Nature Communications - 01 April 2015

Advertisement Got Methods? Need More? Download Tissue Dissociation Guide Free The definitive manual for primary cell isolation, tissue dissociation and harvesting. Select, develop, optimize protocols and better understand the process of enzymatic primary cell isolation and tissue dissociation. Plus hundreds of new detailed references. Try More? Free Collagenase Sample Program     Weekly Content Alert 01 April 2015  Featured image: Schiller et al. present a protein-based approach for assembly of nanoparticles with defined interparticle distances. Latest content: Articles Corrigenda Advertisement Nature Communications is now fully open access All new submissions if accepted, will be published open access and an article processing charge will apply. For more information visit the website. Visit our open access funding page  or contact openaccess@nature.com to learn more on APC funding. Journal homepage Recommend to library Web feed   Advertisement Tiny treasure: The future of nano-gold Watch this new Animation from Nature Nanotechnology and access Nature Outlook Gold free online for another six months.  Produced with support from:  World Gold Council        Latest Articles View all Articles     Marine sequestration of carbon in bacterial metabolites Oliver J. Lechtenfeld, Norbert Hertkorn, Yuan Shen, Matthias Witt and Ronald Benner The microbial carbon pump is an important pathway for marine carbon sequestration, yet the chemical complexity and stability of persistent molecules remain enigmatic. Here, the authors use bioassay experiments to investigate the complexity and refractory nature of bacterial dissolved organic matter. 31 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7711 Earth Sciences  Biogeochemistry  Climate science  Oceanography  ERK7 regulates ciliogenesis by phosphorylating the actin regulator CapZIP in cooperation with Dishevelled Koichi Miyatake, Morioh Kusakabe, Chika Takahashi and Eisuke Nishida The actin regulator CapZIP has been shown to regulate ciliogenesis in a phosphorylation-dependent manner. Miyatake et al. show that the atypical MAP kinase ERK7 promotes ciliogenesis by phophorylating CapZIP, and that interactions between both proteins and Dishevelled are required for CapZIP phosphorylation. 31 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7666 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  A plug-and-play approach to antibody-based therapeutics via a chemoselective dual click strategy OPEN Antoine Maruani, Mark E.B. Smith, Enrique Miranda, Kerry A. Chester, Vijay Chudasama and Stephen Caddick Antibody–drug conjugates are a class of therapeutic combining the directing ability of antibodies with the cell-killing ability of cytotoxic drugs. Here the authors describe an approach based on click chemistry that enables the rapid assembly of dual-modified antibodies with potential for new therapeutic modalities. 31 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7645 Biological Sciences  Biotechnology  Chemical biology  Immune complexes regulate bone metabolism through FcRγ signalling Takako Negishi-Koga, Hans-Jürgen Gober, Eriko Sumiya, Noriko Komatsu, Kazuo Okamoto, Shinichiro Sawa, Ayako Suematsu, Tomomi Suda, Kojiro Sato, Toshiyuki Takai and Hiroshi Takayanagi Bone and the immune system are functionally intertwined. This study shows that osteoclastogenesis is modulated by the intensity of Fcγ receptor signalling, which is shaped by the balance between the positive and negative Fcγ receptors expressed on osteoclasts and the availability of their ligands, immune complexes. 31 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7637 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Medical research  A lactate and formate transporter in the intraerythrocytic malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum Rosa V. Marchetti, Adele M. Lehane, Sarah H. Shafik, Markus Winterberg, Rowena E. Martin and Kiaran Kirk Malaria parasites generate metabolic energy through anaerobic glycolysis, yielding lactate that is then secreted out of the parasite cell by an unknown transporter. Here, Marchetti et al. identify and characterize a transporter that may be carrying out such a function in Plasmodium. 31 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7721 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Microbiology  Unbounded number of channel uses may be required to detect quantum capacity Toby Cubitt, David Elkouss, William Matthews, Maris Ozols, David Pérez-García and Sergii Strelchuk The transmission of quantum information through channels is a fundamental step for future quantum communication technologies. Cubitt et al. now show that there exist channels whose potential for transmitting quantum information requires an unbounded number of usages to be detected. 31 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7739 Physical Sciences  Theoretical physics  Triaminopyrimidine is a fast-killing and long-acting antimalarial clinical candidate OPEN Shahul Hameed P., Suresh Solapure, Vikas Patil, Philipp P. Henrich, Pamela A. Magistrado, Sowmya Bharath, Kannan Murugan, Pavithra Viswanath, Jayashree Puttur, Abhishek Srivastava, Eknath Bellale, Vijender Panduga, Gajanan Shanbag, Disha Awasthy, Sudhir Landge, Sapna Morayya, Krishna Koushik, Ramanatha Saralaya, Anandkumar Raichurkar, Nikhil Rautela et al. The emergence of resistant Plasmodium strains fuels the search for new antimalarials. Here, the authors present a new class of potent antimalarial compounds, the triaminopyrimidines, that display low toxicity and long half-life in animal models. 31 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7715 Biological Sciences  Chemical biology  Medicinal chemistry  Microbiology  Structural basis for full-spectrum inhibition of translational functions on a tRNA synthetase OPEN Pengfei Fang, Xue Yu, Seung Jae Jeong, Adam Mirando, Kaige Chen, Xin Chen, Sunghoon Kim, Christopher S. Francklyn and Min Guo Borrelidin is an antibiotic with antimicrobial, antifungal, antimalarial and immunosuppressive activity that targets threonyl-tRNA synthetase. Here the authors show that borrelidin functions by preventing binding of all three ThrRS substrates and inducing a distinct, non-productive, conformation of the enzyme. 31 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7402 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Chemical biology  Genomic signatures of human and animal disease in the zoonotic pathogen Streptococcus suis OPEN Lucy A. Weinert, Roy R. Chaudhuri, Jinhong Wang, Sarah E. Peters, Jukka Corander, Thibaut Jombart, Abiyad Baig, Kate J. Howell, Minna Vehkala, Niko Välimäki, David Harris, Tran Thi Bich Chieu, Nguyen Van Vinh Chau, James Campbell, Constance Schultsz, Julian Parkhill, Stephen D. Bentley, Paul R. Langford, Andrew N. Rycroft, Brendan W. Wren et al. The bacterium Streptococcus suis causes respiratory tract infections in pigs and meningitis in humans. Here, the authors show that human disease isolates are limited to a single virulent population and find no consistent genomic differences between pig and human isolates. 