09/17/2021
Primer
For successful colonization, parasites need to target the plant immune system. This Primer by Yuanyuan Li, Nathan Meier and Savithramma Dinesh-Kumar explores a new study in PLOS Biology which reveals that unrelated parasites have evolved effectors which specifically suppress the function of helper NLRs, explaining the complex dynamics of plant-parasite coevolution. Read the related Research Article.
Image credit: pbio.3001395
Current Issue August 2021
09/16/2021
Research Article
Purkinje cell (PC) discharge, the only output of cerebellar cortex, involves both high-frequency simple spikes and low-frequency complex spikes; the function of the latter, determined by a PC's climbing fibre input, remains controversial. Akshay Markanday, Peter Thier and co-authors show that PCs receive a multiplexed climbing fibre input that merges complementary streams of information relevant for behaviour.
Image credit: pbio.3001400
09/16/2021
Research Article
This study of active navigation by Jai Yu and Loren Frank shows that, rather than being local noise within the hippocampus, sparse, isolated place cell spiking reflects a coordinated cortical-hippocampal process consistent with the generation of non-local scenario representations.
Image credit: pbio.3001393
09/14/2021
Short Reports
Pollution from microplastics and anthropogenic fibres threatens lakes, but we know little about what factors determine its accumulation. Andrew Tanentzap, Laurent Lebreton and colleagues use a survey of 67 European lakes spanning 30° of latitude to show that economic and environmental indicators predict the pollution of lakes by anthropogenic microparticles.
Image credit: pbio.3001389
09/09/2021
Community Page
Mira van der Naald, Kimberley Wever and co-authors present a 3-year evaluation of the first platform dedicated to preregistration of animal studies, www.preclinicaltrials.eu, and comparable platforms, encouraging the scientific community to embrace preregistration in a move towards more effective animal research.
Image credit: pbio.3001397
09/09/2021
Research Article
Herpesviruses are known to hijack cellular receptors to enter cells, but Taylor Light, Kalina Hristova, Marija Backovic and co-authors show that human herpesvirus 8 takes this to another level by using its envelope glycoprotein complex gH/gL to mimic the EphA2 receptor's natural ligands, ephrins.
Image credit: pbio.3001392
09/09/2021
Research Article
The malaria parasite's lactate transporter, PfFNT, is a potential drug target due to its housekeeping role in lactate efflux. Cryo-EM structures of PfFNT alone or with an anti-malarial drug reveal the mechanism of lactate transport and drug inhibition.
Image credit: pbio.3001386
09/09/2021
Methods and Resources
A phase contrast-based, high field MRI-based approach for the functional mapping of cerebral blood velocity in individual cortical arterioles and venules in the rat cortex.
Image credit: pbio.3000923
09/08/2021
Research Article
Preterm labor is driven by upregulation of specific pathways involved in augmentation of inflammation, by invasion of neutrophils in the amnion layer of the fetal membranes, and by production of specific inflammatory mediators.
Image credit: pbio.3001385
09/07/2021
Research Article
Inhibition of cell proliferation in Xenopus embryos is largely compatible with embryo survival and cellular differentiation but results in an excess of repressive histone marks. On release from cell cycle block, embryos revert towards normality.
Image credit: pbio.3001377
Raquel Lieberman discusses her work on the protein myocilin, implicated in glaucoma, but whose normal function remains unclear after over 20 years.
Susanna Bidgood explores the future of using poxviruses as versatile tools for cell biology research.
Rachel Harding proposes that open notebooks present an opportunity for researchers to showcase their work and rapidly advance science in their field
On the eve of the UN General Assembly meeting on TB, Christoph Grundner urged the need to consider basic research as an essential component of any future anti-TB strategy.
Norman Pace remembers the early days of what became known as "metagenomics," as experienced by the author during his development as a scientist.
September 13-15
Meet editor-in-chief Nonia Pariente
August 2-6
Meet senior editor Roli Roberts
July 19-23
Meet associate editor Paula Jauregui
Connect with Us