Inhibitory feedback from the motor circuit gates mechanosensory processing in < i > Caenorhabditis elegans < /i >
by Sandeep Kumar, Anuj K. Sharma, Andrew Tran, Mochi Liu, Andrew M. Leifer Animals must integrate sensory cues with their current behavioral context to generate a suitable response. How this integration occurs is poorly understood. Previously, we developed high-throughput methods to probe neural activity in populations ofCaenorhabditis elegans and discovered that the animal ’s mechanosensory processing is rapidly modulated by the animal’s locomotion. Specifically, we found that when the worm turns it suppresses its mechanosensory-evoked reversal response. Here, we report thatC.elegans use inhibitory feedback from turn...
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - September 21, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Sandeep Kumar Source Type: research

Construction of an artificial phosphoketolase pathway that efficiently catabolizes multiple carbon sources to acetyl-CoA
by Yiqun Yang, Yuwan Liu, Haodong Zhao, Dingyu Liu, Jie Zhang, Jian Cheng, Qiaoyu Yang, Huanyu Chu, Xiaoyun Lu, Mengting Luo, Xiang Sheng, Yi-Heng P. J. Zhang, Huifeng Jiang, Yanhe Ma The canonical glycolysis pathway is responsible for converting glucose into 2 molecules of acetyl-coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) through a cascade of 11 biochemical reactions. Here, we have designed and constructed an artificial phosphoketolase (APK) pathway, which consists of only 3 types of biochemical reactions. The core enzyme in this pathway is phosphoketolase, while phosphatase and isomerase act as auxiliary enzymes. The APK pathway has the p...
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - September 21, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Yiqun Yang Source Type: research

Both technological innovations and cultural change are key to a sustainability transition
by Navin Ramankutty Transitioning to sustainability will require technological innovations in the short term, but also cultural change to embrace traditional and Indigenous ideas of respect, responsibility, sufficiency, and reciprocity to reduce consumption in the long term. Can technology will solve our sustainability problems, or do we just need to reduce our consumption? In this Perspective, Navin Ramankutty argues that the answer is both, not just because it will be the most effective, but because they are needed for different timeframes and reasons. (Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents)
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - September 21, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Navin Ramankutty Source Type: research

Bicc1 ribonucleoprotein complexes specifying organ laterality are licensed by ANKS6-induced structural remodeling of associated ANKS3
by Benjamin Roth é, Yayoi Ikawa, Zhidian Zhang, Takanobu A. Katoh, Eriko Kajikawa, Katsura Minegishi, Sai Xiaorei, Simon Fortier, Matteo Dal Peraro, Hiroshi Hamada, Daniel B. Constam Organ laterality of vertebrates is specified by accelerated asymmetric decay ofDand5 mRNA mediated by Bicaudal-C1 (Bicc1) on the left side, but whether binding of this or any other mRNA to Bicc1 can be regulated is unknown. Here, we found that a CRISPR-engineered truncation in ankyrin and sterile alpha motif (SAM)-containing 3 (ANKS3) leads to symmetric mRNA decay mediated by the Bicc1-interactingDand5 3 ′ UTR. AlphaFold structure predicti...
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - September 21, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Benjamin Roth é Source Type: research

Highlighter: An optogenetic system for high-resolution gene expression control in plants
by Bo Larsen, Roberto Hofmann, Ines S. Camacho, Richard W. Clarke, J Clark Lagarias, Alex R. Jones, Alexander M. Jones Optogenetic actuators have revolutionized the resolution at which biological processes can be controlled. In plants, deployment of optogenetics is challenging due to the need for these light-responsive systems to function in the context of horticultural light environments. Furthermore, many available optogenetic actuators are based on plant photoreceptors that might crosstalk with endogenous signaling processes, while others depend on exogenously supplied cofactors. To overcome such challenges, we have de...
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - September 21, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Bo Larsen Source Type: research

Hyperglycemia increases SCO-spondin and Wnt5a secretion into the cerebrospinal fluid to regulate ependymal cell beating and glucose sensing
by Francisco Nualart, Manuel Cifuentes, Eder Ram írez, Fernando Martínez, María José Barahona, Luciano Ferrada, Natalia Saldivia, Ernesto R. Bongarzone, Bernard Thorens, Katterine Salazar Hyperglycemia increases glucose concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), activating glucose-sensing mechanisms and feeding behavior in the hypothalamus. Here, we discuss how hyperglycemia temporarily modifies ependymal cell ciliary beating to increase hypothalamic glucose sensing. A high level of glucose in the rat CSF stimulates glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2)-positive subcommissural organ (SCO) cells to release SCO-spondin in...
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - September 21, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Francisco Nualart Source Type: research

Cell senescence, the senescence-associated secretory phenotype, and cancers
by Larissa G. P. Langhi Prata, Tamar Tchkonia, James L. Kirkland Cellular senescence is a cell fate caused by multiple stresses. A 2008 article in PLOS Biology reported a senescence-associated secretory phenotype that can promote inflammation and cancer, eventually enabling the development of senolytic drugs. In this Perspective, the authors look back at a 2008 PLOS Biology article that reported a senescence-associated secretory phenotype that could promote inflammation and cancer, and discuss how that discovery eventually enabled the development of senolytic drugs. (Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents)
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - September 21, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Larissa G. P. Langhi Prata Source Type: research