31 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7740 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Genetics  Microbiology  Glycopeptide analogues of PSGL-1 inhibit P-selectin in vitro and in vivo Venkata R. Krishnamurthy, Mohammed Y. R. Sardar, Yu Ying, Xuezheng Song, Carolyn Haller, Erbin Dai, Xiaocong Wang, Donny Hanjaya-Putra, Lijun Sun, Vasilios Morikis, Scott I. Simon, Robert J. Woods, Richard D. Cummings and Elliot L. Chaikof Inhibiting the interaction between the membrane protein P-selectin and its ligand PSGL-1 is thought to block inflammation. Here the authors report an efficient stereoselective synthesis for PSGL-1 glycopeptide mimics and show that these compounds inhibit PSGL-1/P-selectin in vitro and in vivo. 31 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7387 Biological Sciences  Medical research  Medicinal chemistry  Glycosylation of immunoglobulin G determines osteoclast differentiation and bone loss OPEN Ulrike Harre, Stefanie C. Lang, René Pfeifle, Yoann Rombouts, Sabine Frühbeißer, Khaled Amara, Holger Bang, Anja Lux, Carolien A. Koeleman, Wolfgang Baum, Katharina Dietel, Franziska Gröhn, Vivianne Malmström, Lars Klareskog, Gerhard Krönke, Roland Kocijan, Falk Nimmerjahn, René E. M. Toes, Martin Herrmann, Hans Ulrich Scherer et al. The IgG sugar moiety modulates the binding of immune complexes to their Fcγ receptors resulting in pro- or anti-inflammatory response. This study shows that IgG sialylation also affects osteoclastogenesis and bone mass in mice and humans, identifying a new link between bone and the immune system. 31 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7651 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Medical research  Global analysis of fungal morphology exposes mechanisms of host cell escape OPEN Teresa R. O’Meara, Amanda O. Veri, Troy Ketela, Bo Jiang, Terry Roemer and Leah E. Cowen Several pathogenic fungi such as Candida albicans undergo transitions between single-celled forms and multicellular filaments. Here the authors perform a genome-scale analysis of C. albicans and show that, contrary to common belief, filamentation is not required for escape from host immune cells. 31 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7741 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Genetics  Microbiology  Local cooling and warming effects of forests based on satellite observations OPEN Yan Li, Maosheng Zhao, Safa Motesharrei, Qiaozhen Mu, Eugenia Kalnay and Shuangcheng Li Local climatic effects of forests remain poorly understood due to the coarse spatial resolution of models and field observations. Here, the authors use global satellite data to analyse the spatiotemporal cooling or warming effects of tropical, temperate and boreal forests on climate. 31 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7603 Earth Sciences  Biogeochemistry  Climate science  Complementary spin-Hall and inverse spin-galvanic effect torques in a ferromagnet/semiconductor bilayer T. D. Skinner, K. Olejník, L. K. Cunningham, H. Kurebayashi, R. P. Campion, B. L. Gallagher, T. Jungwirth and A. J. Ferguson Spin–orbit torques could enable a new generation of low-power electrically controlled memory devices. Here, the authors experimentally disentangle the spin-Hall effect and inverse spin-galvanic effect contributions to the relativistic spin torques in a room temperature Fe/(Ga,Mn)As bilayer. 31 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7730 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Condensed matter  Nanotechnology  Identification of myopia-associated WNT7B polymorphisms provides insights into the mechanism underlying the development of myopia Masahiro Miyake, Kenji Yamashiro, Yasuharu Tabara, Kenji Suda, Satoshi Morooka, Hideo Nakanishi, Chiea-Chuen Khor, Peng Chen, Fan Qiao, Isao Nakata, Yumiko Akagi-Kurashige, Norimoto Gotoh, Akitaka Tsujikawa, Akira Meguro, Sentaro Kusuhara, Ozen Polasek, Caroline Hayward, Alan F. Wright, Harry Campbell, Andrea J. Richardson et al. Myopia is a significant and increasing public health concern. Here Miyake et al. conduct a genome-wide association study and identify WNT7B as a susceptibility gene across different ethnic groups, suggesting a possible role in the development of myopia. 31 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7689 Biological Sciences  Genetics  Mechanical surface waves accompany action potential propagation Ahmed El Hady and Benjamin B. Machta Action potentials in neurons are accompanied by a mechanical displacement of the axonal membrane. Here, the authors present a model to describe these as surface waves which are driven by changes in charge separation, and compare their model to published experimental results from squid giant axons and garfish olfactory nerve bundles. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7697 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  An allosteric photoredox catalyst inspired by photosynthetic machinery OPEN Alejo M. Lifschitz, Ryan M. Young, Jose Mendez-Arroyo, Charlotte L. Stern, C. Michael McGuirk, Michael R. Wasielewski and Chad A. Mirkin Photosynthetic systems regulate light harvesting via structural and electronic control of antenna proteins. Here, the authors report a light-harvesting antenna/reaction centre mimic that can be allosterically regulated using mild and redox-inactive inputs, via a coordination framework with hemilabile ligands. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7541 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Inorganic chemistry  Microtubule disruption synergizes with oncolytic virotherapy by inhibiting interferon translation and potentiating bystander killing Rozanne Arulanandam, Cory Batenchuk, Oliver Varette, Chadi Zakaria, Vanessa Garcia, Nicole E. Forbes, Colin Davis, Ramya Krishnan, Raunak Karmacharya, Julie Cox, Anisha Sinha, Andrew Babawy, Katherine Waite, Erica Weinstein, Theresa Falls, Andrew Chen, Jeff Hamill, Naomi De Silva, David P. Conrad, Harold Atkins et al. Microtubule-destabilizing drugs and oncolytic viruses are two unrelated approaches to battle cancer. Here the authors show that microtubule-destabilizing drugs potentiate the efficiency of oncolytic rhabdoviruses by altering the cytokine production and response of the tumour cells. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7410 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology  Immunology  The nuclear translocation of ERK1/2 as an anticancer target Alexander Plotnikov, Karen Flores, Galia Maik-Rachline, Eldar Zehorai, Einat Kapri-Pardes, Denise A. Berti, Tamar Hanoch, Michal J. Besser and Rony Seger The extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) cascade is involved in the induction and maintenance of cancers. Here the authors design an ERK-derived peptide that blocks ERK nuclear import, thus proposing a novel approach to treat tumours with mutational activation of the ERK pathway. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7685 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology  Human monoclonal antibodies targeting the haemagglutinin glycoprotein can neutralize H7N9 influenza virus Zhe Chen, Jianmin Wang, Linlin Bao, Li Guo, Weijia Zhang, Ying Xue, Hongli Zhou, Yan Xiao, Jianwei Wang, Fan Wu, Ying Deng, Chuan Qin and Qi Jin Treatment options for prevention and control of fatal H7N9 influenza infections remain limited. Here, the authors show that two human monoclonal antibodies protect mice against H7N9 strains when administered before or after H7N9 infection. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7714 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Microbiology  Virology  The ancestral role of nodal signalling in breaking L/R symmetry in the vertebrate forebrain Ronan Lagadec, Laurent Laguerre, Arnaud Menuet, Anis Amara, Claire Rocancourt, Pierre Péricard, Benoît G. Godard, Maria Celina Rodicio, Isabel Rodriguez-Moldes, Hélène Mayeur, Quentin Rougemont, Sylvie Mazan and Agnès Boutet The epithalamus exhibits left-right asymmetries with different magnitudes among vertebrates. Here, the authors show that the catshark and two lampreys have conserved molecular asymmetries between the left and right developing epithalamus which are controlled by nodal signalling. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7686 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Evolution  Genetics  Zoology  Voltage-dependent gating of KCNH potassium channels lacking a covalent link between voltage-sensing and pore domains OPEN Éva Lörinczi, Juan Camilo Gómez-Posada, Pilar de la Peña, Adam P. Tomczak, Jorge Fernández-Trillo, Ulrike Leipscher, Walter Stühmer, Francisco Barros and Luis A. Pardo The pore of voltage-gated ion channels opens in response to membrane depolarization sensed by a separate voltage-sensing domain. Here, Lörinczi et al. show that, contrary to assumptions, no physical linker is required to transmit changes from the voltage-sensing to the permeation domain of KCNH channels. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7672 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Electride support boosts nitrogen dissociation over ruthenium catalyst and shifts the bottleneck in ammonia synthesis OPEN Masaaki Kitano, Shinji Kanbara, Yasunori Inoue, Navaratnarajah Kuganathan, Peter V. Sushko, Toshiharu Yokoyama, Michikazu Hara and Hideo Hosono Development of catalysts that enhance dissociation of the nitrogen–nitrogen triple bond will reduce costs of ammonia production. Here, the authors study ammonia synthesis over a ruthenium loaded electride catalyst and show that the rate-determining step is shifted to nitrogen–hydrogen bond formation. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7731 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Inorganic chemistry  Ultrafast and reversible control of the exchange interaction in Mott insulators OPEN J. H. Mentink, K. Balzer and M. Eckstein Electronic interactions underlie the exchange interaction responsible for the magnetic ordering and dynamics of magnetic materials. Here, Mentink et al. theoretically demonstrate the ultrafast and reversible tuning of the exchange interaction in Mott insulators driven by a time-periodic electric field. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7708 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Theoretical physics  Cmr1/WDR76 defines a nuclear genotoxic stress body linking genome integrity and protein quality control OPEN Irene Gallina, Camilla Colding, Peter Henriksen, Petra Beli, Kyosuke Nakamura, Judith Offman, David P. Mathiasen, Sonia Silva, Eva Hoffmann, Anja Groth, Chunaram Choudhary and Michael Lisby Defects in the DNA replication checkpoint can lead to genomic instability and cancer. Here the authors show that Cmr1/WDR76 participates in the DNA replication stress response and—along with several other components—defines a new cellular compartment that forms during cellular stress. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7533 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Molecular biology  Bidecadal North Atlantic ocean circulation variability controlled by timing of volcanic eruptions Didier Swingedouw, Pablo Ortega, Juliette Mignot, Eric Guilyardi, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Paul G. Butler, Myriam Khodri and Roland Séférian While present in palaeoclimate records, the drivers behind 20-year climate variability are poorly understood. Here, using climate simulations and in situ and palaeo data, the authors present a possible link between volcanic eruptions, Great Salinity Anomalies and the Atlantic overturning circulation. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7545 Earth Sciences  Atmospheric science  Climate science  Oceanography  HIV-1 capsids bind and exploit the kinesin-1 adaptor FEZ1 for inward movement to the nucleus Viacheslav Malikov, Eveline Santos da Silva, Vladimir Jovasevic, Geoffrey Bennett, Daniel A. de Souza Aranha Vieira, Bianca Schulte, Felipe Diaz-Griffero, Derek Walsh and Mojgan H. Naghavi Many viruses take advantage of microtubule-dependent motor proteins to move through the cell. Malikov et al. show that HIV-1 recruits the kinesin-1 adaptor FEZ1, and that the opposing activities of kinesin-1 and dynein motors are both required for the transport of HIV-1 capsids towards the nucleus. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7660 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Virology  Enriched environment reduces glioma growth through immune and non-immune mechanisms in mice OPEN Stefano Garofalo, Giuseppina D’Alessandro, Giuseppina Chece, Frederic Brau, Laura Maggi, Alessandro Rosa, Alessandra Porzia, Fabrizio Mainiero, Vincenzo Esposito, Clotilde Lauro, Giorgia Benigni, Giovanni Bernardini, Angela Santoni and Cristina Limatola Enriched environment is known to be beneficial in several disease settings. Here the authors show that mice pre-exposed to enriched environment survive longer when challenged with glioma due to increased antitumour immunity, and identify soluble factors that mediate these effects. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7623 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Immunology  Neuroscience  Skp2–MacroH2A1–CDK8 axis orchestrates G2/M transition and tumorigenesis Dazhi Xu, Chien-Feng Li, Xian Zhang, Zhaohui Gong, Chia-Hsin Chan, Szu-Wei Lee, Guoxiang Jin, Abdol-Hossein Rezaeian, Fei Han, Jing Wang, Wei-Lei Yang, Zi-Zhen Feng, Wei Chen, Ching-Yuan Wu, Ying-Jan Wang, Lu-Ping Chow, Xiao-Feng Zhu, Yi-Xin Zeng and Hui-Kuan Lin Skp2 forms part of the SCF complex—an E3 ubiquitin ligase. Here the authors identify macroH2A1 as a novel target of Skp2 and propose an axis of regulation involving Skp2-macroH2A1-CDK8-p27 in cancer. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7641 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Molecular biology  Strain-induced metal–semiconductor transition observed in atomic carbon chains OPEN A. La Torre, A. Botello-Mendez, W. Baaziz, J. -C. Charlier and F. Banhart Previous studies have predicted that carbyne (a single chain of sp 1 carbon atoms) goes from being metallic to semiconducting under strain. Here, the authors measure the electronic properties of carbyne, confirming the prediction and showing that the conductivity is determined by strain and by the contacts. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7636 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Dirac surface states and nature of superconductivity in Noncentrosymmetric BiPd OPEN Zhixiang Sun, Mostafa Enayat, Ana Maldonado, Calum Lithgow, Ed Yelland, Darren C. Peets, Alexander Yaresko, Andreas P. Schnyder and Peter Wahl The alloy bismuth-palladium is a candidate material for observing topological superconductivity. Here, the authors study the interplay of spin–orbit interactions and superconductivity in this noncentrosymmetric compound using scanning tunnelling spectroscopy and relativistic first-principles calculations. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7633 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Condensed matter  Alternative splicing modulates Kv channel clustering through a molecular ball and chain mechanism Nitzan Zandany, Shir Marciano, Elhanan Magidovich, Teddy Frimerman, Rinat Yehezkel, Tzilhav Shem-Ad, Limor Lewin, Uri Abdu, Irit Orr and Ofer Yifrach Ion channel clustering at specific membrane sites plays a fundamental role in action potential transmission. Here, the authors show that alternative splice variants of the intrinsically disordered C-terminal segment of the Shaker Kv channel support distinct patterns of scaffold protein-mediated channel clustering. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7488 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Biophysics  Neuroscience  Global migration of influenza A viruses in swine Martha I. Nelson, Cécile Viboud, Amy L. Vincent, Marie R. Culhane, Susan E. Detmer, David E. Wentworth, Andrew Rambaut, Marc A. Suchard, Edward C. Holmes and Philippe Lemey The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic exposed major gaps in our knowledge of the spatial ecology and evolution of swine influenza A viruses. Here Nelson et al. perform an extensive phylogenetic analysis of these viruses and show that the global trade of live swine strongly predicts their spatial dissemination. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7696 Biological Sciences  Ecology  Evolution  Virology  Suppressor of Deltex mediates Pez degradation and modulates Drosophila midgut homeostasis Chao Wang, Wenxiang Zhang, Meng-Xin Yin, Lianxin Hu, Peixue Li, Jiajun Xu, Hongling Huang, Shimin Wang, Yi Lu, Wenqing Wu, Margaret S. Ho, Lin Li, Yun Zhao and Lei Zhang The protein tyrosine phosphatase Pez controls intestinal stem cell proliferation in Drosophila by inhibiting the Hippo pathway transcription factor Yorkie. Wang et al. reveal that Pez protein stability is regulated by interactions with the E3 ubiquitin ligase Suppressor of Deltex. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7607 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Large-scale determination of absolute phosphorylation stoichiometries in human cells by motif-targeting quantitative proteomics OPEN Chia-Feng Tsai, Yi-Ting Wang, Hsin-Yung Yen, Chih-Chiang Tsou, Wei-Chi Ku, Pei-Yi Lin, Hsuan-Yu Chen, Alexey I. Nesvizhskii, Yasushi Ishihama and Yu-Ju Chen Measuring phosphorylation stoichiometry on a proteomic scale remains a challenge. Tsai et al. develop a technique to measure the basal level of phosphorylation stoichiometry in a single human phosphoproteome and identify molecular changes associated with gefitinib resistance in lung cancer cells. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7622 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Systems biology  Label-free in vivo molecular imaging of underglycosylated mucin-1 expression in tumour cells OPEN Xiaolei Song, Raag D. Airan, Dian R. Arifin, Amnon Bar-Shir, Deepak K. Kadayakkara, Guanshu Liu, Assaf A. Gilad, Peter C. M. van Zijl, Michael T. McMahon and Jeff W. M. Bulte Overexpression of underglycosylated MUC1 (uMUC1) is found in most malignant adenocarcinomas of epithelial origin. Here the authors use chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI to detect uMUC1 and to distinguish between malignant and nonmalignant tumours. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7719 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Medical research  Myeloid cell-derived inducible nitric oxide synthase suppresses M1 macrophage polarization OPEN Geming Lu, Ruihua Zhang, Shuo Geng, Liang Peng, Padmini Jayaraman, Chun Chen, Feifong Xu, Jianjun Yang, Qin Li, Hao Zheng, Kimberly Shen, Juan Wang, Xiyu Liu, Weidong Wang, Zihan Zheng, Chen-Feng Qi, Chuanping Si, John Cijiang He, Kebin Liu, Sergio A. Lira et al. In response to microbial ligands, IRF5 promotes pro-inflammatory M1 macrophage activation and production of nitrous oxide. Here the authors show that nitrous oxide modifies IRF5 tyrosine residues as a negative feedback, limiting the inflammatory response and protecting from endotoxin shock. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7676 Biological Sciences  Immunology  End-targeting proteomics of isolated chromatin segments of a mammalian ribosomal RNA gene promoter OPEN Satoru Ide and Jerome Dejardin The identification of factors involved in eukaryotic DNA regulation at specific genomic regions distinct technical challenges. Here, the authors describe ePICh, a method that allows for the efficient isolation of chromatin factors associated with complex low abundance targets within the large genome of mammalian cells. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7674 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Genome-wide profiling of p53-regulated enhancer RNAs uncovers a subset of enhancers controlled by a lncRNA OPEN Nicolas Léveillé, Carlos A. Melo, Koos Rooijers, Angel Díaz-Lagares, Sonia A. Melo, Gozde Korkmaz, Rui Lopes, Farhad Akbari Moqadam, Ana R. Maia, Patrick J. Wijchers, Geert Geeven, Monique L. den Boer, Raghu Kalluri, Wouter de Laat, Manel Esteller and Reuven Agami Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have emerged as important regulators of gene expression through several distinct mechanisms. Here the authors further delineate the role of p53-induced lncRNAs within the p53-responsive pathways through the activation of enhancers. