Nature Communications - 30 October 2013

Weekly Content Alert 30 October 2013  Featured image: Chen et al. show that relaxing the phase requirements on electromagnetic cloaks allows for devices that hide large objects from the eye. Latest content: Articles Corrigenda Journal homepage Recommend to library Web feed   Advertisement Nature Outlook Agriculture and Drought Climate change's potentially devastating impact on our ability to feed a growing population.  Access the Outlook free online for six months.     Latest Articles View all Articles     Green chemistry and nanofabrication in a levitated Leidenfrost drop OPEN Ramzy Abdelaziz, Duygu Disci-Zayed, Mehdi Keshavarz Hedayati, Jan-Hendrik Pöhls, Ahnaf Usman Zillohu, Burak Erkartal, Venkata Sai Kiran Chakravadhanula, Viola Duppel, Lorenz Kienle and Mady Elbahri Droplets of water on very hot surfaces form levitating droplets, according to the Leidenfrost effect. Here, the authors show that green chemistry can be performed in these charged droplets, demonstrated by the synthesis of a range of nanoparticles, nanoscale coatings and porous metallic materials. 29 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3400 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Cretaceous stem chondrichthyans survived the end-Permian mass extinction Guillaume Guinot, Sylvain Adnet, Lionel Cavin and Henri Cappetta Cladodontomorph sharks are Palaeozoic stem chondrichthyans thought to have disappeared at the end-Permian mass extinction. Here, Guinot et al. report the finding of a shark tooth assemblage from the Early Cretaceous recovered from southern France, which shows that this group survived the mass extinction in deep-sea refuges. 29 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3669 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Palaeontology  Baiji genomes reveal low genetic variability and new insights into secondary aquatic adaptations OPEN Xuming Zhou, Fengming Sun, Shixia Xu, Guangyi Fan, Kangli Zhu, Xin Liu, Yuan Chen, Chengcheng Shi, Yunxia Yang, Zhiyong Huang, Jing Chen, Haolong Hou, Xuejiang Guo, Wenbin Chen, Yuefeng Chen, Xiaohong Wang, Tian Lv, Dan Yang, Jiajian Zhou, Bangqing Huang et al. Despite major conservation efforts, the Yangtze river dolphin, or baiji, is now recognised as functionally extinct. Here, Zhou et al. report a high quality draft baiji genome, as well as three re-sequenced genomes, and highlight evolutionary adaptations to aquatic life. 29 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3708 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Genetics  iPSC-derived neural precursors exert a neuroprotective role in immune-mediated demyelination via the secretion of LIF Cecilia Laterza, Arianna Merlini, Donatella De Feo, Francesca Ruffini, Ramesh Menon, Marco Onorati, Evelien Fredrickx, Luca Muzio, Angelo Lombardo, Giancarlo Comi, Angelo Quattrini, Carla Taveggia, Cinthia Farina, Elena Cattaneo and Gianvito Martino The neurotrophic cytokine leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF) prevents oligodendrocyte death in animal models of multiple sclerosis. Here, Laterza et al. show that secretion of LIF from transplanted iPSC-derived neural progenitor cells has a therapeutic effect in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. 29 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3597 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Neuroscience  Synthesis and physical properties of a ball-like three-dimensional π-conjugated molecule Eiichi Kayahara, Takahiro Iwamoto, Hikaru Takaya, Toshiyasu Suzuki, Mamoru Fujitsuka, Tetsuro Majima, Nobuhiro Yasuda, Naoto Matsuyama, Shu Seki and Shigeru Yamago Curved π-conjugated compounds, such as the fullerenes, have a variety of practical uses in addition to being structurally striking. Here, the authors demonstrate metal-mediated assembly and subsequent reductive elimination as an elegant synthetic route to a fully conjugated ball-like molecule. 29 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3694 Chemical Sciences  Organic chemistry  Highly confined ions store charge more efficiently in supercapacitors C. Merlet, C. Péan, B. Rotenberg, P. A. Madden, B. Daffos, P. -L. Taberna, P. Simon and M. Salanne Nanopores of porous electrodes have key roles in enhancing supercapacitor performance, but little is known at the atomic level. Merlet et al. perform molecular dynamics simulations and report the effects of confinement of electrolyte ions inside the pores on charge storage efficiency. 29 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3701 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Physical chemistry  Activity-dependent regulation of dendritic growth and maintenance by glycogen synthase kinase 3β Yanfang Rui, Kenneth R. Myers, Kuai Yu, Ariel Wise, Angel L. De Blas, H. Criss Hartzell and James Q. Zheng Glycogen synthase kinase 3β is implicated in synaptic plasticity, neuronal polarity and axon growth. Rui et al. now reveal that activation of glycogen synthase kinase 3β negatively regulates the expression of GABAA receptors, which results in the atrophy of dendrites. 