May 2011

A cell in the metaphase stage of mitosis is showing recruitment of the centromere-specific protein CID (red) to centromeres (green, alpha-tubulin; blue, DNA). Centromeres are essential chromosomal structures that mediate accurate chromosome segregation during cell division. To ensure faithful inheritance of the centromere locus through cell division, cells must recruit new centromere-binding proteins that would be otherwise diluted at each round of DNA replication. A study from Mellone et al. tracks the cell-cycle timing of centromere assembly in Drosophila melanogaster cells and reports that this organism has evolved a distinct strategy to accomplish this fundamental process.

Image Credit: Barbara Mellone and Kathryn Grive (Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut)

Interview

A Flurry of Folding Problems: An Interview with Susan Lindquist

Jane Gitschier

PLOS Genetics: published May 12, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002076

Perspective

A Nervous Origin for Fish Stripes

Robert N. Kelsh, Gregory S. Barsh

PLOS Genetics: published May 19, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002081

Research Articles

A Missense Mutation in PPARD Causes a Major QTL Effect on Ear Size in Pigs

Jun Ren, Yanyu Duan, Ruimin Qiao, Fei Yao, Zhiyan Zhang, Bin Yang, Yuanmei Guo, Shijun Xiao, Rongxin Wei, Zixuan Ouyang, Nengshui Ding, Huashui Ai, Lusheng Huang

PLOS Genetics: published May 5, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002043

A Latent Pro-Survival Function for the Mir-290-295 Cluster in Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells

Grace X. Y. Zheng, Arvind Ravi, J. Mauro Calabrese, Lea A. Medeiros, Oktay Kirak, Lucas M. Dennis, Rudolf Jaenisch, Christopher B. Burge, Phillip A. Sharp

PLOS Genetics: published May 5, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002054

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae Telomerase Subunit Est3 Binds Telomeres in a Cell Cycle– and Est1–Dependent Manner and Interacts Directly with Est1 In Vitro

Creighton T. Tuzon, Yun Wu, Angela Chan, Virginia A. Zakian

PLOS Genetics: published May 5, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002060

Ixr1 Is Required for the Expression of the Ribonucleotide Reductase Rnr1 and Maintenance of dNTP Pools

Olga Tsaponina, Emad Barsoum, Stefan U. Åström, Andrei Chabes

PLOS Genetics: published May 5, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002061

Nuclear cGMP-Dependent Kinase Regulates Gene Expression via Activity-Dependent Recruitment of a Conserved Histone Deacetylase Complex

Yan Hao, Ningyi Xu, Andrew C. Box, Laura Schaefer, Kasthuri Kannan, Ying Zhang, Laurence Florens, Christopher Seidel, Michael P. Washburn, Winfried Wiegraebe, Ho Yi Mak

PLOS Genetics: published May 5, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002065

Novel and Conserved Protein Macoilin Is Required for Diverse Neuronal Functions in Caenorhabditis elegans

Akiko Miyara, Akane Ohta, Yoshifumi Okochi, Yuki Tsukada, Atsushi Kuhara, Ikue Mori

PLOS Genetics: published May 12, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1001384

Genome of Herbaspirillum seropedicae Strain SmR1, a Specialized Diazotrophic Endophyte of Tropical Grasses