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7520 Biological Sciences  Bioinformatics  Cancer  Molecular biology  On the tear resistance of skin OPEN Wen Yang, Vincent R. Sherman, Bernd Gludovatz, Eric Schaible, Polite Stewart, Robert O. Ritchie and Marc A. Meyers It is known that skin has a large tear resistance, but little is known of the mechanism behind this. Here, the authors carry out a structural analysis of rabbit skin to show how the deformation of collagen fibrils in the skin results in a strong resistance to tear propagation. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7649 Biological Sciences  Materials science  Ainsliadimer A selectively inhibits IKKα/β by covalently binding a conserved cysteine OPEN Ting Dong, Chao Li, Xing Wang, Longyang Dian, Xiuguo Zhang, Lin Li, She Chen, Ran Cao, Li Li, Niu Huang, Sudan He and Xiaoguang Lei IKK is a key inducer of NF-κB, and has been targeted by several small molecule drugs. Here the authors show that a natural product from a Chinese medical herb inhibits NF-κB via covalent binding to a unique conserved region of IKK, and efficiently inhibits tumour growth and sepsis in mice. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7522 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Chemical biology  Signatures of the Giant Pairing Vibration in the 14C and 15C atomic nuclei OPEN F. Cappuzzello, D. Carbone, M. Cavallaro, M. Bondì, C. Agodi, F. Azaiez, A. Bonaccorso, A. Cunsolo, L. Fortunato, A. Foti, S. Franchoo, E. Khan, R. Linares, J. Lubian, J. A. Scarpaci and A. Vitturi The Giant Pairing Vibration is a collective mode in an atomic nucleus caused by coherence between particle-particle excitations, which has so far eluded detection. Cappuzzello et al. present signatures for its existence via heavy-ion-induced two-neutron transfer reactions in carbon nuclei. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7743 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Cracks in Martian boulders exhibit preferred orientations that point to solar-induced thermal stress Martha-Cary Eppes, Andrew Willis, Jamie Molaro, Stephen Abernathy and Beibei Zhou Many rock cracks on Earth point north, suggesting that the Sun may be involved in their formation. Here, the authors compile this Earth data, collect similar data for rock cracks on Mars, and present modelling results, linking the origin of Mars rock cracks to thermal stress from the Sun. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7712 Earth Sciences  Geology and geophysics  Planetary sciences  ID4 controls mammary stem cells and marks breast cancers with a stem cell-like phenotype Simon Junankar, Laura A. Baker, Daniel L. Roden, Radhika Nair, Ben Elsworth, David Gallego-Ortega, Paul Lacaze, Aurélie Cazet, Iva Nikolic, Wee Siang Teo, Jessica Yang, Andrea McFarland, Kate Harvey, Matthew J. Naylor, Sunil R. Lakhani, Peter T. Simpson, Ashwini Raghavendra, Jodi Saunus, Jason Madore, Warren Kaplan et al. Basal-like breast cancer is a heterogeneous disease with poor prognosis; however, its cellular origins and aetiology are poorly understood. Here the authors provide evidence that ID4 is a key controller of mammary stem/progenitor cell self-renewal, acting upstream of Notch signalling to repress luminal fate commitment. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7548 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Developmental biology  Human gephyrin is encompassed within giant functional noncoding yin–yang sequences Sharlee Climer, Alan R. Templeton and Weixiong Zhang Yin–yang haplotypes are stretches of DNA that differ at multiple markers and exhibit two disparate forms. Here, the authors identify a pair of 284-nucleotide-long yin–yang haplotypes that encompass the gephyrin gene, and show that these human-specific haplotypes evolved rapidly and bear functional implications. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7534 Biological Sciences  Genetics  Positioning and joining of organic single-crystalline wires OPEN Yuchen Wu, Jiangang Feng, Xiangyu Jiang, Zhen Zhang, Xuedong Wang, Bin Su and Lei Jiang Aligned, one-dimensional, single-crystal materials may allow on-demand photon/electron transfer. Here, the authors use a physical vapour transport technique to grow organic single-crystal wires with the guidance of pillar-structured substrates, and perform proof of concept waveguide experiments. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7737 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Physical chemistry  Molecular protein adaptor with genetically encoded interaction sites guiding the hierarchical assembly of plasmonically active nanoparticle architectures Andreas Schreiber, Matthias C. Huber, Helmut Cölfen and Stefan M. Schiller Controlling the assembly of nano-objects with precision is important in the synthesis of materials with enhanced properties. Here, the authors present a protein adaptor-based nano-object assembly (PABNOA), allowing the assembly of nanoparticles with defined interparticle distances. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7705 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Non-canonical active site architecture of the radical SAM thiamin pyrimidine synthase OPEN Michael K. Fenwick, Angad P. Mehta, Yang Zhang, Sameh H. Abdelwahed, Tadhg P. Begley and Steven E. Ealick Most radical SAM enzymes use a [4Fe-4S] cluster to generate a 5′-deoxyadenosyl radical. Here the authors show the radical SAM thiamin pyrimidine synthase ThiC comprises an additional active site metal, probably representing an evolutionary link between the radical SAM and adenosylcobalamin-dependent enzyme superfamilies. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7480 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Biophysics  Chemical biology  Giant oscillating thermopower at oxide interfaces OPEN Ilaria Pallecchi, Francesca Telesio, Danfeng Li, Alexandre Fête, Stefano Gariglio, Jean-Marc Triscone, Alessio Filippetti, Pietro Delugas, Vincenzo Fiorentini and Daniele Marré Electrons sitting in quantum wells at the interface between two oxides can localize in the disordered potential, completely changing their properties. Here, the authors observe unexpectedly large thermopower that oscillates upon carrier density modulation and ascribe it to strong electron-phonon coupling. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7678 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanoscale determination of the mass enhancement factor in the lightly doped bulk insulator lead selenide OPEN Ilija Zeljkovic, Kane L. Scipioni, Daniel Walkup, Yoshinori Okada, Wenwen Zhou, R Sankar, Guoqing Chang, Yung Jui Wang, Hsin Lin, Arun Bansil, Fangcheng Chou, Ziqiang Wang and Vidya Madhavan Electron–phonon coupling influences the thermal and electronic properties of many solid materials. Zeljkovic et al. now combine Landau level spectroscopy and scanning tunnelling microscopy to extract quantitative information on electron–phonon coupling in the insulator lead selenide. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7559 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  Capturing the cloud of diversity reveals complexity and heterogeneity of MRSA carriage, infection and transmission OPEN Gavin K. Paterson, Ewan M. Harrison, Gemma G. R. Murray, John J. Welch, James H. Warland, Matthew T. G. Holden, Fiona J. E. Morgan, Xiaoliang Ba, Gerrit Koop, Simon R. Harris, Duncan J. Maskell, Sharon J. Peacock, Michael E. Herrtage, Julian Parkhill and Mark A. Holmes Populations of bacterial pathogens can be diverse within colonized individuals. Here, the authors sequence the genomes of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from staff and animal patients at a veterinary hospital and show considerable within-host diversity that can rise and fall over time. 27 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7560 Biological Sciences  Evolution  Medical research  Microbiology  PD-1 alters T-cell metabolic reprogramming by inhibiting glycolysis and promoting lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation OPEN Nikolaos Patsoukis, Kankana Bardhan, Pranam Chatterjee, Duygu Sari, Bianling Liu, Lauren N. Bell, Edward D. Karoly, Gordon J. Freeman, Victoria Petkova, Pankaj Seth, Lequn Li and Vassiliki A. Boussiotis Activation of T cells results in metabolic reprogramming to favour glycolysis. Here, Patsoukis et al. show that the surface receptor PD-1 inhibits glycolysis and increases the metabolism of lipids, providing a potential mechanism for the blockade of T effector functions but also for the longevity accompanying T cell exhaustion. 26 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7692 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Immunology  The genome-wide effects of ionizing radiation on mutation induction in the mammalian germline OPEN Adeolu B. Adewoye, Sarah J. Lindsay, Yuri E. Dubrova and Matthew E. Hurles Ionizing radiation (IR) is an extensively studied mutagenic agent that can lead to the accumulation of extra mutations in the offspring of irradiated parents. Here the authors provide a comprehensive genome-wide survey of the consequences of IR on the mammalian germline. 26 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7684 Biological Sciences  Genetics  Molecular biology  Magnetoelectric quasi-(0-3) nanocomposite heterostructures Yanxi Li, Zhongchang Wang, Jianjun Yao, Tiannan Yang, Zhiguang Wang, Jia-Mian Hu, Chunlin Chen, Rong Sun, Zhipeng Tian, Jiefang Li, Long-Qing Chen and Dwight Viehland Magnetoelectric composites of magnetic and ferroelectric components are promising for their use in applications such as information storage. Here, the authors find that magnetic quasiparticles embedded in a ferroelectric film matrix show promising properties compared to the usual thin-film architectures. 26 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7680 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  Fundamental origins and limits for scaling a maternal morphogen gradient Feng He, Chuanxian Wei, Honggang Wu, David Cheung, Renjie Jiao and Jun Ma Maternal molecular resources are invested in an egg so that different parts of the future embryo are specified and scaled in proportion to its size. Here the authors develop and experimentally test a model that evaluates the origins and limits of Bicoid morphogenetic gradient scaling in the fruit fly embryo. 26 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7679 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Developmental biology  Orphan receptor IL-17RD regulates Toll-like receptor signalling via SEFIR/TIR interactions Mark Mellett, Paola Atzei, Ronan Bergin, Alan Horgan, Thomas Floss, Wolfgang Wurst, John J. Callanan and Paul N. Moynagh Toll-like receptors detect conserved microbial features to initiate host defence and are tightly regulated. Here the authors show that the orphan receptor interleukin-17 receptor D negatively regulates signalling downstream of Toll-like receptors to prevent excessive inflammation. 26 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7669 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Mitochondrial protein import receptors in Kinetoplastids reveal convergent evolution over large phylogenetic distances OPEN Jan Mani, Silvia Desy, Moritz Niemann, Astrid Chanfon, Silke Oeljeklaus, Mascha Pusnik, Oliver Schmidt, Carolin Gerbeth, Chris Meisinger, Bettina Warscheid and André Schneider Protein translocation into the mitochondrion is a conserved process in all eukaryotes. Here, Mani et al. describe a non-conventional translocase complex in Trypanosoma brucei and propose that protein import receptors were recruited to the core complex after the divergence of the major eukaryotic supergroups. 26 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7646 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Evolution  Attenuation of nonsense-mediated mRNA decay facilitates the response to chemotherapeutics Maximilian W. Popp and Lynne E. Maquat Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a pathway that controls endogenous transcript levels and limits the production of aberrant mRNAs. Here the authors show that NMD is attenuated in cells treated with chemotherapeutic compounds through caspase-mediated proteolytic cleavage of UPF1, a key NMD effector. 26 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7632 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Molecular biology  Molecular mechanisms of NET formation and degradation revealed by intravital imaging in the liver vasculature OPEN Elzbieta Kolaczkowska, Craig N. Jenne, Bas G. J. Surewaard, Ajitha Thanabalasuriar, Woo-Yong Lee, Maria-Jesus Sanz, Kerri Mowen, Ghislain Opdenakker and Paul Kubes Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) released by neutrophils trap pathogens but may also cause tissue damage. Here the authors show that during systemic Staphylococcus aureus infection NETs anchoring to the vasculature are only partially DNase-sensitive, advocating for better anti-NET therapies. 26 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7673 Biological Sciences  Immunology  The transcription factor Foxc1 is necessary for Ihh–Gli2-regulated endochondral ossification Michiko Yoshida, Kenji Hata, Rikako Takashima, Koichiro Ono, Eriko Nakamura, Yoshifumi Takahata, Tomohiko Murakami, Sachiko Iseki, Teruko Takano-Yamamoto, Riko Nishimura and Toshiyuki Yoneda Skeletal development relies on endochondral ossification. Here the authors show that transcription factors Foxc1 and Gli2 interact to modulate expression of Ihh target genes that control endochondral ossification, and that disruption of this interaction partly underlies skeletal disorders in the Axenfeld–Rieger syndrome. 