29 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3628 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Simulation of non-Abelian gauge theories with optical lattices L. Tagliacozzo, A. Celi, P. Orland, M. W. Mitchell and M. Lewenstein Arrays of interacting atoms held in optical lattices provide a potentially powerful platform for simulating and studying complex physical phenomena. Tagliacozzo et al. propose a means to explore computationally challenging non-Abelian lattice gauge theories in a lattice of Rydberg atoms. 28 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3615 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Optical physics  Theoretical physics  Wnt secretion is required to maintain high levels of Wnt activity in colon cancer cells OPEN Oksana Voloshanenko, Gerrit Erdmann, Taronish D. Dubash, Iris Augustin, Marie Metzig, Giusi Moffa, Christian Hundsrucker, Grainne Kerr, Thomas Sandmann, Benedikt Anchang, Kubilay Demir, Christina Boehm, Svenja Leible, Claudia R. Ball, Hanno Glimm, Rainer Spang and Michael Boutros Activating mutations in the Wnt signalling pathway are associated with colon cancer. Here the authors show that tumour cells carrying mutations in APC and β-catenin are still regulated by Wnt ligands, suggesting that Wnt secretion and receptor signalling remains important to control downstream signalling. 28 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3610 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology  Quantum mechanical which-way experiment with an internal degree of freedom OPEN Konrad Banaszek, Pawel Horodecki, Michał Karpiński and Czeslaw Radzewicz Quantum mechanics dictates that the interference pattern cast by particles after passing through a double slit depends on how much information it is possible to know about which slit they went through. Banaszek et al. show how this behaviour extends to a system's internal degrees of freedom. 28 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3594 Physical Sciences  Theoretical physics  Topological superfluids with finite-momentum pairing and Majorana fermions Chunlei Qu, Zhen Zheng, Ming Gong, Yong Xu, Li Mao, Xubo Zou, Guangcan Guo and Chuanwei Zhang Cold atom systems are a playground for new quantum phenomena, one of which might be Majorana fermions – particles that are their own antiparticles. Qu et al. show how a topological superfluid with Fulde–Ferrell pairing might emerge in a spin–orbit-coupled degenerate gas, which could support Majorana fermions. 28 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3710 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Condensed matter  Theoretical physics  Topological Fulde–Ferrell–Larkin–Ovchinnikov states in spin–orbit-coupled Fermi gases Wei Zhang and Wei Yi New quantum phenomena like Majorana fermions – particles that are their own anti-particles – could be demonstrated using cold atom systems. Zhang and Yi show how to stabilize a topological Fulde–Ferrell state in a two-dimensional Fermi gas, which might be able to support Majorana modes. 28 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3711 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Condensed matter  Theoretical physics  Cumulative human impacts on marine predators Sara M. Maxwell, Elliott L. Hazen, Steven J. Bograd, Benjamin S. Halpern, Greg A. Breed, Barry Nickel, Nicole M. Teutschel, Larry B. Crowder, Scott Benson, Peter H. Dutton, Helen Bailey, Michelle A. Kappes, Carey E. Kuhn, Michael J. Weise, Bruce Mate, Scott A. Shaffer, Jason L. Hassrick, Robert W. Henry, Ladd Irvine, Birgitte I. McDonald et al. Human activities affect marine predators in complex ways, yet we lack spatial understanding of cumulative impacts across key habitats. Here, the authors analyse distribution and movements of eight marine predators, and find that species and human impacts vary across space and overlap within marine sanctuaries. 28 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3688 Biological Sciences  Ecology  Zoology  PI3K–GSK3 signalling regulates mammalian axon regeneration by inducing the expression of Smad1 Saijilafu, Eun-Mi Hur, Chang-Mei Liu, Zhongxian Jiao, Wen-Lin Xu and Feng-Quan Zhou Nerve damage in the peripheral nervous system induces spontaneous axon regeneration. Saijilafu et al. show that this regeneration requires phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signalling, which activates glycogen synthase kinase 3 and the transcription factor Smad1, and not mammalian target of rapamycin or β-catenin. 