This month in Bio-Med Roundup:
- Schmeing et al. and Gao et al. presented the crystal structures of the bacterial ribosome bound to elongation factors, providing new insights into protein synthesis.
- Selman et al. showed that a signaling pathway in mice mediates the effects of caloric restriction that protect against age-related disease.
- Herbert et al. described an unexpected mode of blood vessel formation that involves cell segregation.
- Lombardi et al. found that about two-thirds of a sample of 101 U.S. patients with chronic fatigue syndrome harbor an infectious retrovirus in their blood cells.
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CELL/DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinase 1 Signaling Regulates Mammalian Life Span (2 October 2009)
C. Selman et al.
A signaling pathway in mice mediates the effects of caloric restriction that protect against age-related diseases.
See related Perspective.
Genome-Wide RNAi Screen Identifies Letm1 as a Mitochondrial Ca2+H+ Antiporter (2 October 2009)
D. Jiang et al.
A nuclear-encoded protein is responsible for the uptake of calcium and the export of protons across the mitochondrial membrane.
See related Perspective.
JAK-STAT Signal Inhibition Regulates Competition in the Drosophila Testis Stem Cell Niche (2 October 2009)
M. Issigonis et al.
Suppression of transcription signaling in somatic stem cells prevents them from out-competing neighboring germline stem cells.
Arterial-Venous Segregation by Selective Cell Sprouting: An Alternative Mode of Blood Vessel Formation (9 October 2009)
S. P. Herbert et al.
An alternative developmental pathway for vertebrate vasculature segregates a precursor vessel into two separate vessels.
See related Perspective.
Generation of Functional Ventricular Heart Muscle from Mouse Ventricular Progenitor Cells (16 October 2009)
I. J. Domian et al.
A combination of tissue engineering and stem cell biology is used to build functional force-generating mouse cardiac tissue.
Generation of Medaka Fish Haploid Embryonic Stem Cells (16 October 2009)
M. Yi et al.
Stem cells that are haploid can sustain stable growth, pluripotency, and genetic integrity in fish cell cultures.
A Cdc20-APC Ubiquitin Signaling Pathway Regulates Presynaptic Differentiation (23 October 2009)
Y. Yang et al.
The ubiquitin ligase Cdc20-APC is required for proper synapse formation in the developing rat brain.
Control of Iron Homeostasis by an Iron-Regulated Ubiquitin Ligase (30 October 2009)
A. A. Vashisht et al.
An E3 Ligase Possessing an Iron-Responsive Hemerythrin Domain Is a Regulator of Iron Homeostasis (30 October 2009)
A. A. Salahudeen et al.
A vertebrate hemerythrin domain in an E3 ubiquitin ligase complex senses and regulates cellular iron levels.
See related Perspective.
NEUROSCIENCE
KLF Family Members Regulate Intrinsic Axon Regeneration Ability (9 October 2009)
D. L. Moore et al.
The regenerative capacity of mouse retinal ganglion cells after injury is regulated by the KLF family of transcription factors.
See related Perspective.
Direct Evidence for Spinal Cord Involvement in Placebo Analgesia (16 October 2009)
F. Eippert et al.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging of the human spinal cord reveals a mechanism for placebo analgesia.
The Taste of Carbonation (16 October 2009)
J. Chandrashekar et al.
The enzyme carbonic anhydrase mediates the taste sensation of carbonated drinks.
Sequential Processing of Lexical, Grammatical, and Phonological Information Within Broca's Area (16 October 2009)
N. T. Sahin et al.
Intracranial electrodes record activity in a language-associated area of the brain as words are identified and produced.
See related Perspective.
Fast Synaptic Subcortical Control of Hippocampal Circuits (16 October 2009)
V. Varga et al.
A form of subcortical control of cortical information processing is mediated by a synaptic release of serotonin and glutamate.
PTPσ Is a Receptor for Chondroitin Sulfate Proteoglycan, an Inhibitor of Neural Regeneration (23 October 2009)
Y. Shen et al.
Mouse neurons that lack a receptor for inhibitory proteoglycans show improved regeneration.
Using Neural Measures of Economic Value to Solve the Public Goods Free-Rider Problem (23 October 2009)
I. Krajbich et al.
Neuroimaging measures of individuals' valuation of public goods suggests a path to a coherent public goods economy.
GENETICS
Dissecting the Genetic Basis of Resistance to Malaria Parasites in Anopheles gambiae (2 October 2009)
S. A. Blandin et al.
Genome-wide mapping reveals the molecular basis of phenotypic variation in resistance to Plasmodium in mosquitoes.
Coat Variation in the Domestic Dog Is Governed by Variants in Three Genes (2 October 2009)
E. Cadieu et al.
Huge variations in the coats of purebred dogs can be explained by the combinatorial effects of only three genes.