Fábio O. Pedrosa, Rose Adele Monteiro, Roseli Wassem, Leonardo M. Cruz, Ricardo A. Ayub, Nelson B. Colauto, Maria Aparecida Fernandez, Maria Helena P. Fungaro, Edmundo C. Grisard, Mariangela Hungria, Humberto M. F. Madeira, Rubens O. Nodari, Clarice A. Osaku, Maria Luiza Petzl-Erler, Hernán Terenzi, Luiz G. E. Vieira, Maria Berenice R. Steffens, Vinicius A. Weiss, Luiz F. P. Pereira, Marina I. M. Almeida, Lysangela R. Alves, Anelis Marin, Luiza Maria Araujo, Eduardo Balsanelli, Valter A. Baura, Leda S. Chubatsu, Helisson Faoro, Augusto Favetti, Geraldo Friedermann, Chirlei Glienke, Susan Karp, Vanessa Kava-Cordeiro, Roberto T. Raittz, Humberto J. O. Ramos, Enilze Maria S. F. Ribeiro, Liu Un Rigo, Saul N. Rocha, Stefan Schwab, Anilda G. Silva, Eliel M. Souza, Michelle Z. Tadra-Sfeir, Rodrigo A. Torres, Audrei N. G. Dabul, Maria Albertina M. Soares, Luciano S. Gasques, Ciela C. T. Gimenes, Juliana S. Valle, Ricardo R. Ciferri, Luiz C. Correa, Norma K. Murace, João A. Pamphile, Eliana Valéria Patussi, Alberto J. Prioli, Sonia Maria A. Prioli, Carmem Lúcia M. S. C. Rocha, Olívia Márcia N. Arantes, Márcia Cristina Furlaneto, Leandro P. Godoy, Carlos E. C. Oliveira, Daniele Satori, Laurival A. Vilas-Boas, Maria Angélica E. Watanabe, Bibiana Paula Dambros, Miguel P. Guerra, Sandra Marisa Mathioni, Karine Louise Santos, Mario Steindel, Javier Vernal, Fernando G. Barcellos, Rubens J. Campo, Ligia Maria O. Chueire, Marisa Fabiana Nicolás, Lilian Pereira-Ferrari, José L. da Conceição Silva, Nereida M. R. Gioppo, Vladimir P. Margarido, Maria Amélia Menck-Soares, Fabiana Gisele S. Pinto, Rita de Cássia G. Simão, Elizabete K. Takahashi, Marshall G. Yates, Emanuel M. Souza

PLOS Genetics: published May 12, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002064

Assembly of Drosophila Centromeric Chromatin Proteins during Mitosis

Barbara G. Mellone, Kathryn J. Grive, Vladimir Shteyn, Sarion R. Bowers, Isaac Oderberg, Gary H. Karpen

PLOS Genetics: published May 12, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002068

Chromosome-Biased Binding and Gene Regulation by the Caenorhabditis elegans DRM Complex

Tomoko M. Tabuchi, Bart Deplancke, Naoki Osato, Lihua J. Zhu, M. Inmaculada Barrasa, Melissa M. Harrison, H. Robert Horvitz, Albertha J. M. Walhout, Kirsten A. Hagstrom

PLOS Genetics: published May 12, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002074

Inactivation of Chk2 and Mus81 Leads to Impaired Lymphocytes Development, Reduced Genomic Instability, and Suppression of Cancer

Samah El Ghamrasni, Ashwin Pamidi, Marie Jo Halaby, Miyuki Bohgaki, Renato Cardoso, Li Li, Shriram Venkatesan, Swaminathan Sethu, Atsushi Hirao, Tak W. Mak, Manoor Prakash Hande, Anne Hakem, Razqallah Hakem

PLOS Genetics: published May 19, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1001385

Prion Formation and Polyglutamine Aggregation Are Controlled by Two Classes of Genes

Anita L. Manogaran, Joo Y. Hong, Joan Hufana, Jens Tyedmers, Susan Lindquist, Susan W. Liebman

PLOS Genetics: published May 19, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1001386

Post-Embryonic Nerve-Associated Precursors to Adult Pigment Cells: Genetic Requirements and Dynamics of Morphogenesis and Differentiation

Erine H. Budi, Larissa B. Patterson, David M. Parichy

PLOS Genetics: published May 19, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002044

COL4A1 Mutations Cause Ocular Dysgenesis, Neuronal Localization Defects, and Myopathy in Mice and Walker-Warburg Syndrome in Humans

