ALBERT

Description: Mono-ubiquitination of Fancd2 is essential for repairing DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs), but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The Fan1 nuclease, also required for ICL repair, is recruited to ICLs by ubiquitinated (Ub) Fancd2. This could in principle explain how Ub-Fancd2 promotes ICL repair, but we show that recruitment of Fan1 by Ub-Fancd2 is dispensable for ICL repair. Instead, Fan1 recruitment--and activity--restrains DNA replication fork progression and prevents chromosome abnormalities from occurring when DNA replication forks stall, even in the absence of ICLs. Accordingly, Fan1 nuclease-defective knockin mice are cancer-prone. Moreover, we show that a Fan1 variant in high-risk pancreatic cancers abolishes recruitment by Ub-Fancd2 and causes genetic instability without affecting ICL repair. Therefore, Fan1 recruitment enables processing of stalled forks that is essential for genome stability and health.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4770513/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4770513/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Lachaud, Christophe -- Moreno, Alberto -- Marchesi, Francesco -- Toth, Rachel -- Blow, J Julian -- Rouse, John -- WT096598MA/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Feb 19;351(6275):846-9. doi: 10.1126/science.aad5634. Epub 2016 Jan 21.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit, College of Life Sciences, Sir James Black Centre, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, Scotland, UK. ; Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, College of Life Sciences, Sir James Black Centre, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, Scotland, UK. ; School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Bearsden Road, Glasgow G61 1QH, UK. ; Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit, College of Life Sciences, Sir James Black Centre, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 5EH, Scotland, UK. j.rouse@dundee.ac.uk.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26797144" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The recent rapid spread of Zika virus and its unexpected linkage to birth defects and an autoimmune neurological syndrome have generated worldwide concern. Zika virus is a flavivirus like the dengue, yellow fever, and West Nile viruses. We present the 3.8 angstrom resolution structure of mature Zika virus, determined by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The structure of Zika virus is similar to other known flavivirus structures, except for the ~10 amino acids that surround the Asn(154) glycosylation site in each of the 180 envelope glycoproteins that make up the icosahedral shell. The carbohydrate moiety associated with this residue, which is recognizable in the cryo-EM electron density, may function as an attachment site of the virus to host cells. This region varies not only among Zika virus strains but also in other flaviviruses, which suggests that differences in this region may influence virus transmission and disease.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4845755/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4845755/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Sirohi, Devika -- Chen, Zhenguo -- Sun, Lei -- Klose, Thomas -- Pierson, Theodore C -- Rossmann, Michael G -- Kuhn, Richard J -- R01 AI073755/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI076331/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01AI073755/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01AI076331/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- Intramural NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Apr 22;352(6284):467-70. doi: 10.1126/science.aaf5316. Epub 2016 Mar 31.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Markey Center for Structural Biology and Purdue Institute for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. ; Viral Pathogenesis Section, Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27033547" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The nuclear pore complex (NPC) controls the transport of macromolecules between the nucleus and cytoplasm, but its molecular architecture has thus far remained poorly defined. We biochemically reconstituted NPC core protomers and elucidated the underlying protein-protein interaction network. Flexible linker sequences, rather than interactions between the structured core scaffold nucleoporins, mediate the assembly of the inner ring complex and its attachment to the NPC coat. X-ray crystallographic analysis of these scaffold nucleoporins revealed the molecular details of their interactions with the flexible linker sequences and enabled construction of full-length atomic structures. By docking these structures into the cryoelectron tomographic reconstruction of the intact human NPC and validating their placement with our nucleoporin interactome, we built a composite structure of the NPC symmetric core that contains ~320,000 residues and accounts for ~56 megadaltons of the NPC's structured mass. Our approach provides a paradigm for the structure determination of similarly complex macromolecular assemblies.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Lin, Daniel H -- Stuwe, Tobias -- Schilbach, Sandra -- Rundlet, Emily J -- Perriches, Thibaud -- Mobbs, George -- Fan, Yanbin -- Thierbach, Karsten -- Huber, Ferdinand M -- Collins, Leslie N -- Davenport, Andrew M -- Jeon, Young E -- Hoelz, Andre -- 5 T32 GM07616/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- ACB-12002/PHS HHS/ -- AGM-12006/PHS HHS/ -- R01 GM111461/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01-GM111461/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM007616/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Apr 15;352(6283):aaf1015. doi: 10.1126/science.aaf1015. Epub 2016 Apr 14.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. ; Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. hoelz@caltech.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27081075" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Ebola virus disease in humans is highly lethal, with case fatality rates ranging from 25 to 90%. There is no licensed treatment or vaccine against the virus, underscoring the need for efficacious countermeasures. We ascertained that a human survivor of the 1995 Kikwit Ebola virus disease outbreak maintained circulating antibodies against the Ebola virus surface glycoprotein for more than a decade after infection. From this survivor we isolated monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that neutralize recent and previous outbreak variants of Ebola virus and mediate antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity in vitro. Strikingly, monotherapy with mAb114 protected macaques when given as late as 5 days after challenge. Treatment with a single human mAb suggests that a simplified therapeutic strategy for human Ebola infection may be possible.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Corti, Davide -- Misasi, John -- Mulangu, Sabue -- Stanley, Daphne A -- Kanekiyo, Masaru -- Wollen, Suzanne -- Ploquin, Aurelie -- Doria-Rose, Nicole A -- Staupe, Ryan P -- Bailey, Michael -- Shi, Wei -- Choe, Misook -- Marcus, Hadar -- Thompson, Emily A -- Cagigi, Alberto -- Silacci, Chiara -- Fernandez-Rodriguez, Blanca -- Perez, Laurent -- Sallusto, Federica -- Vanzetta, Fabrizia -- Agatic, Gloria -- Cameroni, Elisabetta -- Kisalu, Neville -- Gordon, Ingelise -- Ledgerwood, Julie E -- Mascola, John R -- Graham, Barney S -- Muyembe-Tamfun, Jean-Jacques -- Trefry, John C -- Lanzavecchia, Antonio -- Sullivan, Nancy J -- Intramural NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Mar 18;351(6279):1339-42. doi: 10.1126/science.aad5224. Epub 2016 Feb 25.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Universita della Svizzera Italiana, CH-6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland. Humabs BioMed SA, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland. ; Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. ; U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, MD 21702, USA. ; Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Universita della Svizzera Italiana, CH-6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland. ; Humabs BioMed SA, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland. ; National Institute for Biomedical Research, National Laboratory of Public Health, Kinshasa B.P. 1197, Democratic Republic of the Congo. ; Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Universita della Svizzera Italiana, CH-6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland. Institute of Microbiology, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland. ; Vaccine Research Center, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. njsull@mail.nih.gov.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26917593" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: T cell-mediated destruction of insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas causes type 1 diabetes (T1D). CD4 T cell responses play a central role in beta cell destruction, but the identity of the epitopes recognized by pathogenic CD4 T cells remains unknown. We found that diabetes-inducing CD4 T cell clones isolated from nonobese diabetic mice recognize epitopes formed by covalent cross-linking of proinsulin peptides to other peptides present in beta cell secretory granules. These hybrid insulin peptides (HIPs) are antigenic for CD4 T cells and can be detected by mass spectrometry in beta cells. CD4 T cells from the residual pancreatic islets of two organ donors who had T1D also recognize HIPs. Autoreactive T cells targeting hybrid peptides may explain how immune tolerance is broken in T1D.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Delong, Thomas -- Wiles, Timothy A -- Baker, Rocky L -- Bradley, Brenda -- Barbour, Gene -- Reisdorph, Richard -- Armstrong, Michael -- Powell, Roger L -- Reisdorph, Nichole -- Kumar, Nitesh -- Elso, Colleen M -- DeNicola, Megan -- Bottino, Rita -- Powers, Alvin C -- Harlan, David M -- Kent, Sally C -- Mannering, Stuart I -- Haskins, Kathryn -- 1K01DK094941/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- 1R01DK081166/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- 5U01DK89572/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- DK104211/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Feb 12;351(6274):711-4. doi: 10.1126/science.aad2791.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. thomas.delong@ucdenver.edu katie.haskins@ucdenver.edu. ; Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. ; Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. ; Immunology and Diabetes Unit, St. Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, 9 Princes Street, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065, Australia. ; Department of Medicine, Diabetes Division, Diabetes Center of Excellence, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA. ; Institute of Cellular Therapeutics, Allegheny-Singer Research Institute, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. ; Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, TN, USA. ; Immunology and Diabetes Unit, St. Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, 9 Princes Street, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065, Australia. University of Melbourne, Department of Medicine, St. Vincent's Hospital, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065, Australia.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26912858" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Mitochondria undergo fragmentation in response to electron transport chain (ETC) poisons and mitochondrial DNA-linked disease mutations, yet how these stimuli mechanistically connect to the mitochondrial fission and fusion machinery is poorly understood. We found that the energy-sensing adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is genetically required for cells to undergo rapid mitochondrial fragmentation after treatment with ETC inhibitors. Moreover, direct pharmacological activation of AMPK was sufficient to rapidly promote mitochondrial fragmentation even in the absence of mitochondrial stress. A screen for substrates of AMPK identified mitochondrial fission factor (MFF), a mitochondrial outer-membrane receptor for DRP1, the cytoplasmic guanosine triphosphatase that catalyzes mitochondrial fission. Nonphosphorylatable and phosphomimetic alleles of the AMPK sites in MFF revealed that it is a key effector of AMPK-mediated mitochondrial fission.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Toyama, Erin Quan -- Herzig, Sebastien -- Courchet, Julien -- Lewis, Tommy L Jr -- Loson, Oliver C -- Hellberg, Kristina -- Young, Nathan P -- Chen, Hsiuchen -- Polleux, Franck -- Chan, David C -- Shaw, Reuben J -- K99 NS091526/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- K99NS091526/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- P01 CA120964/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- P30 CA014195/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01CA172229/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01DK080425/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- R01GM062967/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01GM110039/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01NS089456/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Jan 15;351(6270):275-81. doi: 10.1126/science.aab4138.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; Department of Neuroscience, Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute and Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. ; Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. ; Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. shaw@salk.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26816379" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Brazil has experienced an unprecedented epidemic of Zika virus (ZIKV), with ~30,000 cases reported to date. ZIKV was first detected in Brazil in May 2015, and cases of microcephaly potentially associated with ZIKV infection were identified in November 2015. We performed next-generation sequencing to generate seven Brazilian ZIKV genomes sampled from four self-limited cases, one blood donor, one fatal adult case, and one newborn with microcephaly and congenital malformations. Results of phylogenetic and molecular clock analyses show a single introduction of ZIKV into the Americas, which we estimated to have occurred between May and December 2013, more than 12 months before the detection of ZIKV in Brazil. The estimated date of origin coincides with an increase in air passengers to Brazil from ZIKV-endemic areas, as well as with reported outbreaks in the Pacific Islands. ZIKV genomes from Brazil are phylogenetically interspersed with those from other South American and Caribbean countries. Mapping mutations onto existing structural models revealed the context of viral amino acid changes present in the outbreak lineage; however, no shared amino acid changes were found among the three currently available virus genomes from microcephaly cases. Municipality-level incidence data indicate that reports of suspected microcephaly in Brazil best correlate with ZIKV incidence around week 17 of pregnancy, although this correlation does not demonstrate causation. Our genetic description and analysis of ZIKV isolates in Brazil provide a baseline for future studies of the evolution and molecular epidemiology of this emerging virus in the Americas.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Faria, Nuno Rodrigues -- Azevedo, Raimunda do Socorro da Silva -- Kraemer, Moritz U G -- Souza, Renato -- Cunha, Mariana Sequetin -- Hill, Sarah C -- Theze, Julien -- Bonsall, Michael B -- Bowden, Thomas A -- Rissanen, Ilona -- Rocco, Iray Maria -- Nogueira, Juliana Silva -- Maeda, Adriana Yurika -- Vasami, Fernanda Giseli da Silva -- Macedo, Fernando Luiz de Lima -- Suzuki, Akemi -- Rodrigues, Sueli Guerreiro -- Cruz, Ana Cecilia Ribeiro -- Nunes, Bruno Tardeli -- Medeiros, Daniele Barbosa de Almeida -- Rodrigues, Daniela Sueli Guerreiro -- Nunes Queiroz, Alice Louize -- da Silva, Eliana Vieira Pinto -- Henriques, Daniele Freitas -- Travassos da Rosa, Elisabeth Salbe -- de Oliveira, Consuelo Silva -- Martins, Livia Caricio -- Vasconcelos, Helena Baldez -- Casseb, Livia Medeiros Neves -- Simith, Darlene de Brito -- Messina, Jane P -- Abade, Leandro -- Lourenco, Jose -- Carlos Junior Alcantara, Luiz -- de Lima, Maricelia Maia -- Giovanetti, Marta -- Hay, Simon I -- de Oliveira, Rodrigo Santos -- Lemos, Poliana da Silva -- de Oliveira, Layanna Freitas -- de Lima, Clayton Pereira Silva -- da Silva, Sandro Patroca -- de Vasconcelos, Janaina Mota -- Franco, Luciano -- Cardoso, Jedson Ferreira -- Vianez-Junior, Joao Lidio da Silva Goncalves -- Mir, Daiana -- Bello, Gonzalo -- Delatorre, Edson -- Khan, Kamran -- Creatore, Marisa -- Coelho, Giovanini Evelim -- de Oliveira, Wanderson Kleber -- Tesh, Robert -- Pybus, Oliver G -- Nunes, Marcio R T -- Vasconcelos, Pedro F C -- 090532/Z/09/Z/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 095066/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 102427/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- MR/L009528/1/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- R24 AT 120942/AT/NCCIH NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Apr 15;352(6283):345-9. doi: 10.1126/science.aaf5036. Epub 2016 Mar 24.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Center for Technological Innovation, Evandro Chagas Institute, Ministry of Health, Ananindeua, PA 67030-000, Brazil. Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK. ; Department of Arbovirology and Hemorrhagic Fevers, Evandro Chagas Institute, Ministry of Health, Ananindeua, Para State, Brazil. ; Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK. ; Instituto Adolfo Lutz, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. ; Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. ; Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK. Metabiota, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA. ; Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. ; Centre of Post Graduation in Collective Health, Department of Health, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil. ; Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98121, USA. Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. ; Center for Technological Innovation, Evandro Chagas Institute, Ministry of Health, Ananindeua, PA 67030-000, Brazil. ; Laboratorio de AIDS and Imunologia Molecular, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ; Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ; Brazilian Ministry of Health, Brasilia, Brazil. ; Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA. ; Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK. Metabiota, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA. oliver.pybus@zoo.ox.ac.uk marcionunesbrasil@yahoo.com.br pedrovasconcelos@iec.pa.gov.br. ; Center for Technological Innovation, Evandro Chagas Institute, Ministry of Health, Ananindeua, PA 67030-000, Brazil. Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA. oliver.pybus@zoo.ox.ac.uk marcionunesbrasil@yahoo.com.br pedrovasconcelos@iec.pa.gov.br. ; Department of Arbovirology and Hemorrhagic Fevers, Evandro Chagas Institute, Ministry of Health, Ananindeua, Para State, Brazil. oliver.pybus@zoo.ox.ac.uk marcionunesbrasil@yahoo.com.br pedrovasconcelos@iec.pa.gov.br.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27013429" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is used extensively worldwide in plastic products, and its accumulation in the environment has become a global concern. Because the ability to enzymatically degrade PET has been thought to be limited to a few fungal species, biodegradation is not yet a viable remediation or recycling strategy. By screening natural microbial communities exposed to PET in the environment, we isolated a novel bacterium, Ideonella sakaiensis 201-F6, that is able to use PET as its major energy and carbon source. When grown on PET, this strain produces two enzymes capable of hydrolyzing PET and the reaction intermediate, mono(2-hydroxyethyl) terephthalic acid. Both enzymes are required to enzymatically convert PET efficiently into its two environmentally benign monomers, terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Yoshida, Shosuke -- Hiraga, Kazumi -- Takehana, Toshihiko -- Taniguchi, Ikuo -- Yamaji, Hironao -- Maeda, Yasuhito -- Toyohara, Kiyotsuna -- Miyamoto, Kenji -- Kimura, Yoshiharu -- Oda, Kohei -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Mar 11;351(6278):1196-9. doi: 10.1126/science.aad6359.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan. Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522, Japan. ; Department of Applied Biology, Faculty of Textile Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan. ; Life Science Materials Laboratory, ADEKA, 7-2-34 Higashiogu, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo 116-8553, Japan. ; Department of Polymer Science, Faculty of Textile Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8585, Japan. ; Ecology-Related Material Group Innovation Research Institute, Teijin, Hinode-cho 2-1, Iwakuni, Yamaguchi 740-8511, Japan. ; Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522, Japan.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26965627" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: SH3 and multiple ankyrin repeat domains 3 (SHANK3) haploinsufficiency is causative for the neurological features of Phelan-McDermid syndrome (PMDS), including a high risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We used unbiased, quantitative proteomics to identify changes in the phosphoproteome of Shank3-deficient neurons. Down-regulation of protein kinase B (PKB/Akt)-mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling resulted from enhanced phosphorylation and activation of serine/threonine protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) regulatory subunit, B56beta, due to increased steady-state levels of its kinase, Cdc2-like kinase 2 (CLK2). Pharmacological and genetic activation of Akt or inhibition of CLK2 relieved synaptic deficits in Shank3-deficient and PMDS patient-derived neurons. CLK2 inhibition also restored normal sociability in a Shank3-deficient mouse model. Our study thereby provides a novel mechanistic and potentially therapeutic understanding of deregulated signaling downstream of Shank3 deficiency.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Bidinosti, Michael -- Botta, Paolo -- Kruttner, Sebastian -- Proenca, Catia C -- Stoehr, Natacha -- Bernhard, Mario -- Fruh, Isabelle -- Mueller, Matthias -- Bonenfant, Debora -- Voshol, Hans -- Carbone, Walter -- Neal, Sarah J -- McTighe, Stephanie M -- Roma, Guglielmo -- Dolmetsch, Ricardo E -- Porter, Jeffrey A -- Caroni, Pico -- Bouwmeester, Tewis -- Luthi, Andreas -- Galimberti, Ivan -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Mar 11;351(6278):1199-203. doi: 10.1126/science.aad5487. Epub 2016 Feb 4.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Developmental Molecular Pathways, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland. ; Friedrich Miescher Institute, Basel, Switzerland. ; Analytical Sciences and Imaging, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland. ; Neuroscience, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Cambridge, USA. ; Developmental Molecular Pathways, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland. ivan.galimberti@novartis.com.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26847545" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Induction of broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) is a major HIV vaccine goal. Germline-targeting immunogens aim to initiate bnAb induction by activating bnAb germline precursor B cells. Critical unmet challenges are to determine whether bnAb precursor naive B cells bind germline-targeting immunogens and occur at sufficient frequency in humans for reliable vaccine responses. Using deep mutational scanning and multitarget optimization, we developed a germline-targeting immunogen (eOD-GT8) for diverse VRC01-class bnAbs. We then used the immunogen to isolate VRC01-class precursor naive B cells from HIV-uninfected donors. Frequencies of true VRC01-class precursors, their structures, and their eOD-GT8 affinities support this immunogen as a candidate human vaccine prime. These methods could be applied to germline targeting for other classes of HIV bnAbs and for Abs to other pathogens.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4872700/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4872700/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Jardine, Joseph G -- Kulp, Daniel W -- Havenar-Daughton, Colin -- Sarkar, Anita -- Briney, Bryan -- Sok, Devin -- Sesterhenn, Fabian -- Ereno-Orbea, June -- Kalyuzhniy, Oleksandr -- Deresa, Isaiah -- Hu, Xiaozhen -- Spencer, Skye -- Jones, Meaghan -- Georgeson, Erik -- Adachi, Yumiko -- Kubitz, Michael -- deCamp, Allan C -- Julien, Jean-Philippe -- Wilson, Ian A -- Burton, Dennis R -- Crotty, Shane -- Schief, William R -- P01 AI094419/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- P01 AI110657/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- P41GM103393/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI084817/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- UM1 AI100663/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Mar 25;351(6280):1458-63. doi: 10.1126/science.aad9195.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; Program in Molecular Structure and Function, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4, Canada. ; Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Statistical Center for HIV/AIDS Research and Prevention (SCHARP), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. ; IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Program in Molecular Structure and Function, Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, Ontario M5G 0A4, Canada. Departments of Biochemistry and Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada. ; IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02129, USA. ; Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Division of Vaccine Discovery, La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA, USA. schief@scripps.edu shane@lji.org. ; Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology and Immunogen Discovery, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02129, USA. schief@scripps.edu shane@lji.org.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27013733" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Recent studies have implicated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) as regulators of many important biological processes. Here we report on the identification and characterization of a lncRNA, lnc13, that harbors a celiac disease-associated haplotype block and represses expression of certain inflammatory genes under homeostatic conditions. Lnc13 regulates gene expression by binding to hnRNPD, a member of a family of ubiquitously expressed heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs). Upon stimulation, lnc13 levels are reduced, thereby allowing increased expression of the repressed genes. Lnc13 levels are significantly decreased in small intestinal biopsy samples from patients with celiac disease, which suggests that down-regulation of lnc13 may contribute to the inflammation seen in this disease. Furthermore, the lnc13 disease-associated variant binds hnRNPD less efficiently than its wild-type counterpart, thus helping to explain how these single-nucleotide polymorphisms contribute to celiac disease.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Castellanos-Rubio, Ainara -- Fernandez-Jimenez, Nora -- Kratchmarov, Radomir -- Luo, Xiaobing -- Bhagat, Govind -- Green, Peter H R -- Schneider, Robert -- Kiledjian, Megerditch -- Bilbao, Jose Ramon -- Ghosh, Sankar -- R01-AI093985/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01-DK102180/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- R01-GM067005/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R37-AI33443/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Apr 1;352(6281):91-5. doi: 10.1126/science.aad0467.