Nature Communications - 12 March 2014

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Weekly Content Alert 12 March 2014  Featured image: Sarkar et al. have developed a microfluidic probe to lyse and analyse single adherent cells in culture. Latest content: Articles Journal homepage Recommend to library Web feed   Advertisement Download the new NatureJournals app and gain access to Nature and all Nature-branded research and review journals. All news content and open access articles are free. Subscribe to additional journals in the app for just $35.99*.  *Apple exchange rates apply. Limited time offer available on all journals except Scientific Reports. iPad, iPhone and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc.     Latest Articles View all Articles     ATP-triggered anticancer drug delivery Ran Mo, Tianyue Jiang, Rocco DiSanto, Wanyi Tai and Zhen Gu Nanoparticles can deliver drugs to tumours but improvements in selectively targeting tumour cells are required. Here, Mo et al. develop nanocarriers that take advantage of high ATP levels in tumour cells and show that these nanoparticles encapsulating the chemotherapeutic doxorubicin can inhibit tumour growth in mice. 11 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4364 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Nanotechnology  Genome-wide association study reveals two new risk loci for bipolar disorder Thomas W. Mühleisen, Markus Leber, Thomas G. Schulze, Jana Strohmaier, Franziska Degenhardt, Jens Treutlein, Manuel Mattheisen, Andreas J. Forstner, Johannes Schumacher, René Breuer, Sandra Meier, Stefan Herms, Per Hoffmann, André Lacour, Stephanie H. Witt, Andreas Reif, Bertram Müller-Myhsok, Susanne Lucae, Wolfgang Maier, Markus Schwarz et al. Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe mood disorder, which has been shown to have a large genetic component. Here the authors identify two previously unreported BD risk loci and provide further insights into the biological mechanisms underlying BD development. 11 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4339 Biological Sciences  Genetics  Neuroscience  Ultrafast angular momentum transfer in multisublattice ferrimagnets N. Bergeard, V. López-Flores, V. Halté, M. Hehn, C. Stamm, N. Pontius, E. Beaurepaire and C. Boeglin Femtosecond laser pulses can induce ultrafast changes to the magnetization in magnetic materials. Here, the authors show that the ultrafast demagnetization in ferrimagnets is driven by the transfer of angular momenta between two coupled sublattices whilst the total angular momentum remains constant. 11 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4466 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Condensed matter  Elucidating the charge carrier separation and working mechanism of CH3NH3PbI3-xClx perovskite solar cells Eran Edri, Saar Kirmayer, Sabyasachi Mukhopadhyay, Konstantin Gartsman, Gary Hodes and David Cahen Rapid progress has been made in the development of perovskite-based solar cells, but how they work has been unclear. Electron beam-induced current measurements performed in a scanning electron microscope by Edri et al. show they operate as a p–i–n solar cell with a high electronic quality absorber. 11 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4461 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Bose–Einstein condensation in an ultra-hot gas of pumped magnons Alexander A. Serga, Vasil S. Tiberkevich, Christian W. Sandweg, Vitaliy I. Vasyuchka, Dmytro A. Bozhko, Andrii V. Chumak, Timo Neumann, Björn Obry, Gennadii A. Melkov, Andrei N. Slavin and Burkard Hillebrands In contrast to real atoms, Bose–Einstein condensation of quasi-particles does not require low temperature, but is obtained via external pumping. Here, the authors show an unexpected transitional dynamics of a Bose–Einstein condensate of magnons due to a nonlinear evaporative supercooling mechanism. 11 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4452 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Condensed matter  Nanotechnology  A TAL effector repeat architecture for frameshift binding Annekatrin Richter, Jana Streubel, Christina Blücher, Boris Szurek, Maik Reschke, Jan Grau and Jens Boch Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) of pathogenic bacteria activate target genes in host plants to support infection. Here, the authors show that TALEs with single natural repeats of aberrant length tolerate one base pair deletions and may enable the bacteria to overcome natural plant resistance. 11 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4447 Biological Sciences  Biotechnology  Plant sciences  Inhibition of endothelial ERK signalling by Smad1/5 is essential for haematopoietic stem cell emergence Chunxia Zhang, Junhua Lv, Qiuping He, Sifeng Wang, Ya Gao, Anming Meng, Xiao Yang and Feng Liu Vertebrate haematopoietic stem cells are produced from the haemogenic endothelium by an endothelial-to-haematopoietic transition. Here, the authors show that, in zebrafish and mice, this transition depends on interplay of Smad transcription factors and the ERK signalling pathway. 