May 2012

Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's have been causally related to specific proteins that typically do not have a defined structure. Using single-molecule force spectroscopy one can monitor their rich conformational polymorphism, which is on the basis of the key process that triggers the pathological cascade, making it an ideal target for therapy, diagnostics and prevention. This conformational polymorphism is closely associated to disease and can be inhibited by a potential therapeutic agent. See Hervás et al. (e1001335), in this issue.

Image Credit: Àngel Gómez-Sicilia, Albert Galera-Prat, and Mariano Carrón-Vázquez. Image generated using CESGA resources and VMD program.

Synopses

Yeast Survive by Hedging Their Bets

Robin Meadows

PLOS Biology: published May 8, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001327

Hear Less, Feel Less: One Mutation Causes Loss of Two Senses

Richard Robinson

PLOS Biology: published May 1, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001322

Single-Molecule Technique Links Structural Fluctuations of Proteins to Brain Diseases

Janelle Weaver

PLOS Biology: published May 29, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001338

PAIRing Up Cargo Proteins

Charles Q. Choi

PLOS Biology: published May 22, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001334

Essay

Bit by Bit: The Darwinian Basis of Life

Gerald F. Joyce

PLOS Biology: published May 8, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001323

Primers

Adaptive Evolution in Ecological Communities

Martin M. Turcotte, Michael S. C. Corrin, Marc T. J. Johnson

PLOS Biology: published May 15, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001332

Disentangling the Benefits of Sex

Denis Roze

PLOS Biology: published May 1, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001321

Community Page

Dealing with Data: A Case Study on Information and Data Management Literacy

Melissa A. Haendel, Nicole A. Vasilevsky, Jacqueline A. Wirz

PLOS Biology: published May 29, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001339

Research Articles

Species Interactions Alter Evolutionary Responses to a Novel Environment

Diane Lawrence, Francesca Fiegna, Volker Behrends, Jacob G. Bundy, Albert B. Phillimore, Thomas Bell, Timothy G. Barraclough

PLOS Biology: published May 15, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001330

Bet Hedging in Yeast by Heterogeneous, Age-Correlated Expression of a Stress Protectant

Sasha F. Levy, Naomi Ziv, Mark L. Siegal

PLOS Biology: published May 8, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001325

The Evolution of Sex Is Favoured During Adaptation to New Environments

Lutz Becks, Aneil F. Agrawal

PLOS Biology: published May 1, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001317

A Genetic Basis for Mechanosensory Traits in Humans

Henning Frenzel, Jörg Bohlender, Katrin Pinsker, Bärbel Wohlleben, Jens Tank, Stefan G. Lechner, Daniela Schiska, Teresa Jaijo, Franz Rüschendorf, Kathrin Saar, Jens Jordan, José M. Millán, Manfred Gross, Gary R. Lewin

PLOS Biology: published May 1, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001318

Mechanisms and Evolutionary Patterns of Mammalian and Avian Dosage Compensation

Philippe Julien, David Brawand, Magali Soumillon, Anamaria Necsulea, Angélica Liechti, Frédéric Schütz, Tasman Daish, Frank Grützner, Henrik Kaessmann

PLOS Biology: published May 15, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001328

Common Features at the Start of the Neurodegeneration Cascade

Rubén Hervás, Javier Oroz, Albert Galera-Prat, Oscar Goñi, Alejandro Valbuena, Andrés M. Vera, Àngel Gómez-Sicilia, Fernando Losada-Urzáiz, Vladimir N. Uversky, Margarita Menéndez, Douglas V. Laurents, Marta Bruix, Mariano Carrión-Vázquez

PLOS Biology: published May 29, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001335

The Core Apoptotic Executioner Proteins CED-3 and CED-4 Promote Initiation of Neuronal Regeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans

Berangere Pinan-Lucarre, Christopher V. Gabel, Christopher P. Reina, S. Elizabeth Hulme, Sergey S. Shevkoplyas, R. Daniel Slone, Jian Xue, Yujie Qiao, Sarah Weisberg, Kevin Roodhouse, Lin Sun, George M. Whitesides, Aravinthan Samuel, Monica Driscoll

PLOS Biology: published May 22, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001331

Novel Role of NOX in Supporting Aerobic Glycolysis in Cancer Cells with Mitochondrial Dysfunction and as a Potential Target for Cancer Therapy

Weiqin Lu, Yumin Hu, Gang Chen, Zhao Chen, Hui Zhang, Feng Wang, Li Feng, Helene Pelicano, Hua Wang, Michael J. Keating, Jinsong Liu, Wallace McKeehan, Huamin Wang, Yongde Luo, Peng Huang

PLOS Biology: published May 8, 2012 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001326