This month in Bio-Med Roundup:
• Tumpey et al. reconstructed the 1918 Spanish flu virus.
• Tomlins et al. discovered a link between recurrent gene fusions and prostate cancer.
• Myers et al. mapped hotspots of recombination across the human genome .
• Kokoeva et al. found that a growth hormone that induces weight loss in mice acts by stimulating neuron growth in the hypothalamus.
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Characterization of the Reconstructed 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic Virus ( 7 October 2005 )
T. M. Tumpey, C. F. Basler, P. V. Aguilar, H. Zeng, A. Solórzano, D. E. Swayne, N. J. Cox, J. M. Katz, J. K. Taubenberger, P. Palese, A. García-Sastre
A reconstituted, infectious virus has been made with the genes of the 1918 spanish flu virus and used to investigate the cause of its extraordinary virulence.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5745/77
The V-Antigen of Yersinia Forms a Distinct Structure at the Tip of Injectisome Needles ( 28 October 2005 )
C. A. Mueller, P. Broz, S. A. Müller, P. Ringler, F. Erne-Brand, I. Sorg,M. Kuhn, A. Engel, G. R. Cornelis
Antibodies that protect against the plague act on a protein that forms the tip of a “needle” through which the plague bacterium injects pathogenic factors into the host.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5745/77
Bats Are Natural Reservoirs of SARS-Like Coronaviruses ( 28 October 2005 )
W. Li, Z. Shi, M. Yu,W. Ren, C. Smith, J. H. Epstein, H.Wang, G. Crameri, Z. Hu, H. Zhang, J. Zhang, J. McEachern, H. Field, P. Daszak, B. T. Eaton, S. Zhang, L.-F.Wang
Several species of bat living in China are natural hosts of coronaviruses closely related to those responsible for the SARS outbreak.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5748/676
See related Perspective at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/310/5748/628
Small-Molecule Inhibitor of Vibrio cholerae Virulence and Intestinal Colonization ( 28 October 2005 )
D. T. Hung, E. A. Shakhnovich, E. Pierson, J. J.Mekalanos
A small molecule found in a screen for agents that block expression of the cholera toxin gene prevents cholera infection in mice by interfering with colonization of the gut by Vibrio cholerae .
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5748/670%20
Transmission of Equine Influenza Virus to Dogs ( 21 October 2005 )
P. C. Crawford, E. J. Dubovi, W. L. Castleman, I. Stephenson, E. P. J. Gibbs, L. Chen, C. Smith, R. C. Hill, P. Ferro, J. Pompey et al.
An entire influenza virus has transferred from horses to dogs, causing sustained outbreaks in racing greyhounds and pets.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5747/482%20
EGFR Activation Mediates Inhibition of Axon Regeneration by Myelin and Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycans ( 7 October 2005 )
V. Koprivica, K.-S. Cho, J. B. Park, G. Yiu, J. Atwal, B. Gore, J. A. Kim, E. Lin, M. Tessier-Lavigne, D. Feng Chen, Z. He
Small molecules that can prevent a common signaling molecule from inhibiting neuronal growth might be useful therapeutically to allow neuronal regeneration after injury.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5745/%20106%20
Retinoic Acid Signaling Affects Cortical Synchrony During Sleep (7 October 2005)
S. Maret, P. Franken, Y. Dauvilliers, N. B. Ghyselinck, P. Chambon, M. Tafti
A receptor for a growth hormone unexpectedly is necessary for oscillations in brain activity during slow-wave sleep.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5745/%20111%20
Astrocytic Purinergic Signaling Coordinates Synaptic Networks (7 October 2005)
O. Pascual, K. B. Casper, C. Kubera, J. Zhang, R. Revilla-Sanchez, J.-Y. Sul, H. Takano, S. J. Moss, K. McCarthy, P. G. Haydon
In the brain, astrocytes are the exclusive source of extracellular adenosine, which is generated by the hydrolysis of the extracellular ATP they release.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5745/113%20
Failure to Detect Mismatches Between Intention and Outcome in a Simple Decision Task (7 October 2005)
P. Johansson, L. Hall, S. Sikström, A. Olsson
When an experimenter substitutes a different item for one previously chosen by a human subject, subjects who fail to notice the change offer sensible reasons for their false choice.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5745/116
Identification and Functional Characterization of Brainstem Cannabinoid CB 2 Receptors (14 October 2005)
M. D. Van Sickle, M. Duncan, P. J. Kingsley, A. Mouihate, P. Urbani, K. Mackie, N. Stella, A. Makriyannis, D. Piomelli, J. S. Davison et al.