11 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4431 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  HACE1-dependent protein degradation provides cardiac protection in response to haemodynamic stress OPEN Liyong Zhang, Xin Chen, Parveen Sharma, Mark Moon, Alex D. Sheftel, Fayez Dawood, Mai P. Nghiem, Jun Wu, Ren-Ke Li, Anthony O. Gramolini, Poul H. Sorensen, Josef M. Penninger, John H. Brumell and Peter P. Liu HACE1 is an E3 ubiquitin ligase known to regulate various cell biological processes. Here, Zhang et al. identify HACE1 as a protective factor in the heart, demonstrating that HACE1 inhibits the development of heart failure in response to haemodynamic stress by regulating protein degradation pathways. 11 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4430 Biological Sciences  Medical research  The serine protease prostasin regulates hepatic insulin sensitivity by modulating TLR4 signalling OPEN Kohei Uchimura, Manabu Hayata, Teruhiko Mizumoto, Yoshikazu Miyasato, Yutaka Kakizoe, Jun Morinaga, Tomoaki Onoue, Rika Yamazoe, Miki Ueda, Masataka Adachi, Taku Miyoshi, Naoki Shiraishi, Wataru Ogawa, Kazuki Fukuda, Tatsuya Kondo, Takeshi Matsumura, Eiichi Araki, Kimio Tomita and Kenichiro Kitamura Hepatic insulin resistance is a hallmark of diabetes, but its aetiology is incompletely understood. Here, Uchimura and colleagues show that the serine protease prostasin cleaves Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and regulates hepatic insulin sensitivity by modulating TLR4-mediated signalling. 11 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4428 Biological Sciences  Medical research  A role for Bicaudal-D2 in radial cerebellar granule cell migration Dick Jaarsma, Robert van den Berg, Phebe S. Wulf, Susan van Erp, Nanda Keijzer, Max A. Schlager, Esther de Graaff, Chris I. De Zeeuw, R. Jeroen Pasterkamp, Anna Akhmanova and Casper C. Hoogenraad Bicaudal-D is an evolutionary conserved dynein adaptor protein, and missense mutations in this protein are associated with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Here, Jaarsma et al. show that Bicaudal-D also plays an essential role in controlling neuronal migration and lamination in the developing mouse cerebellum. 11 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4411 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Optical properties of relativistic plasma mirrors H. Vincenti, S. Monchocé, S. Kahaly, G. Bonnaud, Ph. Martin and F. Quéré Next generation high power lasers will produce fields so intense they can only be controlled with components made of plasmas. Vincenti et al. explore the properties of one such component—the relativistic plasma mirror—and construct an analytical framework to improve their use in focusing intense laser fields. 11 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4403 Physical Sciences  Fluids and plasma physics  Optical physics  All-silicon spherical-Mie-resonator photodiode with spectral response in the infrared region M. Garín, R. Fenollosa, R. Alcubilla, L. Shi, L. F. Marsal and F. Meseguer Silicon is a popular material for solar cells, but is poor at absorbing infrared light, wasting much of this part of the solar spectrum. Here, Garin et al. show an efficient infrared photoresponse in nanometre-scale silicon spheres based on the resonant scattering of light that increases the dwelling time of light. 10 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4440 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Nanotechnology  Optical physics  Radiographic visualization of magma dynamics in an erupting volcano OPEN Hiroyuki K. M. Tanaka, Taro Kusagaya and Hiroshi Shinohara Visualization of magma in a conduit with classical probes remains challenging due to geological heterogeneity and the geometrical structure of the conduit involved. Tanaka et al. use cosmic ray muons and report the first radiographic observation of the ascent and descent of magma along a conduit. 10 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4381 Earth Sciences  Geology and geophysics  Scanning-aperture trapping and manipulation of single charged nanoparticles Ji Tae Kim, Susann Spindler and Vahid Sandoghdar One central goal of small object manipulation is the contact-free trapping of single biomolecules or nanoparticles longer than seconds. Kim et al. develop a geometry-induced electrostatic trap using scannable nanopipettes, which is capable of manipulating nanoparticles and lipid vesicles in solutions. 10 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4380 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Nanotechnology  The actin homologue MreB organizes the bacterial cell membrane OPEN Henrik Strahl, Frank Bürmann and Leendert W. Hamoen The formation of lipid domains in eukaryotic cells is controlled by the cortical actin cytoskeleton. Here, the authors show that the bacterial actin homologue MreB has a comparable activity, influencing the formation of regions of increased fluidity that determine the distribution of membrane proteins. 07 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4442 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Microbiology  Three-dimensional imaging of cavity vacuum with single atoms localized by a nanohole array Moonjoo Lee, Junki Kim, Wontaek Seo, Hyun-Gue Hong, Younghoon Song, Ramachandra R. Dasari and Kyungwon An An optical cavity can be used to measure fluctuations in the vacuum due to creation and annihilation of virtual particles. Using a nanohole array to control the position of probe atoms, Lee et al. map the vacuum field in two directions and combine this with spontaneous emission spectra to obtain a 3D profile. 