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032, USA. ; Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology, and Animal Physiology, University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU), BioCruces Research Institute, Leioa 48940, Basque Country, Spain. ; Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032, USA. ; Center for Celiac Disease, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032, USA. Alexandria Center for Life Sciences, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA. ; Alexandria Center for Life Sciences, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA. ; Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. ; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY 10032, USA. sg2715@columbia.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27034373" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The oxidation of methane with sulfate is an important microbial metabolism in the global carbon cycle. In marine methane seeps, this process is mediated by consortia of anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME) that live in syntrophy with sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). The underlying interdependencies within this uncultured symbiotic partnership are poorly understood. We used a combination of rate measurements and single-cell stable isotope probing to demonstrate that ANME in deep-sea sediments can be catabolically and anabolically decoupled from their syntrophic SRB partners using soluble artificial oxidants. The ANME still sustain high rates of methane oxidation in the absence of sulfate as the terminal oxidant, lending support to the hypothesis that interspecies extracellular electron transfer is the syntrophic mechanism for the anaerobic oxidation of methane.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Scheller, Silvan -- Yu, Hang -- Chadwick, Grayson L -- McGlynn, Shawn E -- Orphan, Victoria J -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Feb 12;351(6274):703-7. doi: 10.1126/science.aad7154.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26912857" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Seagrasses colonized the sea on at least three independent occasions to form the basis of one of the most productive and widespread coastal ecosystems on the planet. Here we report the genome of Zostera marina (L.), the first, to our knowledge, marine angiosperm to be fully sequenced. This reveals unique insights into the genomic losses and gains involved in achieving the structural and physiological adaptations required for its marine lifestyle, arguably the most severe habitat shift ever accomplished by flowering plants. Key angiosperm innovations that were lost include the entire repertoire of stomatal genes, genes involved in the synthesis of terpenoids and ethylene signalling, and genes for ultraviolet protection and phytochromes for far-red sensing. Seagrasses have also regained functions enabling them to adjust to full salinity. Their cell walls contain all of the polysaccharides typical of land plants, but also contain polyanionic, low-methylated pectins and sulfated galactans, a feature shared with the cell walls of all macroalgae and that is important for ion homoeostasis, nutrient uptake and O2/CO2 exchange through leaf epidermal cells. The Z. marina genome resource will markedly advance a wide range of functional ecological studies from adaptation of marine ecosystems under climate warming, to unravelling the mechanisms of osmoregulation under high salinities that may further inform our understanding of the evolution of salt tolerance in crop plants.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Olsen, Jeanine L -- Rouze, Pierre -- Verhelst, Bram -- Lin, Yao-Cheng -- Bayer, Till -- Collen, Jonas -- Dattolo, Emanuela -- De Paoli, Emanuele -- Dittami, Simon -- Maumus, Florian -- Michel, Gurvan -- Kersting, Anna -- Lauritano, Chiara -- Lohaus, Rolf -- Topel, Mats -- Tonon, Thierry -- Vanneste, Kevin -- Amirebrahimi, Mojgan -- Brakel, Janina -- Bostrom, Christoffer -- Chovatia, Mansi -- Grimwood, Jane -- Jenkins, Jerry W -- Jueterbock, Alexander -- Mraz, Amy -- Stam, Wytze T -- Tice, Hope -- Bornberg-Bauer, Erich -- Green, Pamela J -- Pearson, Gareth A -- Procaccini, Gabriele -- Duarte, Carlos M -- Schmutz, Jeremy -- Reusch, Thorsten B H -- Van de Peer, Yves -- England -- Nature. 2016 Feb 18;530(7590):331-5. doi: 10.1038/nature16548. Epub 2016 Jan 27.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands. ; Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB and Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 927, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium. ; GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research-Kiel, Evolutionary Ecology, Dusternbrooker Weg 20, D-24105 Kiel, Germany. ; Sorbonne Universite, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, UMR 8227, Integrative Biology of Marine Models, Station Biologique de Roscoff, CS 90074, F-29688, Roscoff cedex, France. ; Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy. ; Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali, University of Udine, Via delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, Italy. ; INRA, UR1164 URGI-Research Unit in Genomics-Info, INRA de Versailles-Grignon, Route de Saint-Cyr, Versailles 78026, France. ; Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, Westfalische Wilhelms-University of Munster, Hufferstrasse 1, D-48149 Munster, Germany. ; Institute for Computer Science, Heinrich Heine University, D-40255 Duesseldorf, Germany. ; Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Bioinformatics Infrastructure for Life Sciences (BILS), University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan 18A, 40530 Gothenburg, Sweden. ; Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Dr., #100, Walnut Creek, California 94598, USA. ; Environmental and Marine Biology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Abo Akademi University, Artillerigatan 6, FI-20520 Turku/Abo, Finland. ; HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, 601 Genome Way NW, Huntsville, Alabama 35806, USA. ; Marine Ecology Group, Nord University, Postbox 1490, 8049 Bodo, Norway. ; Amplicon Express, 2345 NE Hopkins Ct., Pullman, Washington 99163, USA. ; School of Marine Science and Policy, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, 15-Innovation Way, Newark, Delaware 19711, USA. ; Marine Ecology and Evolution, Centre for Marine Sciences (CCMAR), University of Algarve, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal. ; King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia. ; University of Kiel, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Christian-Albrechts-Platz 4, 24118 Kiel, Germany. ; Genomics Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Hatfield Campus, Pretoria 0028, South Africa. ; Bioinformatics Institute Ghent, Ghent University, Ghent B-9000, Belgium.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26814964" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Catalysis in biology is restricted to RNA (ribozymes) and protein enzymes, but synthetic biomolecular catalysts can also be made of DNA (deoxyribozymes) or synthetic genetic polymers. In vitro selection from synthetic random DNA libraries identified DNA catalysts for various chemical reactions beyond RNA backbone cleavage. DNA-catalysed reactions include RNA and DNA ligation in various topologies, hydrolytic cleavage and photorepair of DNA, as well as reactions of peptides and small molecules. In spite of comprehensive biochemical studies of DNA catalysts for two decades, fundamental mechanistic understanding of their function is lacking in the absence of three-dimensional models at atomic resolution. Early attempts to solve the crystal structure of an RNA-cleaving deoxyribozyme resulted in a catalytically irrelevant nucleic acid fold. Here we report the crystal structure of the RNA-ligating deoxyribozyme 9DB1 (ref. 14) at 2.8 A resolution. The structure captures the ligation reaction in the post-catalytic state, revealing a compact folding unit stabilized by numerous tertiary interactions, and an unanticipated organization of the catalytic centre. Structure-guided mutagenesis provided insights into the basis for regioselectivity of the ligation reaction and allowed remarkable manipulation of substrate recognition and reaction rate. Moreover, the structure highlights how the specific properties of deoxyribose are reflected in the backbone conformation of the DNA catalyst, in support of its intricate three-dimensional organization. The structural principles underlying the catalytic ability of DNA elucidate differences and similarities in DNA versus RNA catalysts, which is relevant for comprehending the privileged position of folded RNA in the prebiotic world and in current organisms.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Ponce-Salvatierra, Almudena -- Wawrzyniak-Turek, Katarzyna -- Steuerwald, Ulrich -- Hobartner, Claudia -- Pena, Vladimir -- England -- Nature. 2016 Jan 14;529(7585):231-4. doi: 10.1038/nature16471. Epub 2016 Jan 6.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Max Planck Research Group Nucleic Acid Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Gottingen, Germany. ; Research Group Macromolecular Crystallography, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Gottingen, Germany. ; Institute for Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, Georg-August-University Gottingen, Tammannstr. 2, 37077 Gottingen, Germany.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26735012" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The tremendous pandemic potential of coronaviruses was demonstrated twice in the past few decades by two global outbreaks of deadly pneumonia. Entry of coronaviruses into cells is mediated by the transmembrane spike glycoprotein S, which forms a trimer carrying receptor-binding and membrane fusion functions. S also contains the principal antigenic determinants and is the target of neutralizing antibodies. Here we present the structure of a mouse coronavirus S trimer ectodomain determined at 4.0 A resolution by single particle cryo-electron microscopy. It reveals the metastable pre-fusion architecture of S and highlights key interactions stabilizing it. The structure shares a common core with paramyxovirus F proteins, implicating mechanistic similarities and an evolutionary connection between these viral fusion proteins. The accessibility of the highly conserved fusion peptide at the periphery of the trimer indicates potential vaccinology strategies to elicit broadly neutralizing antibodies against coronaviruses. Finally, comparison with crystal structures of human coronavirus S domains allows rationalization of the molecular basis for species specificity based on the use of spatially contiguous but distinct domains.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Walls, Alexandra C -- Tortorici, M Alejandra -- Bosch, Berend-Jan -- Frenz, Brandon -- Rottier, Peter J M -- DiMaio, Frank -- Rey, Felix A -- Veesler, David -- GM103310/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- T32GM008268/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- England -- Nature. 2016 Mar 3;531(7592):114-7. doi: 10.1038/nature16988. Epub 2016 Feb 8.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA. ; Institut Pasteur, Unite de Virologie Structurale, 75015 Paris, France. ; CNRS UMR 3569 Virologie, 75015 Paris, France. ; Virology Division, Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26855426" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The most recent Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa, which was unprecedented in the number of cases and fatalities, geographic distribution, and number of nations affected, highlights the need for safe, effective, and readily available antiviral agents for treatment and prevention of acute Ebola virus (EBOV) disease (EVD) or sequelae. No antiviral therapeutics have yet received regulatory approval or demonstrated clinical efficacy. Here we report the discovery of a novel small molecule GS-5734, a monophosphoramidate prodrug of an adenosine analogue, with antiviral activity against EBOV. GS-5734 exhibits antiviral activity against multiple variants of EBOV and other filoviruses in cell-based assays. The pharmacologically active nucleoside triphosphate (NTP) is efficiently formed in multiple human cell types incubated with GS-5734 in vitro, and the NTP acts as an alternative substrate and RNA-chain terminator in primer-extension assays using a surrogate respiratory syncytial virus RNA polymerase. Intravenous administration of GS-5734 to nonhuman primates resulted in persistent NTP levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (half-life, 14 h) and distribution to sanctuary sites for viral replication including testes, eyes, and brain. In a rhesus monkey model of EVD, once-daily intravenous administration of 10 mg kg(-1) GS-5734 for 12 days resulted in profound suppression of EBOV replication and protected 100% of EBOV-infected animals against lethal disease, ameliorating clinical disease signs and pathophysiological markers, even when treatments were initiated three days after virus exposure when systemic viral RNA was detected in two out of six treated animals. These results show the first substantive post-exposure protection by a small-molecule antiviral compound against EBOV in nonhuman primates. The broad-spectrum antiviral activity of GS-5734 in vitro against other pathogenic RNA viruses, including filoviruses, arenaviruses, and coronaviruses, suggests the potential for wider medical use. GS-5734 is amenable to large-scale manufacturing, and clinical studies investigating the drug safety and pharmacokinetics are ongoing.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Warren, Travis K -- Jordan, Robert -- Lo, Michael K -- Ray, Adrian S -- Mackman, Richard L -- Soloveva, Veronica -- Siegel, Dustin -- Perron, Michel -- Bannister, Roy -- Hui, Hon C -- Larson, Nate -- Strickley, Robert -- Wells, Jay -- Stuthman, Kelly S -- Van Tongeren, Sean A -- Garza, Nicole L -- Donnelly, Ginger -- Shurtleff, Amy C -- Retterer, Cary J -- Gharaibeh, Dima -- Zamani, Rouzbeh -- Kenny, Tara -- Eaton, Brett P -- Grimes, Elizabeth -- Welch, Lisa S -- Gomba, Laura -- Wilhelmsen, Catherine L -- Nichols, Donald K -- Nuss, Jonathan E -- Nagle, Elyse R -- Kugelman, Jeffrey R -- Palacios, Gustavo -- Doerffler, Edward -- Neville, Sean -- Carra, Ernest -- Clarke, Michael O -- Zhang, Lijun -- Lew, Willard -- Ross, Bruce -- Wang, Queenie -- Chun, Kwon -- Wolfe, Lydia -- Babusis, Darius -- Park, Yeojin -- Stray, Kirsten M -- Trancheva, Iva -- Feng, Joy Y -- Barauskas, Ona -- Xu, Yili -- Wong, Pamela -- Braun, Molly R -- Flint, Mike -- McMullan, Laura K -- Chen, Shan-Shan -- Fearns, Rachel -- Swaminathan, Swami -- Mayers, Douglas L -- Spiropoulou, Christina F -- Lee, William A -- Nichol, Stuart T -- Cihlar, Tomas -- Bavari, Sina -- R01 AI113321/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01AI113321/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- England -- Nature. 2016 Mar 17;531(7594):381-5. doi: 10.1038/nature17180. Epub 2016 Mar 2.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Frederick, Maryland 21702, USA. ; United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Therapeutic Development Center, Frederick, Maryland 21702, USA. ; Gilead Sciences, Foster City, California 94404, USA. ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333, USA. ; Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02118, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26934220" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Lymphoid tissue is a key reservoir established by HIV-1 during acute infection. It is a site associated with viral production, storage of viral particles in immune complexes, and viral persistence. Although combinations of antiretroviral drugs usually suppress viral replication and reduce viral RNA to undetectable levels in blood, it is unclear whether treatment fully suppresses viral replication in lymphoid tissue reservoirs. Here we show that virus evolution and trafficking between tissue compartments continues in patients with undetectable levels of virus in their bloodstream. We present a spatial and dynamic model of persistent viral replication and spread that indicates why the development of drug resistance is not a foregone conclusion under conditions in which drug concentrations are insufficient to completely block virus replication. These data provide new insights into the evolutionary and infection dynamics of the virus population within the host, revealing that HIV-1 can continue to replicate and replenish the viral reservoir despite potent antiretroviral therapy.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Lorenzo-Redondo, Ramon -- Fryer, Helen R -- Bedford, Trevor -- Kim, Eun-Young -- Archer, John -- Kosakovsky Pond, Sergei L -- Chung, Yoon-Seok -- Penugonda, Sudhir -- Chipman, Jeffrey G -- Fletcher, Courtney V -- Schacker, Timothy W -- Malim, Michael H -- Rambaut, Andrew -- Haase, Ashley T -- McLean, Angela R -- Wolinsky, Steven M -- AI1074340/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- DA033773/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/ -- G1000196/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- GM110749/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 DA033773/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/ -- Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- England -- Nature. 2016 Feb 4;530(7588):51-6. doi: 10.1038/nature16933. Epub 2016 Jan 27.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Division of Infectious Diseases, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60011, USA. ; Institute for Emerging Infections, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK. ; Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109, USA. ; Centro de Investigacao em Biodiversidade e Recursos Geneticos Universidade do Porto, 4485-661 Vairao, Portugal. ; Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, California 92093, USA. ; Division of AIDS, Center for Immunology and Pathology, Korea National Institutes of Health, Chungju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, 28159, South Korea. ; Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA. ; Antiviral Pharmacology Laboratory, University of Nebraska Medical Center, College of Pharmacy, Omaha, Nebraska 68198, USA. ; Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA. ; Department of Infectious Diseases, King's College London, Guy's Hospital, London SE21 7DN, UK. ; Centre for Immunology, Infection and Evolution, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK. ; Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26814962" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The Bacillus thuringiensis delta-endotoxins (Bt toxins) are widely used insecticidal proteins in engineered crops that provide agricultural, economic, and environmental benefits. The development of insect resistance to Bt toxins endangers their long-term effectiveness. Here we have developed a phage-assisted continuous evolution selection that rapidly evolves high-affinity protein-protein interactions, and applied this system to evolve variants of the Bt toxin Cry1Ac that bind a cadherin-like receptor from the insect pest Trichoplusia ni (TnCAD) that is not natively bound by wild-type Cry1Ac. The resulting evolved Cry1Ac variants bind TnCAD with high affinity (dissociation constant Kd = 11-41 nM), kill TnCAD-expressing insect cells that are not susceptible to wild-type Cry1Ac, and kill Cry1Ac-resistant T. ni insects up to 335-fold more potently than wild-type Cry1Ac. Our findings establish that the evolution of Bt toxins with novel insect cell receptor affinity can overcome insect Bt toxin resistance and confer lethality approaching that of the wild-type Bt toxin against non-resistant insects.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4865400/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4865400/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Badran, Ahmed H -- Guzov, Victor M -- Huai, Qing -- Kemp, Melissa M -- Vishwanath, Prashanth -- Kain, Wendy -- Nance, Autumn M -- Evdokimov, Artem -- Moshiri, Farhad -- Turner, Keith H -- Wang, Ping -- Malvar, Thomas -- Liu, David R -- R01 EB022376/EB/NIBIB NIH HHS/ -- R01EB022376/EB/NIBIB NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- England -- Nature. 2016 May 5;533(7601):58-63. doi: 10.1038/nature17938. Epub 2016 Apr 27.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA. ; Monsanto Company, 245 First Street, Suite 200, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA. ; Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Geneva, New York 14456, USA. ; Monsanto Company, 700 Chesterfield Parkway West, Chesterfield, Missouri 63017, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27120167" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Cellular immunity against viral infection and tumour cells depends on antigen presentation by major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) molecules. Intracellular antigenic peptides are transported into the endoplasmic reticulum by the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) and then loaded onto the nascent MHC I molecules, which are exported to the cell surface and present peptides to the immune system. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes recognize non-self peptides and program the infected or malignant cells for apoptosis. Defects in TAP account for immunodeficiency and tumour development. To escape immune surveillance, some viruses have evolved strategies either to downregulate TAP expression or directly inhibit TAP activity. So far, neither the architecture of TAP nor the mechanism of viral inhibition has been elucidated at the structural level. Here we describe the cryo-electron microscopy structure of human TAP in complex with its inhibitor ICP47, a small protein produced by the herpes simplex virus I. Here we show that the 12 transmembrane helices and 2 cytosolic nucleotide-binding domains of the transporter adopt an inward-facing conformation with the two nucleotide-binding domains separated. The viral inhibitor ICP47 forms a long helical hairpin, which plugs the translocation pathway of TAP from the cytoplasmic side. Association of ICP47 precludes substrate binding and prevents nucleotide-binding domain closure necessary for ATP hydrolysis. This work illustrates a striking example of immune evasion by persistent viruses. By blocking viral antigens from entering the endoplasmic reticulum, herpes simplex virus is hidden from cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which may contribute to establishing a lifelong infection in the host.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Oldham, Michael L -- Hite, Richard K -- Steffen, Alanna M -- Damko, Ermelinda -- Li, Zongli -- Walz, Thomas -- Chen, Jue -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- England -- Nature. 2016 Jan 28;529(7587):537-40. doi: 10.1038/nature16506. Epub 2016 Jan 20.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10065, USA. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815, USA. ; Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, 240 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26789246" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The p53 pro-apoptotic tumour suppressor is mutated or functionally altered in most cancers. In epithelial tumours induced by 'high-risk' mucosal human papilloma viruses, including human cervical carcinoma and a growing number of head-and-neck cancers, p53 is degraded by the viral oncoprotein E6 (ref. 2). In this process, E6 binds to a short leucine (L)-rich LxxLL consensus sequence within the cellular ubiquitin ligase E6AP. Subsequently, the E6/E6AP heterodimer recruits and degrades p53 (ref. 4). Neither E6 nor E6AP are separately able to recruit p53 (refs 3, 5), and the precise mode of assembly of E6, E6AP and p53 is unknown. Here we solve the crystal structure of a ternary complex comprising full-length human papilloma virus type 16 (HPV-16) E6, the LxxLL motif of E6AP and the core domain of p53. The LxxLL motif of E6AP renders the conformation of E6 competent for interaction with p53 by structuring a p53-binding cleft on E6. Mutagenesis of critical positions at the E6-p53 interface disrupts p53 degradation. The E6-binding site of p53 is distal from previously described DNA- and protein-binding surfaces of the core domain. This suggests that, in principle, E6 may avoid competition with cellular factors by targeting both free and bound p53 molecules. The E6/E6AP/p53 complex represents a prototype of viral hijacking of both the ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation pathway and the p53 tumour suppressor pathway. The present structure provides a framework for the design of inhibitory therapeutic strategies against oncogenesis mediated by human papilloma virus.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Martinez-Zapien, Denise -- Ruiz, Francesc Xavier -- Poirson, Juline -- Mitschler, Andre -- Ramirez, Juan -- Forster, Anne -- Cousido-Siah, Alexandra -- Masson, Murielle -- Vande Pol, Scott -- Podjarny, Alberto -- Trave, Gilles -- Zanier, Katia -- R01CA134737/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- England -- Nature. 2016 Jan 28;529(7587):541-5. doi: 10.1038/nature16481. Epub 2016 Jan 20.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Equipe labellisee Ligue, Biotechnologie et signalisation cellulaire UMR 7242, Ecole Superieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg, Boulevard Sebastien Brant, BP 10413, F-67412 Illkirch, France. ; Institut de Genetique et de Biologie Moleculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC)/INSERM U964/CNRS UMR 7104/Universite de Strasbourg, 1 rue Laurent Fries, BP 10142, F-67404 Illkirch, France. ; Department of Pathology, University of Virginia, PO Box 800904, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908-0904, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26789255" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Signalling by ubiquitination regulates virtually every cellular process in eukaryotes. Covalent attachment of ubiquitin to a substrate is catalysed by the E1, E2 and E3 three-enzyme cascade, which links the carboxy terminus of ubiquitin to the epsilon-amino group of, in most cases, a lysine of the substrate via an isopeptide bond. Given the essential roles of ubiquitination in the regulation of the immune system, it is not surprising that the ubiquitination network is a common target for diverse infectious agents. For example, many bacterial pathogens exploit ubiquitin signalling using virulence factors that function as E3 ligases, deubiquitinases or as enzymes that directly attack ubiquitin. The bacterial pathogen Legionella pneumophila utilizes approximately 300 effectors that modulate diverse host processes to create a permissive niche for its replication in phagocytes. Here we demonstrate that members of the SidE effector family of L. pneumophila ubiquitinate multiple Rab small GTPases associated with the endoplasmic reticulum. Moreover, we show that these proteins are capable of catalysing ubiquitination without the need for the E1 and E2 enzymes. A putative mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase motif critical for the ubiquitination activity is also essential for the role of the SidE family in intracellular bacterial replication in a protozoan host. The E1/E2-independent ubiquitination catalysed by these enzymes is energized by nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, which activates ubiquitin by the formation of ADP-ribosylated ubiquitin. These results establish that ubiquitination can be catalysed by a single enzyme, the activity of which does not require ATP.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Qiu, Jiazhang -- Sheedlo, Michael J -- Yu, Kaiwen -- Tan, Yunhao -- Nakayasu, Ernesto S -- Das, Chittaranjan -- Liu, Xiaoyun -- Luo, Zhao-Qing -- 2R01GM103401/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- K02AI085403/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R21AI105714/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R56AI103168/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- England -- Nature. 2016 May 5;533(7601):120-4. doi: 10.1038/nature17657. Epub 2016 Apr 6.