“…continue to do what you do and the possibilities are immeasurable for what it could do for the world.”

Siobhan Braybrook is Assistant Professor of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, where her research group focuses on cell wall mechanics and the coordination of cell shape and tissue growth in plants and algae. She spoke to us about how her father’s love of horticulture inspired her passion for shapes, forms and plant biology. Siobham also explains why we should always question how to get the best out of new techniques and how everything we do has the potential to change the world.

Catch up with early-career first authors in our First Person interviews. Recently, we spoke to Ferheen Abbasi and Lotte de Winde

Review – SRF'ing and SAP'ing: the role of MRTF proteins in cell migration

David Gau and Partha Roy provide a comprehensive overview of how MRTF regulates cell migration in physiological and pathological contexts by utilizing its canonical SRF-dependent and SRF-independent modes of action.

Research highlight – Immune cell migration: the tetraspanin CD37 controls the plasma membrane

Annemiek van Spriel and colleagues show that tetraspanin CD37 directly interacts with CLEC-2 in the membrane of dendritic cells, to control dendritic cell migration and podoplanin-induced contractility in lymph node stromal cells. This work establishes the molecular basis for receptor–ligand interactions that control DC migration during the immune response.

Find out more about the story behind the paper in an interview with first author Lotte de Winde.

Review – p62-mediated phase separation at the intersection of the ubiquitin-proteasome system and autophagy

Alberto Danieli and Sascha Martens highlight the recent advances of how the ubiquitin-proteasome system and autophagy can be coordinated by p62-dependent phase separation reactions.

Meet the team

Meet the Journal of Cell Science team at conferences throughout October. Executive Editor Sharon Ahmad attends the ASMB meeting in Las Vegas and Reviews Editor Petra Gross will be at the EMBO workshop on ER function in health and disease in Lucca, Italy. Features & Reviews Editor Manuel Breuer will be at the FEBS 2018 Golgi meeting in Sorrento, Italy.

JCS Meeting – Cell dynamics: organelle-cytoskeleton interface

The second in our series of cell dynamics meetings now turns to organelles. This May 2019 meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, aims to bring together scientists studying the interface between organelles and the cytoskeleton at different scales and perspectives using a range of model systems. Find out more and apply for your place here.

Journal news – publishing peer review reports

Journal of Cell Science, along with our sister journal Development, has signed an open letter coordinated by ASAPbio signalling our intention to publish peer review reports alongside published papers. This commitment reflects our recognition of the benefits of transparency in the peer review process. Find out more here.