28 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3690 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Neuroscience  ARF triggers senescence in Brca2-deficient cells by altering the spectrum of p53 transcriptional targets Ana Rita Carlos, Jose Miguel Escandell, Panagiotis Kotsantis, Natsuko Suwaki, Peter Bouwman, Sophie Badie, Cecilia Folio, Javier Benitez, Gonzalo Gomez-Lopez, David G. Pisano, Jos Jonkers and Madalena Tarsounas The tumour suppressor ARF regulates p53 levels; however, in contrast to p53, ARF has not been implicated in the response to DNA damage. In this study, Carlos et al. show that single-stranded DNA formed in BRCA2-null cells triggers a DNA damage response leading to the activation of ARF and senescence. 28 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3697 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Pushing the glass transition towards random close packing using self-propelled hard spheres Ran Ni, Martien A. Cohen Stuart and Marjolein Dijkstra The concept of dense random packing of hard spheres is well known to result in a packing fraction of 0.64, although this is difficult to observe in real systems. Here, Ni et al. simulate the packing of self-propelled hard spheres, which allow them to achieve packing fractions close to the ideal value. 28 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3704 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Metamaterial fibres for subdiffraction imaging and focusing at terahertz frequencies over optically long distances OPEN Alessandro Tuniz, Korbinian J. Kaltenecker, Bernd M. Fischer, Markus Walther, Simon C. Fleming, Alexander Argyros and Boris T. Kuhlmey Wire array metamaterials can be used to beat the fundamental diffraction limit of light, but most demonstrations have been limited to microwaves and very short propagation lengths. Tuniz et al. scale these metamaterial fibres up to the terahertz region over longer distances and show focussing down to λ/28. 28 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3706 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Optical physics  Attomolar DNA detection with chiral nanorod assemblies OPEN Wei Ma, Hua Kuang, Liguang Xu, Li Ding, Chuanlai Xu, Libing Wang and Nicholas A. Kotov Nanoscale plasmonic assemblies are known to display exceptionally strong chiral optical activity. Here, the authors assemble gold nanorods into DNA-bridged chiral systems, and demonstrate their high efficiency for DNA detection at very low concentrations. 28 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3689 Chemical Sciences  Analytical chemistry  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Deoxygenation alters bacterial diversity and community composition in the ocean's largest oxygen minimum zone J. Michael Beman and Molly T. Carolan Oxygen minimum zones in the global ocean have an important role in biogeochemical cycles, yet their response to climate change is poorly understood. Here, the authors show that bacterial community composition is tightly coupled to dissolved oxygen and is likely to fundamentally change as the oceans warm. 28 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3705 Earth Sciences  Climate science  Oceanography  Anti-ghrelin immunoglobulins modulate ghrelin stability and its orexigenic effect in obese mice and humans OPEN Kuniko Takagi, Romain Legrand, Akihiro Asakawa, Haruka Amitani, Marie François, Naouel Tennoune, Moïse Coëffier, Sophie Claeyssens, Jean-Claude do Rego, Pierre Déchelotte, Akio Inui and Sergueï O. Fetissov Obesity is often associated with increased appetite and food intake, despite normal blood levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin. Here, the authors show that ghrelin-reactive antibodies in the blood of obese mice and humans enhance the orexigenic effect of ghrelin by protecting it from degradation. 25 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3685 Biological Sciences  Medical research  Thymic stromal lymphopoietin induces corticosteroid resistance in natural helper cells during airway inflammation Hiroki Kabata, Kazuyo Moro, Koichi Fukunaga, Yusuke Suzuki, Jun Miyata, Katsunori Masaki, Tomoko Betsuyaku, Shigeo Koyasu and Koichiro Asano Allergic airway inflammation in asthma can be treated with corticosteroids, but some patients remain unresponsive to this therapy. Here, Kabata et al. show that thymic stromal lymphopoietin contributes to the corticosteroid resistance during airway inflammation through its action on natural helper cells. 