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Purdue Institute for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease and Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA. ; Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, 560 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA. ; Institute of Analytical Chemistry and Synthetic and Functional Biomolecules Center, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China. ; Biological Science Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27049943" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: CRISPR-Cas systems that provide defence against mobile genetic elements in bacteria and archaea have evolved a variety of mechanisms to target and cleave RNA or DNA. The well-studied types I, II and III utilize a set of distinct CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins for production of mature CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) and interference with invading nucleic acids. In types I and III, Cas6 or Cas5d cleaves precursor crRNA (pre-crRNA) and the mature crRNAs then guide a complex of Cas proteins (Cascade-Cas3, type I; Csm or Cmr, type III) to target and cleave invading DNA or RNA. In type II systems, RNase III cleaves pre-crRNA base-paired with trans-activating crRNA (tracrRNA) in the presence of Cas9 (refs 13, 14). The mature tracrRNA-crRNA duplex then guides Cas9 to cleave target DNA. Here, we demonstrate a novel mechanism in CRISPR-Cas immunity. We show that type V-A Cpf1 from Francisella novicida is a dual-nuclease that is specific to crRNA biogenesis and target DNA interference. Cpf1 cleaves pre-crRNA upstream of a hairpin structure formed within the CRISPR repeats and thereby generates intermediate crRNAs that are processed further, leading to mature crRNAs. After recognition of a 5'-YTN-3' protospacer adjacent motif on the non-target DNA strand and subsequent probing for an eight-nucleotide seed sequence, Cpf1, guided by the single mature repeat-spacer crRNA, introduces double-stranded breaks in the target DNA to generate a 5' overhang. The RNase and DNase activities of Cpf1 require sequence- and structure-specific binding to the hairpin of crRNA repeats. Cpf1 uses distinct active domains for both nuclease reactions and cleaves nucleic acids in the presence of magnesium or calcium. This study uncovers a new family of enzymes with specific dual endoribonuclease and endonuclease activities, and demonstrates that type V-A constitutes the most minimalistic of the CRISPR-Cas systems so far described.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Fonfara, Ines -- Richter, Hagen -- Bratovic, Majda -- Le Rhun, Anais -- Charpentier, Emmanuelle -- England -- Nature. 2016 Apr 28;532(7600):517-21. doi: 10.1038/nature17945. Epub 2016 Apr 20.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), Umea Centre for Microbial Research (UCMR), Department of Molecular Biology, Umea University, Umea 90187, Sweden. ; Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Department of Regulation in Infection Biology, Braunschweig 38124, Germany. ; Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Department of Regulation in Infection Biology, Berlin 10117, Germany. ; Hannover Medical School, Hannover 30625, Germany.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27096362" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The vertebrate brain is highly complex, but its evolutionary origin remains elusive. Because of the absence of certain developmental domains generally marked by the expression of regulatory genes, the embryonic brain of the lamprey, a jawless vertebrate, had been regarded as representing a less complex, ancestral state of the vertebrate brain. Specifically, the absence of a Hedgehog- and Nkx2.1-positive domain in the lamprey subpallium was thought to be similar to mouse mutants in which the suppression of Nkx2-1 leads to a loss of the medial ganglionic eminence. Here we show that the brain of the inshore hagfish (Eptatretus burgeri), another cyclostome group, develops domains equivalent to the medial ganglionic eminence and rhombic lip, resembling the gnathostome brain. Moreover, further investigation of lamprey larvae revealed that these domains are also present, ruling out the possibility of convergent evolution between hagfish and gnathostomes. Thus, brain regionalization as seen in crown gnathostomes is not an evolutionary innovation of this group, but dates back to the latest vertebrate ancestor before the divergence of cyclostomes and gnathostomes more than 500 million years ago.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Sugahara, Fumiaki -- Pascual-Anaya, Juan -- Oisi, Yasuhiro -- Kuraku, Shigehiro -- Aota, Shin-ichi -- Adachi, Noritaka -- Takagi, Wataru -- Hirai, Tamami -- Sato, Noboru -- Murakami, Yasunori -- Kuratani, Shigeru -- England -- Nature. 2016 Mar 3;531(7592):97-100. doi: 10.1038/nature16518. Epub 2016 Feb 15.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Evolutionary Morphology Laboratory, RIKEN, Kobe 650-0047, Japan. ; Division of Biology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya 663-8501, Japan. ; Development and Function of Inhibitory Neural Circuits, Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, Jupiter, Florida 33458, USA. ; Phyloinformatics Unit, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Kobe 650-0047, Japan. ; Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA. ; Division of Gross Anatomy and Morphogenesis, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata 950-8510, Japan. ; Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ehime University, Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26878236" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Identifying key molecules that launch regeneration has been a long-sought goal. Multiple regenerative animals show an initial wound-associated proliferative response that transits into sustained proliferation if a considerable portion of the body part has been removed. In the axolotl, appendage amputation initiates a round of wound-associated cell cycle induction followed by continued proliferation that is dependent on nerve-derived signals. A wound-associated molecule that triggers the initial proliferative response to launch regeneration has remained obscure. Here, using an expression cloning strategy followed by in vivo gain- and loss-of-function assays, we identified axolotl MARCKS-like protein (MLP) as an extracellularly released factor that induces the initial cell cycle response during axolotl appendage regeneration. The identification of a regeneration-initiating molecule opens the possibility of understanding how to elicit regeneration in other animals.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4795554/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4795554/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Sugiura, Takuji -- Wang, Heng -- Barsacchi, Rico -- Simon, Andras -- Tanaka, Elly M -- England -- Nature. 2016 Mar 10;531(7593):237-40. doi: 10.1038/nature16974.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉DFG Research Center for Regenerative Therapies (CRTD), Technische Universitat Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 105, 01307 Dresden, Germany. ; Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany. ; Karolinska Institute, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Centre of Developmental Biology for Regenerative Medicine, SE-171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26934225" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Multicellularity is often considered a prerequisite for morphological complexity, as seen in the camera-type eyes found in several groups of animals. A notable exception exists in single-celled eukaryotes called dinoflagellates, some of which have an eye-like 'ocelloid' consisting of subcellular analogues to a cornea, lens, iris, and retina. These planktonic cells are uncultivated and rarely encountered in environmental samples, obscuring the function and evolutionary origin of the ocelloid. Here we show, using a combination of electron microscopy, tomography, isolated-organelle genomics, and single-cell genomics, that ocelloids are built from pre-existing organelles, including a cornea-like layer made of mitochondria and a retinal body made of anastomosing plastids. We find that the retinal body forms the central core of a network of peridinin-type plastids, which in dinoflagellates and their relatives originated through an ancient endosymbiosis with a red alga. As such, the ocelloid is a chimaeric structure, incorporating organelles with different endosymbiotic histories. The anatomical complexity of single-celled organisms may be limited by the components available for differentiation, but the ocelloid shows that pre-existing organelles can be assembled into a structure so complex that it was initially mistaken for a multicellular eye. Although mitochondria and plastids are acknowledged chiefly for their metabolic roles, they can also be building blocks for greater structural complexity.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Gavelis, Gregory S -- Hayakawa, Shiho -- White, Richard A 3rd -- Gojobori, Takashi -- Suttle, Curtis A -- Keeling, Patrick J -- Leander, Brian S -- England -- Nature. 2015 Jul 9;523(7559):204-7. doi: 10.1038/nature14593. Epub 2015 Jul 1.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada. ; 1] Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada [2] Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada [3] Center for Information Biology, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540, Japan. ; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada. ; 1] Center for Information Biology, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-8540, Japan [2] Computational Bioscience Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia. ; 1] Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada [2] Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada [3] Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada [4] Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Z8, Canada. ; 1] Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada [2] Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Z8, Canada. ; 1] Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada [2] Department of Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada [3] Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1Z8, Canada.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26131935" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Surface polysaccharides are important for bacterial interactions with multicellular organisms, and some are virulence factors in pathogens. In the legume-rhizobium symbiosis, bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPS) are essential for the development of infected root nodules. We have identified a gene in Lotus japonicus, Epr3, encoding a receptor-like kinase that controls this infection. We show that epr3 mutants are defective in perception of purified EPS, and that EPR3 binds EPS directly and distinguishes compatible and incompatible EPS in bacterial competition studies. Expression of Epr3 in epidermal cells within the susceptible root zone shows that the protein is involved in bacterial entry, while rhizobial and plant mutant studies suggest that Epr3 regulates bacterial passage through the plant's epidermal cell layer. Finally, we show that Epr3 expression is inducible and dependent on host perception of bacterial nodulation (Nod) factors. Plant-bacterial compatibility and bacterial access to legume roots is thus regulated by a two-stage mechanism involving sequential receptor-mediated recognition of Nod factor and EPS signals.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Kawaharada, Y -- Kelly, S -- Nielsen, M Wibroe -- Hjuler, C T -- Gysel, K -- Muszynski, A -- Carlson, R W -- Thygesen, M B -- Sandal, N -- Asmussen, M H -- Vinther, M -- Andersen, S U -- Krusell, L -- Thirup, S -- Jensen, K J -- Ronson, C W -- Blaise, M -- Radutoiu, S -- Stougaard, J -- England -- Nature. 2015 Jul 16;523(7560):308-12. doi: 10.1038/nature14611. Epub 2015 Jul 8.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉1] Centre for Carbohydrate Recognition and Signalling. Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000 C, Denmark [2] Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000 C, Denmark. ; 1] Centre for Carbohydrate Recognition and Signalling. Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000 C, Denmark [2] Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000 C, Denmark [3] Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand. ; 1] Centre for Carbohydrate Recognition and Signalling. Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000 C, Denmark [2] Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg 1871 C, Denmark. ; Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA. ; 1] Centre for Carbohydrate Recognition and Signalling. Aarhus University, Aarhus 8000 C, Denmark [2] Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26153863" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Wing polyphenism is an evolutionarily successful feature found in a wide range of insects. Long-winged morphs can fly, which allows them to escape adverse habitats and track changing resources, whereas short-winged morphs are flightless, but usually possess higher fecundity than the winged morphs. Studies on aphids, crickets and planthoppers have revealed that alternative wing morphs develop in response to various environmental cues, and that the response to these cues may be mediated by developmental hormones, although research in this area has yielded equivocal and conflicting results about exactly which hormones are involved. As it stands, the molecular mechanism underlying wing morph determination in insects has remained elusive. Here we show that two insulin receptors in the migratory brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens, InR1 and InR2, have opposing roles in controlling long wing versus short wing development by regulating the activity of the forkhead transcription factor Foxo. InR1, acting via the phosphatidylinositol-3-OH kinase (PI(3)K)-protein kinase B (Akt) signalling cascade, leads to the long-winged morph if active and the short-winged morph if inactive. InR2, by contrast, functions as a negative regulator of the InR1-PI(3)K-Akt pathway: suppression of InR2 results in development of the long-winged morph. The brain-secreted ligand Ilp3 triggers development of long-winged morphs. Our findings provide the first evidence of a molecular basis for the regulation of wing polyphenism in insects, and they are also the first demonstration--to our knowledge--of binary control over alternative developmental outcomes, and thus deepen our understanding of the development and evolution of phenotypic plasticity.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Xu, Hai-Jun -- Xue, Jian -- Lu, Bo -- Zhang, Xue-Chao -- Zhuo, Ji-Chong -- He, Shu-Fang -- Ma, Xiao-Fang -- Jiang, Ya-Qin -- Fan, Hai-Wei -- Xu, Ji-Yu -- Ye, Yu-Xuan -- Pan, Peng-Lu -- Li, Qiao -- Bao, Yan-Yuan -- Nijhout, H Frederik -- Zhang, Chuan-Xi -- England -- Nature. 2015 Mar 26;519(7544):464-7. doi: 10.1038/nature14286. Epub 2015 Mar 18.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. ; Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25799997" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Gene expression is regulated by transcription factors (TFs), proteins that recognize short DNA sequence motifs. Such sequences are very common in the human genome, and an important determinant of the specificity of gene expression is the cooperative binding of multiple TFs to closely located motifs. However, interactions between DNA-bound TFs have not been systematically characterized. To identify TF pairs that bind cooperatively to DNA, and to characterize their spacing and orientation preferences, we have performed consecutive affinity-purification systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (CAP-SELEX) analysis of 9,400 TF-TF-DNA interactions. This analysis revealed 315 TF-TF interactions recognizing 618 heterodimeric motifs, most of which have not been previously described. The observed cooperativity occurred promiscuously between TFs from diverse structural families. Structural analysis of the TF pairs, including a novel crystal structure of MEIS1 and DLX3 bound to their identified recognition site, revealed that the interactions between the TFs were predominantly mediated by DNA. Most TF pair sites identified involved a large overlap between individual TF recognition motifs, and resulted in recognition of composite sites that were markedly different from the individual TF's motifs. Together, our results indicate that the DNA molecule commonly plays an active role in cooperative interactions that define the gene regulatory lexicon.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Jolma, Arttu -- Yin, Yimeng -- Nitta, Kazuhiro R -- Dave, Kashyap -- Popov, Alexander -- Taipale, Minna -- Enge, Martin -- Kivioja, Teemu -- Morgunova, Ekaterina -- Taipale, Jussi -- England -- Nature. 2015 Nov 19;527(7578):384-8. doi: 10.1038/nature15518. Epub 2015 Nov 9.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, SE 141 83, Sweden. ; European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 38043 Grenoble, France. ; Genome-Scale Biology Program, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 63, FI-00014, Finland.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26550823" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Somaclonal variation arises in plants and animals when differentiated somatic cells are induced into a pluripotent state, but the resulting clones differ from each other and from their parents. In agriculture, somaclonal variation has hindered the micropropagation of elite hybrids and genetically modified crops, but the mechanism responsible remains unknown. The oil palm fruit 'mantled' abnormality is a somaclonal variant arising from tissue culture that drastically reduces yield, and has largely halted efforts to clone elite hybrids for oil production. Widely regarded as an epigenetic phenomenon, 'mantling' has defied explanation, but here we identify the MANTLED locus using epigenome-wide association studies of the African oil palm Elaeis guineensis. DNA hypomethylation of a LINE retrotransposon related to rice Karma, in the intron of the homeotic gene DEFICIENS, is common to all mantled clones and is associated with alternative splicing and premature termination. Dense methylation near the Karma splice site (termed the Good Karma epiallele) predicts normal fruit set, whereas hypomethylation (the Bad Karma epiallele) predicts homeotic transformation, parthenocarpy and marked loss of yield. Loss of Karma methylation and of small RNA in tissue culture contributes to the origin of mantled, while restoration in spontaneous revertants accounts for non-Mendelian inheritance. The ability to predict and cull mantling at the plantlet stage will facilitate the introduction of higher performing clones and optimize environmentally sensitive land resources.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Ong-Abdullah, Meilina -- Ordway, Jared M -- Jiang, Nan -- Ooi, Siew-Eng -- Kok, Sau-Yee -- Sarpan, Norashikin -- Azimi, Nuraziyan -- Hashim, Ahmad Tarmizi -- Ishak, Zamzuri -- Rosli, Samsul Kamal -- Malike, Fadila Ahmad -- Bakar, Nor Azwani Abu -- Marjuni, Marhalil -- Abdullah, Norziha -- Yaakub, Zulkifli -- Amiruddin, Mohd Din -- Nookiah, Rajanaidu -- Singh, Rajinder -- Low, Eng-Ti Leslie -- Chan, Kuang-Lim -- Azizi, Norazah -- Smith, Steven W -- Bacher, Blaire -- Budiman, Muhammad A -- Van Brunt, Andrew -- Wischmeyer, Corey -- Beil, Melissa -- Hogan, Michael -- Lakey, Nathan -- Lim, Chin-Ching -- Arulandoo, Xaviar -- Wong, Choo-Kien -- Choo, Chin-Nee -- Wong, Wei-Chee -- Kwan, Yen-Yen -- Alwee, Sharifah Shahrul Rabiah Syed -- Sambanthamurthi, Ravigadevi -- Martienssen, Robert A -- R01 GM067014/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- England -- Nature. 2015 Sep 24;525(7570):533-7. doi: 10.1038/nature15365. Epub 2015 Sep 9.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Malaysian Palm Oil Board, 6, Persiaran Institusi, Bandar Baru Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia. ; Orion Genomics, 4041 Forest Park Avenue, St Louis, Missouri 63108, USA. ; United Plantations Berhad, Jendarata Estate, 36009 Teluk Intan, Perak, Malaysia. ; Applied Agricultural Resources Sdn Bhd, No. 11, Jalan Teknologi 3/6, Taman Sains Selangor 1, 47810 Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. ; FELDA Global Ventures R&D Sdn Bhd, c/o FELDA Biotechnology Centre, PT 23417, Lengkuk Teknologi, 71760 Bandar Enstek, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute-Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York 11724, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26352475" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The human lens is comprised largely of crystallin proteins assembled into a highly ordered, interactive macro-structure essential for lens transparency and refractive index. Any disruption of intra- or inter-protein interactions will alter this delicate structure, exposing hydrophobic surfaces, with consequent protein aggregation and cataract formation. Cataracts are the most common cause of blindness worldwide, affecting tens of millions of people, and currently the only treatment is surgical removal of cataractous lenses. The precise mechanisms by which lens proteins both prevent aggregation and maintain lens transparency are largely unknown. Lanosterol is an amphipathic molecule enriched in the lens. It is synthesized by lanosterol synthase (LSS) in a key cyclization reaction of a cholesterol synthesis pathway. Here we identify two distinct homozygous LSS missense mutations (W581R and G588S) in two families with extensive congenital cataracts. Both of these mutations affect highly conserved amino acid residues and impair key catalytic functions of LSS. Engineered expression of wild-type, but not mutant, LSS prevents intracellular protein aggregation of various cataract-causing mutant crystallins. Treatment by lanosterol, but not cholesterol, significantly decreased preformed protein aggregates both in vitro and in cell-transfection experiments. We further show that lanosterol treatment could reduce cataract severity and increase transparency in dissected rabbit cataractous lenses in vitro and cataract severity in vivo in dogs. Our study identifies lanosterol as a key molecule in the prevention of lens protein aggregation and points to a novel strategy for cataract prevention and treatment.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Zhao, Ling -- Chen, Xiang-Jun -- Zhu, Jie -- Xi, Yi-Bo -- Yang, Xu -- Hu, Li-Dan -- Ouyang, Hong -- Patel, Sherrina H -- Jin, Xin -- Lin, Danni -- Wu, Frances -- Flagg, Ken -- Cai, Huimin -- Li, Gen -- Cao, Guiqun -- Lin, Ying -- Chen, Daniel -- Wen, Cindy -- Chung, Christopher -- Wang, Yandong -- Qiu, Austin -- Yeh, Emily -- Wang, Wenqiu -- Hu, Xun -- Grob, Seanna -- Abagyan, Ruben -- Su, Zhiguang -- Tjondro, Harry Christianto -- Zhao, Xi-Juan -- Luo, Hongrong -- Hou, Rui -- Perry, J Jefferson P -- Gao, Weiwei -- Kozak, Igor -- Granet, David -- Li, Yingrui -- Sun, Xiaodong -- Wang, Jun -- Zhang, Liangfang -- Liu, Yizhi -- Yan, Yong-Bin -- Zhang, Kang -- England -- Nature. 2015 Jul 30;523(7562):607-11. doi: 10.1038/nature14650. Epub 2015 Jul 22.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉1] Molecular Medicine Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China [2] State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, China [3] Department of Ophthalmology and Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Center, Institute for Engineering in Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. ; State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. ; 1] Department of Ophthalmology and Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Center, Institute for Engineering in Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA [2] Department of Ophthalmology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China. ; BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China. ; 1] State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, China [2] Department of Ophthalmology and Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Center, Institute for Engineering in Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. ; Department of Ophthalmology and Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Center, Institute for Engineering in Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. ; 1] Molecular Medicine Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China [2] Guangzhou KangRui Biological Pharmaceutical Technology Company, Guangzhou 510005, China. ; Molecular Medicine Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. ; State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, China. ; 1] Department of Ophthalmology and Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Center, Institute for Engineering in Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA [2] CapitalBio Genomics Co., Ltd., Dongguan 523808, China. ; 1] Department of Ophthalmology and Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Center, Institute for Engineering in Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA [2] Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai JiaoTong University, Shanghai 20080, China. ; Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. ; Guangzhou KangRui Biological Pharmaceutical Technology Company, Guangzhou 510005, China. ; Department of Biochemistry, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521, USA. ; 1] Department of Ophthalmology and Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Center, Institute for Engineering in Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA [2] Department of Nanoengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. ; King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ; Department of Ophthalmology, Shanghai First People's Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai JiaoTong University, Shanghai 20080, China. ; Department of Ophthalmology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China. ; 1] Molecular Medicine Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China [2] State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510060, China [3] Department of Ophthalmology and Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Center, Institute for Engineering in Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA [4] Department of Nanoengineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA [5] Veterans Administration Healthcare System, San Diego, California 92093, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26200341" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Plant genomes, and eukaryotic genomes in general, are typically repetitive, polyploid and heterozygous, which complicates genome assembly. The short read lengths of early Sanger and current next-generation sequencing platforms hinder assembly through complex repeat regions, and many draft and reference genomes are fragmented, lacking skewed GC and repetitive intergenic sequences, which are gaining importance due to projects like the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE). Here we report the whole-genome sequencing and assembly of the desiccation-tolerant grass Oropetium thomaeum. Using only single-molecule real-time sequencing, which generates long (〉16 kilobases) reads with random errors, we assembled 99% (244 megabases) of the Oropetium genome into 625 contigs with an N50 length of 2.4 megabases. Oropetium is an example of a 'near-complete' draft genome which includes gapless coverage over gene space as well as intergenic sequences such as centromeres, telomeres, transposable elements and rRNA clusters that are typically unassembled in draft genomes. Oropetium has 28,466 protein-coding genes and 43% repeat sequences, yet with 30% more compact euchromatic regions it is the smallest known grass genome. The Oropetium genome demonstrates the utility of single-molecule real-time sequencing for assembling high-quality plant and other eukaryotic genomes, and serves as a valuable resource for the plant comparative genomics community.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉VanBuren, Robert -- Bryant, Doug -- Edger, Patrick P -- Tang, Haibao -- Burgess, Diane -- Challabathula, Dinakar -- Spittle, Kristi -- Hall, Richard -- Gu, Jenny -- Lyons, Eric -- Freeling, Michael -- Bartels, Dorothea -- Ten Hallers, Boudewijn -- Hastie, Alex -- Michael, Todd P -- Mockler, Todd C -- England -- Nature. 2015 Nov 26;527(7579):508-11. doi: 10.1038/nature15714. Epub 2015 Nov 11.