Issues

Summary: In this response to Pasch et al.’s (2015) discovery that Sun4 is essential for sperm head formation, the authors highlight that like Sun4, Dpy19l2 has a likely LINK-like function and that it also plays a crucial role in spermiogenesis and male infertility.

Summary:C. elegans lacking fmo-4 fail to clear body water following hypotonic exposure resulting in rapid swelling and rupture, indicating that FMO-4 is required in the hypoosmotic stress response.

Summary: The innate immunocompetence of six free-ranging carnivores is independent of their foraging behaviour, body mass or social organisation but reflects their phylogenetic relatedness.

Summary: Endurance training increases elastin content in muscles but not in the aorta. The activities of enzymes responsible for ECM remodeling increase only in skeletal muscle. These changes seem to be adaptive.

Summary: miR-204 upregulates 5-Fu chemosensitivity via the downregulation of HMGA2 in colorectal cancer and provides significant insight into the mechanism of 5-Fu resistance in colorectal cancer patients.

Summary: We show that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) isoforms program differential tyrosine phosphorylation, ubiquitylation, endocytosis and proteolysis of the receptor tyrosine kinase, VEGFR2.

Summary: A congenic Trim37-deficient mouse model recapitulates several features of the human disorder Mulibrey nanism, and thus provides a good model to study disease pathogenesis related to TRIM37 deficiency.

Summary: Some Gpi1^−/− somatic cells, lacking the glycolytic enzyme GPI, survived in mouse chimaeras. Breeding experiments showed that some GPI-null oocytes and spermatozoa were viable and functional.

Summary: A 3D reconstruction of the Octopus vulgaris olfactory organ, as well as the localization of PCNA and (for the first time) OMP-like proteins in cephalopod mature olfactory chemosensory neurons are described.

Summary: DC phagosomes from CLIC1^−/− mice display impaired acidification and in vivo and in vitro antigen processing and presentation, revealing CLIC1^−/− as a potential therapeutic target in reducing the adaptive immune response in autoimmune diseases.

Summary: Garlic exerts allelopathic effects on pepper physiology in a hydroponic co-culture system, with low concentrations of garlic root promoting pepper growth, but high concentrations having deleterious effects.

Summary: Adjustments of the wing structure in earwig hindwings enable passive wing control during flapping flight. With an expansion of the claval flexion line, the highly foldable wing can withstand deformations during flapping flight and stay unfolded.

Summary: PRDM14 promotes an epigenetic state that facilitates RAG-dependent Notch1 driver mutations, coupling progenitor cell expansion with genomic instability to produce T-ALL with shorter latency than other NOTCH1-driven mouse models.

Summary: The use of a new mammalian cell model with inducible homozygous and heterozygous frataxin knockout allows new insights into the chronology and causes of the disease Friedreich ataxia.

Summary: This report describes a resource collection of Drosophila melanogaster strains expressing human synaptic genes and methods that can be applied in order to investigate the genes' function.