PLoS Biology: New Articles

Paleovirology—Modern Consequences of Ancient Viruses

2010-02-09T08:00:00Z

A Novel High-Affinity Sucrose Transporter Is Required for Virulence of the Plant Pathogen Ustilago maydis

2010-02-09T08:00:00Z

A novel, high-affinity sucrose transporter identified in the plasma membrane of the plant pathogen Ustilago maydis is essential for fungal virulence and successful infection of maize.

Using Structural Information to Change the Phosphotransfer Specificity of a Two-Component Chemotaxis Signalling Complex

2010-02-09T08:00:00Z

Analysis of the crystal structure of a phosphotransfer complex from the Rhodobacter sphaeroides chemotaxis pathway allowed reengineering of molecular recognition in a two-component signalling system.

mRNA Secondary Structures Fold Sequentially But Exchange Rapidly In Vivo

2010-02-09T08:00:00Z

Self-cleavage assays of RNA folding reveal that mRNA structures fold sequentially in vitro and in vivo, but exchange between adjacent structures is much faster in vivo than it is in vitro.

Living the Sweet Life: How Does a Plant Pathogenic Fungus Acquire Sugar from Plants?

2010-02-09T08:00:00Z

Why We Conform

2010-02-02T08:00:00Z

Are humans fundamentally helpful, or does coercion inevitably come with altruism? Julia Fischer examines this question in her review of Michael Tomasello's new book, Why We Cooperate.

The Wnt Pathway Controls Cell Death Engulfment, Spindle Orientation, and Migration through CED-10/Rac

2010-02-02T08:00:00Z

Specificity in Wnt-mediated developmental processes, such as directional cell cleavage, migration, and engulfment of dead cells in C. elegans, arises from the use of distinct Wnt pathway signalling modules.

Regulatory T Cells and Human Myeloid Dendritic Cells Promote Tolerance via Programmed Death Ligand-1

2010-02-02T08:00:00Z

Human regulatory T cells inhibit graft-versus-host disease that can occur after tissue transplantation, in part through expression of programmed death ligand 1 and modulation of antigen-presenting cells.

Touch Neurons Have a Good Sense of Direction

2010-02-02T08:00:00Z

Shape Invariant Coding of Motion Direction in Somatosensory Cortex

2010-02-02T08:00:00Z

A subpopulation of neurons in primate somatosensory cortex signal the direction in which objects move across the skin of the fingertips.

PLoS Biology Issue Image | Vol. 8(1) January 2010

2010-01-26T08:00:00Z

Bacterial membrane coat proteins?

Members of the Planctomycetes-Verrucomicrobiaea-Chlamydiae superphylum of bacteria have a compartmentalized cellular organization. Santarella-Mellwig et al. (e1000281) show that members of this superphylum have proteins whose domain architecture is similar to that of eukaryotic membrane coat proteins, which have not previously been detected in prokaryotes. These proteins localize partly at the membrane of vesicles formed inside bacterial cells. Illustrated is a cell of Gemmata obscuriglobus, a member of the Planctomycetes phylum. DNA is colored purple and the vesicle-containing compartment green.

Image Credit: R. Santarella-Mellwig (electron microscopy) and C. Panagiotidis (graphic design)

CDC5 Inhibits the Hyperphosphorylation of the Checkpoint Kinase Rad53, Leading to Checkpoint Adaptation

2010-01-26T08:00:00Z

The mechanistic role of the yeast kinase CDC5, in allowing cells to adapt to the presence of irreparable DNA damage and continue to divide, is revealed.

A Mitotic Phosphorylation Feedback Network Connects Cdk1, Plk1, 53BP1, and Chk2 to Inactivate the G2/M DNA Damage Checkpoint

2010-01-26T08:00:00Z

A combined computational and biochemical approach reveals how mitotic kinases allow cell division to proceed in the presence of DNA damage.

Role of Plastid Protein Phosphatase TAP38 in LHCII Dephosphorylation and Thylakoid Electron Flow

2010-01-26T08:00:00Z

Regulation of photosynthesis efficiency involves reversible phosphorylation of the light-harvesting complex through the activity of the newly identified phosphatase TAP38.

Evolution of Adaptive Behaviour in Robots by Means of Darwinian Selection

2010-01-26T08:00:00Z

Common Disease, Multiple Rare (and Distant) Variants

2010-01-26T08:00:00Z

Rare Variants Create Synthetic Genome-Wide Associations

2010-01-26T08:00:00Z

A large number of different common variants has been associated with very modest increases of risk for various common diseases. A simulation study shows that rare variants with much greater impacts on disease risk may be responsible for some of these associations.