25 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3675 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Using synthetic templates to design an unbiased multiplex PCR assay Christopher S. Carlson, Ryan O. Emerson, Anna M. Sherwood, Cindy Desmarais, Moon-Wook Chung, Joseph M. Parsons, Michelle S. Steen, Marissa A. LaMadrid-Herrmannsfeldt, David W. Williamson, Robert J. Livingston, David Wu, Brent L. Wood, Mark J. Rieder and Harlan Robins Immunosequencing enables cost-effective sequencing of repertoires of immune cells, but it often suffers from amplification biases when attempting cell quantification. Here, the authors present a powerful multiplex PCR assay that allows for quantitative and unbiased analysis of frequency of different T cell receptors. 25 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3680 Biological Sciences  Bioinformatics  Immunology  Differential regulation of the REGγ–proteasome pathway by p53/TGF-β signalling and mutant p53 in cancer cells OPEN Amjad Ali, Zhuo Wang, Junjiang Fu, Lei Ji, Jiang Liu, Lei Li, Hui Wang, Jiwu Chen, Carlos Caulin, Jeffrey N. Myers, Pei Zhang, Jianru Xiao, Bianhong Zhang and Xiaotao Li REGγ is a proteasome activator and is frequently overexpressed in cancer cells. Here, Ali et al. demonstrate that p53/TGF-β signalling inhibits REGγ expression, whereas p53 mutations increase REGγ transcription, identifying a gain of function for mutant p53. 25 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3667 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Semiconductor-based DNA sequencing of histone modification states Christine S. Cheng, Kunal Rai, Manuel Garber, Andrew Hollinger, Dana Robbins, Scott Anderson, Alyssa Macbeth, Austin Tzou, Mauricio O. Carneiro, Raktima Raychowdhury, Carsten Russ, Nir Hacohen, Jeffrey E. Gershenwald, Niall Lennon, Chad Nusbaum, Lynda Chin, Aviv Regev and Ido Amit Semiconductor-based, non-optical DNA sequencing technologies such as Ion Torrent sequencing offer speed and cost advantages compared with alternative techniques. Cheng et al. demonstrate a protocol allowing the use of Ion Torrent technology to sequence DNA from chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments. 25 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3672 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Molecular biology  Chitosan confinement enhances hydrogen photogeneration from a mimic of the diiron subsite of [FeFe]-hydrogenase Jing-Xin Jian, Qiang Liu, Zhi-Jun Li, Feng Wang, Xu-Bing Li, Cheng-Bo Li, Bin Liu, Qing-Yuan Meng, Bin Chen, Ke Feng, Chen-Ho Tung and Li-Zhu Wu Naturally occurring hydrogenase enzymes are capable of efficient hydrogen production but low stability and high cost limits their industrial use. Here, the authors show that chitosan encapsulation improves the catalytic efficiency of a mimic of the diiron subsite of the H-cluster of [FeFe]-hydrogenase. 25 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3695 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Inorganic chemistry  Bod1 regulates protein phosphatase 2A at mitotic kinetochores OPEN Iain M. Porter, Katharina Schleicher, Michael Porter and Jason R. Swedlow PP2A-B56 regulates the stability of kinetochore-microtubule attachments by dephosphorylating several kinetochore proteins. Porter et al. identify Bod1 as a specific inhibitor of PP2A-B56 phosphatase activity and show that this activity is required for proper chromosome alignment during mitosis. 25 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3677 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Order–disorder transition in a two-dimensional boron–carbon–nitride alloy Jiong Lu, Kai Zhang, Xin Feng Liu, Han Zhang, Tze Chien Sum, Antonio H. Castro Neto and Kian Ping Loh The alloying of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride results in tunable electronic properties that can be used for solid state devices. Lu et al. identify atomic-scale mechanisms of alloying boron–carbon–nitrogen on ruthenium as a model system, which allow for potentially greater control of properties. 25 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3681 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Controlling the influence of Auger recombination on the performance of quantum-dot light-emitting diodes OPEN Wan Ki Bae, Young-Shin Park, Jaehoon Lim, Donggu Lee, Lazaro A. Padilha, Hunter McDaniel, Istvan Robel, Changhee Lee, Jeffrey M. Pietryga and Victor I. Klimov Auger recombination is a loss process that considerably reduces the efficiency of many quantum-dot light-emitting diodes. Here, the authors demonstrate that designs such as heterostructure quantum dots can considerably suppress Auger decay in light-emitting diodes. 25 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3661 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Optical physics  Molecular switches from benzene derivatives adsorbed on metal surfaces OPEN Wei Liu, Sergey N. Filimonov, Javier Carrasco and Alexandre Tkatchenko Short-lived precursors typically occur before molecules chemisorb on surfaces. Liu et al. predict that for benzene derivatives on metal surfaces, the precursors can be long-lived and the transition to chemisorption states can be reversible, which may be useful in molecular switch applications. 