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Symbiosis across the tree of life

April 15, 2024

Symbiosis across the tree of life

Symbiosis research has become a holistic and pervasive field with a mature theoretical basis. This collection of 10 articles aims to showcase the extraordinary diversity in symbiotic relationships across the tree of life, exploring their evolutionary basis and underlying mechanisms.

Image credit: Estelle Kilias

PLOS Biologue

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PLOS BIOLOGUE

04/17/2024

Research Article

Role of chromatin factor CFDP1 in mitotic spindle formation

CFDP1 is a chromatin factor that has been shown to regulate cell proliferation and maintain higher-order chromatin structure, but its mechanistic role in mitotic spindle assembly is unclear. Gokul Gopinathan, Qian Xu, Xianghong Luan and Thomas Diekwisch show that CFDP1 is essential for the structural stability of centromeric heterochromatin, which in turn influences microtubule nucleation during mitotic spindle formation.

Image credit: pbio.3002574

Role of chromatin factor CFDP1 in mitotic spindle formation

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Current Issue

Current Issue March 2024

04/16/2024

Short Reports

Why older males succeed in the mating game

Male reproductive performance typically improves over time, but is this due to competition with older males or inherent to younger males? This study of blue tits by Emmi Schlicht, Bart Kempenaers and colleagues suggests that older males outcompete yearling males via sperm competition or differences in attractiveness to females.

Image credit: Unsplash user Amee Fairbank-Brown

Why older males succeed in the mating game

04/11/2024

Research Article

Confounding in GWAS

GWASs aim to estimate direct effects of genotype on an individual's phenotype, but this can be subject to genetic and environmental confounds and "indirect" genetic effects of relatives' genotypes. Carl Veller and Graham Coop present a theoretical analysis of the influence of confounders in population-based and within-family GWASs, showing that, while family-based studies are more rigorous, they still carry subtle issues that arise from confounding. Also read the accompanying Primer by Alexander Young.

Image credit: pbio.3002568

Confounding in GWAS

04/11/2024

Formal Comment

Realism when studying both sexes

A recent article claimed that researchers need not increase the overall sample size for a study that includes both sexes. Szymon Drobniak, Shinichi Nakagawa and colleagues point out that that study assumed two sexes to have the same variance, and explains why this is a unrealistic assumption. Also read the response by Benjamin Phillips, Timo Haschler and Natasha Karp.

Realism when studying both sexes

Image credit: pbio.3002456

04/04/2024

Research Article

Hsp70 reduces protein synthesis in stressed Salmonella

Hsp70 chaperones preserve protein synthesis by promoting protein folding and preventing its aggregation. Carissa Chan and Eduardo Groisman report a new role of Hsp70 in Salmonella enterica survival during low Mg2+ conditions by binding to the ribosome and reducing protein synthesis.

Hsp70 reduces protein synthesis in stressed Salmonella

Image credit: pbio.3002560

04/01/2024

Short Reports

Perceiving memorable images

How does the processing of images with high and low memorability differ in the brain? Benjamin Lahner, Yalda Mohsenzadeh, Caitlin Mullin and Aude Oliva combine fMRI and MEG to show that only images with high memorability scores undergo extended processing late in time throughout the ventral visual stream, including early visual cortex.

Perceiving memorable images

Image credit: pbio.3002564

04/16/2024

Unsolved Mystery

How do endosymbionts work with so few genes?

This Unsolved Mystery article explores how genome reduction alters endosymbiont biology and highlights a ‘tipping point’ where the loss of the ability to build a cell envelope coincides with a marked erosion of translation-related genes.

How do endosymbionts work with so few genes?

Image credit: pbio.3002577

04/12/2024

Editorial

Symbiosis: In search of a deeper understanding

Thomas Richards and Nancy Moran discuss our new collection of articles exploring emerging themes in symbiosis research, as researchers exploit modern research tools and new models to unravel how symbiotic interactions function and evolve.

Symbiosis: In search of a deeper understanding

Image credit: Estelle Kilias

04/12/2024

Perspective

Fungal holobionts to inform synthetic endosymbioses

Rhizopus microsporus is a fungal holobiont, harboring bacterial and viral endosymbionts. Laila Partida-Martínez explores how these microbial allies increase pathogenicity and defense and control reproduction in the fungus.

Fungal holobionts to inform synthetic endosymbioses

Image credit: pbio.3002587

04/12/2024

Essay

Fitness trade-offs and the origins of endosymbiosis

Endosymbiosis is common and has played an important role in the evolution of complex life. Michael Brockhurst, Duncan Cameron and Andrew Beckerman explore the theory and experimental evidence for trade-offs in the early-stage evolution of endosymbiosis.

Fitness trade-offs and the origins of endosymbiosis

Image credit: pbio.3002580

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PLOS Biology | ISSN: 1545-7885 (online)