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St Louis, Missouri 63132, USA. ; Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. ; Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48823, USA. ; iPlant Collaborative, School of Plant Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA. ; Center for Genomics and Biotechnology, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology (HIST), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China. ; IMBIO, University of Bonn, Kirschallee 1, D-53115 Bonn, Germany. ; Pacific Biosciences, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA. ; BioNano Genomics, San Diego, California 92121, USA. ; Ibis Biosciences, Carlsbad, California 92008, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26560029" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Low-molecular-mass thiols in organisms are well known for their redox-relevant role in protection against various endogenous and exogenous stresses. In eukaryotes and Gram-negative bacteria, the primary thiol is glutathione (GSH), a cysteinyl-containing tripeptide. In contrast, mycothiol (MSH), a cysteinyl pseudo-disaccharide, is dominant in Gram-positive actinobacteria, including antibiotic-producing actinomycetes and pathogenic mycobacteria. MSH is equivalent to GSH, either as a cofactor or as a substrate, in numerous biochemical processes, most of which have not been characterized, largely due to the dearth of information concerning MSH-dependent proteins. Actinomycetes are able to produce another thiol, ergothioneine (EGT), a histidine betaine derivative that is widely assimilated by plants and animals for variable physiological activities. The involvement of EGT in enzymatic reactions, however, lacks any precedent. Here we report that the unprecedented coupling of two bacterial thiols, MSH and EGT, has a constructive role in the biosynthesis of lincomycin A, a sulfur-containing lincosamide (C8 sugar) antibiotic that has been widely used for half a century to treat Gram-positive bacterial infections. EGT acts as a carrier to template the molecular assembly, and MSH is the sulfur donor for lincomycin maturation after thiol exchange. These thiols function through two unusual S-glycosylations that program lincosamide transfer, activation and modification, providing the first paradigm for EGT-associated biochemical processes and for the poorly understood MSH-dependent biotransformations, a newly described model that is potentially common in the incorporation of sulfur, an element essential for life and ubiquitous in living systems.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Zhao, Qunfei -- Wang, Min -- Xu, Dongxiao -- Zhang, Qinglin -- Liu, Wen -- England -- Nature. 2015 Feb 5;518(7537):115-9. doi: 10.1038/nature14137. Epub 2015 Jan 14.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉State Key Laboratory of Bioorganic and Natural Products Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China. ; Huzhou Center of Bio-Synthetic Innovation, 1366 Hongfeng Road, Huzhou 313000, China. ; 1] State Key Laboratory of Bioorganic and Natural Products Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 345 Lingling Road, Shanghai 200032, China [2] Huzhou Center of Bio-Synthetic Innovation, 1366 Hongfeng Road, Huzhou 313000, China.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25607359" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The sudden appearance of the neural crest and neurogenic placodes in early branching vertebrates has puzzled biologists for over a century. These embryonic tissues contribute to the development of the cranium and associated sensory organs, which were crucial for the evolution of the vertebrate "new head". A previous study suggests that rudimentary neural crest cells existed in ancestral chordates. However, the evolutionary origins of neurogenic placodes have remained obscure owing to a paucity of embryonic data from tunicates, the closest living relatives to those early vertebrates. Here we show that the tunicate Ciona intestinalis exhibits a proto-placodal ectoderm (PPE) that requires inhibition of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) and expresses the key regulatory determinant Six1/2 and its co-factor Eya, a developmental process conserved across vertebrates. The Ciona PPE is shown to produce ciliated neurons that express genes for gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), a G-protein-coupled receptor for relaxin-3 (RXFP3) and a functional cyclic nucleotide-gated channel (CNGA), which suggests dual chemosensory and neurosecretory activities. These observations provide evidence that Ciona has a neurogenic proto-placode, which forms neurons that appear to be related to those derived from the olfactory placode and hypothalamic neurons of vertebrates. We discuss the possibility that the PPE-derived GnRH neurons of Ciona resemble an ancestral cell type, a progenitor to the complex neuronal circuit that integrates sensory information and neuroendocrine functions in vertebrates.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Abitua, Philip Barron -- Gainous, T Blair -- Kaczmarczyk, Angela N -- Winchell, Christopher J -- Hudson, Clare -- Kamata, Kaori -- Nakagawa, Masashi -- Tsuda, Motoyuki -- Kusakabe, Takehiro G -- Levine, Michael -- NS076542/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- England -- Nature. 2015 Aug 27;524(7566):462-5. doi: 10.1038/nature14657. Epub 2015 Aug 10.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Center for Integrative Genomics, Division of Genetics, Genomics and Development, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. ; Sorbonne Universites, Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Laboratoire de Biologie du Developpement de Villefranche-sur-mer, Observatoire Oceanologique, 06230 Villefranche-sur-mer, France. ; Graduate School of Life Science, University of Hyogo, Kamigori, Hyogo 678-1297, Japan. ; Institute for Integrative Neurobiology and Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Konan University, Kobe 658-8501, Japan.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26258298" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Nitrification, the oxidation of ammonia via nitrite to nitrate, has always been considered to be a two-step process catalysed by chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms oxidizing either ammonia or nitrite. No known nitrifier carries out both steps, although complete nitrification should be energetically advantageous. This functional separation has puzzled microbiologists for a century. Here we report on the discovery and cultivation of a completely nitrifying bacterium from the genus Nitrospira, a globally distributed group of nitrite oxidizers. The genome of this chemolithoautotrophic organism encodes the pathways both for ammonia and nitrite oxidation, which are concomitantly activated during growth by ammonia oxidation to nitrate. Genes affiliated with the phylogenetically distinct ammonia monooxygenase and hydroxylamine dehydrogenase genes of Nitrospira are present in many environments and were retrieved on Nitrospira-contigs in new metagenomes from engineered systems. These findings fundamentally change our picture of nitrification and point to completely nitrifying Nitrospira as key components of nitrogen-cycling microbial communities.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Daims, Holger -- Lebedeva, Elena V -- Pjevac, Petra -- Han, Ping -- Herbold, Craig -- Albertsen, Mads -- Jehmlich, Nico -- Palatinszky, Marton -- Vierheilig, Julia -- Bulaev, Alexandr -- Kirkegaard, Rasmus H -- von Bergen, Martin -- Rattei, Thomas -- Bendinger, Bernd -- Nielsen, Per H -- Wagner, Michael -- England -- Nature. 2015 Dec 24;528(7583):504-9. doi: 10.1038/nature16461. Epub 2015 Nov 26.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Division of Microbial Ecology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria. ; Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Research Center of Biotechnology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky Ave. 33, bld. 2, 119071 Moscow, Russia. ; Center for Microbial Communities, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark. ; Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department of Proteomics, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany. ; Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department of Metabolomics, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany. ; Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science, Division of Computational Systems Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria. ; DVGW-Forschungsstelle TUHH, Hamburg University of Technology, 21073 Hamburg, Germany.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26610024" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The first step in the biogenesis of microRNAs is the processing of primary microRNAs (pri-miRNAs) by the microprocessor complex, composed of the RNA-binding protein DGCR8 and the type III RNase DROSHA. This initial event requires recognition of the junction between the stem and the flanking single-stranded RNA of the pri-miRNA hairpin by DGCR8 followed by recruitment of DROSHA, which cleaves the RNA duplex to yield the pre-miRNA product. While the mechanisms underlying pri-miRNA processing have been determined, the mechanism by which DGCR8 recognizes and binds pri-miRNAs, as opposed to other secondary structures present in transcripts, is not understood. Here we find in mammalian cells that methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) methylates pri-miRNAs, marking them for recognition and processing by DGCR8. Consistent with this, METTL3 depletion reduced the binding of DGCR8 to pri-miRNAs and resulted in the global reduction of mature miRNAs and concomitant accumulation of unprocessed pri-miRNAs. In vitro processing reactions confirmed the sufficiency of the N(6)-methyladenosine (m(6)A) mark in promoting pri-miRNA processing. Finally, gain-of-function experiments revealed that METTL3 is sufficient to enhance miRNA maturation in a global and non-cell-type-specific manner. Our findings reveal that the m(6)A mark acts as a key post-transcriptional modification that promotes the initiation of miRNA biogenesis.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4475635/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4475635/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Alarcon, Claudio R -- Lee, Hyeseung -- Goodarzi, Hani -- Halberg, Nils -- Tavazoie, Sohail F -- T32 CA009673/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- England -- Nature. 2015 Mar 26;519(7544):482-5. doi: 10.1038/nature14281. Epub 2015 Mar 18.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Laboratory of Systems Cancer Biology, Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10065, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25799998" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) loci and their associated (Cas) proteins provide adaptive immunity against viral infection in prokaryotes. Upon infection, short phage sequences known as spacers integrate between CRISPR repeats and are transcribed into small RNA molecules that guide the Cas9 nuclease to the viral targets (protospacers). Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 cleavage of the viral genome requires the presence of a 5'-NGG-3' protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) sequence immediately downstream of the viral target. It is not known whether and how viral sequences flanked by the correct PAM are chosen as new spacers. Here we show that Cas9 selects functional spacers by recognizing their PAM during spacer acquisition. The replacement of cas9 with alleles that lack the PAM recognition motif or recognize an NGGNG PAM eliminated or changed PAM specificity during spacer acquisition, respectively. Cas9 associates with other proteins of the acquisition machinery (Cas1, Cas2 and Csn2), presumably to provide PAM-specificity to this process. These results establish a new function for Cas9 in the genesis of prokaryotic immunological memory.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4385744/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4385744/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Heler, Robert -- Samai, Poulami -- Modell, Joshua W -- Weiner, Catherine -- Goldberg, Gregory W -- Bikard, David -- Marraffini, Luciano A -- 1DP2AI104556-01/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- DP2 AI104556/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- England -- Nature. 2015 Mar 12;519(7542):199-202. doi: 10.1038/nature14245. Epub 2015 Feb 18.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Laboratory of Bacteriology, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10065, USA. ; 1] Laboratory of Bacteriology, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10065, USA [2] Synthetic Biology Group, Institut Pasteur, 28 Rue du Dr. Roux, 75015 Paris, France.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25707807" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) with sulfate controls the emission of the greenhouse gas methane from the ocean floor. In marine sediments, AOM is performed by dual-species consortia of anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) inhabiting the methane-sulfate transition zone. The biochemical pathways and biological adaptations enabling this globally relevant process are not fully understood. Here we study the syntrophic interaction in thermophilic AOM (TAOM) between ANME-1 archaea and their consortium partner SRB HotSeep-1 (ref. 6) at 60 degrees C to test the hypothesis of a direct interspecies exchange of electrons. The activity of TAOM consortia was compared to the first ANME-free culture of an AOM partner bacterium that grows using hydrogen as the sole electron donor. The thermophilic ANME-1 do not produce sufficient hydrogen to sustain the observed growth of the HotSeep-1 partner. Enhancing the growth of the HotSeep-1 partner by hydrogen addition represses methane oxidation and the metabolic activity of ANME-1. Further supporting the hypothesis of direct electron transfer between the partners, we observe that under TAOM conditions, both ANME and the HotSeep-1 bacteria overexpress genes for extracellular cytochrome production and form cell-to-cell connections that resemble the nanowire structures responsible for interspecies electron transfer between syntrophic consortia of Geobacter. HotSeep-1 highly expresses genes for pili production only during consortial growth using methane, and the nanowire-like structures are absent in HotSeep-1 cells isolated with hydrogen. These observations suggest that direct electron transfer is a principal mechanism in TAOM, which may also explain the enigmatic functioning and specificity of other methanotrophic ANME-SRB consortia.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Wegener, Gunter -- Krukenberg, Viola -- Riedel, Dietmar -- Tegetmeyer, Halina E -- Boetius, Antje -- England -- Nature. 2015 Oct 22;526(7574):587-90. doi: 10.1038/nature15733.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Max-Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, 28359 Bremen, Germany. ; MARUM, Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany. ; Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Gottingen, Germany. ; Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany. ; Center for Biotechnology, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26490622" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The origin of the eukaryotic cell remains one of the most contentious puzzles in modern biology. Recent studies have provided support for the emergence of the eukaryotic host cell from within the archaeal domain of life, but the identity and nature of the putative archaeal ancestor remain a subject of debate. Here we describe the discovery of 'Lokiarchaeota', a novel candidate archaeal phylum, which forms a monophyletic group with eukaryotes in phylogenomic analyses, and whose genomes encode an expanded repertoire of eukaryotic signature proteins that are suggestive of sophisticated membrane remodelling capabilities. Our results provide strong support for hypotheses in which the eukaryotic host evolved from a bona fide archaeon, and demonstrate that many components that underpin eukaryote-specific features were already present in that ancestor. This provided the host with a rich genomic 'starter-kit' to support the increase in the cellular and genomic complexity that is characteristic of eukaryotes.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4444528/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4444528/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Spang, Anja -- Saw, Jimmy H -- Jorgensen, Steffen L -- Zaremba-Niedzwiedzka, Katarzyna -- Martijn, Joran -- Lind, Anders E -- van Eijk, Roel -- Schleper, Christa -- Guy, Lionel -- Ettema, Thijs J G -- 310039/European Research Council/International -- England -- Nature. 2015 May 14;521(7551):173-9. doi: 10.1038/nature14447. Epub 2015 May 6.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, SE-75123 Uppsala, Sweden. ; Department of Biology, Centre for Geobiology, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway. ; 1] Department of Biology, Centre for Geobiology, University of Bergen, N-5020 Bergen, Norway [2] Division of Archaea Biology and Ecogenomics, Department of Ecogenomics and Systems Biology, University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna, Austria. ; 1] Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, SE-75123 Uppsala, Sweden [2] Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, SE-75123 Uppsala, Sweden.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25945739" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Atmospheric methane is the second most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, and is responsible for about 20% of the global warming effect since pre-industrial times. Rice paddies are the largest anthropogenic methane source and produce 7-17% of atmospheric methane. Warm waterlogged soil and exuded nutrients from rice roots provide ideal conditions for methanogenesis in paddies with annual methane emissions of 25-100-million tonnes. This scenario will be exacerbated by an expansion in rice cultivation needed to meet the escalating demand for food in the coming decades. There is an urgent need to establish sustainable technologies for increasing rice production while reducing methane fluxes from rice paddies. However, ongoing efforts for methane mitigation in rice paddies are mainly based on farming practices and measures that are difficult to implement. Despite proposed strategies to increase rice productivity and reduce methane emissions, no high-starch low-methane-emission rice has been developed. Here we show that the addition of a single transcription factor gene, barley SUSIBA2 (refs 7, 8), conferred a shift of carbon flux to SUSIBA2 rice, favouring the allocation of photosynthates to aboveground biomass over allocation to roots. The altered allocation resulted in an increased biomass and starch content in the seeds and stems, and suppressed methanogenesis, possibly through a reduction in root exudates. Three-year field trials in China demonstrated that the cultivation of SUSIBA2 rice was associated with a significant reduction in methane emissions and a decrease in rhizospheric methanogen levels. SUSIBA2 rice offers a sustainable means of providing increased starch content for food production while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from rice cultivation. Approaches to increase rice productivity and reduce methane emissions as seen in SUSIBA2 rice may be particularly beneficial in a future climate with rising temperatures resulting in increased methane emissions from paddies.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Su, J -- Hu, C -- Yan, X -- Jin, Y -- Chen, Z -- Guan, Q -- Wang, Y -- Zhong, D -- Jansson, C -- Wang, F -- Schnurer, A -- Sun, C -- England -- Nature. 2015 Jul 30;523(7562):602-6. doi: 10.1038/nature14673. Epub 2015 Jul 22.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉1] Institute of Biotechnology, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou 350003, China [2] Department of Plant Biology, Uppsala BioCenter, Linnean Center for Plant Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7080, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden. ; Department of Plant Biology, Uppsala BioCenter, Linnean Center for Plant Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7080, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden. ; 1] Department of Plant Biology, Uppsala BioCenter, Linnean Center for Plant Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7080, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden [2] Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Innovation and Utilization, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China. ; Institute of Biotechnology, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou 350003, China. ; The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, K8-93 Richland, Washington 99352, USA. ; Department of Microbiology, Uppsala BioCenter, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26200336" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Adiponectin stimulation of its receptors, AdipoR1 and AdipoR2, increases the activities of 5' AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR), respectively, thereby contributing to healthy longevity as key anti-diabetic molecules. AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 were predicted to contain seven transmembrane helices with the opposite topology to G-protein-coupled receptors. Here we report the crystal structures of human AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 at 2.9 and 2.4 A resolution, respectively, which represent a novel class of receptor structure. The seven-transmembrane helices, conformationally distinct from those of G-protein-coupled receptors, enclose a large cavity where three conserved histidine residues coordinate a zinc ion. The zinc-binding structure may have a role in the adiponectin-stimulated AMPK phosphorylation and UCP2 upregulation. Adiponectin may broadly interact with the extracellular face, rather than the carboxy-terminal tail, of the receptors. The present information will facilitate the understanding of novel structure-function relationships and the development and optimization of AdipoR agonists for the treatment of obesity-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4477036/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4477036/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Tanabe, Hiroaki -- Fujii, Yoshifumi -- Okada-Iwabu, Miki -- Iwabu, Masato -- Nakamura, Yoshihiro -- Hosaka, Toshiaki -- Motoyama, Kanna -- Ikeda, Mariko -- Wakiyama, Motoaki -- Terada, Takaho -- Ohsawa, Noboru -- Hato, Masakatsu -- Ogasawara, Satoshi -- Hino, Tomoya -- Murata, Takeshi -- Iwata, So -- Hirata, Kunio -- Kawano, Yoshiaki -- Yamamoto, Masaki -- Kimura-Someya, Tomomi -- Shirouzu, Mikako -- Yamauchi, Toshimasa -- Kadowaki, Takashi -- Yokoyama, Shigeyuki -- 062164/Z/00/Z/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 089809/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- BB/G02325/1/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- BB/G023425/1/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- England -- Nature. 2015 Apr 16;520(7547):312-6. doi: 10.1038/nature14301. Epub 2015 Apr 8.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉1] RIKEN Systems and Structural Biology Center, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan [2] Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry and Laboratory of Structural Biology, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan [3] Division of Structural and Synthetic Biology, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan [4] RIKEN Structural Biology Laboratory, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan. ; 1] RIKEN Systems and Structural Biology Center, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan [2] RIKEN Structural Biology Laboratory, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan. ; 1] Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan [2] Department of Integrated Molecular Science on Metabolic Diseases, 22nd Century Medical and Research Center, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. ; 1] Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan [2] Department of Integrated Molecular Science on Metabolic Diseases, 22nd Century Medical and Research Center, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan [3] PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan. ; 1] RIKEN Systems and Structural Biology Center, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan [2] Division of Structural and Synthetic Biology, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan [3] RIKEN Structural Biology Laboratory, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan. ; 1] RIKEN Systems and Structural Biology Center, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan [2] Division of Structural and Synthetic Biology, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan. ; RIKEN Systems and Structural Biology Center, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan. ; Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. ; 1] Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan [2] JST, Research Acceleration Program, Membrane Protein Crystallography Project, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan. ; 1] RIKEN Systems and Structural Biology Center, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan [2] Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan [3] JST, Research Acceleration Program, Membrane Protein Crystallography Project, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan [4] Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Chiba University, Yayoi-cho, Inage, Chiba 263-8522, Japan. ; 1] RIKEN Systems and Structural Biology Center, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan [2] Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan [3] JST, Research Acceleration Program, Membrane Protein Crystallography Project, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan [4] Division of Molecular Biosciences, Membrane Protein Crystallography Group, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, UK [5] Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Chilton, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK [6] RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Harima Institute, Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan. ; RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Harima Institute, Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan. ; 1] Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan [2] Department of Integrated Molecular Science on Metabolic Diseases, 22nd Century Medical and Research Center, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan [3] CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan. ; 1] RIKEN Systems and Structural Biology Center, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan [2] Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry and Laboratory of Structural Biology, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan [3] RIKEN Structural Biology Laboratory, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25855295" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Structural variants are implicated in numerous diseases and make up the majority of varying nucleotides among human genomes. Here we describe an integrated set of eight structural variant classes comprising both balanced and unbalanced variants, which we constructed using short-read DNA sequencing data and statistically phased onto haplotype blocks in 26 human populations. Analysing this set, we identify numerous gene-intersecting structural variants exhibiting population stratification and describe naturally occurring homozygous gene knockouts that suggest the dispensability of a variety of human genes. We demonstrate that structural variants are enriched on haplotypes identified by genome-wide association studies and exhibit enrichment for expression quantitative trait loci. Additionally, we uncover appreciable levels of structural variant complexity at different scales, including genic loci subject to clusters of repeated rearrangement and complex structural variants with multiple breakpoints likely to have formed through individual mutational events. Our catalogue will enhance future studies into structural variant demography, functional impact and disease association.