25 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3569 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Condensed matter  Measuring long-range carrier diffusion across multiple grains in polycrystalline semiconductors by photoluminescence imaging OPEN K. Alberi, B. Fluegel, H. Moutinho, R. G. Dhere, J. V. Li and A. Mascarenhas Understanding the role of defects on semiconductor carrier transport should help improve their performance in devices. Using photoluminescence techniques, Alberi et al. image the carrier diffusion in polycrystalline CdTe and find that long-range transport is mediated by the distribution of defect states. 25 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3699 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Condensed matter  Materials science  Localized cell stimulation by nitric oxide using a photoactive porous coordination polymer platform OPEN Stéphane Diring, Dan Ohtan Wang, Chiwon Kim, Mio Kondo, Yong Chen, Susumu Kitagawa, Ken-ichiro Kamei and Shuhei Furukawa Localized cell stimulation is useful in the analysis of biological signalling networks. Here, the authors develop a photosensitive porous framework to achieve spatiotemporally controlled cellular delivery of the gaseous biomolecule nitric oxide, using it to regulate intracellular calcium levels. 25 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3684 Chemical Sciences  Bioengineering  Inorganic chemistry  Materials science  Attosecond nonlinear optics using gigawatt-scale isolated attosecond pulses OPEN Eiji J. Takahashi, Pengfei Lan, Oliver D. Mücke, Yasuo Nabekawa and Katsumi Midorikawa The short duration of attosecond pulses makes them interesting for ultrafast experiments, although it has so far been difficult to generate isolated attosecond pulses with sufficiently high power. Here, the authors achieve high-intensity isolated attosecond pulses with a tabletop setup, based on a scaled-up high-order harmonic generation process. 25 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3691 Physical Sciences  Optical physics  Tailoring the chirality of magnetic domain walls by interface engineering Gong Chen, Tianping Ma, Alpha T. N'Diaye, Heeyoung Kwon, Changyeon Won, Yizheng Wu and Andreas K. Schmid Current-driven domain wall propagation in ferromagnetic layers adjacent to normal metals can be very fast, which could recently be explained by their chirality. Here, the authors show means of controlling the magnetic chirality, which opens the possibility to tune the dynamics of domain walls. 24 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3671 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Nanotechnology  Polycystin-1 binds Par3/aPKC and controls convergent extension during renal tubular morphogenesis Maddalena Castelli, Manila Boca, Marco Chiaravalli, Harini Ramalingam, Isaline Rowe, Gianfranco Distefano, Thomas Carroll and Alessandra Boletta Loss-of-function mutations in PKD1, the gene encoding the plasma membrane receptor Polycystin-1, lead to renal cyst formation in polycystic kidney disease. Here, Castelli et al. show that Polycystin-1 interacts with the Par3 polarity complex and has a role in the morphogenesis of kidney tubules during mouse development. 24 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3658 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Developmental biology  Ray-optics cloaking devices for large objects in incoherent natural light OPEN Hongsheng Chen, Bin Zheng, Lian Shen, Huaping Wang, Xianmin Zhang, Nikolay I. Zheludev and Baile Zhang Although many electromagnetic cloaking schemes exist at different wavelengths, realizing a broadband visible wavelength device is hard. By relaxing the need for phase preservation inherent to most methods, Chen et al. present a ray-optics scheme for cloaking large-scale objects from the human eye. 24 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3652 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Optical physics  Base excision repair AP endonucleases and mismatch repair act together to induce checkpoint-mediated autophagy OPEN Tanima SenGupta, Maria Lyngaas Torgersen, Henok Kassahun, Tibor Vellai, Anne Simonsen and Hilde Nilsen The chemotherapeutic drug 5-fluorouracil causes cell toxicity by inducing DNA lesions. Here, SenGupta et al. use C. elegans to show that components of the base excision repair and the mismatch repair pathways function together in the response to 5-fluorouracil, resulting in activation of the DNA damage checkpoint and induction of autophagy. 