26 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7653 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Medical research  Ternary metal fluorides as high-energy cathodes with low cycling hysteresis OPEN Feng Wang, Sung-Wook Kim, Dong-Hwa Seo, Kisuk Kang, Liping Wang, Dong Su, John J. Vajo, John Wang and Jason Graetz Transition metal fluorides have high theoretical specific capacities as cathodes for lithium ion batteries, but low working potentials and poor energy efficiency limit their practical applications. Here, the authors report a group of ternary metal fluorides, which may overcome these problems. 26 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7668 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Physical chemistry  A megacomplex composed of both photosystem reaction centres in higher plants M. Yokono, A. Takabayashi, S. Akimoto and A. Tanaka Plants have two types of photosystem reaction centres, PSI and PSII, that are traditionally thought to be spatially separate. Here, Yokono et al. show in Arabidopsis that around half of PSII physically interacts with PSI to efficiently transfer excitation energy between the complexes, and this interaction is regulated by light. 26 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7675 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Plant sciences  EphrinB2 controls vessel pruning through STAT1-JNK3 signalling Ombretta Salvucci, Hidetaka Ohnuki, Dragan Maric, Xu Hou, Xuri Li, Sung Ok Yoon, Marta Segarra, Charles G. Eberhart, Amparo Acker-Palmer and Giovanna Tosato Pruning of newly formed blood vessels is an important and yet poorly understood aspect of angiogenesis. Here the authors show that endothelial phosphotyrosine-dependent EphrinB2 signalling represses JNK3 function via STAT1, and identify JNK3 as an effector of endothelial cell death and vessel pruning in mice. 26 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7576 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Developmental biology  Aberrant hippocampal neurogenesis contributes to epilepsy and associated cognitive decline OPEN Kyung-Ok Cho, Zane R. Lybrand, Naoki Ito, Rebecca Brulet, Farrah Tafacory, Ling Zhang, Levi Good, Kerstin Ure, Steven G. Kernie, Shari G. Birnbaum, Helen E. Scharfman, Amelia J. Eisch and Jenny Hsieh Aberrant hippocampal neurogenesis often occurs after acute seizures that produce epilepsy and cognitive impairment but the role of neurogenesis in the development of epilepsy is unclear. Here the authors suppress adult neurogenesis in mice preceding seizures and show that it reduces subsequent chronic seizure frequency and epilepsy-associated cognitive decline. 26 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7606 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Interplay between glucose and leptin signalling determines the strength of GABAergic synapses at POMC neurons Dong Kun Lee, Jae Hoon Jeong, Sung-Kun Chun, Streamson Chua Jr. and Young-Hwan Jo Hypothalamic POMC neurons regulate organismal energy homeostasis. Here, Lee et al. show that leptin signalling and neurotransmitter release from POMC neurons are influenced by glucose concentrations, which may alter food intake and body weight in rodents before the onset of central leptin resistance. 26 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7618 Biological Sciences  Medical research  Neuroscience  Ultrafast helicity control of surface currents in topological insulators with near-unity fidelity OPEN Christoph Kastl, Christoph Karnetzky, Helmut Karl and Alexander W. Holleitner Bulk contributions to transport measurements often inhibit the study of the surface states of topological insulators. Here, Kastl et al. demonstrate high-fidelity helicity-dependent photocurrents in the surface states of Bi2Se3, controlled via circularly polarized light with a picosecond time-resolution. 26 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7617 Physical Sciences  Applied physics  Condensed matter  A Bayesian modelling framework for tornado occurrences in North America Vincent Y.S. Cheng, George B. Arhonditsis, David M.L. Sills, William A. Gough and Heather Auld Tornadoes are one of nature’s most hazardous phenomena, yet prognostic tools for tornado occurrence are lacking. Here, the authors use Bayesian inference techniques to evaluate the spatiotemporal relationship between atmospheric variables and tornado activity in North America. 25 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7599 Earth Sciences  Atmospheric science  Ti-substituted tunnel-type Na0.44MnO2 oxide as a negative electrode for aqueous sodium-ion batteries Yuesheng Wang, Jue Liu, Byungju Lee, Ruimin Qiao, Zhenzhong Yang, Shuyin Xu, Xiqian Yu, Lin Gu, Yong-Sheng Hu, Wanli Yang, Kisuk Kang, Hong Li, Xiao-Qing Yang, Liquan Chen and Xuejie Huang Aqueous sodium-ion batteries could be a potential solution for large-scale energy storage, but the conventional negative electrodes are not efficient. Here, the authors report a titanium-substituted tunnel-type Na0.44MnO2 material as a promising negative electrode for aqueous sodium-ion batteries. 25 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7401 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Physical chemistry  Trained immunity in newborn infants of HBV-infected mothers OPEN Michelle Hong, Elena Sandalova, Diana Low, Adam J. Gehring, Stefania Fieni, Barbara Amadei, Simonetta Urbani, Yap-Seng Chong, Ernesto Guccione and Antonio Bertoletti The ability to fight infections matures after birth and is thus termed ‘trained immunity’. Here the authors show that cord blood cells from hepatitis B virus-infected mothers respond more strongly to bacterial infections, suggesting that viral exposure in utero promotes trained immunity in newborns. 25 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7588 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Medical research  Dynamic control of chirality in phosphine ligands for enantioselective catalysis OPEN Depeng Zhao, Thomas M. Neubauer and Ben L. Feringa Typically in asymmetric catalysis each product enantiomer is produced using a different enantiomer of catalyst. Here, the authors show a photoswitchable bisphosphine ligand, capable of altering the stereoselectivity of a palladium catalysed process and producing either enantiomer of product. 25 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7652 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Organic chemistry  Subsistence strategies in traditional societies distinguish gut microbiomes OPEN Alexandra J. Obregon-Tito, Raul Y. Tito, Jessica Metcalf, Krithivasan Sankaranarayanan, Jose C. Clemente, Luke K. Ursell, Zhenjiang Zech Xu, Will Van Treuren, Rob Knight, Patrick M. Gaffney, Paul Spicer, Paul Lawson, Luis Marin-Reyes, Omar Trujillo-Villarroel, Morris Foster, Emilio Guija-Poma, Luzmila Troncoso-Corzo, Christina Warinner, Andrew T. Ozga and Cecil M. Lewis et al. The gut microbiomes of urban-industrialized societies differ from those of traditional rural societies and hunter-gatherers. Here the authors perform a comparative analysis of available and new gut microbiome data to provide fresh insight into these differences. 