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4617611/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4617611/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Sudmant, Peter H -- Rausch, Tobias -- Gardner, Eugene J -- Handsaker, Robert E -- Abyzov, Alexej -- Huddleston, John -- Zhang, Yan -- Ye, Kai -- Jun, Goo -- Hsi-Yang Fritz, Markus -- Konkel, Miriam K -- Malhotra, Ankit -- Stutz, Adrian M -- Shi, Xinghua -- Paolo Casale, Francesco -- Chen, Jieming -- Hormozdiari, Fereydoun -- Dayama, Gargi -- Chen, Ken -- Malig, Maika -- Chaisson, Mark J P -- Walter, Klaudia -- Meiers, Sascha -- Kashin, Seva -- Garrison, Erik -- Auton, Adam -- Lam, Hugo Y K -- Jasmine Mu, Xinmeng -- Alkan, Can -- Antaki, Danny -- Bae, Taejeong -- Cerveira, Eliza -- Chines, Peter -- Chong, Zechen -- Clarke, Laura -- Dal, Elif -- Ding, Li -- Emery, Sarah -- Fan, Xian -- Gujral, Madhusudan -- Kahveci, Fatma -- Kidd, Jeffrey M -- Kong, Yu -- Lameijer, Eric-Wubbo -- McCarthy, Shane -- Flicek, Paul -- Gibbs, Richard A -- Marth, Gabor -- Mason, Christopher E -- Menelaou, Androniki -- Muzny, Donna M -- Nelson, Bradley J -- Noor, Amina -- Parrish, Nicholas F -- Pendleton, Matthew -- Quitadamo, Andrew -- Raeder, Benjamin -- Schadt, Eric E -- Romanovitch, Mallory -- Schlattl, Andreas -- Sebra, Robert -- Shabalin, Andrey A -- Untergasser, Andreas -- Walker, Jerilyn A -- Wang, Min -- Yu, Fuli -- Zhang, Chengsheng -- Zhang, Jing -- Zheng-Bradley, Xiangqun -- Zhou, Wanding -- Zichner, Thomas -- Sebat, Jonathan -- Batzer, Mark A -- McCarroll, Steven A -- 1000 Genomes Project Consortium -- Mills, Ryan E -- Gerstein, Mark B -- Bashir, Ali -- Stegle, Oliver -- Devine, Scott E -- Lee, Charles -- Eichler, Evan E -- Korbel, Jan O -- P01HG007497/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- R01 CA166661/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HG002385/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HG002898/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- R01CA166661/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01GM59290/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01HG002898/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- R01HG007068/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- RR029676-01/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- RR19895/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM008666/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- U41 HG007497/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U41HG007497/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- WT085532/Z/08/Z/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- WT104947/Z/14/Z/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- England -- Nature. 2015 Oct 1;526(7571):75-81. doi: 10.1038/nature15394.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, 3720 15th Avenue NE, Seattle, Washington 98195-5065, USA. ; European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Genome Biology Unit, Meyerhofstrasse 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany. ; Institute for Genome Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 801 W Baltimore Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA. ; Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. ; Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA. ; Department of Health Sciences Research, Center for Individualized Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA. ; Program in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Yale University, BASS 432 &437, 266 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA. ; Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Yale University, 266 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA. ; The Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, 4444 Forest Park Avenue, St Louis, Missouri 63108, USA. ; Department of Genetics, Washington University in St Louis, 4444 Forest Park Avenue, St Louis, Missouri 63108, USA. ; Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA. ; Human Genetics Center, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 1200 Pressler St., Houston, Texas 77030, USA. ; Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, 202 Life Sciences Building, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, USA. ; The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, 10 Discovery 263 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, Connecticut 06030, USA. ; Department of Bioinformatics and Genomics, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, North Carolina 28223, USA. ; European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK. ; Integrated Graduate Program in Physical and Engineering Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA. ; Department of Computational Medicine &Bioinformatics, University of Michigan, 500 S. State Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA. ; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. ; The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK. ; Department of Biology, Boston College, 355 Higgins Hall, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467, USA. ; Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1301 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, New York 10461, USA. ; Bina Technologies, Roche Sequencing, 555 Twin Dolphin Drive, Redwood City, California 94065, USA. ; Cancer Program, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA. ; Department of Computer Engineering, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara, Turkey. ; University of California San Diego (UCSD), 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. ; National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892 USA. ; Department of Medicine, Washington University in St Louis, 4444 Forest Park Avenue, St Louis, Missouri 63108, USA. ; Siteman Cancer Center, 660 South Euclid Avenue, St Louis, Missouri 63110, USA. ; Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan, 1241 Catherine Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA. ; Molecular Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden 2300RA, The Netherlands. ; Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. ; The Department of Physiology and Biophysics and the HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Institute for Computational Biomedicine, 1305 York Avenue, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York 10065, USA. ; The Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute, 413 East 69th St, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York 10065, USA. ; University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford OX3 9DS, UK. ; Department of Medical Genetics, Center for Molecular Medicine, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, 3584 CG, The Netherlands. ; Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine, New York School of Natural Sciences, 1428 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10029, USA. ; Institute for Virus Research, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin Kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan. ; Center for Biomarker Research and Precision Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1112 East Clay Street, McGuire Hall, Richmond, Virginia 23298-0581, USA. ; Zentrum fur Molekulare Biologie, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 282, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. ; Department of Computer Science, Yale University, 51 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA. ; Department of Graduate Studies - Life Sciences, Ewha Womans University, Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-750, South Korea.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26432246" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Sex determination in animals is amazingly plastic. Vertebrates display contrasting strategies ranging from complete genetic control of sex (genotypic sex determination) to environmentally determined sex (for example, temperature-dependent sex determination). Phylogenetic analyses suggest frequent evolutionary transitions between genotypic and temperature-dependent sex determination in environmentally sensitive lineages, including reptiles. These transitions are thought to involve a genotypic system becoming sensitive to temperature, with sex determined by gene-environment interactions. Most mechanistic models of transitions invoke a role for sex reversal. Sex reversal has not yet been demonstrated in nature for any amniote, although it occurs in fish and rarely in amphibians. Here we make the first report of reptile sex reversal in the wild, in the Australian bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps), and use sex-reversed animals to experimentally induce a rapid transition from genotypic to temperature-dependent sex determination. Controlled mating of normal males to sex-reversed females produces viable and fertile offspring whose phenotypic sex is determined solely by temperature (temperature-dependent sex determination). The W sex chromosome is eliminated from this lineage in the first generation. The instantaneous creation of a lineage of ZZ temperature-sensitive animals reveals a novel, climate-induced pathway for the rapid transition between genetic and temperature-dependent sex determination, and adds to concern about adaptation to rapid global climate change.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Holleley, Clare E -- O'Meally, Denis -- Sarre, Stephen D -- Marshall Graves, Jennifer A -- Ezaz, Tariq -- Matsubara, Kazumi -- Azad, Bhumika -- Zhang, Xiuwen -- Georges, Arthur -- England -- Nature. 2015 Jul 2;523(7558):79-82. doi: 10.1038/nature14574.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia. ; 1] Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia [2] School of Life Science, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria 3086, Australia.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26135451" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Multicellular assemblages of microorganisms are ubiquitous in nature, and the proximity afforded by aggregation is thought to permit intercellular metabolic coupling that can accommodate otherwise unfavourable reactions. Consortia of methane-oxidizing archaea and sulphate-reducing bacteria are a well-known environmental example of microbial co-aggregation; however, the coupling mechanisms between these paired organisms is not well understood, despite the attention given them because of the global significance of anaerobic methane oxidation. Here we examined the influence of interspecies spatial positioning as it relates to biosynthetic activity within structurally diverse uncultured methane-oxidizing consortia by measuring stable isotope incorporation for individual archaeal and bacterial cells to constrain their potential metabolic interactions. In contrast to conventional models of syntrophy based on the passage of molecular intermediates, cellular activities were found to be independent of both species intermixing and distance between syntrophic partners within consortia. A generalized model of electric conductivity between co-associated archaea and bacteria best fit the empirical data. Combined with the detection of large multi-haem cytochromes in the genomes of methanotrophic archaea and the demonstration of redox-dependent staining of the matrix between cells in consortia, these results provide evidence for syntrophic coupling through direct electron transfer.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉McGlynn, Shawn E -- Chadwick, Grayson L -- Kempes, Christopher P -- Orphan, Victoria J -- England -- Nature. 2015 Oct 22;526(7574):531-5. doi: 10.1038/nature15512. Epub 2015 Sep 16.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA. ; Exobiology Branch, National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA. ; Control and Dynamical Systems, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA. ; SETI Institute, Mountain View, California 94034, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26375009" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Sex determination in the mosquito Aedes aegypti is governed by a dominant male-determining factor (M factor) located within a Y chromosome-like region called the M locus. Here, we show that an M-locus gene, Nix, functions as an M factor in A. aegypti. Nix exhibits persistent M linkage and early embryonic expression, two characteristics required of an M factor. Nix knockout with clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 resulted in largely feminized genetic males and the production of female isoforms of two key regulators of sexual differentiation: doublesex and fruitless. Ectopic expression of Nix resulted in genetic females with nearly complete male genitalia. Thus, Nix is both required and sufficient to initiate male development. This study provides a foundation for mosquito control strategies that convert female mosquitoes into harmless males.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Hall, Andrew Brantley -- Basu, Sanjay -- Jiang, Xiaofang -- Qi, Yumin -- Timoshevskiy, Vladimir A -- Biedler, James K -- Sharakhova, Maria V -- Elahi, Rubayet -- Anderson, Michelle A E -- Chen, Xiao-Guang -- Sharakhov, Igor V -- Adelman, Zach N -- Tu, Zhijian -- AI113643/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jun 12;348(6240):1268-70. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa2850. Epub 2015 May 21.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, USA. Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. ; Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. ; School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangdong, People's Republic of China. ; Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, USA. Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. ; Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, USA. Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. jaketu@vt.edu zachadel@vt.edu. ; Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, USA. Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. jaketu@vt.edu zachadel@vt.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25999371" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Extremophiles, microorganisms thriving in extreme environmental conditions, must have proteins and nucleic acids that are stable at extremes of temperature and pH. The nonenveloped, rod-shaped virus SIRV2 (Sulfolobus islandicus rod-shaped virus 2) infects the hyperthermophilic acidophile Sulfolobus islandicus, which lives at 80 degrees C and pH 3. We have used cryo-electron microscopy to generate a three-dimensional reconstruction of the SIRV2 virion at ~4 angstrom resolution, which revealed a previously unknown form of virion organization. Although almost half of the capsid protein is unstructured in solution, this unstructured region folds in the virion into a single extended alpha helix that wraps around the DNA. The DNA is entirely in the A-form, which suggests a common mechanism with bacterial spores for protecting DNA in the most adverse environments.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉DiMaio, Frank -- Yu, Xiong -- Rensen, Elena -- Krupovic, Mart -- Prangishvili, David -- Egelman, Edward H -- GM035269/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 May 22;348(6237):914-7. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa4181.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA. ; Institut Pasteur, Department of Microbiology, 25 rue du Dr. Roux, Paris 75015, France. ; Institut Pasteur, Department of Microbiology, 25 rue du Dr. Roux, Paris 75015, France. egelman@virginia.edu david.prangishvili@pasteur.fr. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA. egelman@virginia.edu david.prangishvili@pasteur.fr.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25999507" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Strigolactones are naturally occurring signaling molecules that affect plant development, fungi-plant interactions, and parasitic plant infestations. We characterized the function of 11 strigolactone receptors from the parasitic plant Striga hermonthica using chemical and structural biology. We found a clade of polyspecific receptors, including one that is sensitive to picomolar concentrations of strigolactone. A crystal structure of a highly sensitive strigolactone receptor from Striga revealed a larger binding pocket than that of the Arabidopsis receptor, which could explain the increased range of strigolactone sensitivity. Thus, the sensitivity of Striga to strigolactones from host plants is driven by receptor sensitivity. By expressing strigolactone receptors in Arabidopsis, we developed a bioassay that can be used to identify chemicals and crops with altered strigolactone levels.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Toh, Shigeo -- Holbrook-Smith, Duncan -- Stogios, Peter J -- Onopriyenko, Olena -- Lumba, Shelley -- Tsuchiya, Yuichiro -- Savchenko, Alexei -- McCourt, Peter -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Oct 9;350(6257):203-7. doi: 10.1126/science.aac9476.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto M5S 3B2, Canada. ; Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto M5S 3E5, Canada. Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases, contracted by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. ; Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto M5S 3E5, Canada. ; Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules, Nagoya University, Japan, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, Japan. ; Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto M5S 3B2, Canada. peter.mccourt@utoronto.ca.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26450211" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: TREK-2 (KCNK10/K2P10), a two-pore domain potassium (K2P) channel, is gated by multiple stimuli such as stretch, fatty acids, and pH and by several drugs. However, the mechanisms that control channel gating are unclear. Here we present crystal structures of the human TREK-2 channel (up to 3.4 angstrom resolution) in two conformations and in complex with norfluoxetine, the active metabolite of fluoxetine (Prozac) and a state-dependent blocker of TREK channels. Norfluoxetine binds within intramembrane fenestrations found in only one of these two conformations. Channel activation by arachidonic acid and mechanical stretch involves conversion between these states through movement of the pore-lining helices. These results provide an explanation for TREK channel mechanosensitivity, regulation by diverse stimuli, and possible off-target effects of the serotonin reuptake inhibitor Prozac.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Dong, Yin Yao -- Pike, Ashley C W -- Mackenzie, Alexandra -- McClenaghan, Conor -- Aryal, Prafulla -- Dong, Liang -- Quigley, Andrew -- Grieben, Mariana -- Goubin, Solenne -- Mukhopadhyay, Shubhashish -- Ruda, Gian Filippo -- Clausen, Michael V -- Cao, Lishuang -- Brennan, Paul E -- Burgess-Brown, Nicola A -- Sansom, Mark S P -- Tucker, Stephen J -- Carpenter, Elisabeth P -- 084655/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 092809/Z/10/Z/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Mar 13;347(6227):1256-9. doi: 10.1126/science.1261512.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK. ; Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK. Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK. ; Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK. OXION Initiative in Ion Channels and Disease, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PN, UK. ; Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK. OXION Initiative in Ion Channels and Disease, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PN, UK. Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK. ; Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK. Target Discovery Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7FZ, UK. ; Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK. ; Pfizer Neusentis, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GS, UK. ; OXION Initiative in Ion Channels and Disease, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PN, UK. Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK. ; Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK. OXION Initiative in Ion Channels and Disease, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PN, UK. liz.carpenter@sgc.ox.ac.uk stephen.tucker@physics.ox.ac.uk. ; Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK. OXION Initiative in Ion Channels and Disease, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PN, UK. liz.carpenter@sgc.ox.ac.uk stephen.tucker@physics.ox.ac.uk.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25766236" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Understanding the evolution of sex determination in plants requires identifying the mechanisms underlying the transition from monoecious plants, where male and female flowers coexist, to unisexual individuals found in dioecious species. We show that in melon and cucumber, the androecy gene controls female flower development and encodes a limiting enzyme of ethylene biosynthesis, ACS11. ACS11 is expressed in phloem cells connected to flowers programmed to become female, and ACS11 loss-of-function mutants lead to male plants (androecy). CmACS11 represses the expression of the male promoting gene CmWIP1 to control the development and the coexistence of male and female flowers in monoecious species. Because monoecy can lead to dioecy, we show how a combination of alleles of CmACS11 and CmWIP1 can create artificial dioecy.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Boualem, Adnane -- Troadec, Christelle -- Camps, Celine -- Lemhemdi, Afef -- Morin, Halima -- Sari, Marie-Agnes -- Fraenkel-Zagouri, Rina -- Kovalski, Irina -- Dogimont, Catherine -- Perl-Treves, Rafael -- Bendahmane, Abdelhafid -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Nov 6;350(6261):688-91. doi: 10.1126/science.aac8370.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institute of Plant Sciences Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Universite Paris-Sud, Universite d'Evry, Universite Paris-Diderot, Batiment 630, 91405, Orsay, France. ; Laboratoire de Chimie et Biochimie Pharmacologiques et Toxicologiques, CNRS, UMR 8601, Universite Rene Descartes, Paris, France. ; The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. ; INRA, UR 1052, Unite de Genetique et d'Amelioration des Fruits et Legumes, BP 94, F-84143 Montfavet, France. ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institute of Plant Sciences Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Universite Paris-Sud, Universite d'Evry, Universite Paris-Diderot, Batiment 630, 91405, Orsay, France. bendahm@evry.inra.fr.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26542573" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Elucidating the signaling mechanism of strigolactones has been the key to controlling the devastating problem caused by the parasitic plant Striga hermonthica. To overcome the genetic intractability that has previously interfered with identification of the strigolactone receptor, we developed a fluorescence turn-on probe, Yoshimulactone Green (YLG), which activates strigolactone signaling and illuminates signal perception by the strigolactone receptors. Here we describe how strigolactones bind to and act via ShHTLs, the diverged family of alpha/beta hydrolase-fold proteins in Striga. Live imaging using YLGs revealed that a dynamic wavelike propagation of strigolactone perception wakes up Striga seeds. We conclude that ShHTLs function as the strigolactone receptors mediating seed germination in Striga. Our findings enable access to strigolactone receptors and observation of the regulatory dynamics for strigolactone signal transduction in Striga.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Tsuchiya, Yuichiro -- Yoshimura, Masahiko -- Sato, Yoshikatsu -- Kuwata, Keiko -- Toh, Shigeo -- Holbrook-Smith, Duncan -- Zhang, Hua -- McCourt, Peter -- Itami, Kenichiro -- Kinoshita, Toshinori -- Hagihara, Shinya -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Aug 21;349(6250):864-8. doi: 10.1126/science.aab3831.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada. yuichiro@itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp hagi@itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp. ; Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. ; Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. ; Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada. ; Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. Japan Science and Technology Agency-Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology, Itami Molecular Nanocarbon Project, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. ; Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. yuichiro@itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp hagi@itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26293962" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Cyclic guanosine monophosphate-adenosine monophosphate synthase (cGAS) detects intracellular DNA and signals through the adapter protein STING to initiate the antiviral response to DNA viruses. Whether DNA viruses can prevent activation of the cGAS-STING pathway remains largely unknown. Here, we identify the oncogenes of the DNA tumor viruses, including E7 from human papillomavirus (HPV) and E1A from adenovirus, as potent and specific inhibitors of the cGAS-STING pathway. We show that the LXCXE motif of these oncoproteins, which is essential for blockade of the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor, is also important for antagonizing DNA sensing. E1A and E7 bind to STING, and silencing of these oncogenes in human tumor cells restores the cGAS-STING pathway. Our findings reveal a host-virus conflict that may have shaped the evolution of viral oncogenes.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Lau, Laura -- Gray, Elizabeth E -- Brunette, Rebecca L -- Stetson, Daniel B -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Oct 30;350(6260):568-71. doi: 10.1126/science.aab3291. Epub 2015 Sep 24.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. ; Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. stetson@uw.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26405230" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Podophyllotoxin is the natural product precursor of the chemotherapeutic etoposide, yet only part of its biosynthetic pathway is known. We used transcriptome mining in Podophyllum hexandrum (mayapple) to identify biosynthetic genes in the podophyllotoxin pathway. We selected 29 candidate genes to combinatorially express in Nicotiana benthamiana (tobacco) and identified six pathway enzymes, including an oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase that closes the core cyclohexane ring of the aryltetralin scaffold. By coexpressing 10 genes in tobacco-these 6 plus 4 previously discovered-we reconstitute the pathway to (-)-4'-desmethylepipodophyllotoxin (the etoposide aglycone), a naturally occurring lignan that is the immediate precursor of etoposide and, unlike podophyllotoxin, a potent topoisomerase inhibitor. Our results enable production of the etoposide aglycone in tobacco and circumvent the need for cultivation of mayapple and semisynthetic epimerization and demethylation of podophyllotoxin.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Lau, Warren -- Sattely, Elizabeth S -- DP2 AT008321/AT/NCCIH NIH HHS/ -- R00 GM089985/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Sep 11;349(6253):1224-8. doi: 10.1126/science.aac7202.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. ; Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. sattely@stanford.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26359402" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The occurrence of Ebola virus (EBOV) in West Africa during 2013-2015 is unprecedented. Early reports suggested that in this outbreak EBOV is mutating twice as fast as previously observed, which indicates the potential for changes in transmissibility and virulence and could render current molecular diagnostics and countermeasures ineffective. We have determined additional full-length sequences from two clusters of imported EBOV infections into Mali, and we show that the nucleotide substitution rate (9.6 x 10(-4) substitutions per site per year) is consistent with rates observed in Central African outbreaks. In addition, overall variation among all genotypes observed remains low. Thus, our data indicate that EBOV is not undergoing rapid evolution in humans during the current outbreak. This finding has important implications for outbreak response and public health decisions and should alleviate several previously raised concerns.