EDITORIAL
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- Foraging at wastewater treatment works affects brown adipose tissue fatty acid profiles in banana bats
Summary: Brown adipose tissue of banana bats foraging at wastewater treatment works contained lower saturated and higher mono- and polyunsaturated phospholipid fatty acids than that of bats foraging at reference sites.
- BRE facilitates skeletal muscle regeneration by promoting satellite cell motility and differentiation
Summary: BRE facilitates skeletal muscle regeneration by promoting satellite cell motility and differentiation, probably by protecting CXCR4 from degradation.
- Biosignature for airway inflammation in a house dust mite-challenged murine model of allergic asthma
Summary: This study describes a systematic analysis of molecular end points in an murine model of allergic asthma. The biosignature described can be used to interrogate molecular mechanisms and intervention strategies for airway inflammation pertinent to allergic asthma that precedes and possibly potentiates airway remodeling and fibrosis.
- METACASPASE9 modulates autophagy to confine cell death to the target cells during Arabidopsis vascular xylem differentiation
Summary: In cell cultures that simulate Arabidopsis xylem differentiation, METACASPASE9 modulates the level of autophagy during programmed cell death to prevent ectopic death of the surrounding cells.
- Thyroid bud morphogenesis requires CDC42- and SHROOM3-dependent apical constriction
Summary: Conditional Cdc42 knockout revealed requirements for Cdc42 in endoderm polarity, and in thyroid apical constriction and morphogenesis. Shroom3 mutant embryos also displayed thyroid bud abnormalities, suggesting a possible functional interaction.
- Desmin enters the nucleus of cardiac stem cells and modulates Nkx2.5 expression by participating in transcription factor complexes that interact with the nkx2.5 gene
Summary: These data may be the first evidence for a nuclear function of an intermediate filament protein. In cardiac stem cells, desmin interacts with transcription factor complexes influencing Nkx 2.5 transcription.
- Inhomogeneous distribution of Chlamydomonas in a cylindrical container with a bubble plume
Summary: A substantially inhomogeneous distribution of micro algae was developed in suspension with a bubble plume. A vortical ring and vertical layers of cells were observed when the cells displayed phototaxis and motility.
- Daily cycle in oxygen consumption by the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis Stephenson
Summary: This study demonstrates that the sea anemone Nematostella exhibits a daily cycle in respiration rate that is not driven by the previously described nocturnal increase in movement in this species.
- Glucose modulates Drosophila longevity and immunity independent of the microbiota
Summary: Dietary glucose improves both longevity and immunity in adult Drosophila through a mechanism independent of the intestinal microbiota.
- Aging influences steroid hormone release by mink ovaries and their response to leptin and IGF-I
Summary: Both leptin and IGF-I are involved in the control of mink ovarian steroid hormone release. Reproductive aging can be due to (a) reduction in basal progesterone release and (b) alterations in the response of estradiol but not of progesterone to leptin and IGF-I.
- Unique geometry of sister kinetochores in human oocytes during meiosis I may explain maternal age-associated increases in chromosomal abnormalities
Summary: Sister kinetochores in meiosis I human oocytes are not physically fused, with the degree of separation increasing with maternal age. This may have implications for the high incidence of aneuploidy in human oocytes.
- On the development of extragonadal and gonadal human germ cells
Summary: The presence and developmental trajectory of ectopic human germ cells in the adrenals and gonads during the first and second trimesters is investigated by comparing the expression dynamics of early, late and meiotic germ cell markers.
- Clueless is a conserved ribonucleoprotein that binds the ribosome at the mitochondrial outer membrane
Summary: Clueless is a ribonucleoprotein that is crucial for mitochondrial function. Here we show Clueless can bind the ribosome at the mitochondrial outer membrane, suggesting it may play a role in mitochondrial co-translational import.
This issue
Other journals from The Company of Biologists
Biology Open and COVID-19
We are aware that the COVID-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on researchers worldwide. The Editors of all The Company of Biologists’ journals have been considering ways in which we can alleviate concerns that members of our community may have around publishing activities during this time. Read about the actions we are taking at this time.
Please don’t hesitate to contact the Editorial Office if you have any questions or concerns.
New funding scheme supports sustainable events
As part of our Sustainable Conferencing Initiative, we are pleased to announce funding for organisers that seek to reduce the environmental footprint of their event. The next deadline to apply for a Scientific Meeting grant is 26 March 2021.
Future Leader Review – early neurodegeneration of Alzheimer’s disease
A new Future Leader Review from Olayemi Olajide, Marcus Suvanto and Clifton Andrew Chapman evaluates the molecular mechanisms that may explain the vulnerability and susceptibility of the entorhinal cortex to early neurodegeneration during the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.
Find out more about our Future Leader Reviews – they are an exclusive opportunity for early-career researchers who want to establish themselves in their field.
First author interviews
Catch up on our latest first author interviews to go behind the scenes of our latest research, find out more about the authors and hear from early-career researchers themselves how they’re finding life at the bench.
Retinal degeneration in Drosophila
Thank you to Elisabeth Knust and her team for their confocal image of a longitudinal section of an adult Drosophila retina, which brightens the cover of our latest issue. Read the research behind the cover.