RESEARCH ARTICLES
- Alteration of 28S rRNA 2′-O-methylation by etoposide correlates with decreased SMN phosphorylation and reduced Drosha levels
Summary: Our findings support a role for SMN and Drosha in regulating rRNA modification, possibly by affecting snoRNP or regulatory RNP activity, and demonstrate that etoposide impacts rRNA modification.
- The 1ALCTL and 1BLCTL isoforms of Arg/Abl2 induce fibroblast activation and extra cellular matrix remodelling differently
Summary: The non-receptor tyrosine kinase Arg and its isoforms modulate the extra cellular matrix production that is relevant in fibrosis and tumour growth, this may open future novel therapeutic approaches.
- Sperm-duct gland content increases sperm velocity in the sand goby
Summary: In sperm, velocity is often traded off for viability. However, we show here that in sand gobies, sperm-duct gland content increase velocity without reducing viability, thus mitigating such a trade-off.
- Transcriptomic analyses highlight the likely metabolic consequences of colonization of a cnidarian host by native or non-native Symbiodinium species
Summary: Colonization by the homologous symbiont, Symbiodinium goreaui, resulted in greater glycogen synthesis and ammonium assimilation capacity in the host than when it was colonized by a heterologous symbiont (S. trenchii).
- Sonic hedgehog expression in the postnatal brain
Summary: Endogenous Sonic hedgehog protein in the hippocampus is undetectable at birth but increases continuously during postnatal development and remains at readily detectable levels in the mature brain.
- Independent and combined effects of daytime heat stress and night-time recovery determine thermal performance
Summary: Daytime and night-time temperatures that organisms experience in fluctuating environments can determine thermal performance and have implications for predicting the impacts of diel asymmetric warming under climate change.
- Jagged1 protein processing in the developing mammalian lens
Summary: The Notch pathway ligand protein Jagged1 undergoes multiple catalytic cleavages, regulated by Adam proteases and the gamma-secretase complex, during mammalian lens development, similar to Notch receptor proteins.
- Serum-based inhibition of pitviper venom by eastern indigo snakes (Drymarchon couperi)
Summary: We confirm eastern indigo snakes possess a physiological resistance to pitviper venom and speculate that venom resistance in snakes may be a product of antagonistic interactions and phylogenetically conserved traits.
- Infective larvae of Anisakis simplex (Nematoda) accumulate trehalose and glycogen in response to starvation and temperature stress
Summary: Carbohydrate metabolism in L3 of A. simplex is affected by temperature shock and by starvation. The metabolic shift from glycogen to trehalose suggests that blocking or silencing the trehalose synthesis pathway could be a limiting factor for Anisakis life and development.
- Edar is a downstream target of beta-catenin and drives collagen accumulation in the mouse prostate
Summary: This study provides a rare connection between beta catenin and ectodysplasin A receptor in an endoderm derived tissue and presents a potential mechanism for collagen accumulation in the prostate.
- Odd-skipped and Stripe act downstream of Notch to promote the morphogenesis of long appendicular tendons in Drosophila
Summary: In this paper, we show that Notch promotes the tendon development by inducing Stripe expression in leg discs and that both Stripe and Odd-skipped are required to form tube-like tendons.
- The Toxoplasma gondii dense granule protein TgGRA3 interacts with host Golgi and dysregulates anterograde transport
Summary : Toxoplasma gondii recruits various host organelles to enable parasite intracellular development. We describe a new role for TgGRA3 in modulating the host anterograde transport by binding to the Golgi apparatus.
- Mbt/PAK4 together with SRC modulates N-Cadherin adherens junctions in the developing Drosophila eye
Summary: N-Cadherin adherens junction formation in the Drosophila larval eye imaginal disc is controlled by the combined functions of the p21-activated kinase Mbt/PAK4 and the kinases Src64 and Src42.
- Identification of possible hypoxia sensor for behavioral responses in a marine annelid, Capitella teleta
Summary: The hypoxia-avoidance behavior of a marine annelid was suppressed by a TRPA1-specific inhibitor. Our dataset suggests that the possible hypoxia sensor for hypoxia-inducing behaviors of this marine annelid is TRPAbasal.
- Reprogramming of the cambium regulators during adventitious root development upon wounding of storage tap roots in radish (Raphanus sativus L.)
Summary: Adventitious roots originate from cambia of cut radish taproots. This process depends on the auxin-dependent reprogramming of cambial regulators and the activation of canonical adventitious root regulators.
- Escort cell encapsulation of Drosophila germline cells is maintained by irre cell recognition module proteins
Statement: IRM proteins mediate adhesion between escort cells and the germline cells, promoting short range signaling required for escort cells’ encapsulation of germline cells.
- The signal peptide plus a cluster of positive charges in prion protein dictate chaperone-mediated Sec61 channel gating
Summary: We present a hitherto overlooked polybasic motif as functional domain in the early mature region of prion protein which interferes with ER import and requires compensation by chaperone-mediated Sec61 gating.
- Chromogranin A regulates neuroblastoma proliferation and phenotype
Summary: Loss of CgA directs neuroblastoma differentiation toward S-type, which synergize the anti-proliferative effects of AKT/MEK inhibitors, suggesting a novel treatment direction.
- De novo transcription of multiple Hox cluster genes takes place simultaneously in early Xenopus tropicalis embryos
Summary: qPCR analysis for de novo transcription of hox genes suggest that temporal collinearity is not held for all hox genes during early development of Xenopus tropicalis.
- Mutation of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (mitf) in zebrafish sensitizes for glomerulopathy
Summary: We discovered that the mitf mutation, causative for nacre-albinism mutation in zebrafish, sensitizes for glomerulopathy-induced by puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN) and developed a fish water treatment-model for anti-proteinuric drug screenings.
METHODS & TECHNIQUES
- Automated morphometry toolbox for analysis of microscopic model organisms using simple bright-field imaging
Summary: We demonstrate a robust algorithm to count and extract morphology of model organisms, including shape-variant mutants, enabling measurements of large numbers of individuals without substantial time or labor.
- Sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus immune cells in culture: formulation of the appropriate harvesting and culture media and maintenance conditions
Summary: Appropriate culture methods for sea urchin immune cells provide an invaluable and amenable model for answering immunological questions while limiting the use of mammalian organisms.
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.
Interview – Savant Thakur
Savant Thakur was a Ph.D. student in Professor Gordon S. Lynch’s lab (The University of Melbourne) working towards understanding the mechanisms of defective muscle repair in muscle diseases and wasting disorders. Sadly, Savant passed away on June 16, 2019 and so one of his supervisors, Professor Lynch, spoke to BiO about Savant's work and character.
A day in the life of a returning spider lab
Back in 2016, two PhD students in Alistair McGregor’s lab at Oxford Brookes shared a day in the life of a spider lab on the Node. Four years and one pandemic later, we caught up with Alistair to find out how his lab has responded to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.