A receptor activated by the active agent in marijuana is shown to function in the brain and not only in the immune system, raising hopes for therapy without side effects.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5746/329%20
Observing Others: Multiple Action Representation in the Frontal Lobe (14 October 2005)
K. Nelissen, G. Luppino, W. Vanduffel, G. Rizzolatti, G. A. Orban
Several areas within the frontal lobes of the monkey brain host representations of actions of other individuals, some devoted to particular aspects of the action.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5746/332%20
Neurogenesis in the Hypothalamus of Adult Mice: Potential Role in Energy Balance (28 October 2005)
M. V. Kokoeva, H. Yin, J. S. Flier
A growth factor that allows obese mice to regulate their body weight normally acts by generating new neurons in the feeding center of the brain.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5748/679%20
NPY/AgRP Neurons Are Essential for Feeding in Adult Mice but Can Be Ablated in Neonates (28 October 2005)
S. Luquet, F. A. Perez, T. S. Hnasko, R. D. Palmiter
Unlike adults, infant mice do not starve when neurons in the feeding center of their brains are removed, presumably because circuits are rewired.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5748/683%20
Counting Cytokinesis Proteins Globally and Locally in Fission Yeast (14 October 2005)
J.-Q.Wu and T. D. Pollard
A yellow fluorescent protein attaches to yeast cytoskeletal and signaling protein s , allowing rapid determination of their distribution in living cells.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5746/310%20
Calorie Restriction Promotes Mitochondrial Biogenesis by Inducing the Expression of eNOS (14 October 2005)
E. Nisoli, C. Tonello, A. Cardile, V. Cozzi, R. Bracale, L. Tedesco, S. Falcone, A. Valerio,O. Cantoni, E. Clementi et al.
Mice fed a restricted-calorie diet make more of the gaseous messenger nitric oxide, which increases oxygen consumption and ATP production and possibly explains their increased life span.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5746/314
Movement of Eukaryotic mRNAs Between Polysomes and Cytoplasmic Processing Bodies (21 October 2005)
M. Brengues, D. Teixeira, R. Parker
Cytoplasmic organelles called P-bodies cannot only degrade mRNA but can store it for later release into the translation machinery.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5747/486%20
The b -Glucuronidase Klotho Hydrolyzes and Activates the TRPV5 Channel (21 October 2005)
Q. Chang, S. Hoefs, A. W. van der Kemp, C. N. Topala, R. J. Bindels, J. G. Hoenderop
A hormone that influences mammalian life span contributes to tight control of blood calcium by causing a particular kind of calcium channel to accumulate in cell membranes.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5747/490%20
Interlinked Fast and Slow Positive Feedback Loops Drive Reliable Cell Decisions (21 October 2005)
O. Brandman, J. E. Ferrell Jr., R. Li, T. Meyer
Many cell signaling networks consist of dual feedback loops, enabling them to combine rapid response with reliable performance.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5747/496
See related Perspective at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/310/5747/449
Antagonistic Actions of Ecdysone and Insulins Determine Final Size in Drosophila (28 October 2005)
J. Colombani, L. Bianchini, S. Layalle, E. Pondeville, C. Dauphin-Villemant, C. Antoniewski, C. Carré, S. Noselli, P. Léopold
The insect steroid hormone ecdysone coordinates growth, maturation, and final organism size by regulating insulin action through the larval fat body.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5748/667
See related Perspective at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/310/5748/630%20
Sequence Variants in SLITRK1 Are Associated with Tourette's Syndrome (14 October 2005)
J. F. Abelson, K. Y. Kwan, B. J. O'Roak, D. Y. Baek, A. A. Stillman, T. M. Morgan, C. A. Mathews, D. L. Pauls, M.-R. Rasin, M. Gunel et al.