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Hoenen, T -- Safronetz, D -- Groseth, A -- Wollenberg, K R -- Koita, O A -- Diarra, B -- Fall, I S -- Haidara, F C -- Diallo, F -- Sanogo, M -- Sarro, Y S -- Kone, A -- Togo, A C G -- Traore, A -- Kodio, M -- Dosseh, A -- Rosenke, K -- de Wit, E -- Feldmann, F -- Ebihara, H -- Munster, V J -- Zoon, K C -- Feldmann, H -- Sow, S -- Intramural NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Apr 3;348(6230):117-9. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa5646. Epub 2015 Mar 26.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Hamilton, MT 59840, USA. ; Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. ; Center of Research and Training for HIV and Tuberculosis, University of Science, Technique and Technologies of Bamako, Mali. ; World Health Organization Office, Bamako, Mali. ; Centre des Operations d'Urgence, Centre pour le Developpement des Vaccins (CVD-Mali), Centre National d'Appui a la lutte contre la Maladie, Ministere de la Sante et de l'Hygiene Publique, Bamako, Mali. ; World Health Organization Inter-Country Support Team, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. ; Rocky Mountain Veterinary Branch, Division of Intramural Research, NIAID, NIH, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA. ; Office of the Scientific Director, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20895, USA. ; Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Hamilton, MT 59840, USA. feldmannh@niaid.nih.gov ssow@medicine.umaryland.edu. ; Centre des Operations d'Urgence, Centre pour le Developpement des Vaccins (CVD-Mali), Centre National d'Appui a la lutte contre la Maladie, Ministere de la Sante et de l'Hygiene Publique, Bamako, Mali. feldmannh@niaid.nih.gov ssow@medicine.umaryland.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25814067" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: DNA strand exchange plays a central role in genetic recombination across all kingdoms of life, but the physical basis for these reactions remains poorly defined. Using single-molecule imaging, we found that bacterial RecA and eukaryotic Rad51 and Dmc1 all stabilize strand exchange intermediates in precise three-nucleotide steps. Each step coincides with an energetic signature (0.3 kBT) that is conserved from bacteria to humans. Triplet recognition is strictly dependent on correct Watson-Crick pairing. Rad51, RecA, and Dmc1 can all step over mismatches, but only Dmc1 can stabilize mismatched triplets. This finding provides insight into why eukaryotes have evolved a meiosis-specific recombinase. We propose that canonical Watson-Crick base triplets serve as the fundamental unit of pairing interactions during DNA recombination.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4580133/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4580133/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Lee, Ja Yil -- Terakawa, Tsuyoshi -- Qi, Zhi -- Steinfeld, Justin B -- Redding, Sy -- Kwon, YoungHo -- Gaines, William A -- Zhao, Weixing -- Sung, Patrick -- Greene, Eric C -- CA146940/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- GM074739/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 CA146940/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01 ES015252/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM074739/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01ES015252/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM007367/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Aug 28;349(6251):977-81. doi: 10.1126/science.aab2666.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. Department of Biophysics, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan. ; Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. ; Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. ecg2108@cumc.columbia.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26315438" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Variation in vectorial capacity for human malaria among Anopheles mosquito species is determined by many factors, including behavior, immunity, and life history. To investigate the genomic basis of vectorial capacity and explore new avenues for vector control, we sequenced the genomes of 16 anopheline mosquito species from diverse locations spanning ~100 million years of evolution. Comparative analyses show faster rates of gene gain and loss, elevated gene shuffling on the X chromosome, and more intron losses, relative to Drosophila. Some determinants of vectorial capacity, such as chemosensory genes, do not show elevated turnover but instead diversify through protein-sequence changes. This dynamism of anopheline genes and genomes may contribute to their flexible capacity to take advantage of new ecological niches, including adapting to humans as primary hosts.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4380271/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4380271/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Neafsey, Daniel E -- Waterhouse, Robert M -- Abai, Mohammad R -- Aganezov, Sergey S -- Alekseyev, Max A -- Allen, James E -- Amon, James -- Arca, Bruno -- Arensburger, Peter -- Artemov, Gleb -- Assour, Lauren A -- Basseri, Hamidreza -- Berlin, Aaron -- Birren, Bruce W -- Blandin, Stephanie A -- Brockman, Andrew I -- Burkot, Thomas R -- Burt, Austin -- Chan, Clara S -- Chauve, Cedric -- Chiu, Joanna C -- Christensen, Mikkel -- Costantini, Carlo -- Davidson, Victoria L M -- Deligianni, Elena -- Dottorini, Tania -- Dritsou, Vicky -- Gabriel, Stacey B -- Guelbeogo, Wamdaogo M -- Hall, Andrew B -- Han, Mira V -- Hlaing, Thaung -- Hughes, Daniel S T -- Jenkins, Adam M -- Jiang, Xiaofang -- Jungreis, Irwin -- Kakani, Evdoxia G -- Kamali, Maryam -- Kemppainen, Petri -- Kennedy, Ryan C -- Kirmitzoglou, Ioannis K -- Koekemoer, Lizette L -- Laban, Njoroge -- Langridge, Nicholas -- Lawniczak, Mara K N -- Lirakis, Manolis -- Lobo, Neil F -- Lowy, Ernesto -- MacCallum, Robert M -- Mao, Chunhong -- Maslen, Gareth -- Mbogo, Charles -- McCarthy, Jenny -- Michel, Kristin -- Mitchell, Sara N -- Moore, Wendy -- Murphy, Katherine A -- Naumenko, Anastasia N -- Nolan, Tony -- Novoa, Eva M -- O'Loughlin, Samantha -- Oringanje, Chioma -- Oshaghi, Mohammad A -- Pakpour, Nazzy -- Papathanos, Philippos A -- Peery, Ashley N -- Povelones, Michael -- Prakash, Anil -- Price, David P -- Rajaraman, Ashok -- Reimer, Lisa J -- Rinker, David C -- Rokas, Antonis -- Russell, Tanya L -- Sagnon, N'Fale -- Sharakhova, Maria V -- Shea, Terrance -- Simao, Felipe A -- Simard, Frederic -- Slotman, Michel A -- Somboon, Pradya -- Stegniy, Vladimir -- Struchiner, Claudio J -- Thomas, Gregg W C -- Tojo, Marta -- Topalis, Pantelis -- Tubio, Jose M C -- Unger, Maria F -- Vontas, John -- Walton, Catherine -- Wilding, Craig S -- Willis, Judith H -- Wu, Yi-Chieh -- Yan, Guiyun -- Zdobnov, Evgeny M -- Zhou, Xiaofan -- Catteruccia, Flaminia -- Christophides, George K -- Collins, Frank H -- Cornman, Robert S -- Crisanti, Andrea -- Donnelly, Martin J -- Emrich, Scott J -- Fontaine, Michael C -- Gelbart, William -- Hahn, Matthew W -- Hansen, Immo A -- Howell, Paul I -- Kafatos, Fotis C -- Kellis, Manolis -- Lawson, Daniel -- Louis, Christos -- Luckhart, Shirley -- Muskavitch, Marc A T -- Ribeiro, Jose M -- Riehle, Michael A -- Sharakhov, Igor V -- Tu, Zhijian -- Zwiebel, Laurence J -- Besansky, Nora J -- 092654/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- R01 AI050243/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI063508/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI073745/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI076584/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI080799/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI104956/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R21 AI101459/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R56 AI107263/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- SC1 AI109055/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- U19 AI089686/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- U19 AI110818/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- U41 HG007234/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U54 HG003067/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jan 2;347(6217):1258522. doi: 10.1126/science.1258522. Epub 2014 Nov 27.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program, Broad Institute, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. neafsey@broadinstitute.org nbesansk@nd.edu. ; Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland. Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland. ; Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health and Institute of Health Researches, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. ; George Washington University, Department of Mathematics and Computational Biology Institute, 45085 University Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA. ; European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, EMBL-EBI, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK. ; National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Ministry of Health, Tafea Province, Vanuatu. ; Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Division of Parasitology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy. ; Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic-Pomona, 3801 West Temple Avenue, Pomona, CA 91768, USA. ; Tomsk State University, 36 Lenina Avenue, Tomsk, Russia. ; Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Eck Institute for Global Health, 211B Cushing Hall, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. ; Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program, Broad Institute, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Inserm, U963, F-67084 Strasbourg, France. CNRS, UPR9022, IBMC, F-67084 Strasbourg, France. ; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK. ; Faculty of Medicine, Health and Molecular Science, Australian Institute of Tropical Health Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns 4870, Australia. ; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK. ; Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Department of Mathematics, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada. ; Department of Entomology and Nematology, One Shields Avenue, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA. ; Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, Unites Mixtes de Recherche Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs Ecologie, Genetique, Evolution et Controle, 911, Avenue Agropolis, BP 64501 Montpellier, France. ; Division of Biology, Kansas State University, 271 Chalmers Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. ; Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology, Hellas, Nikolaou Plastira 100 GR-70013, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. ; Centre of Functional Genomics, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy. ; Genomics Platform, Broad Institute, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Centre National de Recherche et de Formation sur le Paludisme, Ouagadougou 01 BP 2208, Burkina Faso. ; Program of Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. ; School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA. ; Department of Medical Research, No. 5 Ziwaka Road, Dagon Township, Yangon 11191, Myanmar. ; European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, EMBL-EBI, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK. Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA. ; Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. Program of Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. ; Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Scienze Biochimiche, Universita degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy. ; Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. ; Computational Evolutionary Biology Group, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK. ; Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. ; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Bioinformatics Research Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, New Campus, University of Cyprus, CY 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus. ; Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, and Vector Control Reference Unit, National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, Sandringham 2131, Johannesburg, South Africa. ; National Museums of Kenya, P.O. Box 40658-00100, Nairobi, Kenya. ; Department of Biology, University of Crete, 700 13 Heraklion, Greece. ; Eck Institute for Global Health and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 317 Galvin Life Sciences Building, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. ; Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, 1015 Life Science Circle, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. ; Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research - Coast, P.O. Box 230-80108, Kilifi, Kenya. ; Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Department of Entomology, 1140 East South Campus Drive, Forbes 410, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. ; Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA. ; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Centre of Functional Genomics, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy. ; Department of Pathobiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, 3800 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. ; Regional Medical Research Centre NE, Indian Council of Medical Research, P.O. Box 105, Dibrugarh-786 001, Assam, India. ; Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA. Molecular Biology Program, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA. ; Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK. ; Center for Human Genetics Research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA. ; Center for Human Genetics Research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA. Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA. ; Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland. Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland. ; Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77807, USA. ; Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. ; Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Avenida Brasil 4365, RJ Brazil. Instituto de Medicina Social, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ; School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. ; Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases, Instituto de Investigaciones Sanitarias, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruna, Spain. ; Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, CB10 1SA, UK. ; School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK. ; Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. ; Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Department of Computer Science, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711, USA. ; Program in Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Hewitt Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. ; Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA. ; Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK. Malaria Programme, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge CB10 1SJ, UK. ; Eck Institute for Global Health and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 317 Galvin Life Sciences Building, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. Centre of Evolutionary and Ecological Studies (Marine Evolution and Conservation group), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, NL-9747 AG Groningen, Netherlands. ; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. ; Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE MSG49, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA. ; Department of Biology, University of Crete, 700 13 Heraklion, Greece. Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology, Hellas, Nikolaou Plastira 100 GR-70013, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Centre of Functional Genomics, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy. ; Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA. Biogen Idec, 14 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 12735 Twinbrook Parkway, Rockville, MD 20852, USA. ; Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. Program of Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. ; Program of Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. ; Departments of Biological Sciences and Pharmacology, Institutes for Chemical Biology, Genetics and Global Health, Vanderbilt University and Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA. ; Eck Institute for Global Health and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 317 Galvin Life Sciences Building, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. neafsey@broadinstitute.org nbesansk@nd.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25554792" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Transcriptional enhancers direct precise on-off patterns of gene expression during development. To explore the basis for this precision, we conducted a high-throughput analysis of the Otx-a enhancer, which mediates expression in the neural plate of Ciona embryos in response to fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling and a localized GATA determinant. We provide evidence that enhancer specificity depends on submaximal recognition motifs having reduced binding affinities ("suboptimization"). Native GATA and ETS (FGF) binding sites contain imperfect matches to consensus motifs. Perfect matches mediate robust but ectopic patterns of gene expression. The native sites are not arranged at optimal intervals, and subtle changes in their spacing alter enhancer activity. Multiple tiers of enhancer suboptimization produce specific, but weak, patterns of expression, and we suggest that clusters of weak enhancers, including certain "superenhancers," circumvent this trade-off in specificity and activity.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Farley, Emma K -- Olson, Katrina M -- Zhang, Wei -- Brandt, Alexander J -- Rokhsar, Daniel S -- Levine, Michael S -- GM46638/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- NS076542/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Oct 16;350(6258):325-8. doi: 10.1126/science.aac6948.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Division of Genetics, Genomics and Development, Center for Integrative Genomics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3200, USA. Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. msl2@princeton.edu ekfarley@princeton.edu. ; Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Division of Genetics, Genomics and Development, Center for Integrative Genomics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3200, USA. Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. ; Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093-0688, USA. ; Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3200, USA. ; Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Division of Genetics, Genomics and Development, Center for Integrative Genomics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3200, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26472909" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: NADPH/NADP(+) (the reduced form of NADP(+)/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) homeostasis is critical for countering oxidative stress in cells. Nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (TH), a membrane enzyme present in both bacteria and mitochondria, couples the proton motive force to the generation of NADPH. We present the 2.8 A crystal structure of the transmembrane proton channel domain of TH from Thermus thermophilus and the 6.9 A crystal structure of the entire enzyme (holo-TH). The membrane domain crystallized as a symmetric dimer, with each protomer containing a putative proton channel. The holo-TH is a highly asymmetric dimer with the NADP(H)-binding domain (dIII) in two different orientations. This unusual arrangement suggests a catalytic mechanism in which the two copies of dIII alternatively function in proton translocation and hydride transfer.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4479213/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4479213/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Leung, Josephine H -- Schurig-Briccio, Lici A -- Yamaguchi, Mutsuo -- Moeller, Arne -- Speir, Jeffrey A -- Gennis, Robert B -- Stout, Charles D -- 1R01GM103838-01A1/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- 5R01GM061545/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM073197/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM095600/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- P41 GM103310/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- P41GM103310/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM061545/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM095600/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM103838/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jan 9;347(6218):178-81. doi: 10.1126/science.1260451.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. ; National Resource for Automated Molecular Microscopy, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. dave@scripps.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25574024" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The carnivoran giant panda has a specialized bamboo diet, to which its alimentary tract is poorly adapted. Measurements of daily energy expenditure across five captive and three wild pandas averaged 5.2 megajoules (MJ)/day, only 37.7% of the predicted value (13.8 MJ/day). For the wild pandas, the mean was 6.2 MJ/day, or 45% of the mammalian expectation. Pandas achieve this exceptionally low expenditure in part by reduced sizes of several vital organs and low physical activity. In addition, circulating levels of thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) averaged 46.9 and 64%, respectively, of the levels expected for a eutherian mammal of comparable size. A giant panda-unique mutation in the DUOX2 gene, critical for thyroid hormone synthesis, might explain these low thyroid hormone levels. A combination of morphological, behavioral, physiological, and genetic adaptations, leading to low energy expenditure, likely enables giant pandas to survive on a bamboo diet.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Nie, Yonggang -- Speakman, John R -- Wu, Qi -- Zhang, Chenglin -- Hu, Yibo -- Xia, Maohua -- Yan, Li -- Hambly, Catherine -- Wang, Lu -- Wei, Wei -- Zhang, Jinguo -- Wei, Fuwen -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 10;349(6244):171-4. doi: 10.1126/science.aab2413.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. ; State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK. ; Beijing Key Laboratory of Captive Wildlife Technologies, Beijing Zoo, Beijing, China. ; Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK. ; State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. ; Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. weifw@ioz.ac.cn.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26160943" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The 18-kilodalton translocator protein (TSPO), proposed to be a key player in cholesterol transport into mitochondria, is highly expressed in steroidogenic tissues, metastatic cancer, and inflammatory and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. TSPO ligands, including benzodiazepine drugs, are implicated in regulating apoptosis and are extensively used in diagnostic imaging. We report crystal structures (at 1.8, 2.4, and 2.5 angstrom resolution) of TSPO from Rhodobacter sphaeroides and a mutant that mimics the human Ala(147)--〉Thr(147) polymorphism associated with psychiatric disorders and reduced pregnenolone production. Crystals obtained in the lipidic cubic phase reveal the binding site of an endogenous porphyrin ligand and conformational effects of the mutation. The three crystal structures show the same tightly interacting dimer and provide insights into the controversial physiological role of TSPO and how the mutation affects cholesterol binding.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Li, Fei -- Liu, Jian -- Zheng, Yi -- Garavito, R Michael -- Ferguson-Miller, Shelagh -- ACB-12002/PHS HHS/ -- AGM-12006/PHS HHS/ -- GM094625/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM26916/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jan 30;347(6221):555-8. doi: 10.1126/science.1260590.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. fergus20@msu.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25635101" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Retroviruses depend on self-assembly of their capsid proteins (core particle) to yield infectious mature virions. Despite the essential role of the retroviral core, its high polymorphism has hindered high-resolution structural analyses. Here, we report the x-ray structure of the native capsid (CA) protein from bovine leukemia virus. CA is organized as hexamers that deviate substantially from sixfold symmetry, yet adjust to make two-dimensional pseudohexagonal arrays that mimic mature retroviral cores. Intra- and interhexameric quasi-equivalent contacts are uncovered, with flexible trimeric lateral contacts among hexamers, yet preserving very similar dimeric interfaces making the lattice. The conformation of each capsid subunit in the hexamer is therefore dictated by long-range interactions, revealing how the hexamers can also assemble into closed core particles, a relevant feature of retrovirus biology.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Obal, G -- Trajtenberg, F -- Carrion, F -- Tome, L -- Larrieux, N -- Zhang, X -- Pritsch, O -- Buschiazzo, A -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 3;349(6243):95-8. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa5182. Epub 2015 Jun 4.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Unit of Protein Biophysics, Mataojo 2020, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay. Departamento de Inmunobiologia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la Republica, Avenida General Flores 2125, 11800, Montevideo, Uruguay. ; Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Unit of Protein Crystallography, Mataojo 2020, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay. ; Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Unit of Protein Biophysics, Mataojo 2020, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay. ; Institut Pasteur, Unite de Virologie Structurale, Departement de Virologie and CNRS Unite Mixte de Recherche 3569, 28, Rue du Docteur Roux, 75015, Paris, France. ; Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Unit of Protein Biophysics, Mataojo 2020, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay. Departamento de Inmunobiologia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la Republica, Avenida General Flores 2125, 11800, Montevideo, Uruguay. pritsch@pasteur.edu.uy alebus@pasteur.edu.uy. ; Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Unit of Protein Crystallography, Mataojo 2020, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay. Institut Pasteur, Department of Structural Biology and Chemistry, 25, Rue du Dr Roux, 75015, Paris, France. pritsch@pasteur.edu.uy alebus@pasteur.edu.uy.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26044299" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Cytoplasmic aggregation of TDP-43, accompanied by its nuclear clearance, is a key common pathological hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (ALS-FTD). However, a limited understanding of this RNA-binding protein (RBP) impedes the clarification of pathogenic mechanisms underlying TDP-43 proteinopathy. In contrast to RBPs that regulate splicing of conserved exons, we found that TDP-43 repressed the splicing of nonconserved cryptic exons, maintaining intron integrity. When TDP-43 was depleted from mouse embryonic stem cells, these cryptic exons were spliced into messenger RNAs, often disrupting their translation and promoting nonsense-mediated decay. Moreover, enforced repression of cryptic exons prevented cell death in TDP-43-deficient cells. Furthermore, repression of cryptic exons was impaired in ALS-FTD cases, suggesting that this splicing defect could potentially underlie TDP-43 proteinopathy.