Unbiased Reconstruction of a Mammalian Transcriptional Network Mediating Pathogen Responses (9 October 2009)
I. Amit et al.
Inflammatory and antiviral programs in dendritic cells are controlled and tuned by a network of regulators.
Comprehensive Mapping of Long-Range Interactions Reveals Folding Principles of the Human Genome (9 October 2009)
E. Lieberman-Aiden et al.
Chromosomes are organized in a fractal knot-free conformation that is densely packed while easily folded and unfolded.
Complete Resequencing of 40 Genomes Reveals Domestication Events and Genes in Silkworm (Bombyx) (16 October 2009)
Q. Xia et al.
Silkworm genomes show signatures of selection associated with domestication.
Intraspecific Polymorphism to Interspecific Divergence: Genetics of Pigmentation in Drosophila (23 October 2009)
P. J. Wittkopp et al.
Color-determining genes in flies show an ancestral polymorphism that contributes to variation, both within and between species.
MEDICINE
Broad and Potent Neutralizing Antibodies from an African Donor Reveal a New HIV-1 Vaccine Target (9 October 2009)
L. M. Walker et al.
High-throughput screening has revealed two new broadly neutralizing antibodies from a clade A–infected donor in Africa.
Smoothened Mutation Confers Resistance to a Hedgehog Pathway Inhibitor in Medulloblastoma (23 October 2009)
R. L. Yauch et al.
A mutation that prevents binding of a promising drug lead to its target protein confers resistance in a human brain tumor.
Detection of an Infectious Retrovirus, XMRV, in Blood Cells of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (23 October 2009)
V. C. Lombardi et al.
Two-thirds of a sample of 101 U.S. patients with chronic fatigue syndrome harbor an infectious retrovirus in their blood cells.
See related Perspective.
MICROBIOLOGY/VIROLOGY
Immune Activation by Life-Shortening Wolbachia and Reduced Filarial Competence in Mosquitoes (2 October 2009)
Z. Kambris et al.
A bacterial infection in mosquitoes impairs their capacity to transmit human pathogens.
Metagenome of a Versatile Chemolithoautotroph from Expanding Oceanic Dead Zones (23 October 2009)
D. A. Walsh et al.
An abundant microbe in oxygen-deficient oceanic waters reveals its redox-driven niche specialization.
Pathogenesis of Chytridiomycosis, a Cause of Catastrophic Amphibian Declines (23 October 2009)
J. Voyles et al.
A fungal disease that is associated with frog mortality causes changes in electrolyte transport across the skin.
Quantifying the Impact of Immune Escape on Transmission Dynamics of Influenza (30 October 2009)
A. W. Park et al.
Modeling equine influenza reveals how epidemics originate in amino acid evolution to escape immunity.
The Transmissibility and Control of Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) Virus (30 October 2009)
Y. Yang et al.
A detailed picture of the pandemic potential of swine-origin influenza offers guidance for effective mitigation strategies.
Hemagglutinin Receptor Binding Avidity Drives Influenza A Virus Antigenic Drift (30 October 2009)
S. E. Hensley et al.
Viruses escape antibody responses by changing surface protein structures to increase the strength of binding to host cells.
BIOCHEMISTRY
Reactome Array: Forging a Link Between Metabolome and Genome (9 October 2009)
A. Beloqui et al.
A microarray technique uses trapped, dye-associated metabolites to allow rapid global characterization of metabolic activity.
Complete Reconstitution of a Highly Reducing Iterative Polyketide Synthase (23 October 2009)
S. M. Ma et al.
Reconstitution of catalytic function provides insight into how multifunctional enzymes synthesize important natural products.
The Crystal Structure of the Ribosome Bound to EF-Tu and Aminoacyl-tRNA (30 October 2009)
T. M. Schmeing et al.
The Structure of the Ribosome with Elongation Factor G Trapped in the Posttranslocational State (30 October 2009)
Y.-G. Gao et al.
Crystal structures of the ribosome bound to elongation factors provide insights into translocation and decoding.
See related Perspective.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Reconstituting Bacterial RNA Repair and Modification in Vitro (9 October 2009)
C. M. Chan et al.
A protein heterotetramer repairs RNA cleaved by ribotoxins, and methylation protects against further ribotoxin attack.
RNAi in Budding Yeast (23 October 2009)
I. A. Drinnenberg et al.
Although the Saccharomyces cerevisiae lineage has lost RNA interference, the pathway can be restored by adding genes from S. castellii.
See related Perspective.
PHYSIOLOGY
Daily Electrical Silencing in the Mammalian Circadian Clock (9 October 2009)
M. D. C. Belle et al.
Clock-containing neurons in the mouse brain display complex electrophysiology not seen in other brain cells.
AMPK Regulates the Circadian Clock by Cryptochrome Phosphorylation and Degradation (16 October 2009)
K. A. Lamia et al.
The protein kinase AMPK couples circadian clocks and metabolism in mammals through effects on a cryptochrome protein.
See related Perspective.
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