Cassandre Labelle-Dumais, David J. Dilworth, Emily P. Harrington, Michelle de Leau, David Lyons, Zhyldyz Kabaeva, M. Chiara Manzini, William B. Dobyns, Christopher A. Walsh, Daniel E. Michele, Douglas B. Gould

PLOS Genetics: published May 19, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002062

A Deficiency of Ceramide Biosynthesis Causes Cerebellar Purkinje Cell Neurodegeneration and Lipofuscin Accumulation

Lihong Zhao, Stefka D. Spassieva, Thomas J. Jucius, Leonard D. Shultz, H. Elizabeth Shick, Wendy B. Macklin, Yusuf A. Hannun, Lina M. Obeid, Susan L. Ackerman

PLOS Genetics: published May 19, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002063

A −436C>A Polymorphism in the Human FAS Gene Promoter Associated with Severe Childhood Malaria

Kathrin Schuldt, Cosima C. Kretz, Christian Timmann, Jürgen Sievertsen, Christa Ehmen, Claudia Esser, Wibke Loag, Daniel Ansong, Carmen Dering, Jennifer Evans, Andreas Ziegler, Jürgen May, Peter H. Krammer, Tsiri Agbenyega, Rolf D. Horstmann

PLOS Genetics: published May 19, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002066

A Decline in p38 MAPK Signaling Underlies Immunosenescence in Caenorhabditis elegans

Matthew J. Youngman, Zoë N. Rogers, Dennis H. Kim

PLOS Genetics: published May 19, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002082

The stb Operon Balances the Requirements for Vegetative Stability and Conjugative Transfer of Plasmid R388

Catherine Guynet, Ana Cuevas, Gabriel Moncalián, Fernando de la Cruz

PLOS Genetics: published May 19, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002073

Characterizing Genetic Risk at Known Prostate Cancer Susceptibility Loci in African Americans

Christopher A. Haiman, Gary K. Chen, William J. Blot, Sara S. Strom, Sonja I. Berndt, Rick A. Kittles, Benjamin A. Rybicki, William B. Isaacs, Sue A. Ingles, Janet L. Stanford, W. Ryan Diver, John S. Witte, Stephen J. Chanock, Suzanne Kolb, Lisa B. Signorello, Yuko Yamamura, Christine Neslund-Dudas, Michael J. Thun, Adam Murphy, Graham Casey, Xin Sheng, Peggy Wan, Loreall C. Pooler, Kristine R. Monroe, Kevin M. Waters, Loic Le Marchand, Laurence N. Kolonel, Daniel O. Stram, Brian E. Henderson

PLOS Genetics: published May 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1001387

SHINE Transcription Factors Act Redundantly to Pattern the Archetypal Surface of Arabidopsis Flower Organs

Jian Xin Shi, Sergey Malitsky, Sheron De Oliveira, Caroline Branigan, Rochus B. Franke, Lukas Schreiber, Asaph Aharoni

PLOS Genetics: published May 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1001388

Structural and Functional Differences in the Long Non-Coding RNA Hotair in Mouse and Human

Patrick Schorderet, Denis Duboule

PLOS Genetics: published May 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002071

Nodal-Dependent Mesendoderm Specification Requires the Combinatorial Activities of FoxH1 and Eomesodermin

Christopher E. Slagle, Tsutomu Aoki, Rebecca D. Burdine

PLOS Genetics: published May 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002072

Integrated Genome-Scale Prediction of Detrimental Mutations in Transcription Networks

Mirko Francesconi, Rob Jelier, Ben Lehner

PLOS Genetics: published May 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002077

Identification, Replication, and Functional Fine-Mapping of Expression Quantitative Trait Loci in Primary Human Liver Tissue