24 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3674 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Molecular biology  Deterministic quasi-random nanostructures for photon control Emiliano R. Martins, Juntao Li, YiKun Liu, Valérie Depauw, Zhanxu Chen, Jianying Zhou and Thomas F. Krauss The control of propagating light is a crucial aspect in photonics. Here, Martins et al. demonstrate that by a careful design of their Fourier spectra, quasi-random nanostructures can achieve such control very efficiently. 24 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3665 Physical Sciences  Nanotechnology  Optical physics  Model-based identification of drug targets that revert disrupted metabolism and its application to ageing Keren Yizhak, Orshay Gabay, Haim Cohen and Eytan Ruppin Systems biology is considered a promising tool for the identification of new drug targets. Here, Yizhak and colleagues present an algorithm to analyse gene expression data and identify potential drug targets that would shift cellular metabolism from a given disease state to that of a healthier state. 24 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3632 Biological Sciences  Bioinformatics  Medical research  Systems biology  Large modulation of zero-dimensional electronic states in quantum dots by electric-double-layer gating Kenji Shibata, Hongtao Yuan, Yoshihiro Iwasa and Kazuhiko Hirakawa The manipulation of electronic states in quantum dots is important to control their properties for applications in electronics and spintronics. Shibata and colleagues achieve a large modulation of the energy level spacing in InAs quantum dots by using a liquid-gating technique. 24 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3664 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Ultrafast charge localization in a stripe-phase nickelate OPEN G. Coslovich, B. Huber, W. -S. Lee, Y. -D. Chuang, Y. Zhu, T. Sasagawa, Z. Hussain, H. A. Bechtel, M. C. Martin, Z. -X. Shen, R. W. Schoenlein and R. A. Kaindl In correlated materials, a universal yet elusive feature is the occurrence of self-organized electronically ordered phases. Using equilibrium and pump–probe spectroscopy of a nickelate, the authors reveal ultrafast charge localization and vibrational coupling as precursors of a charge-stripe phase. 24 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3643 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Optical physics  Visualization and targeted disruption of protein interactions in living cells OPEN Henry D. Herce, Wen Deng, Jonas Helma, Heinrich Leonhardt and M. Cristina Cardoso Screens for protein–protein interactions and for drugs that disrupt them typically use in vitro assays which fail to capture the complexity of the cell's interior. By fixing proteins to distinct cellular locations, Herce et al. demonstrate a fluorescent-three-hybrid approach to probe such interactions in their cellular contexts. 24 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3660 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Mitochondrial AtPAM16 is required for plant survival and the negative regulation of plant immunity Yan Huang, Xuejin Chen, Yanan Liu, Charlotte Roth, Charles Copeland, Heather E. McFarlane, Shuai Huang, Volker Lipka, Marcel Wiermer and Xin Li Nucleotide binding and leucine-rich repeat domain proteins (NLRs) serve as immune receptors in plants and animals. Huang et al. identify a mitochondrial inner membrane protein AtPAM16 in Arabidopsis, which contributes to negative regulation of NLR-mediated immunity. 24 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3558 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Plant sciences  Heterozygous mutations in PALB2 cause DNA replication and damage response defects OPEN Jenni Nikkilä, Ann Christin Parplys, Katri Pylkäs, Muthiah Bose, Yanying Huo, Kerstin Borgmann, Katrin Rapakko, Pentti Nieminen, Bing Xia, Helmut Pospiech and Robert Winqvist PALB2 is a BRCA1-/BRCA2-interacting protein and heterozygous mutations in PALB2 are associated with hereditary breast cancer predisposition. Here, the authors show that human lymphoblastoid cells from heterozygous PALB2 mutation carriers display abnormal DNA replication dynamics and DNA damage response. 