02/19/2021
Research Article
Humans and many other hosts establish a diverse community of beneficial microbes anew each generation, but what determines the success of the assembly process remains poorly understood. Katharine Coyte, Kevin Foster and colleagues develop ecological theory that reveals the rules underlying the assembly of such host-associated microbiota.
Image credit: pbio.3001116
Current Issue January 2021
02/18/2021
Research Article
Ricardo Machado, Matthias Erb and co-authors show how an important agricultural pest, the western corn rootworm, integrates nutrients (sugars) and plant defense compounds (benzoxazinoids) to navigate the maize rhizosphere and feed on the most nutritious roots.
Image credit: pbio.3001114
02/17/2021
Research Article
Why is SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with an increased thrombotic risk? Shane Comer, Sarah Cullivan, Paulina Szklanna, Luisa Weiss, Fionnuala Ní Áinle, Barry Kevane, Patricia Maguire and colleagues reveal that disease severity is associated with increased mean platelet volume and decreased platelet:neutrophil ratio; moreover, all COVID-19 patients possess hyperactive circulating platelets, with agonist-induced ADP release 30-to-90-fold higher than controls.
Image credit: David Goodsell
02/17/2021
Research Article
Michiel van Gent, Michaela Gack and co-workers identify a novel role for a conserved RNA degradation pathway, nonsense-mediated decay (NMD), in suppressing reactivation of the human oncogenic herpesviruses Epstein-Barr virus and Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, by regulating the abundance of viral polycistronic transactivator transcripts.
Image credit: pbio.3001097
02/02/2021
Research Article
Heng Lian, Jia-Wei Wang and co-authors use CRISPR-Cas9 technology to investigate the functions of all five miR172 genes in Arabidopsis, finding that miR172 family members exhibit distinct expression pattern and exert functional specificity in regulating meristem size, trichome initiation, stem elongation, shoot branching and floral competence. Also read the accompanying Primer by Bailong Zhang and Xuemei Chen.
Image credit: pbio.3001044
02/02/2021
Research Article
Diarmuid Ó’Maoiléidigh, George Coupland and colleagues show that three genes encoding miR172 act redundantly at the shoot apex to reduce expression of the transcription factor APETALA2, a repressor of flowering. Dual repression of APETALA2 by FRUITFULL and by miR172 enables rapid and stable transition to the reproductive state. Also read the accompanying Primer by Bailong Zhang and Xuemei Chen.
Image credit: Diarmuid O’Maoileidigh
02/01/2021
Research Article
Levels of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Cul4b increase following T cell activation; once expressed, Cul4b helps to maintain DNA integrity in CD4+ T lymphocytes by aiding the repair of replication-induced DNA damage.
Image credit: Asif Dar & Paula Oliver
01/28/2021
Essay
Drawing parallels with Lysenkoism, Peter Hotez argues that COVID-19 has exposed how a rising tide of anti-science rhetoric and activities can dramatically exploit society's vulnerabilities to an infectious disease, suggesting that anti-science extremism has become as big a threat as the virus itself.
Image credit: pbio.3001068
01/28/2021
Research Article
Lyme disease is common in the northeastern US, but rare in the southeast. This study shows that this is largely because the tick vectors attach abundantly to rodents (good hosts for the Lyme bacteria) in the north, and to lizards (poor hosts) in the south.
Image credit: pbio.3001066
01/26/2021
Short Reports
Speakers prepare sentence structures in different ways and rely on alpha and theta oscillations differently when planning sentences with and without agent case marking, challenging theories on how production and comprehension affect language evolution.
Image credit: pbio.3001038
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.
Normal service will resume after Covid-19 crisis ends.
Normal service will resume after Covid-19 crisis ends.
Connect with Us