09/21/2023
Methods and Resources
Emerging high-resolution analytic technologies like single-cell sequencing and FRET biosensors for metabolites are revolutionizing the scale of biological hypotheses. Bo Larsen, Alexander Jones and co-workers describe Highlighter, an optogenetic tool for fine-scale eukaryotic gene expression control, and deploy it in plants to enable cell-level hypothesis testing.
Image credit: pbio.3002303
Current Issue August 2023
09/21/2023
Short Reports
The canonical glycolysis pathway converts glucose into two molecules of acetyl-CoA via a cascade of eleven biochemical reactions. Yiqun Yang, Yuwan Liu, Haodong Zhao, Dingyu Liu, Huifeng Jiang, Yanhe Ma and co-workers repurpose phosphoketolase to construct an artificial pathway which comprises only three reactions and could theoretically achieve a 100% carbon yield of acetyl-CoA from any sugar.
Image credit: pbio.3002285
09/19/2023
Research Article
Bacterial flagellin is a key mediator of detrimental impacts on intestinal health caused by dietary emulsifier. Melissa Kordahi, Benoit Chassaing and colleagues show that immunizing mice against flagellin can prevent emulsifier-induced changes in microbiota pro-inflammatory potential, microbiota encroachment, as well as deleterious consequences such as intestinal inflammation and metabolic deregulation.
Image credit: pbio.3002289
09/19/2023
Methods and Resources
Hemichordates are crucial for understanding vertebrate nervous system origins. A study of the acorn worm Saccoglossus kowalevskii by José Andrade López, Christopher Lowe and co-workers reveals a complex and regionalized neural plexus at the proboscis base that most likely acts as an integrative center. Also read the related Primer by Alexandra Kerbl and Gáspár Jékely.
Image credit: pbio.3002242
09/18/2023
Research Article
Decline of mitochondrial function is a hallmark of cellular aging, so some cells counteract this by transmitting mitochondria asymmetrically to rejuvenate daughter cells. This study in yeast, by Xenia Chelius, Till Klecker, Benedikt Westermann and co-authors, reveals how oxidatively damaged mitochondria are selectively retained in the mother cell to prevent their inheritance by the next generation.
Image credit: pbio.3002310
09/18/2023
Research Article
The mechanisms that drive protein phase transitions are unclear. This study in plants, by Chen Liu, Panagiotis Moschou and colleagues, shows that an intracellular liquid condensate formed by the lipid transferase SFH8 associates with membranes; when SFH8 is cleaved by the caspase-like protease ESP, it transforms into a solid filament that can modulate root development.
Image credit: pbio.3002305
09/21/2023
Perspective
This Perspective looks back at a 2008 PLOS Biology article that reported a senescence-associated secretory phenotype that could promote inflammation and cancer.
Image credit: pbio.3002326
09/21/2023
Perspective
Can technology solve our sustainability problems, or do we just need to reduce our consumption? In this Perspective, Navin Ramankutty argues that the answer is both.
Image credit: Unsplash user Chris Leboutillier
09/14/2023
Perspective
Those who follow non-linear career trajectories often face disadvantages in academia. This Perspective looks at why individuals might choose non-linear careers and how these benefit diversity in science.
Image credit: pbio.3002291
09/11/2023
Essay
This Essay advocates combining genomic tools with partnerships with subsistence-level groups experiencing rapid lifestyle change to identify genetic loci associated with disease risk.
Image credit: pbio.3002311
This collection explores engineering strategies to help us adapt plants to a changing climate, including breeding techniques, genome engineering, synthetic biology and microbiome engineering.
The green collection explores biological solutions that could be applied to reduce CO2 emissions, get rid of non-degradable plastics, produce food in a sustainable manner or generate energy.
This collection explores potential solutions to mitigate the impacts of human activity on ocean ecosystems to minimize or reverse degradation.
To mark 200 years since the birth of Gregor Mendel, this collection looks back at the impact of his original research and asks how well it stands up to modern views on genetics.
Nearly 50 years after researchers first found specks of plastic floating in the Atlantic Ocean, microplastics are everywhere. This collection contains evidence-based commentaries on the diverse impacts of microplastics.
October 2 - 6
Meet Front Section Senior Editor Joanna Clarke (jclarke@plos.org) - Virtual
October 4 - 7
Meet Senior Editor Richard Hodge (rhodge@plos.org)
October 11 - 14
Meet Senior Editor Richard Hodge (rhodge@plos.org)
October 17 - 19
Meet Senior Editor Roli Roberts (rroberts@plos.org)
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