Federico Innocenti, Gregory M. Cooper, Ian B. Stanaway, Eric R. Gamazon, Joshua D. Smith, Snezana Mirkov, Jacqueline Ramirez, Wanqing Liu, Yvonne S. Lin, Cliona Moloney, Shelly Force Aldred, Nathan D. Trinklein, Erin Schuetz, Deborah A. Nickerson, Ken E. Thummel, Mark J. Rieder, Allan E. Rettie, Mark J. Ratain, Nancy J. Cox, Christopher D. Brown

PLOS Genetics: published May 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002078

Association of Genetic Variants in Complement Factor H and Factor H-Related Genes with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Susceptibility

Jian Zhao, Hui Wu, Melanie Khosravi, Huijuan Cui, Xiaoxia Qian, Jennifer A. Kelly, Kenneth M. Kaufman, Carl D. Langefeld, Adrienne H. Williams, Mary E. Comeau, Julie T. Ziegler, Miranda C. Marion, Adam Adler, Stuart B. Glenn, Marta E. Alarcón-Riquelme, BIOLUPUS Network, GENLES Network, Bernardo A. Pons-Estel, John B. Harley, Sang-Cheol Bae, So-Young Bang, Soo-Kyung Cho, Chaim O. Jacob, Timothy J. Vyse, Timothy B. Niewold, Patrick M. Gaffney, Kathy L. Moser, Robert P. Kimberly, Jeffrey C. Edberg, Elizabeth E. Brown, Graciela S. Alarcon, Michelle A. Petri, Rosalind Ramsey-Goldman, Luis M. Vilá, John D. Reveille, Judith A. James, Gary S. Gilkeson, Diane L. Kamen, Barry I. Freedman, Juan-Manuel Anaya, Joan T. Merrill, Lindsey A. Criswell, R. Hal Scofield, Anne M. Stevens, Joel M. Guthridge, Deh-Ming Chang, Yeong Wook Song, Ji Ah Park, Eun Young Lee, Susan A. Boackle, Jennifer M. Grossman, Bevra H. Hahn, Timothy H. J. Goodship, Rita M. Cantor, Chack-Yung Yu, Nan Shen, Betty P. Tsao

PLOS Genetics: published May 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002079

Meiotic Recombination Intermediates Are Resolved with Minimal Crossover Formation during Return-to-Growth, an Analogue of the Mitotic Cell Cycle

Yaron Dayani, Giora Simchen, Michael Lichten

PLOS Genetics: published May 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002083

DNA Methylation Dynamics in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells over Time

Koichiro Nishino, Masashi Toyoda, Mayu Yamazaki-Inoue, Yoshihiro Fukawatase, Emi Chikazawa, Hironari Sakaguchi, Hidenori Akutsu, Akihiro Umezawa

PLOS Genetics: published May 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002085

STAT Is an Essential Activator of the Zygotic Genome in the Early Drosophila Embryo

Amy Tsurumi, Fan Xia, Jinghong Li, Kimberly Larson, Russell LaFrance, Willis X. Li

PLOS Genetics: published May 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002086

A Novel Mouse Synaptonemal Complex Protein Is Essential for Loading of Central Element Proteins, Recombination, and Fertility

Sabine Schramm, Johanna Fraune, Ronald Naumann, Abrahan Hernandez-Hernandez, Christer Höög, Howard J. Cooke, Manfred Alsheimer, Ricardo Benavente

PLOS Genetics: published May 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002088

A Genetic and Structural Study of Genome Rearrangements Mediated by High Copy Repeat Ty1 Elements

Jason E. Chan, Richard D. Kolodner

PLOS Genetics: published May 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002089

The ISWI Chromatin Remodeler Organizes the hsrω ncRNA–Containing Omega Speckle Nuclear Compartments

Maria C. Onorati, Sandra Lazzaro, Moushami Mallik, Antonia M. R. Ingrassia, Anna P. Carreca, Anand K. Singh, Deo Prakash Chaturvedi, Subhash C. Lakhotia, Davide F. V. Corona

PLOS Genetics: published May 26, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002096

Cover

**Centromere assembly in Drosophila cells.**