RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
EDITORIAL
STICKY WICKETS
FIRST PERSON
CELL SCIENTISTS TO WATCH
PERSPECTIVE
- Science during lockdown – from virtual seminars to sustainable online communities
Summary: A practical guide to organising sustainable and inclusive virtual seminar series.
REVIEWS
- Chromosome–nuclear envelope tethering – a process that orchestrates homologue pairing during plant meiosis?
Summary: We review plant meiosis, including chromosome tethering at the nuclear periphery that, we propose, defines chromosome dynamics-facilitating DNA sequence-based pairing of homologues
- Extracellular heparan sulfate proteoglycans and glycan-binding lectins orchestrate trans-synaptic signaling
Summary: A Review of the multitude of extracellular proteoglycans, glycan-binding lectins and secreted enzymes regulating trans-synaptic signaling at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction.
- The UPRosome – decoding novel biological outputs of IRE1α function
Summary: A review of how IRE1α, the most conserved UPR sensor, controls cell fate and several cellular processes through the engagement of a signaling platform named the UPRosome.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- Exploring the mechanistic and temporal regulation of LRP6 endocytosis in canonical WNT signaling
Summary: Computational modeling shows that LRP6 endocytosis in vertebrates is clathrin-independent and not restricted to lipid rafts or microdomains and further suggests that signalosome formation within microdomains delays LRP6 internalization.
- The PRDM14–CtBP1/2–PRC2 complex regulates transcriptional repression during the transition from primed to naïve pluripotency
Summary: CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout reveals the molecular hierarchy of the PRDM14, CBFA2T2, CtBP1/2 and PRC2 complex, which are required for the transcriptional repression in embryonic stem cells.
- Interplay between actomyosin and E-cadherin dynamics regulates cell shape in the Drosophila embryonic epidermis
Highlighted Article: Crosstalk between cell adhesion dynamics and actomyosin regulates epithelial cell shape. The p120-catenin protein facilitates this crosstalk through modulation of Arf1 and RhoA signalling.
- CENP-B creates alternative epigenetic chromatin states permissive for CENP-A or heterochromatin assembly
Summary: The acidic domain of CENP-B facilitates assembly of various proteins at centromeric satellite DNA, including HP1 and ASH1L. CENP-B controls centromere epigenetic status.
- miR-206 enforces a slow muscle phenotype
Summary: miR-206 regulates the slow contractile properties of skeletal and cardiac muscle. miR-206 deletion shifts slow muscles to a faster profile and results in cardiac dysfunction specifically in male mice.
- Pseudohyphal growth in Saccharomyces cerevisiae involves protein kinase-regulated lipid flippases
Summary: A poorly characterized phospholipid flippase in S. cerevisiae is involved in establishing phosphatidylserine asymmetry at the plasma membrane and has a role in the control of pseudohyphal growth.
- The spectrin-based membrane skeleton is asymmetric and remodels during neural development in C. elegans
Highlighted Article: Asymmetry and remodeling of the membrane skeleton might enable spatiotemporal modulation of membrane mechanics during distinct developmental events. C. elegans spectrin binds to ankyrin, and these proteins function to regulate neural development.
- Neurodegenerative disease-associated protein aggregates are poor inducers of the heat shock response in neuronal cells
Summary: Aggregation-prone proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases impair or evade the heat shock response in neuronal cells.
- Pushing myelination – developmental regulation of myosin expression drives oligodendrocyte morphological differentiation
Summary: Non-muscle myosin II isoforms and myosin 18a have differing roles in coordinating cell-cortex tension release and myelin membrane expansion during oligodendrocyte development.
- Neuronal MT1-MMP mediates ECM clearance and Lrp4 cleavage for agrin deposition and signaling in presynaptic development
Highlighted Article: At developing Xenopus neuromuscular junctions, the proteolytic activity of neuronal MT1-MMP digests the surrounding ECM proteins and mediates Lrp4 cleavage to regulate agrin deposition and signaling during presynaptic differentiation, respectively.
- Microtubule motor transport in the delivery of melanosomes to the actin-rich apical domain of the retinal pigment epithelium
Summary: The motility and localization of melanosomes in the retinal pigment epithelium are dependent on cytoplasmic dynein and myosin-7a, thus supporting a capture mechanism that involves both microtubules and actin motors.
- Effects of a local auxiliary protein on the two-dimensional affinity of a TCR–peptide MHC interaction
Summary: Two-dimensional affinity measurements of a T-cell receptor binding its agonistic peptide major histocompatibility complex molecule and the influence of cellular context.
- Acute inactivation of retromer and ESCPE-1 leads to time-resolved defects in endosomal cargo sorting
Highlighted Article: Retromer, a master controller of endosomal cargo sorting, is deregulated in neurodegenerative disease. Here, we develop and apply a retromer knocksideways methodology to quantify endosomal cargo sorting upon acute perturbation.
TOOLS AND RESOURCES
- Experimental toolbox for quantitative evaluation of clathrin-mediated endocytosis in the plant model Arabidopsis
Highlighted Article: We present detailed novel quantitative imaging protocols, and review pharmacological and genetic manipulation for the investigation of clathrin-mediated endocytosis at multiple scales in Arabidopsis plants.
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2020 at The Company of Biologists
Despite the challenges of 2020, we were able to bring a number of long-term projects and new ventures to fruition. While we look forward to a new year, join us as we reflect on the triumphs of the last 12 months.
Mole – The Corona Files
"This is not going to go away, 'like a miracle.' We have to do magic. And I know we can."
Mole continues to offer his wise words to researchers on how to manage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cell scientist to watch – Christine Faulkner
In an interview, Christine Faulkner talks about where her interest in plant science began, how she found the transition between Australia and the UK, and shares her thoughts on virtual conferences.
Read & Publish participation extends worldwide
“The clear advantages are rapid and efficient exposure and easy access to my article around the world. I believe it is great to have this publishing option in fast-growing fields in biomedical research.”
Dr Jaceques Behmoaras (Imperial College London) shares his experience of publishing Open Access as part of our growing Read & Publish initiative. We now have over 60 institutions in 12 countries taking part – find out more and view our full list of participating institutions.
JCS and COVID-19
For more information on measures Journal of Cell Science is taking to support the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, please see here.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hestiate to contact the Editorial Office.