25 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7505 Biological Sciences  Ecology  Microbiology  Multi-spectral fluorescent reporter influenza viruses (Color-flu) as powerful tools for in vivo studies OPEN Satoshi Fukuyama, Hiroaki Katsura, Dongming Zhao, Makoto Ozawa, Tomomi Ando, Jason E. Shoemaker, Izumi Ishikawa, Shinya Yamada, Gabriele Neumann, Shinji Watanabe, Hiroaki Kitano and Yoshihiro Kawaoka Animal models are important to study organismal immune responses to infection with influenza viruses. Here, Fukuyama et al. report a new generation of fluorescently labelled influenza viruses that facilitate the study of viral infections in animal models at cellular level. 25 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7600 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Microbiology  Virology  Ferromagnetism induced by entangled charge and orbital orderings in ferroelectric titanate perovskites OPEN N. C. Bristowe, J. Varignon, D. Fontaine, E. Bousquet and Ph. Ghosez Magnetic insulators often display antiferromagnetic ordering owing to implications from the Pauli exclusion principle. Here, the authors predict ferromagnetism on the basis of intra-site Hund's rules in ferroelectric titanate superlattices showing charge and Jahn–Teller induced orbital orderings. 25 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7677 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Generation and expansion of highly pure motor neuron progenitors from human pluripotent stem cells Zhong-Wei Du, Hong Chen, Huisheng Liu, Jianfeng Lu, Kun Qian, Cindy Tzu-Ling Huang, Xiaofen Zhong, Frank Fan and Su-Chun Zhang Applications of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) for disease modelling or cell therapy are hindered by low efficiency and heterogeneity of target cell types differentiated from hPSCs, such as motor neurons (MNs). Here the authors develop a method to derive highly pure motor neuron progenitor populations from human embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells that yield functional MNs. 25 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7626 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Developmental biology  A novel pathway producing dimethylsulphide in bacteria is widespread in soil environments O. Carrión, A. R. J. Curson, D. Kumaresan, Y. Fu, A. S. Lang, E. Mercadé and J. D. Todd Dimethylsulphide (DMS) is a volatile compound produced by marine microbes through degradation of dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP). Here, Carrión et al. describe an alternative pathway for DMS production from methanethiol that is widespread among bacteria, especially from soil environments. 25 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7579 Biological Sciences  Biogeochemistry  Ecology  Microbiology  A family of transposable elements co-opted into developmental enhancers in the mouse neocortex James H. Notwell, Tisha Chung, Whitney Heavner and Gill Bejerano The neocortex is a mammalian-specific structure that is responsible for higher functions but details of how it evolved are lacking. Here the authors show that the transposable element family MER130 is highly enriched among the enhancers in the developing mouse neocortex, suggesting a role in the evolution of this structure. 25 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7644 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Genetics  Neuroscience  Pharyngeal sense organs drive robust sugar consumption in Drosophila Emily E. LeDue, Yu-Chieh Chen, Aera Y. Jung, Anupama Dahanukar and Michael D. Gordon Sweet taste plays a key role in promoting ingestion of nutritionally rich sources of carbohydrates. Here, the authors demonstrate that the pharyngeal sense organs in adult Drosophila are important for directing the sustained consumption of sweet compounds. 25 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7667 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience    Nature Communications JOBS of the week Research Associate Case Western Reserve University Postdoctoral research assistant Queen Mary University of London/Barts Cancer Institute Postdoctoral Scientist The Pirbright Institute Research Assistant University of Glasgow Senior Postdoc / Research Assistant University of Zurich Postdoctoral Research Fellow BloodCenter of Wisconsin Funded PhD in Cancer and Genetics Cardiff University PhD Position (m / f) Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg Postdoctoral Fellow Columbia University Medical Center Research Fellow University of Bristol More Science jobs from Nature Communications EVENT Obesity Summit 2016 12.04.16 London, UK More science events from       Latest Corrigenda     Corrigendum: Novel loci affecting iron homeostasis and their effects in individuals at risk for hemochromatosis Beben Benyamin, Tonu Esko, Janina S. Ried, Aparna Radhakrishnan, Sita H. Vermeulen, Michela Traglia, Martin Gögele, Denise Anderson, Linda Broer, Clara Podmore, Jiańan Luan, Zoltan Kutalik, Serena Sanna, Peter van der Meer, Toshiko Tanaka, Fudi Wang, Harm-Jan Westra, Lude Franke, Evelin Mihailov, Lili Milani et al. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7542 Biological Sciences  Genetics  Medical research      Corrigendum: Annexin A2 promotes phagophore assembly by enhancing Atg16+ vesicle biogenesis and homotypic fusion Kateryna Morozova, Sunandini Sridhar, Valerio Zolla, Cristina C. Clement, Brian Scharf, Zoe Verzani, Antonio Diaz, Jorge N. Larocca, Katherine A. Hajjar, Ana Maria Cuervo and Laura Santambrogio 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7816 Biological Sciences  Cell biology      Corrigendum: New loci and coding variants confer risk for age-related macular degeneration in East Asians Ching-Yu Cheng, Kenji Yamashiro, Li Jia Chen, Jeeyun Ahn, Lulin Huang, Lvzhen Huang, Chui Ming G. Cheung, Masahiro Miyake, Peter D. Cackett, Ian Y. Yeo, Augustinus Laude, Ranjana Mathur, Junxiong Pang, Kar Seng Sim, Adrian H. Koh, Peng Chen, Shu Yen Lee, Doric Wong, Choi Mun Chan, Boon Kwang Loh et al. 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7817 Biological Sciences  Genetics      Corrigendum: OM14 is a mitochondrial receptor for cytosolic ribosomes that supports co-translational import into mitochondria Chen Lesnik, Yifat Cohen, Avigail Atir-Lande, Maya Schuldiner and Yoav Arava 30 March 2015 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms7813 Biological Sciences  Cell biology      Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. The contents of the Natureevents Directory are now live. The digital version is available here. Find the latest scientific conferences, courses, meetings and symposia on natureevents.com. 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