March 17, 2021
Image credit: Spencer Gordon
03/22/2021
Research Article
Bi-Lin et al. genetically delete BAF155/BAF170, the core subunits required for the assembly, stability, and functions of the BAF chromatin remodeling complex, and demonstrate that the BAF complex is essential for the proliferation, survival, and differentiation of neural crest cells.
Image credit: Bi-Lin et al., pgen.1009446
Current Issue April 2021
03/22/2021
Research Article
Dixon-McDougall and Brown study the human long noncoding RNA XIST, and identify the regions of the RNA that are required for chromatin modification and protein recruitment which are somewhat different than for mouse XIST. Independent domains were required for the PRC1 and PRC2 pathways, but all regions tested were important for some aspect of XIST functionality.
Image credit: Dixon-McDougall and Brown, pgen.1009123
03/19/2021
Research Article
Venkataramanappa et al. study DONSON, a gene encoding for a replication fork protection factor, for which mutations have been linked to skeletal abnormalities and microcephaly. They find that Donson is essential for diverse early telencephalic progenitors, which may have applications for therapeutic settings.
Image credit: Venkataramanappa et al., pgen.1009441
03/19/2021
Research Article
Ghaffari et al. study intrahepatic biliary network formation, involved in cholestatic liver diseases and autoimmune disorders, in zebrafish. They find a mutation in the nckap1l gene that disrupts the actin organization of biliary epithelial cells.
Image credit: Ghaffari et al., pgen.1009402
03/19/2021
Research Article
Casas-Tintó and Ferrús study the haplolethal region of the Troponin I (TnI) encoding gene wupA in Drosophila and find that haplolethality results from the combined haploinsufficiency of a large set of TnI isoforms. These findings compare to another studiedhaplolethal region and reveal a scenario of strict dosage dependence with implications for gene expression regulation and splitting.
Image credit: Casas-Tintó and Ferrús, pgen.1009108
03/18/2021
Research Article
Vaughn et al. characterize and track the entire mutational spectrum between two rice varieties through the last century of rice breeding. They show that large structural mutations in exons are selected against at a greater rate than any other mutational class.
Image credit: wilkoszenator, Pixabay
04/22/2021
Viewpoints
Nielsen et al. comment on two recent studies that have taken advantage of MAVE technology to investigate loss-of-function variants in MSH2, which cause the cancer-predisposing Lynch Syndrome.
Image credit: Nielsen et al., pgen.1009496
04/22/2021
Perspective
Chang and Malik highlight a new study (pgen.1009418) showing an active co-evolutionary arms race between DNA and protein components of the meiotic machinery in Mimulus, with consequences for individual fitness and molecular divergence.
Image credit: Finseth et al., pgen.1009418
03/11/2021
Review
Korunes and Goldberg discuss recent progress in human genetic admixture studies and potential areas for future work. The Review serves as an introduction to the PLOS Genetics Human Genetic Admixture Collection.
Image credit: Mehrjoo et al., pgen.1008385
02/25/2021
Perspective
Guery and Claessens highlight a new paper (pgen.1009269) that explores the evolution of specific DNA sequences of the major VSA gene of the human malaria parasite.
Image credit: Tonkin-Hill et al.
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