SATB1 Makes a Splash in T Cell Wnt Signaling

2010-01-26T08:00:00Z

Global Regulator SATB1 Recruits β-Catenin and Regulates TH2 Differentiation in Wnt-Dependent Manner

2010-01-26T08:00:00Z

Chromatin organizer SATB1 and Wnt transducer β-catenin form a complex and regulate expression of GATA3 and T_H2 cytokines in Wnt-dependent manner and orchestrate T_H2 lineage commitment.

PINK1 Is Selectively Stabilized on Impaired Mitochondria to Activate Parkin

2010-01-26T08:00:00Z

Mutations in PINK1 or Parkin lead to familial parkinsonism. The authors suggest that PINK1 and Parkin form a pathway that senses damaged mitochondria and selectively targets them for degradation.

The Roles of PINK1 and Parkin in Parkinson's Disease

2010-01-26T08:00:00Z

Endogenous Nmnat2 Is an Essential Survival Factor for Maintenance of Healthy Axons

2010-01-26T08:00:00Z

We conclude that endogenous Nmnat2 prevents spontaneous degeneration of healthy axons and propose that, when present, the more long-lived, functionally related WldS protein substitutes for Nmnat2 loss after axon injury. Endogenous Nmnat2 represents an exciting new therapeutic target for axonal disorders.

The Compartmentalized Bacteria of the Planctomycetes-Verrucomicrobia-Chlamydiae Superphylum Have Membrane Coat-Like Proteins

2010-01-19T08:00:00Z

Compartmentalized bacteria have proteins that are structurally related to eukaryotic membrane coats, and one of these proteins localizes at the membrane of vesicles formed inside bacterial cells.

A Rho Scaffold Integrates the Secretory System with Feedback Mechanisms in Regulation of Auxin Distribution

2010-01-19T08:00:00Z

In plants, auxin distribution and tissue patterning are coordinated via a feedback loop involving the auxin-regulated cell polarity factor ICR1 and the secretory machinery.

Neuron Specific Rab4 Effector GRASP-1 Coordinates Membrane Specialization and Maturation of Recycling Endosomes

2010-01-19T08:00:00Z

The neuronal protein GRASP-1 is shown to be a key molecule controlling endosomal trafficking and thereby regulating synapse integrity and synaptic plasticity.

Origin of Irreversibility of Cell Cycle Start in Budding Yeast

2010-01-19T08:00:00Z

In budding yeast, the commitment to entry into a new cell division cycle is made irreversible by positive feedback-driven expression of the G1 cyclins Cln1,2.

A Predominantly Neolithic Origin for European Paternal Lineages

2010-01-19T08:00:00Z

Most present-day European men inherited their Y chromosomes from the farmers who spread from the Near East 10,000 years ago, rather than from the hunter-gatherers of the Paleolithic.

University of California Research Seminar Network: A Prospectus

2010-01-19T08:00:00Z

By webcasting the hundreds of seminars presented in the University of California system each week, UC educators hope to enhance the exchange of scientific information for their campuses and create the foundation for an international research seminar network.

Targeting Misfolded Proteins to Fight Neurodegenerative Diseases

2010-01-19T08:00:00Z

Modulation of Heat Shock Transcription Factor 1 as a Therapeutic Target for Small Molecule Intervention in Neurodegenerative Disease

2010-01-19T08:00:00Z

A yeast-based small molecule screen identifies a novel activator of human HSF1 and protein chaperone expression and which appears to alleviate the toxicity of protein misfolding diseases.

Coherence Potentials: Loss-Less, All-or-None Network Events in the Cortex

2010-01-12T08:00:00Z

Author Summary

Perception and behavior are thought to arise from transient associations among sub-groups of nerve cells in the brain. However, identifying which of the many active neurons are associated at any given time and how poses a challenge. Here we show that when the composite activity of a local group of cortical neurons, measured as a complex waveform in the extracellular field, exceeds a threshold, its activity pattern extending up to hundreds of milliseconds occurs without distortion at other cortical sites via fast synaptic transmission. We call these all-or-none propagated patterns “coherence potentials”, in analogy to action potentials at the single cell level. In contrast to action potentials, which are stereotypical and thus capable only of binary coding, coherence potentials are diverse and complex waveforms that can serve as a high-dimensional parameter for encoding information. The non-linear relationship between local activity and its extent of replicated spread suggests a “tipping point” that bears analogy to the propagation of innovations and economic behavior in social networks, which can spread rapidly once they have garnered a local critical mass.

Evolving Towards Mutualism

2010-01-12T08:00:00Z

Experimental Evolution of a Plant Pathogen into a Legume Symbiont

2010-01-12T08:00:00Z

Following acquisition of a rhizobial symbiotic plasmid, adaptive mutations in the virulence pathway allowed pathogenic Ralstonia solanacearum to evolve into a legume symbiont under plant selection.