male genitalia show patterns of divergent evolution, whereas females have been less well studied. Using experimental evolution and quantitative genetic analysis, Simmons and Garcia-Gonzalez show that sexual selection drives the coevolution of female and male genital morphology in the dung beetleOnthophagus taurus.

    • Leigh W. Simmons
    •  & Francisco Garcia-Gonzalez

  • Article |

    Vocal communication is relatively common among fish: the midshipman being an example with a particularly wide dynamic range. In this paper, the authors demonstrate that different populations of hindbrain neurons are responsible for the frequency and duration of these calls.

    • Boris P. Chagnaud
    • , Robert Baker
    •  & Andrew H. Bass

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Circadian rhythm is controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus and the mechanisms that control the rhythm are largely undiscovered. In this study, a G protein regulator, RGS16, is shown to be involved in the production of cyclic AMP that is required for the suprachiasmatic nucleus to maintain rhythm

    • Masao Doi
    • , Atsushi Ishida
    •  & Hitoshi Okamura

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Increasing the nutritional content of plant crops and the identification of iron transporters in rice would facilitate the improvement of rice varieties. In this study, the authors identify a mitochondrial iron transporter in rice — MIT — and suggest that this gene is important for rice growth and development.

    • Khurram Bashir
    • , Yasuhiro Ishimaru
    •  & Naoko K. Nishizawa

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Regulatory T cells are characterized by the expression of Foxp3, however, how the expression of this protein is controlled is unclear. Here, the authors show that the nuclear orphan receptor, Nr4a2, is a transcriptional activator of Foxp3, and suggest that it is required for the function of regulatory T cells.

    • Takashi Sekiya
    • , Ikkou Kashiwagi
    •  & Akihiko Yoshimura

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Little is known about the reproductive ecology of freshwater eels. In this article, the authors describe the capture of two species of eels together with eggs and newly hatched larvae, and suggest that spawning takes place during the new moon at shallower depths than previously thought.

    • Katsumi Tsukamoto
    • , Seinen Chow
    •  & Hideki Tanaka

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Magnesium is an essential element of the diet and is a cofactor for many enzymes. In this study, the channel kinase TRPM7 is shown to be essential for magnesium homeostasis, and heterozygous mice lacking the kinase domain show a defect in absorption of magnesium from the diet.

    • Lillia V. Ryazanova
    • , Lusliany J. Rondon
    •  & Alexey G. Ryazanov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Poor maternal nutrition is known to affect fetal kidney development. This study shows that the sodium potassium ATPase ligand, ouabain, protects kidneys from cell death induced by serum starvationin vitro and from abnormal kidney development due to a low-protein diet in vivo.

    • Juan Li
    • , Georgiy R. Khodus
    •  & Anita Aperia

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