Hemichordates ’ diffuse “skin brain” shows unexpected complexity
by Alexandra Kerbl, G áspár Jékely Hemichordates are close relatives of chordates. Their nervous system patterning is chordate-like, but their neural architecture remains unexplored. A new study in PLOS Biology reveals an unexpected neuroanatomical complexity in these animals, also informing chordate origins. Hemichordates, close relatives of chordates, have a nervous system that is chordate-like in its patterning but their neural architecture remains unexplored. This Primer explores a new study in PLOS Biology that reveals an unexpected neuroanatomical complexity in these animals. (Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents)
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - September 20, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Alexandra Kerbl Source Type: research

Molecular characterization of nervous system organization in the hemichordate acorn worm < i > Saccoglossus kowalevskii < /i >
by Jos é M. Andrade López, Ariel M. Pani, Mike Wu, John Gerhart, Christopher J. Lowe Hemichordates are an important group for investigating the evolution of bilaterian nervous systems. As the closest chordate outgroup with a bilaterally symmetric adult body plan, hemichordates are particularly informative for exploring the origins of chordates. Despite the importance of hemichordate neuroanatomy for testing hypotheses on deuterostome and chordate evolution, adult hemichordate nervous systems have not been comprehensively described using molecular techniques, and classic histological descriptions disagree on basic aspect...
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - September 19, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Jos é M. Andrade López Source Type: research

Vaccination against microbiota motility protects mice from the detrimental impact of dietary emulsifier consumption
by Melissa C. Kordahi, Clara Delaroque, Marie-Florence Bred èche, Andrew T. Gewirtz, Benoit Chassaing Dietary emulsifiers, including carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and polysorbate 80 (P80), perturb gut microbiota composition and gene expression, resulting in a microbiota with enhanced capacity to activate host pro-inflammatory gene expression and invade the intestine ’s inner mucus layer. Such microbiota alterations promote intestinal inflammation, which can have a variety of phenotypic consequences including increased adiposity. Bacterial flagellin is a key mediator of emulsifiers’ impact in that this molecule enables...
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - September 19, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Melissa C. Kordahi Source Type: research

Asymmetric connections with starburst amacrine cells underlie the upward motion selectivity of J-type retinal ganglion cells
by Bo Wang, Yifeng Zhang Motion is an important aspect of visual information. The directions of visual motion are encoded in the retina by direction-selective ganglion cells (DSGCs). ON-OFF DSGCs and ON DSGCs co-stratify with starburst amacrine cells (SACs) in the inner plexiform layer and depend on SACs for their direction selectivity. J-type retinal ganglion cells (J-RGCs), a type of OFF DSGCs in the mouse retina, on the other hand, do not co-stratify with SACs, and how direction selectivity in J-RGCs emerges has not been understood. Here, we report that both the excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs to J-RGCs are d...
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - September 18, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Bo Wang Source Type: research

SEC14-like condensate phase transitions at plasma membranes regulate root growth in Arabidopsis
by Chen Liu, Andriani Mentzelopoulou, Fotini Papagavriil, Prashanth Ramachandran, Artemis Perraki, Lucas Claus, Sebastian Barg, Peter D örmann, Yvon Jaillais, Philipp Johnen, Eugenia Russinova, Electra Gizeli, Gabriel Schaaf, Panagiotis Nikolaou Moschou Protein function can be modulated by phase transitions in their material properties, which can range from liquid- to solid-like; yet, the mechanisms that drive these transitions and whether they are important for physiology are still unknown. In the model plant Arabidopsis, we show that developmental robustness is reinforced by phase transitions of the plasma membrane-bou...
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - September 18, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Chen Liu Source Type: research

Selective retention of dysfunctional mitochondria during asymmetric cell division in yeast
by Xenia Chelius, Veronika Bartosch, Nathalie Rausch, Magdalena Haubner, Jana Schramm, Ralf J. Braun, Till Klecker, Benedikt Westermann Decline of mitochondrial function is a hallmark of cellular aging. To counteract this process, some cells inherit mitochondria asymmetrically to rejuvenate daughter cells. The molecular mechanisms that control this process are poorly understood. Here, we made use of matrix-targeted D-amino acid oxidase (Su9-DAO) to selectively trigger oxidative damage in yeast mitochondria. We observed that dysfunctional mitochondria become fusion-incompetent and immotile. Lack of bud-directed movements i...
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - September 18, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Xenia Chelius Source Type: research

Editorial Note: The Communication Factor EDF and the Toxin –Antitoxin Module < i > mazEF < /i > Determine the Mode of Action of Antibiotics
by The PLOS Biology Editors (Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents)
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - September 18, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: The PLOS Biology Editors Source Type: research

Transient eco-evolutionary dynamics early in a phage epidemic have strong and lasting impact on the long-term evolution of bacterial defences
by Bridget Nora Janice Watson, Elizabeth Pursey, Sylvain Gandon, Edze Rients Westra Organisms have evolved a range of constitutive (always active) and inducible (elicited by parasites) defence mechanisms, but we have limited understanding of what drives the evolution of these orthogonal defence strategies. Bacteria and their phages offer a tractable system to study this: Bacteria can acquire constitutive resistance by mutation of the phage receptor (surface mutation,sm) or induced resistance through their CRISPR-Cas –adaptive immune system. Using a combination of theory and experiments, we demonstrate that the mechanism...
Source: PLoS Biology: Archived Table of Contents - September 15, 2023 Category: Biology Authors: Bridget Nora Janice Watson Source Type: research