24 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3578 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Genetics  Molecular biology  Sox17 is indispensable for acquisition and maintenance of arterial identity OPEN Monica Corada, Fabrizio Orsenigo, Marco Francesco Morini, Mara Elena Pitulescu, Ganesh Bhat, Daniel Nyqvist, Ferruccio Breviario, Valentina Conti, Anais Briot, M. Luisa Iruela-Arispe, Ralf H. Adams and Elisabetta Dejana The transcription factor Sox17 is required for the development of the vasculature in vertebrates. Here, Corada et al. show that Sox17 acts downstream of Wnt signalling and upstream of Notch signalling in the regulation of artery and vein differentiation in mice. 24 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3609 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Molecular actuators driven by cooperative spin-state switching Helena J. Shepherd, Il'ya A. Gural'skiy, Carlos M. Quintero, Simon Tricard, Lionel Salmon, Gábor Molnár and Azzedine Bousseksou Molecular actuators hold potential in a number of sensing applications but require careful design to ensure specific functionality. Shepherd et al. report a new platform for molecular actuators based on spin crossover materials, whose response can be controlled by various stimuli or chemical modification. 24 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3607 Chemical Sciences  Physical Sciences  Inorganic chemistry  Materials science  Nanotechnology  High genome heterozygosity and endemic genetic recombination in the wheat stripe rust fungus OPEN Wenming Zheng, Lili Huang, Jinqun Huang, Xiaojie Wang, Xianming Chen, Jie Zhao, Jun Guo, Hua Zhuang, Chuangzhao Qiu, Jie Liu, Huiquan Liu, Xueling Huang, Guoliang Pei, Gangming Zhan, Chunlei Tang, Yulin Cheng, Minjie Liu, Jinshan Zhang, Zhongtao Zhao, Shijie Zhang et al. Stripe rust is one of the most destructive wheat diseases. Here, Zheng and colleagues report a draft genome sequence of wheat stripe rust fungus, generated using a fosmid-to-fosmid approach, and provide insight into its race evolution and pathogenesis. 23 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3673 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Genetics  Hopping transport through defect-induced localized states in molybdenum disulphide Hao Qiu, Tao Xu, Zilu Wang, Wei Ren, Haiyan Nan, Zhenhua Ni, Qian Chen, Shijun Yuan, Feng Miao, Fengqi Song, Gen Long, Yi Shi, Litao Sun, Jinlan Wang and Xinran Wang There is great interest in molybdenum disulphide for electronic devices but the mechanism of charge transport remains elusive. Qiu et al. find that sulphur vacancies introduce localized donor states within the bandgap, enabling low-carrier-density transport via hopping. 23 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3642 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Platelets protect from septic shock by inhibiting macrophage-dependent inflammation via the cyclooxygenase 1 signalling pathway Binggang Xiang, Guoying Zhang, Ling Guo, Xiang-An Li, Andrew J. Morris, Alan Daugherty, Sidney W. Whiteheart, Susan S. Smyth and Zhenyu Li Sepsis in patients is often accompanied by thrombocytopenia, but the exact role of platelets in the pathogenesis of septicaemia has not been elucidated. Here, Xiang et al. present evidence that platelets may act as anti-inflammatory cells and protect from septic shock. 23 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3657 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Unexpected reactivity and mechanism of carboxamide activation in bacterial N-linked protein glycosylation Christian Lizak, Sabina Gerber, Gaëlle Michaud, Mario Schubert, Yao-Yun Fan, Monika Bucher, Tamis Darbre, Markus Aebi, Jean-Louis Reymond and Kaspar P. Locher Oligosaccharyltransferases catalyse the transfer of lipid-anchored glycans onto acceptor asparagine residues in substrate proteins. By assaying chemically modified peptide substrate analogues, Lizak et al. rule out all but one of the currently postulated catalytic mechanisms for this enzyme. 23 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3627 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Catalysis  Chemical biology  Capsule-controlled selectivity of a rhodium hydroformylation catalyst Vladica Bocokić, Ayfer Kalkan, Martin Lutz, Anthony L. Spek, Daniel T. Gryko and Joost N. H. Reek The selectivity and activity of enzymes is largely attributed to the well-defined cavities around their active sites, defined by the secondary coordination sphere. Here, the authors show that similar strategies may be applied to tune the selectivity of synthetic rhodium hydroformylation catalysts. 23 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3670 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Inorganic chemistry  Rb1 family mutation is sufficient for sarcoma initiation Yongqing Liu, Ester Sánchez-Tilló, Xiaoqin Lu, Brian Clem, Sucheta Telang, Alfred B. Jenson, Miriam Cuatrecasas, Jason Chesney, Antonio Postigo and Douglas C. Dean Loss of the tumour suppressor Rb1 alone is thought to be insufficient for tumorigenesis. In this study, Liu et al. demonstrate that cells in which all three Rb1 family members are inactivated can initiate tumour formation, but only if cell survival is ensured by the retention of cell–cell contacts. 