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Genome interrupted: evolution of Paramecium IESs

July 29, 2021

Genome interrupted: evolution of Paramecium IESs

A comparative genomics study of nine Paramecium species, by Diamantis Sellis, Frédéric Guérin, Laurent Duret, Sandra Duharcourt and co-workers, reveals successful invasion of genes by transposable elements in their germline genomes, showing that the internal eliminated sequences (IESs) followed an evolutionary trajectory remarkably similar to that of spliceosomal introns.

Image credit: Flickr user Don Loarie

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PLOS BIOLOGUE

07/29/2021

Meta-Research Article

The changing face of statistics

A quantitative survey of >1 million published research articles, by Taylor Bolt, Lucina Uddin and co-workers, reveals that while classical statistical methods remain in widespread use, multivariate statistical and machine-learning approaches have seen a significant increase; statistics curricula should be revised to take full advantage of these new analytical tools. Also read the accompanying Primer by Tracey Weissgerber.

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The changing face of statistics

Recently Published Articles

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Current Issue

Current Issue July 2021

07/29/2021

Research Article

N6-methyladenosine suppresses aberrant antiviral responses

A study of the epitranscriptomic landscape by Hideki Terajima, Chuan He and co-authors reveals a functional role of the RNA modification N6-methyladenosine in suppressing aberrant innate antiviral immune responses by modulating A-to-I RNA editing and RNA secondary structure. See also the accompanying Primer by Daltry Snider and Stacy Horner.

Image credit: pbio.3001343

N6-methyladenosine suppresses aberrant antiviral responses

07/28/2021

Perspective

Antiscience aggression in the US

Peter Hotez discusses a troubling new expansion of anti-science aggression in the United States which arises from far-right extremism, including some elected members of the US Congress and conservative news outlets that target prominent biological scientists fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Image credit: pbio.3001369

Antiscience aggression in the US

07/28/2021

Discovery Report

Targeting TB's response to environmental cues

Responding to environmental cues such as pH and chloride is critical in enabling Mycobacterium tuberculosis to colonize its host. Richard Lavin, Shumin Tan and colleagues use a chemical screen with a reporter strain of M. tuberculosis to identify a compound that perturbs the bacterial response to chloride and inhibits its growth in a murine infection model.

Targeting TB's response to environmental cues

Image credit: pbio.3001355

07/27/2021

Research Article

Making cockroaches attractive

Sexual dimorphism of body waxes is prevalent in insects. Here, Xiao-Jin Pei, Yong-Liang Fan, Tong-Xian Liu and colleagues reveal that the sex differentiation pathway regulates fatty acid elongation, ensuring production of the sexually dimorphic cuticular hydrocarbons needed for high levels of sex pheromone and sexual attractiveness in female cockroaches.

Making cockroaches attractive

Image credit: Wikimedia user Lmbuga

07/26/2021

Methods and Resources

Measuring 3D cell position in embryos

Jessica Forsyth, Berenika Plusa and co-authors present IVEN (Internal Versus External Neighbourhood), a new user-interactive tool for the quantitative description of cell environment and organismal architecture, and use it to reveal how changes in embryo architecture relate to changes in cell neighbourhood, identifying nuanced effects of FGF treatment on embryo morphology.

Measuring 3D cell position in embryos

Image credit: pbio.3001345

07/23/2021

Research Article

Degrading lysosomal membrane proteins

This study reveals a conserved pathway involving ubiquitination of lysosomal membrane proteins and subsequent internalization into the lysosome lumen by the ESCRT machinery for degradation.

Degrading lysosomal membrane proteins

Image credit: pbio.3001361

07/23/2021

Research Article

Structure of an autophagy scaffold

Structural and biochemical characterisation of the C9orf72-SMCR8 complex sheds light on its overall architecture and highlights its role as a multi-functional scaffold for coordinating autophagy.

Structure of an autophagy scaffold

Image credit: pbio.3001344

07/22/2021

Research Article

BDNF, plasticity and pain 

BDNF from cerebral microglia contributes to nerve injury-induced synaptic remodeling and neuronal hyperactivity, and ultimately contributes to pain sensitivity in mice; removal of microglial BDNF has beneficial effects on cortical plasticity and pain.

BDNF, plasticity and pain 

Image credit: pbio.3001337

07/20/2021

Research Article

Lysosomes as a Trojan horse in Parkinson's disease

Lysosomes damaged by α-synuclein fibrils become a hub for seeding new aggregates and function as a Trojan horse, facilitating the dissemination of aggregates between cells through tunneling nanotubes. See the accompanying Primer.

Lysosomes as a Trojan horse in Parkinson's disease

Image credit: Aysegul Dilsizoglu Senol & Maura Samarani

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