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Ling, Jonathan P -- Pletnikova, Olga -- Troncoso, Juan C -- Wong, Philip C -- P50AG05146/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Aug 7;349(6248):650-5. doi: 10.1126/science.aab0983.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205-2196, USA. ; Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205-2196, USA. Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205-2196, USA. ; Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205-2196, USA. Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205-2196, USA. wong@jhmi.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26250685" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Protective CD8(+) T cell-mediated immunity requires a massive expansion in cell number and the development of long-lived memory cells. Using forward genetics in mice, we identified an orphan protein named lymphocyte expansion molecule (LEM) that promoted antigen-dependent CD8(+) T cell proliferation, effector function, and memory cell generation in response to infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. Generation of LEM-deficient mice confirmed these results. Through interaction with CR6 interacting factor (CRIF1), LEM controlled the levels of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) complexes and respiration, resulting in the production of pro-proliferative mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS). LEM provides a link between immune activation and the expansion of protective CD8(+) T cells driven by OXPHOS and represents a pathway for the restoration of long-term protective immunity based on metabolically modified cytotoxic CD8(+) T cells.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Okoye, Isobel -- Wang, Lihui -- Pallmer, Katharina -- Richter, Kirsten -- Ichimura, Takahuru -- Haas, Robert -- Crouse, Josh -- Choi, Onjee -- Heathcote, Dean -- Lovo, Elena -- Mauro, Claudio -- Abdi, Reza -- Oxenius, Annette -- Rutschmann, Sophie -- Ashton-Rickardt, Philip G -- A9995/Cancer Research UK/United Kingdom -- AI091930/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- AI45108/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- FS/12/38/29640/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- G0700795/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 May 29;348(6238):995-1001. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa7516. Epub 2015 Apr 16.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Section of Immunobiology, Division of Inflammation and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK. ; Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule Zurich (ETHZ), Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1-5/10, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland. ; Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA. ; William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 6BQ, UK. ; Section of Immunobiology, Division of Inflammation and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA. p.ashton-rickardt@imperial.ac.uk.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25883318" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Cardiac progenitor cells are multipotent and give rise to cardiac endothelium, smooth muscle, and cardiomyocytes. Here, we define and characterize the cardiomyoblast intermediate that is committed to the cardiomyocyte fate, and we characterize the niche signals that regulate commitment. Cardiomyoblasts express Hopx, which functions to coordinate local Bmp signals to inhibit the Wnt pathway, thus promoting cardiomyogenesis. Hopx integrates Bmp and Wnt signaling by physically interacting with activated Smads and repressing Wnt genes. The identification of the committed cardiomyoblast that retains proliferative potential will inform cardiac regenerative therapeutics. In addition, Bmp signals characterize adult stem cell niches in other tissues where Hopx-mediated inhibition of Wnt is likely to contribute to stem cell quiescence and to explain the role of Hopx as a tumor suppressor.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Jain, Rajan -- Li, Deqiang -- Gupta, Mudit -- Manderfield, Lauren J -- Ifkovits, Jamie L -- Wang, Qiaohong -- Liu, Feiyan -- Liu, Ying -- Poleshko, Andrey -- Padmanabhan, Arun -- Raum, Jeffrey C -- Li, Li -- Morrisey, Edward E -- Lu, Min Min -- Won, Kyoung-Jae -- Epstein, Jonathan A -- 5-T32-GM-007170/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- K08 HL119553/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- K08 HL119553-02/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL071546/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- U01 HL100405/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jun 26;348(6242):aaa6071. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa6071.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Penn Cardiovascular Institute, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. ; Department of Genetics, Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. ; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Penn Cardiovascular Institute, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. epsteinj@upenn.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26113728" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) protein kinase is a master growth regulator that responds to multiple environmental cues. Amino acids stimulate, in a Rag-, Ragulator-, and vacuolar adenosine triphosphatase-dependent fashion, the translocation of mTORC1 to the lysosomal surface, where it interacts with its activator Rheb. Here, we identify SLC38A9, an uncharacterized protein with sequence similarity to amino acid transporters, as a lysosomal transmembrane protein that interacts with the Rag guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) and Ragulator in an amino acid-sensitive fashion. SLC38A9 transports arginine with a high Michaelis constant, and loss of SLC38A9 represses mTORC1 activation by amino acids, particularly arginine. Overexpression of SLC38A9 or just its Ragulator-binding domain makes mTORC1 signaling insensitive to amino acid starvation but not to Rag activity. Thus, SLC38A9 functions upstream of the Rag GTPases and is an excellent candidate for being an arginine sensor for the mTORC1 pathway.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4295826/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4295826/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Wang, Shuyu -- Tsun, Zhi-Yang -- Wolfson, Rachel L -- Shen, Kuang -- Wyant, Gregory A -- Plovanich, Molly E -- Yuan, Elizabeth D -- Jones, Tony D -- Chantranupong, Lynne -- Comb, William -- Wang, Tim -- Bar-Peled, Liron -- Zoncu, Roberto -- Straub, Christoph -- Kim, Choah -- Park, Jiwon -- Sabatini, Bernardo L -- Sabatini, David M -- AI47389/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- F30 CA180754/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- F31 AG044064/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- F31 CA180271/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01 CA103866/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R37 AI047389/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM007287/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM007753/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jan 9;347(6218):188-94. doi: 10.1126/science.1257132. Epub 2015 Jan 7.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biology, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Broad Institute of Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Harvard Medical School, 260 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biology, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Broad Institute of Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. sabatini@wi.mit.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25567906" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: During virus infection, the adaptor proteins MAVS and STING transduce signals from the cytosolic nucleic acid sensors RIG-I and cGAS, respectively, to induce type I interferons (IFNs) and other antiviral molecules. Here we show that MAVS and STING harbor two conserved serine and threonine clusters that are phosphorylated by the kinases IKK and/or TBK1 in response to stimulation. Phosphorylated MAVS and STING then bind to a positively charged surface of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) and thereby recruit IRF3 for its phosphorylation and activation by TBK1. We further show that TRIF, an adaptor protein in Toll-like receptor signaling, activates IRF3 through a similar phosphorylation-dependent mechanism. These results reveal that phosphorylation of innate adaptor proteins is an essential and conserved mechanism that selectively recruits IRF3 to activate the type I IFN pathway.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Liu, Siqi -- Cai, Xin -- Wu, Jiaxi -- Cong, Qian -- Chen, Xiang -- Li, Tuo -- Du, Fenghe -- Ren, Junyao -- Wu, You-Tong -- Grishin, Nick V -- Chen, Zhijian J -- AI-93967/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- GM-094575/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM-63692/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Mar 13;347(6227):aaa2630. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa2630. Epub 2015 Jan 29.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. ; Departments of Biophysics and Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. ; Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. ; Departments of Biophysics and Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. ; Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. zhijian.chen@utsouthwestern.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25636800" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels propagate action potentials in excitable cells. Accordingly, Nav channels are therapeutic targets for many cardiovascular and neurological disorders. Selective inhibitors have been challenging to design because the nine mammalian Nav channel isoforms share high sequence identity and remain recalcitrant to high-resolution structural studies. Targeting the human Nav1.7 channel involved in pain perception, we present a protein-engineering strategy that has allowed us to determine crystal structures of a novel receptor site in complex with isoform-selective antagonists. GX-936 and related inhibitors bind to the activated state of voltage-sensor domain IV (VSD4), where their anionic aryl sulfonamide warhead engages the fourth arginine gating charge on the S4 helix. By opposing VSD4 deactivation, these compounds inhibit Nav1.7 through a voltage-sensor trapping mechanism, likely by stabilizing inactivated states of the channel. Residues from the S2 and S3 helices are key determinants of isoform selectivity, and bound phospholipids implicate the membrane as a modulator of channel function and pharmacology. Our results help to elucidate the molecular basis of voltage sensing and establish structural blueprints to design selective Nav channel antagonists.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Ahuja, Shivani -- Mukund, Susmith -- Deng, Lunbin -- Khakh, Kuldip -- Chang, Elaine -- Ho, Hoangdung -- Shriver, Stephanie -- Young, Clint -- Lin, Sophia -- Johnson, J P Jr -- Wu, Ping -- Li, Jun -- Coons, Mary -- Tam, Christine -- Brillantes, Bobby -- Sampang, Honorio -- Mortara, Kyle -- Bowman, Krista K -- Clark, Kevin R -- Estevez, Alberto -- Xie, Zhiwei -- Verschoof, Henry -- Grimwood, Michael -- Dehnhardt, Christoph -- Andrez, Jean-Christophe -- Focken, Thilo -- Sutherlin, Daniel P -- Safina, Brian S -- Starovasnik, Melissa A -- Ortwine, Daniel F -- Franke, Yvonne -- Cohen, Charles J -- Hackos, David H -- Koth, Christopher M -- Payandeh, Jian -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Dec 18;350(6267):aac5464. doi: 10.1126/science.aac5464.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Structural Biology, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. ; Department of Neuroscience, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. ; Department of Biology, Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Burnaby, British Columbia, V5G 4W8, Canada. ; Department of Discovery Chemistry, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. ; Department of Biochemical and Cellular Pharmacology, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. ; Department of Chemistry, Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Burnaby, British Columbia, V5G 4W8, Canada. ; Department of Neuroscience, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. hackos.david@gene.com koth.christopher@gene.com payandeh.jian@gene.com. ; Department of Structural Biology, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. hackos.david@gene.com koth.christopher@gene.com payandeh.jian@gene.com.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26680203" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The spindle checkpoint of the cell division cycle senses kinetochores that are not attached to microtubules and prevents precocious onset of anaphase, which can lead to aneuploidy. The nuclear division cycle 80 complex (Ndc80C) is a major microtubule receptor at the kinetochore. Ndc80C also mediates the kinetochore recruitment of checkpoint proteins. We found that the checkpoint protein kinase monopolar spindle 1 (Mps1) directly bound to Ndc80C through two independent interactions. Both interactions involved the microtubule-binding surfaces of Ndc80C and were directly inhibited in the presence of microtubules. Elimination of one such interaction in human cells caused checkpoint defects expected from a failure to detect unattached kinetochores. Competition between Mps1 and microtubules for Ndc80C binding thus constitutes a direct mechanism for the detection of unattached kinetochores.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Ji, Zhejian -- Gao, Haishan -- Yu, Hongtao -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jun 12;348(6240):1260-4. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa4029.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6001 Forest Park Road, Dallas, TX 74390, USA. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6001 Forest Park Road, Dallas, TX 74390, USA. hongtao.yu@utsouthwestern.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26068854" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Lipid transfer between cell membrane bilayers at contacts between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and other membranes help to maintain membrane lipid homeostasis. We found that two similar ER integral membrane proteins, oxysterol-binding protein (OSBP)-related protein 5 (ORP5) and ORP8, tethered the ER to the plasma membrane (PM) via the interaction of their pleckstrin homology domains with phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI4P) in this membrane. Their OSBP-related domains (ORDs) harbored either PI4P or phosphatidylserine (PS) and exchanged these lipids between bilayers. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments showed that ORP5 and ORP8 could mediate PI4P/PS countertransport between the ER and the PM, thus delivering PI4P to the ER-localized PI4P phosphatase Sac1 for degradation and PS from the ER to the PM. This exchange helps to control plasma membrane PI4P levels and selectively enrich PS in the PM.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4638224/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4638224/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Chung, Jeeyun -- Torta, Federico -- Masai, Kaori -- Lucast, Louise -- Czapla, Heather -- Tanner, Lukas B -- Narayanaswamy, Pradeep -- Wenk, Markus R -- Nakatsu, Fubito -- De Camilli, Pietro -- DA018343/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/ -- DK082700/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- DK45735/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- P30 DA018343/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/ -- P30 DK045735/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- R01 DK082700/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- R37 NS036251/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- R37NS036251/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM007223/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 24;349(6246):428-32. doi: 10.1126/science.aab1370.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, and Program for Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, and Repair, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 117456 Singapore. ; Department of Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, and Program for Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, and Repair, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. pietro.decamilli@yale.edu nakatsu@med.niigata-u.ac.jp.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26206935" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Bacterial adaptive immunity uses CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-associated (Cas) proteins together with CRISPR transcripts for foreign DNA degradation. In type II CRISPR-Cas systems, activation of Cas9 endonuclease for DNA recognition upon guide RNA binding occurs by an unknown mechanism. Crystal structures of Cas9 bound to single-guide RNA reveal a conformation distinct from both the apo and DNA-bound states, in which the 10-nucleotide RNA "seed" sequence required for initial DNA interrogation is preordered in an A-form conformation. This segment of the guide RNA is essential for Cas9 to form a DNA recognition-competent structure that is poised to engage double-stranded DNA target sequences. We construe this as convergent evolution of a "seed" mechanism reminiscent of that used by Argonaute proteins during RNA interference in eukaryotes.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Jiang, Fuguo -- Zhou, Kaihong -- Ma, Linlin -- Gressel, Saskia -- Doudna, Jennifer A -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jun 26;348(6242):1477-81. doi: 10.1126/science.aab1452.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. ; Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Gottingen, Germany. ; Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Innovative Genomics Initiative, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. doudna@berkeley.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26113724" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) catalyzes histone H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3), a hallmark of gene silencing. Here we report the crystal structures of an active PRC2 complex of 170 kilodaltons from the yeast Chaetomium thermophilum in both basal and stimulated states, which contain Ezh2, Eed, and the VEFS domain of Suz12 and are bound to a cancer-associated inhibiting H3K27M peptide and a S-adenosyl-l-homocysteine cofactor. The stimulated complex also contains an additional stimulating H3K27me3 peptide. Eed is engulfed by a belt-like structure of Ezh2, and Suz12(VEFS) contacts both of these two subunits to confer an unusual split active SET domain for catalysis. Comparison of PRC2 in the basal and stimulated states reveals a mobile Ezh2 motif that responds to stimulation to allosterically regulate the active site.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Jiao, Lianying -- Liu, Xin -- GM114576/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Oct 16;350(6258):aac4383. doi: 10.1126/science.aac4383. Epub 2015 Oct 15.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences and Division of Basic Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Department of Biophysics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA. ; Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences and Division of Basic Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Department of Biophysics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA. xin.liu@utsouthwestern.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26472914" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Algal blooms produce large amounts of dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a volatile with a diverse signaling role in marine food webs that is emitted to the atmosphere, where it can affect cloud formation. The algal enzymes responsible for forming DMS from dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) remain unidentified despite their critical role in the global sulfur cycle. We identified and characterized Alma1, a DMSP lyase from the bloom-forming algae Emiliania huxleyi. Alma1 is a tetrameric, redox-sensitive enzyme of the aspartate racemase superfamily. Recombinant Alma1 exhibits biochemical features identical to the DMSP lyase in E. huxleyi, and DMS released by various E. huxleyi isolates correlates with their Alma1 levels. Sequence homology searches suggest that Alma1 represents a gene family present in major, globally distributed phytoplankton taxa and in other marine organisms.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Alcolombri, Uria -- Ben-Dor, Shifra -- Feldmesser, Ester -- Levin, Yishai -- Tawfik, Dan S -- Vardi, Assaf -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jun 26;348(6242):1466-9. doi: 10.1126/science.aab1586.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. ; Bioinformatics and Biological Computing Unit, Biological Services, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. ; Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. ; Department of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. assaf.vardi@weizmann.ac.il dan.tawfik@weizmann.ac.il. ; Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. assaf.vardi@weizmann.ac.il dan.tawfik@weizmann.ac.il.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26113722" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Mitochondria fulfill central functions in cellular energetics, metabolism, and signaling. The outer membrane translocator complex (the TOM complex) imports most mitochondrial proteins, but its architecture is unknown. Using a cross-linking approach, we mapped the active translocator down to single amino acid residues, revealing different transport paths for preproteins through the Tom40 channel. An N-terminal segment of Tom40 passes from the cytosol through the channel to recruit chaperones from the intermembrane space that guide the transfer of hydrophobic preproteins. The translocator contains three Tom40 beta-barrel channels sandwiched between a central alpha-helical Tom22 receptor cluster and external regulatory Tom proteins. The preprotein-translocating trimeric complex exchanges with a dimeric isoform to assemble new TOM complexes. Dynamic coupling of alpha-helical receptors, beta-barrel channels, and chaperones generates a versatile machinery that transports about 1000 different proteins.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Shiota, Takuya -- Imai, Kenichiro -- Qiu, Jian -- Hewitt, Victoria L -- Tan, Khershing -- Shen, Hsin-Hui -- Sakiyama, Noriyuki -- Fukasawa, Yoshinori -- Hayat, Sikander -- Kamiya, Megumi -- Elofsson, Arne -- Tomii, Kentaro -- Horton, Paul -- Wiedemann, Nils -- Pfanner, Nikolaus -- Lithgow, Trevor -- Endo, Toshiya -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Sep 25;349(6255):1544-8. doi: 10.1126/science.aac6428.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia. Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. ; Biotechnology Research Institute for Drug Discovery, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 2-4-7 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0064, Japan. ; Institut fur Biochemie und Molekularbiologie, Universitat Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany. ; Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia. ; Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm University, Box 1031, 17121 Solna, Sweden. ; Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. ; Institut fur Biochemie und Molekularbiologie, Universitat Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany. Centre for Biological Signalling Studies, Universitat Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany. ; Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kamigamo-motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26404837" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Notch receptors guide mammalian cell fate decisions by engaging the proteins Jagged and Delta-like (DLL). The 2.3 angstrom resolution crystal structure of the interacting regions of the Notch1-DLL4 complex reveals a two-site, antiparallel binding orientation assisted by Notch1 O-linked glycosylation. Notch1 epidermal growth factor-like repeats 11 and 12 interact with the DLL4 Delta/Serrate/Lag-2 (DSL) domain and module at the N-terminus of Notch ligands (MNNL) domains, respectively. Threonine and serine residues on Notch1 are functionalized with O-fucose and O-glucose, which act as surrogate amino acids by making specific, and essential, contacts to residues on DLL4. The elucidation of a direct chemical role for O-glycans in Notch1 ligand engagement demonstrates how, by relying on posttranslational modifications of their ligand binding sites, Notch proteins have linked their functional capacity to developmentally regulated biosynthetic pathways.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4445638/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4445638/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Luca, Vincent C -- Jude, Kevin M -- Pierce, Nathan W -- Nachury, Maxence V -- Fischer, Suzanne -- Garcia, K Christopher -- 1R01-GM097015/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM097015/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Feb 20;347(6224):847-53. doi: 10.1126/science.1261093.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. ; Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. kcgarcia@stanford.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25700513" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Morphinan alkaloids from the opium poppy are used for pain relief. The direction of metabolites to morphinan biosynthesis requires isomerization of (S)- to (R)-reticuline. Characterization of high-reticuline poppy mutants revealed a genetic locus, designated STORR [(S)- to (R)-reticuline] that encodes both cytochrome P450 and oxidoreductase modules, the latter belonging to the aldo-keto reductase family. Metabolite analysis of mutant alleles and heterologous expression demonstrate that the P450 module is responsible for the conversion of (S)-reticuline to 1,2-dehydroreticuline, whereas the oxidoreductase module converts 1,2-dehydroreticuline to (R)-reticuline rather than functioning as a P450 redox partner. Proteomic analysis confirmed that these two modules are contained on a single polypeptide in vivo. This modular assembly implies a selection pressure favoring substrate channeling. The fusion protein STORR may enable microbial-based morphinan production.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Winzer, Thilo -- Kern, Marcelo -- King, Andrew J -- Larson, Tony R -- Teodor, Roxana I -- Donninger, Samantha L -- Li, Yi -- Dowle, Adam A -- Cartwright, Jared -- Bates, Rachel -- Ashford, David -- Thomas, Jerry -- Walker, Carol -- Bowser, Tim A -- Graham, Ian A -- BB/K018809/1/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 17;349(6245):309-12. doi: 10.1126/science.aab1852. Epub 2015 Jun 25.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK. ; Bioscience Technology Facility, Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK. ; GlaxoSmithKline, 1061 Mountain Highway, Post Office Box 168, Boronia, Victoria 3155, Australia.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26113639" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Nucleotide analog inhibitors have shown clinical success in the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, despite an incomplete mechanistic understanding of NS5B, the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Here we study the details of HCV RNA replication by determining crystal structures of stalled polymerase ternary complexes with enzymes, RNA templates, RNA primers, incoming nucleotides, and catalytic metal ions during both primed initiation and elongation of RNA synthesis. Our analysis revealed that highly conserved active-site residues in NS5B position the primer for in-line attack on the incoming nucleotide. A beta loop and a C-terminal membrane-anchoring linker occlude the active-site cavity in the apo state, retract in the primed initiation assembly to enforce replication of the HCV genome from the 3' terminus, and vacate the active-site cavity during elongation. We investigated the incorporation of nucleotide analog inhibitors, including the clinically active metabolite formed by sofosbuvir, to elucidate key molecular interactions in the active site.