Issues
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Cover image
Cover Image
Head view of Texas Horned Lizard, Phrynosoma cornutum highlighting their sharp extending horns from a study by Fertschai et al. (2021). Image credit: Wade C. Sherbrooke. Image licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
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RESEARCH ARTICLES
Root system architecture analysis in Mesembryanthemum crystallinum (ice plant) seedlings reveals characteristic root halotropic response
Summary: Halotropism is one of the key root growth traits that facilitates adaptation to saline soil conditions. The halophyte Mesembryanthemum crystallinum (ice plant), exhibited halotropic root growth under high salinity conditions.
Avoiding being stung or bitten – prey capture behaviors of the ant-eating Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum)
Summary: Horned lizards, primarily feeding on dangerous and venomous harvester ants, avoid being bitten or stung by striking ants mainly on the thorax, avoiding head and gaster.
The physiological reaction of Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus, Cricetidae) to chemical signals of perspective mating partners before and during courtship
Summary: Perception of olfactory signals before and during courtship lead to an increase of non-specific immune activity. For pairs formed by mutual preference there was a noted decrease of stress-hormone only in females.
A Caenorhabditis elegans behavioral assay distinguishes early stage prostate cancer patient urine from controls
Summary: The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans shows behavioral attraction to urine from prostate cancer patients, but not to controls, and this phenomenon may be a useful tool for designing diagnostic assays or biomarker discovery.
Spatial odor discrimination in the hawkmoth, Manduca sexta (L.)
Summary: The proboscis extension reflex (PER) associative learning protocol was used as a tool to ask if hawkmoths, Manduca sexta, can discriminate between odor stimuli arriving on either antenna.
The thermal dependence and molecular basis of physiological color change in Takydromus septentrionalis (Lacertidae)
Summary: G protein-coupling system inhibits adenylate cyclase activity to transform ATP into cAMP and thereby causes rapid pigment aggregation. MCH deactivates the G proteins and thereby initiates pigment dispersion.
Cex1 is a component of the COPI intracellular trafficking machinery
Summary: Cex1, the yeast homologue of mammalian SCYL1, interacts with COPI coat components and is recruited to the Golgi to regulate retrograde vesicular trafficking and sorting
Interdomain interactions regulate the localization of a lipid transfer protein at ER-PM contact sites
Summary: This study demonstrates interdomain interactions within a phosphatidylinositol transfer protein that regulate its localization and function at an ER-PM membrane contact site.
A zebrafish forward genetic screen identifies an indispensable threonine residue in the kinase domain of PRKD2
Summary: We identified, through a zebrafish forward screen, an evolutionarily conserved residue in the catalytic domain of protein kinase D2 and its homologues.
A glucose-supplemented diet enhances gut barrier integrity in Drosophila
Summary: How diet affects lifespan has received much attention. We found that maintenance of intestinal barrier integrity is likely an important factor in glucose-dependent lifespan extension in flies.
LIM Homeobox 9 knockdown by morpholino does not affect zebrafish retinal development
Summary:lhx9 is expressed in the development of the zebrafish heart, pectoral fin, and retina, but lhx9 knockdown by morpholino does not affect zebrafish retinal development.
Conditional targeting of phosphatidylserine decarboxylase to lipid droplets
Summary: A form of mitochondrial phosphatidylserine decarboxylase that is generated by alternative pre-mRNA splicing is shown to localize to the surface of lipid droplets.
Biophysical and biochemical properties of Deup1 self-assemblies: a potential driver for deuterosome formation during multiciliogenesis
Summary: Deuterosome protein 1 (Deup1) self-assembles into stable condensates that can be the structural core of the deuterosome during multiciliogenesis.
METHODS & TECHNIQUES
The SARS-CoV-2 receptor and other key components of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System related to COVID-19 are expressed in enterocytes in larval zebrafish
Summary: Genomic analyses identify zebrafish orthologs of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System that contribute to COVID-19 comorbidities and single-cell transcriptomics shows that they act in a specialized intestinal cell type.
Integrated analysis of cell shape and movement in moving frame
Summary: We developed a novel approach to integrate the analysis of cell shape and movement using moving frame.
FIRST PERSON
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A new Editor-in-Chief and new future for Biology Open

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A Year at the Forefront Review

This A Year at the Forefront of Gliding Locomotion Review by Pranav C. Khandelwal, Mohamed A. Zakaria and John J. Socha looks closely at the complex interplay of anatomy, environment and adaptation in animals like flying snakes, dolphins and more.
Basement membrane dynamics and mechanics in tissue morphogenesis

Read one of our most recent Future Leader Reviews by Uwe Töpfer which provides an overview of the mechanisms by which Basement membranes can be remodeled to regulate the shape of tissues and organs.
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Read & Publish Open Access publishing: what authors say

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