23 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3650 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Selection on haemagglutinin imposes a bottleneck during mammalian transmission of reassortant H5N1 influenza viruses Peter R. Wilker, Jorge M. Dinis, Gabriel Starrett, Masaki Imai, Masato Hatta, Chase W. Nelson, David H. O'Connor, Austin L. Hughes, Gabriele Neumann, Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Thomas C. Friedrich Mutations in the haemagglutinin of H5N1 avian influenza viruses confer transmissibility in ferrets. Here, Wilker et al. show that while within host variability is high, transmitted virus diversity is low suggesting a genetic bottleneck acts during transmission, driven by selection on haemagglutinin genes. 23 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3636 Biological Sciences  Virology  Akt-p53-miR-365-cyclin D1/cdc25A axis contributes to gastric tumorigenesis induced by PTEN deficiency OPEN Shui-Long Guo, Hui Ye, Yan Teng, You-Liang Wang, Guan Yang, Xiu-Bin Li, Chong Zhang, Xue Yang, Zhong-Zhou Yang and Xiao Yang The PTEN/Akt signalling pathway has been implicated in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer. Here, Guo et al. show that activation of Akt signalling results in the dysregulation of miR-365, which promotes tumorigenesis and that miR-365 reduction correlates with advance-stage tumours in gastric cancer patients. 23 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3544 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cdkn1b overexpression in adult mice alters the balance between genome and tissue ageing Steven C. Pruitt, Amy Freeland, Michael E. Rusiniak, Dimiter Kunnev and Gillian K. Cady Reduced rates of cell proliferation are thought to contribute to age-related tissue dysfunction. Here, Pruitt et al. induce expression of the cell cycle inhibitor Cdkn1b in adult mice and show that this recapitulates ageing-related defects in tissue maintenance. 23 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3626 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Medical research  Functional interplay between Aurora B kinase and Ssu72 phosphatase regulates sister chromatid cohesion Hyun-Soo Kim, Se-Hyuk Kim, Hye-Young Park, Janet Lee, Jong Hyuk Yoon, Sunkyu Choi, Sung Ho Ryu, Ho Lee, Hyun-Soo Cho and Chang-Woo Lee The Ssu72 phosphatase is required to prevent premature separation of sister chromatids during interphase. Kim et al. show that this signal is terminated at early mitosis by Aurora B, which phosphorylates Ssu72 and promotes its ubiquitin-dependent degradation. 23 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3631 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Perpetual expression of PAMPs necessary for optimal immune control and clearance of a persistent pathogen Samarchith P. Kurup and Rick L. Tarleton Pathogen-associated molecular patterns are involved in the initiation of anti-pathogen immunity but their importance for sustaining this response is not established. Here, the authors show that persistent presence of pathogen-associated molecular patterns is required to maintain robust immune responses to pathogens. 23 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3616 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Microbiology    Nature Communications JOBS of the week Research Technician University of Essex Postdoctoral Scholar University of California, Irvine PhD or Postdoc position TU Dresden Post Doctoral Position Institut Pasteur, Paris Postdoctoral Research Associate University of Oxford Post Doctoral Fellow Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciencia Postdocotral Scholar University of Kentucky PhD studentships Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) Postdoctoral Fellow Stony Brook University Postdoctoral Research Associate The University of Manchester More Science jobs from Nature Communications EVENT Diet, gut microbiology and human health 11.12.13 London, UK More science events from       Latest Corrigenda     Corrigendum: Externally controlled on-demand release of anti-HIV drug using magneto-electric nanoparticles as carriers Madhavan Nair, Rakesh Guduru, Ping Liang, Jeongmin Hong, Vidya Sagar and Sakhrat Khizroev 25 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3729 Chemical Sciences  Inorganic chemistry  Medicinal chemistry  Nanotechnology      Corrigendum: The tRNA methyltransferase NSun2 stabilizes p16INK4 mRNA by methylating the 3'-untranslated region of p16 Xiaotian Zhang, Zhenyun Liu, Jie Yi, Hao Tang, Junyue Xing, Minqwei Yu, Tanjun Tong, Yongfeng Shang, Myriam Gorospe and Wengong Wang 25 October 2013 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms3703 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Cell biology  Molecular biology      Advertisement Nature Communications is ranked #3 in the Multidisciplinary Sciences with an Impact Factor of 10.015* Your research. 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