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Appleby, Todd C -- Perry, Jason K -- Murakami, Eisuke -- Barauskas, Ona -- Feng, Joy -- Cho, Aesop -- Fox, David 3rd -- Wetmore, Diana R -- McGrath, Mary E -- Ray, Adrian S -- Sofia, Michael J -- Swaminathan, S -- Edwards, Thomas E -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Feb 13;347(6223):771-5. doi: 10.1126/science.1259210.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Gilead Sciences, 333 Lakeside Drive, Foster City, CA 94404, USA. todd.appleby@gilead.com tedwards@be4.com. ; Gilead Sciences, 333 Lakeside Drive, Foster City, CA 94404, USA. ; Beryllium, 7869 NE Day Road West, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110, USA. ; Beryllium, 7869 NE Day Road West, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110, USA. todd.appleby@gilead.com tedwards@be4.com.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25678663" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The scent of roses (Rosa x hybrida) is composed of hundreds of volatile molecules. Monoterpenes represent up to 70% percent of the scent content in some cultivars, such as the Papa Meilland rose. Monoterpene biosynthesis in plants relies on plastid-localized terpene synthases. Combining transcriptomic and genetic approaches, we show that the Nudix hydrolase RhNUDX1, localized in the cytoplasm, is part of a pathway for the biosynthesis of free monoterpene alcohols that contribute to fragrance in roses. The RhNUDX1 protein shows geranyl diphosphate diphosphohydrolase activity in vitro and supports geraniol biosynthesis in planta.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Magnard, Jean-Louis -- Roccia, Aymeric -- Caissard, Jean-Claude -- Vergne, Philippe -- Sun, Pulu -- Hecquet, Romain -- Dubois, Annick -- Hibrand-Saint Oyant, Laurence -- Jullien, Frederic -- Nicole, Florence -- Raymond, Olivier -- Huguet, Stephanie -- Baltenweck, Raymonde -- Meyer, Sophie -- Claudel, Patricia -- Jeauffre, Julien -- Rohmer, Michel -- Foucher, Fabrice -- Hugueney, Philippe -- Bendahmane, Mohammed -- Baudino, Sylvie -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 3;349(6243):81-3. doi: 10.1126/science.aab0696.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Laboratoire BVpam, EA3061, Universite de Lyon/Saint-Etienne, 23 Rue du Dr Michelon, F-42000, Saint-Etienne, France. ; Laboratoire BVpam, EA3061, Universite de Lyon/Saint-Etienne, 23 Rue du Dr Michelon, F-42000, Saint-Etienne, France. Laboratoire Reproduction et Developpement des Plantes UMR Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-CNRS, Universite Lyon 1-ENSL, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, 46 Allee d'Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France. ; Laboratoire Reproduction et Developpement des Plantes UMR Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-CNRS, Universite Lyon 1-ENSL, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, 46 Allee d'Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France. ; INRA, Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences (INRA, AGROCAMPUS-OUEST, Universite d'Angers), SFR 4207 QUASAV, BP 60057, 49071 Beaucouze Cedex, France. ; Genomiques Fonctionnelles d'Arabidopsis, Unite de Recherche en Genomique Vegetale, UMR INRA 1165-Universite d'Evry Val d'Essonne-ERL CNRS 8196, Evry, France. ; INRA, Universite de Strasbourg, UMR 1131 Sante de la Vigne et Qualite du Vin, 28 Rue de Herrlisheim, F-68000 Colmar, France. ; Universite de Strasbourg-CNRS, UMR 7177, Institut Le Bel, 4 Rue Blaise Pascal, 67070 Strasbourg Cedex, France. ; INRA, Universite de Strasbourg, UMR 1131 Sante de la Vigne et Qualite du Vin, 28 Rue de Herrlisheim, F-68000 Colmar, France. sylvie.baudino@univ-st-etienne.fr philippe.hugueney@colmar.inra.fr mohammed.bendahmane@ens-lyon.fr. ; Laboratoire Reproduction et Developpement des Plantes UMR Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-CNRS, Universite Lyon 1-ENSL, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, 46 Allee d'Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France. sylvie.baudino@univ-st-etienne.fr philippe.hugueney@colmar.inra.fr mohammed.bendahmane@ens-lyon.fr. ; Laboratoire BVpam, EA3061, Universite de Lyon/Saint-Etienne, 23 Rue du Dr Michelon, F-42000, Saint-Etienne, France. sylvie.baudino@univ-st-etienne.fr philippe.hugueney@colmar.inra.fr mohammed.bendahmane@ens-lyon.fr.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26138978" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The voltage-gated calcium channel Ca(v)1.1 is engaged in the excitation-contraction coupling of skeletal muscles. The Ca(v)1.1 complex consists of the pore-forming subunit alpha1 and auxiliary subunits alpha2delta, beta, and gamma. We report the structure of the rabbit Ca(v)1.1 complex determined by single-particle cryo-electron microscopy. The four homologous repeats of the alpha1 subunit are arranged clockwise in the extracellular view. The gamma subunit, whose structure resembles claudins, interacts with the voltage-sensing domain of repeat IV (VSD(IV)), whereas the cytosolic beta subunit is located adjacent to VSD(II) of alpha1. The alpha2 subunit interacts with the extracellular loops of repeats I to III through its VWA and Cache1 domains. The structure reveals the architecture of a prototypical eukaryotic Ca(v) channel and provides a framework for understanding the function and disease mechanisms of Ca(v) and Na(v) channels.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Wu, Jianping -- Yan, Zhen -- Li, Zhangqiang -- Yan, Chuangye -- Lu, Shan -- Dong, Mengqiu -- Yan, Nieng -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Dec 18;350(6267):aad2395. doi: 10.1126/science.aad2395.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences and School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. ; National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing 102206, China. ; State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences and School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. nyan@tsinghua.edu.cn.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26680202" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Speciation, the process by which new biological species arise, involves the evolution of reproductive barriers, such as hybrid sterility or inviability between populations. However, identifying hybrid incompatibility genes remains a key obstacle in understanding the molecular basis of reproductive isolation. We devised a genomic screen, which identified a cell cycle-regulation gene as the cause of male inviability in hybrids resulting from a cross between Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans. Ablation of the D. simulans allele of this gene is sufficient to rescue the adult viability of hybrid males. This dominantly acting cell cycle regulator causes mitotic arrest and, thereby, inviability of male hybrid larvae. Our genomic method provides a facile means to accelerate the identification of hybrid incompatibility genes in other model and nonmodel systems.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4703311/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4703311/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Phadnis, Nitin -- Baker, EmilyClare P -- Cooper, Jacob C -- Frizzell, Kimberly A -- Hsieh, Emily -- de la Cruz, Aida Flor A -- Shendure, Jay -- Kitzman, Jacob O -- Malik, Harmit S -- 5T32 HD0741/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/ -- HG006283/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM074108/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM115914/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Dec 18;350(6267):1552-5. doi: 10.1126/science.aac7504.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. nitin.phadnis@utah.edu hsmalik@fhcrc.org. ; Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. ; Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. ; Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. ; Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. ; Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. nitin.phadnis@utah.edu hsmalik@fhcrc.org.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26680200" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Mapping protein sequence space is a difficult problem that necessitates the analysis of 20(N) combinations for sequences of length N. We systematically mapped the sequence space of four key residues in the Escherichia coli protein kinase PhoQ that drive recognition of its substrate PhoP. We generated a library containing all 160,000 variants of PhoQ at these positions and used a two-step selection coupled to next-generation sequencing to identify 1659 functional variants. Our results reveal extensive degeneracy in the PhoQ-PhoP interface and epistasis, with the effect of individual substitutions often highly dependent on context. Together, epistasis and the genetic code create a pattern of connectivity of functional variants in sequence space that likely constrains PhoQ evolution. Consequently, the diversity of PhoQ orthologs is substantially lower than that of functional PhoQ variants.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Podgornaia, Anna I -- Laub, Michael T -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Feb 6;347(6222):673-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1257360.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Computational & Systems Biology Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. ; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. laub@mit.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25657251" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The 5' leader of the HIV-1 genome contains conserved elements that direct selective packaging of the unspliced, dimeric viral RNA into assembling particles. By using a (2)H-edited nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) approach, we determined the structure of a 155-nucleotide region of the leader that is independently capable of directing packaging (core encapsidation signal; Psi(CES)). The RNA adopts an unexpected tandem three-way junction structure, in which residues of the major splice donor and translation initiation sites are sequestered by long-range base pairing and guanosines essential for both packaging and high-affinity binding to the cognate Gag protein are exposed in helical junctions. The structure reveals how translation is attenuated, Gag binding promoted, and unspliced dimeric genomes selected, by the RNA conformer that directs packaging.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4492308/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4492308/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Keane, Sarah C -- Heng, Xiao -- Lu, Kun -- Kharytonchyk, Siarhei -- Ramakrishnan, Venkateswaran -- Carter, Gregory -- Barton, Shawn -- Hosic, Azra -- Florwick, Alyssa -- Santos, Justin -- Bolden, Nicholas C -- McCowin, Sayo -- Case, David A -- Johnson, Bruce A -- Salemi, Marco -- Telesnitsky, Alice -- Summers, Michael F -- 2T34 GM008663/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- P50 GM 103297/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- P50 GM103297/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM042561/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM42561/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 May 22;348(6237):917-21. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa9266.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA. ; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5620, USA. ; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. ; One Moon Scientific, Incorporated, 839 Grant Avenue, Westfield, NJ 07090, USA, and City University of New York (CUNY) Advanced Science Research Center, 85 St. Nicholas Terrace, New York, NY 10031, USA. ; Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, and Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA. ; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5620, USA. summers@hhmi.umbc.edu ateles@umich.edu. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA. summers@hhmi.umbc.edu ateles@umich.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25999508" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Light-gated rhodopsin cation channels from chlorophyte algae have transformed neuroscience research through their use as membrane-depolarizing optogenetic tools for targeted photoactivation of neuron firing. Photosuppression of neuronal action potentials has been limited by the lack of equally efficient tools for membrane hyperpolarization. We describe anion channel rhodopsins (ACRs), a family of light-gated anion channels from cryptophyte algae that provide highly sensitive and efficient membrane hyperpolarization and neuronal silencing through light-gated chloride conduction. ACRs strictly conducted anions, completely excluding protons and larger cations, and hyperpolarized the membrane of cultured animal cells with much faster kinetics at less than one-thousandth of the light intensity required by the most efficient currently available optogenetic proteins. Natural ACRs provide optogenetic inhibition tools with unprecedented light sensitivity and temporal precision.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4764398/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4764398/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Govorunova, Elena G -- Sineshchekov, Oleg A -- Janz, Roger -- Liu, Xiaoqin -- Spudich, John L -- R01 GM027750/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01GM027750/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R21MH098288/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ -- S10RR022531/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Aug 7;349(6248):647-50. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa7484. Epub 2015 Jun 25.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Center for Membrane Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX 77030, USA. ; Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX 77030, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26113638" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The shortage of organs for transplantation is a major barrier to the treatment of organ failure. Although porcine organs are considered promising, their use has been checked by concerns about the transmission of porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) to humans. Here we describe the eradication of all PERVs in a porcine kidney epithelial cell line (PK15). We first determined the PK15 PERV copy number to be 62. Using CRISPR-Cas9, we disrupted all copies of the PERV pol gene and demonstrated a 〉1000-fold reduction in PERV transmission to human cells, using our engineered cells. Our study shows that CRISPR-Cas9 multiplexability can be as high as 62 and demonstrates the possibility that PERVs can be inactivated for clinical application of porcine-to-human xenotransplantation.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Yang, Luhan -- Guell, Marc -- Niu, Dong -- George, Haydy -- Lesha, Emal -- Grishin, Dennis -- Aach, John -- Shrock, Ellen -- Xu, Weihong -- Poci, Jurgen -- Cortazio, Rebeca -- Wilkinson, Robert A -- Fishman, Jay A -- Church, George -- P50 HG005550/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Nov 27;350(6264):1101-4. doi: 10.1126/science.aad1191. Epub 2015 Oct 11.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. eGenesis Biosciences, Boston, MA 02115, USA. gchurch@genetics.med.harvard.edu luhan.yang@egenesisbio.com. ; Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. eGenesis Biosciences, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. ; Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. ; Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. ; Transplant Infectious Disease and Compromised Host Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26456528" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Most spontaneous DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) result from replication-fork breakage. Break-induced replication (BIR), a genome rearrangement-prone repair mechanism that requires the Pol32/POLD3 subunit of eukaryotic DNA Poldelta, was proposed to repair broken forks, but how genome destabilization is avoided was unknown. We show that broken fork repair initially uses error-prone Pol32-dependent synthesis, but that mutagenic synthesis is limited to within a few kilobases from the break by Mus81 endonuclease and a converging fork. Mus81 suppresses template switches between both homologous sequences and diverged human Alu repetitive elements, highlighting its importance for stability of highly repetitive genomes. We propose that lack of a timely converging fork or Mus81 may propel genome instability observed in cancer.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Mayle, Ryan -- Campbell, Ian M -- Beck, Christine R -- Yu, Yang -- Wilson, Marenda -- Shaw, Chad A -- Bjergbaek, Lotte -- Lupski, James R -- Ira, Grzegorz -- F31 NS083159/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- GM080600/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- HG006542/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- NS058529/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- NS083159/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM080600/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 NS058529/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- U54 HG006542/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Aug 14;349(6249):742-7. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa8391.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA. ; Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, University of Aarhus, Aarhus 8000, Denmark. ; Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Department of Pediatrics, and Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA. ; Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA. gira@bcm.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26273056" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The detailed molecular interactions between native HIV-1 capsid protein (CA) hexamers that shield the viral genome and proteins have been elusive. We report crystal structures describing interactions between CA monomers related by sixfold symmetry within hexamers (intrahexamer) and threefold and twofold symmetry between neighboring hexamers (interhexamer). The structures describe how CA builds hexagonal lattices, the foundation of mature capsids. Lattice structure depends on an adaptable hydration layer modulating interactions among CA molecules. Disruption of this layer alters interhexamer interfaces, highlighting an inherent structural variability. A CA-targeting antiviral affects capsid stability by binding across CA molecules and subtly altering interhexamer interfaces remote to the ligand-binding site. Inherent structural plasticity, hydration layer rearrangement, and effector binding affect capsid stability and have functional implications for the retroviral life cycle.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4584149/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4584149/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Gres, Anna T -- Kirby, Karen A -- KewalRamani, Vineet N -- Tanner, John J -- Pornillos, Owen -- Sarafianos, Stefan G -- AI076119/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- AI099284/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- AI100890/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- AI112417/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- AI120860/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- GM066087/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM103368/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- P50 GM103368/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI076119/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI099284/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI100890/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI120860/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM066087/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R21 AI112417/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 3;349(6243):99-103. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa5936. Epub 2015 Jun 4.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. ; Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. ; Basic Research Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA. ; Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. ; Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA. ; Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. sarafianoss@missouri.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26044298" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: In cells, biosynthetic machinery coordinates protein synthesis and folding to optimize efficiency and minimize off-pathway outcomes. However, it has been difficult to delineate experimentally the mechanisms responsible. Using fluorescence resonance energy transfer, we studied cotranslational folding of the first nucleotide-binding domain from the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator. During synthesis, folding occurred discretely via sequential compaction of N-terminal, alpha-helical, and alpha/beta-core subdomains. Moreover, the timing of these events was critical; premature alpha-subdomain folding prevented subsequent core formation. This process was facilitated by modulating intrinsic folding propensity in three distinct ways: delaying alpha-subdomain compaction, facilitating beta-strand intercalation, and optimizing translation kinetics via codon usage. Thus, de novo folding is translationally tuned by an integrated cellular response that shapes the cotranslational folding landscape at critical stages of synthesis.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Kim, Soo Jung -- Yoon, Jae Seok -- Shishido, Hideki -- Yang, Zhongying -- Rooney, LeeAnn A -- Barral, Jose M -- Skach, William R -- P30CA069533/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- P30EYE010572/PHS HHS/ -- R01DK51818/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- R01GM53457/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- S10OD012246/OD/NIH HHS/ -- S10RR025571/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Apr 24;348(6233):444-8. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa3974.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), Portland, OR 97239, USA. ; Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77550-0620, USA. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77550-0620, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), Portland, OR 97239, USA. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA. skachw@ohsu.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25908822" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Chemokines and their receptors control cell migration during development, immune system responses, and in numerous diseases, including inflammation and cancer. The structural basis of receptor:chemokine recognition has been a long-standing unanswered question due to the challenges of structure determination for membrane protein complexes. Here, we report the crystal structure of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 in complex with the viral chemokine antagonist vMIP-II at 3.1 angstrom resolution. The structure revealed a 1:1 stoichiometry and a more extensive binding interface than anticipated from the paradigmatic two-site model. The structure helped rationalize a large body of mutagenesis data and together with modeling provided insights into CXCR4 interactions with its endogenous ligand CXCL12, its ability to recognize diverse ligands, and the specificity of CC and CXC receptors for their respective chemokines.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4362693/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4362693/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Qin, Ling -- Kufareva, Irina -- Holden, Lauren G -- Wang, Chong -- Zheng, Yi -- Zhao, Chunxia -- Fenalti, Gustavo -- Wu, Huixian -- Han, Gye Won -- Cherezov, Vadim -- Abagyan, Ruben -- Stevens, Raymond C -- Handel, Tracy M -- ACB-12002/PHS HHS/ -- AGM-12006/PHS HHS/ -- R01 GM071872/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM081763/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R21 AI101687/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- U01 GM094612/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- U54 GM094618/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Mar 6;347(6226):1117-22. doi: 10.1126/science.1261064. Epub 2015 Jan 22.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉University of California, San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. ; University of California, San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. thandel@ucsd.edu stevens@usc.edu ikufareva@ucsd.edu. ; Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; Department of Chemistry, Bridge Institute. Department of Biological Sciences, Bridge Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. ; Department of Chemistry, Bridge Institute. ; Department of Chemistry, Bridge Institute. Department of Biological Sciences, Bridge Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. thandel@ucsd.edu stevens@usc.edu ikufareva@ucsd.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25612609" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The inefficient clearance of dying cells can lead to abnormal immune responses, such as unresolved inflammation and autoimmune conditions. We show that tumor suppressor p53 controls signaling-mediated phagocytosis of apoptotic cells through its target, Death Domain1alpha (DD1alpha), which suggests that p53 promotes both the proapoptotic pathway and postapoptotic events. DD1alpha appears to function as an engulfment ligand or receptor that engages in homophilic intermolecular interaction at intercellular junctions of apoptotic cells and macrophages, unlike other typical scavenger receptors that recognize phosphatidylserine on the surface of dead cells. DD1alpha-deficient mice showed in vivo defects in clearing dying cells, which led to multiple organ damage indicative of immune dysfunction. p53-induced expression of DD1alpha thus prevents persistence of cell corpses and ensures efficient generation of precise immune responses.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Yoon, Kyoung Wan -- Byun, Sanguine -- Kwon, Eunjeong -- Hwang, So-Young -- Chu, Kiki -- Hiraki, Masatsugu -- Jo, Seung-Hee -- Weins, Astrid -- Hakroush, Samy -- Cebulla, Angelika -- Sykes, David B -- Greka, Anna -- Mundel, Peter -- Fisher, David E -- Mandinova, Anna -- Lee, Sam W -- CA142805/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- CA149477/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- CA80058/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- DK062472/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- DK091218/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- DK093378/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- DK57683/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- S10RR027673/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 31;349(6247):1261669. doi: 10.1126/science.1261669.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Building 149, 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. ; Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA. ; Center for Regenerative Medicine and Technology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. ; Department of Medicine, Glom-NExT Center for Glomerular Kidney Disease and Novel Experimental Therapeutics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Building 149, 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Building 149, 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. swlee@mgh.harvard.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26228159" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