Tourette's syndrome, a behavioral disorder characterized by vocal and motor tics, is linked to a gene involved in neuronal differentiation.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5746/317%20
Coincident Scrapie Infection and Nephritis Lead to Urinary Prion Excretion (14 October 2005)
H. Seeger, M. Heikenwalder, N. Zeller, J. Kranich, P. Schwarz, A. Gaspert, B. Seifert, G. Miele, A. Aguzzi
Long before symptoms of scrapie appear, prions are shed in the urine if the infected mice have inflamed kidneys, suggesting how prion diseases might be transmitted horizontally.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5746/324%20
Reciprocal Interference Between Specific CJD and Scrapie Agents in Neural Cell Cultures (21 October 2005)
N. Nishida, S. Katamine, L. Manuelidis
Infection of cultured neurons with inactive prions that otherwise cause Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease and scrapie can prevent subsequent infection by other prion strains, consistent with in vivo results.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5747/493%20
Recurrent Fusion of TMPRSS2 and ETS Transcription Factor Genes in Prostate Cancer (28 October 2005)
S. A. Tomlins, D. R. Rhodes, S. Perner, S. M. Dhanasekaran, R. Mehra, X.-W. Sun, S. Varambally, X. Cao, J. Tchinda, R. Kuefer et al.
Most human prostate cancers show a previously unknown gene rearrangement that makes them grow in response to male hormones, a mechanism that may also apply to other cancers.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5748/644%20
Sexual Selection Can Resolve Sex-Linked Sexual Antagonism (7 October 2005)
A. Y. K. Albert and S. P. Otto
A model of sexual selection explains why male ornamentation may depend on the genetic mode of sex determination and sexual conflict.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5745/119%20
Akt-Mediated Phosphorylation of EZH2 Suppresses Methylation of Lysine 27 in Histone H3 (14 October 2005)
T.-L. Cha, B. P. Zhou, W. Xia, Y. Wu, C.-C. Yang, C.-T. Chen, B. Ping, A. P. Otte, M.-C. Hung
A signal transduction pathway implicated in oncogenesis reduces the affinity of a regulatory protein for chromatin, releasing the underlying gene from repression.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5746/306%20
A Fine-Scale Map of Recombination Rates and Hotspots Across the Human Genome (14 October 2005)
S. Myers, L. Bottolo, C. Freeman, G. McVean, P. Donnelly
Exchange of DNA between chromosome pairs during meiosis has occurred throughout the human genome at many restricted sites located no more than 200,000 bases apart.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5746/321
See related Perspective at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/310/5746/247
Glycine-Rich Antifreeze Proteins from Snow Fleas (21 October 2005)
L. A. Graham and P. L. Davies
“Snow fleas” (Collembola) have an antifreeze protein that is rich in glycine and distinct from those of beetles and moths, implying a separate evolutionary innovation in arthropods.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5747/461%20
The Biochemical Architecture of an Ancient Adaptive Landscape (21 October 2005)
M. Lunzer, S. P. Miller, R. Felsheim, A. M. Dean
Artificial evolution of bacteria by stepwise replacement of amino acids in an enzyme reveals a relatively smooth adaptive landscape with the wild-type strain atop a fitness peak.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5747/499
See related Perspective at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/310/5747/454%20
Arabidopsis H + PPase AVP1 Regulates Auxin-Mediated Organ Development (7 October 2005)
J. Li, H. Yang, W. A. Peer, G. Richter, J. Blakeslee, A. Bandyopadhyay, B. Titapiwantakun, S. Undurraga, M. Khodakovskaya, E. L. Richards et al.
A transporter that maintains the acidity of intracellular compartments in plant cells is also necessary for growth control by the hormone auxin.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5745/121
See related Perspective at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/310/5745/60%20
Stem-Cell Homeostasis and Growth Dynamics Can Be Uncoupled in the Arabidopsis Shoot Apex (28 October 2005)
G. V. Reddy and E. M. Meyerowitz
A single signaling factor regulates cells at the tip of the growing plant shoot, separately controlling their number and identities.
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/310/5748/663%20
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
’Tis the Season to Give the Gift of Science
Give a membership to the largest general science society in the world - AAAS. Your gift includes 51 issues of the weekly journal Science and online access to Science archives, new research, career information, discounts on books, and more. As our thank you, you’ll receive our popular 125th Science Anniversary shirt. For details and to order, go to promo.aaas.org/gift7