07 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4441 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Optical physics  Deformation-induced structural transition in body-centred cubic molybdenum OPEN S. J. Wang, H. Wang, K. Du, W. Zhang, M. L. Sui and S. X. Mao Structural phase transitions are known to accommodate plastic deformation in some metals and ceramics. Here, the authors observe the in situ transformation of body-centred cubic molybdenum to face-centred cubic, and finally to body-centred cubic, allowing for 15.4% tensile strain accommodation. 07 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4433 Physical Sciences  Materials science  8.4% efficient fullerene-free organic solar cells exploiting long-range exciton energy transfer Kjell Cnops, Barry P. Rand, David Cheyns, Bregt Verreet, Max A. Empl and Paul Heremans Organic solar cells usually require the incorporation of costly fullerene acceptor layers. Cnops et al. report a multilayer organic solar cell that extracts photogenerated excitons by a two-step mechanism and achieves unprecedented conversion efficiencies of up to 8.4% without the use of fullerenes. 07 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4406 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Materials science  Reelin delays amyloid-beta fibril formation and rescues cognitive deficits in a model of Alzheimer's disease Lluís Pujadas, Daniela Rossi, Rosa Andrés, Cátia M. Teixeira, Bernat Serra-Vidal, Antoni Parcerisas, Rafael Maldonado, Ernest Giralt, Natàlia Carulla and Eduardo Soriano Reelin is crucial for brain development and controls neurogenesis and synaptic plasticity in the adult brain. Here, Pujadas et al. reveal that Reelin slows the onset of Alzheimer's disease in a mouse model by delaying the formation of amyloid fibrils and preventing neuronal loss and cognitive decline. 06 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4443 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Asymmetric catalysis with N-heterocyclic carbenes as non-covalent chiral templates Jiean Chen and Yong Huang N-heterocyclic carbenes are important catalysts for organic reactions. Here, the authors show that they can be used for asymmetric synthesis of carbon–carbon bonds through a non-covalent interaction mechanism, and apply this to a highly enantioselective Michael addition reaction. 06 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4437 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Organic chemistry  Plant cysteine oxidases control the oxygen-dependent branch of the N-end-rule pathway OPEN Daan A. Weits, Beatrice Giuntoli, Monika Kosmacz, Sandro Parlanti, Hans-Michael Hubberten, Heike Riegler, Rainer Hoefgen, Pierdomenico Perata, Joost T. van Dongen and Francesco Licausi Oxygen sensing in plants is mediated by the N-end rule pathway, in which the N-terminal cysteine residue of ERF-VII transcription factors is selectively oxidised. Weits et al. identify cysteine oxidases responsible for this modification, and show that their expression is itself regulated by ERF-VII. 06 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4425 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Plant sciences  Plexin-A4-dependent retrograde semaphorin 3A signalling regulates the dendritic localization of GluA2-containing AMPA receptors Naoya Yamashita, Hiroshi Usui, Fumio Nakamura, Sandy Chen, Yukio Sasaki, Tomonobu Hida, Fumikazu Suto, Masahiko Taniguchi, Kohtaro Takei and Yoshio Goshima Semaphorin 3A is a guidance factor that is implicated in axonal and dendritic development. Here, Yamashita et al. show that semaphorin 3A retrograde signalling via plexin A and dynein drives the localization of AMPA receptors to the dendrites where they are crucial for proper dendritic development. 06 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4424 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Social evolution in structured populations F. Débarre, C. Hauert and M. Doebeli Social behaviours such as altruism and spite are widespread in nature but the conditions that promote their evolution remain elusive. Here, Débarre et al. derive a model that captures general conditions for the evolution of social behaviour, which reveals the critical role of the scale of competition. 06 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4409 Biological Sciences  Evolution  CBR antimicrobials alter coupling between the bridge helix and the β subunit in RNA polymerase OPEN Anssi M. Malinen, Monali NandyMazumdar, Matti Turtola, Henri Malmi, Thadee Grocholski, Irina Artsimovitch and Georgiy A Belogurov Bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) is crucial for cellular gene expression and a validated target for antimicrobial drugs. Here, Malinen et al. explore the effects of the CBR class of RNAP inhibitors on the E. coli RNAP transcription cycle and provide detailed mechanistic insight into their antibacterial action. 06 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4408 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Quantitative live-cell imaging reveals spatio-temporal dynamics and cytoplasmic assembly of the 26S proteasome Chan-Gi Pack, Haruka Yukii, Akio Toh-e, Tai Kudo, Hikaru Tsuchiya, Ai Kaiho, Eri Sakata, Shigeo Murata, Hideyoshi Yokosawa, Yasushi Sako, Wolfgang Baumeister, Keiji Tanaka and Yasushi Saeki The 26S proteasome is assembled in several steps, however the extent to which this assembly occurs before or after transport into the nucleus remains unclear. Pack et al. show that full assembly can occur in the cytoplasm, and that a concatameric form of the fully assembled complex is a substrate for nuclear import. 06 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4396 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Cell biology  Tousled-like kinases phosphorylate Asf1 to promote histone supply during DNA replication Ilnaz M. Klimovskaia, Clifford Young, Caroline B. Strømme, Patrice Menard, Zuzana Jasencakova, Jakob Mejlvang, Katrine Ask, Michael Ploug, Michael L. Nielsen, Ole N. Jensen and Anja Groth DNA replication requires re-establishment of chromatin structure, which involves incorporation of newly synthesized histones. Here, Klimovskaia et al. show that phosphorylation of the histone chaperone Asf1 by Tousled-Like Kinase stimulates its ability to bind histones, thus promoting chromatin assembly. 06 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4394 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Extraordinary momentum and spin in evanescent waves Konstantin Y. Bliokh, Aleksandr Y. Bekshaev and Franco Nori The momentum and spin of a propagating photon are given by its wave vector and circular polarization, respectively. Bliokh et al. here show that evanescent electromagnetic waves possess a polarization-dependent momentum component and a polarization-independent spin component, which are both orthogonal to the wave vector. 06 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4300 Physical Sciences  Optical physics  Theoretical physics  Lateral optical force on chiral particles near a surface OPEN S. B. Wang and C. T. Chan Light carries momentum and therefore can be used to push small particles forward. Here, Wang and Chan demonstrate that under the right conditions a light beam can also exert sideway forces on chiral particles. 06 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4307 Physical Sciences  Optical physics  Theoretical physics  Non-enzymatic chemistry enables 2-hydroxyglutarate-mediated activation of 2-oxoglutarate oxygenases Hanna Tarhonskaya, Anna M. Rydzik, Ivanhoe K. H. Leung, Nikita D. Loik, Mun Chiang Chan, Akane Kawamura, James S. O. McCullagh, Timothy D. W. Claridge, Emily Flashman and Christopher J. Schofield Studies have identified that mutations to metabolic enzymes can lead to abnormal biological activity and disease. Here, the authors show that in addition to this, non-enzymatic chemistry could also influence abnormal metabolic processes and disease development. 05 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4423 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Chemical biology  Size-dependent surface phase change of lithium iron phosphate during carbon coating Jiajun Wang, Jinli Yang, Yongji Tang, Jian Liu, Yong Zhang, Guoxian Liang, Michel Gauthier, Yu-chen Karen Chen-Wiegart, Mohammad Norouzi Banis, Xifei Li, Ruying Li, Jun Wang, T. K. Sham and Xueliang Sun Carbon coating of electrodes is a common way to enhance electrochemical activity, but the interface mechanism is unclear. Here, Wang et al. adopt a molten technique to produce a sample with large flat surface, which enables visualization of the electrode size-dependent interface change during coating. 05 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4415 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Microfluidic probe for single-cell analysis in adherent tissue culture Aniruddh Sarkar, Sarah Kolitz, Douglas A. Lauffenburger and Jongyoon Han Cellular heterogeneity is a feature of diverse disease processes, yet is masked in typical biochemical assays. Sarkar et al. develop a microfluidic device to access the contents of single cells in adherent culture, allowing biochemical measurements to be connected with phenotypic information. 05 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4421 Biological Sciences  Biotechnology  Cell biology  Large topological Hall effect in the non-collinear phase of an antiferromagnet Christoph Sürgers, Gerda Fischer, Patrick Winkel and Hilbert v. Löhneysen The topological Hall effect arises in magnetic materials with non-trivial spin arrangements and it has been suggested that they occur in non-cubic antiferromagnets. Here, the authors observe contributions to the anomalous Hall effect in the antiferromagnet Mn5Si3, which might be of topological origin. 05 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4400 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Nanotechnology  Colour-tunable fluorescent multiblock micelles Zachary M. Hudson, David J. Lunn, Mitchell A. Winnik and Ian Manners Controlling the colour and pattern of emission in nanoscale objects is still a challenging goal. Here the authors report segmented micelles where the emission from each individual section can be precisely controlled, giving nanomaterials capable of producing colours throughout the visible range. 05 March 2014 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms4372 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Organic chemistry    Nature Communications JOBS of the week Research Assistant Rutgers New Jersey Medical School PhD-Student ETH Zurich PhD Studentship The Pirbright Institute Postdoctoral Research Felllow Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island Postdoctoral Associate University of Florida Postdoctoral Research Assistant University of Dundee Senior Scientist Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (I.M.P.) 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