EMBO reports Table of Contents for August 2015; Vol. 16, No. 8

August 2015 | Volume 16, Number 8 Submit Table of Contents Opinion News & Views Science & Society Reviews Scientific Reports Articles Volume 16, Number 8 Opinion Ethics and germline gene editing Instead of calling for a moratorium or discussion on the specific use of CRISPR/Cas9 to edit the human germline, we should develop global guidelines for all new assisted reproductive technologies as they are developed. Jeremy Sugarman Published online 02.07.2015 News & Views Reduced C/EBPβ‐LIP translation improves metabolic health In this issue of EMBO Reports, Zidek et al show that reduced C/EBPβ‐LIP translation is an mTORC1‐regulated process that could play a major role in mediating the beneficial metabolic effects of caloric restriction. Verena Albert and Michael N Hall Published online 25.06.2015 Host ER stress during malaria parasite infection Infection of hepatocytes by the malaria parasite is shown in this issue of EMBO Reports to trigger the host ER stress response, which benefits parasite survival and growth. This pathway could thus become a target for therapeutic intervention. Alexis Kaushansky and Stefan HI Kappe Published online 02.07.2015 The polymerase slips and PIPO exists Polymerase slippage has been identified as a new gene expression strategy in plus‐stranded RNA viruses, which comprise some of the most agriculturally important pathogens. This article discusses two recent publications that report these findings. K Andrew White Published online 09.07.2015 The deadly bite of Salmonella Typhi A recent study provides insight into how Salmonella Typhi infection contributes to gallbladder carcinogenesis. These findings are discussed here in the context of other cancer‐promoting microbes. Kaiyi Zhang, Mathias Hornef, and Marcus Fulde Published online 22.06.2015 Science & Society Paper‐trail index: Can a metric that captures a paper's history of submission and rejection give insight into its value and encourage good authorship practices? Many scientific manuscripts have a long paper trail of previous submissions, reviewer comments, editorial decisions and improvements. Collecting and making this information public as a ‘paper‐trail index’ would allow the community to better judge the history and quality of individual papers and thereby provide a fairer method of judging authors. Shai Berlin Published online 09.07.2015 Blinded by the light: Anonymization should be used in peer review to prevent bias, not protect referees What are the pros and cons of different peer review blinding systems? Should only author identities be anonymized? Is blinding authors to the identities of reviewers unethical? David M Shaw Published online 14.07.2015 Here, there, and everywhere: From PCRs to next‐generation sequencing technologies and sequence databases, DNA contaminants creep in from the most unlikely places DNA is an ubiquitous molecule in the environment and foreign DNA can easily contaminate samples, DNA sequence information and even database entries. DNA contamination is a growing problem not only for research, but also for medical decisions or diagnostic tools. Karl Gruber Published online 06.07.2015 Herding, social influences and behavioural bias in scientific research: Simple awareness of the hidden pressures and beliefs that influence our thinking can help to preserve objectivity Scientists, like anyone, are subject to unconscious biases, trends and social pressures that can distort or even block the path to knowledge. Awareness of these biases and the danger of following the herd can help scientists, reviewers and editors to objectively judge new knowledge. Michelle Baddeley Published online 13.07.2015 Squaring excellence and equality: The focus on funding excellent science and promoting mobility is causing poorer countries and regions to haemorrhage talent to their science‐rich neighbours EU and US research funding agencies are struggling to reconcile their mission to support high‐quality research with trying to help underperforming regions and underrepresented minorities catch up with traditional centres of research. Philip Hunter Published online 14.07.2015 Reviews G4‐associated human diseases DNA and RNA G‐quadruplexes have been linked to human disease including ALS and FTD. This review discusses G4 structures, G4 binding proteins and their potential relevance for disease. Nancy Maizels Published online 06.07.2015 Presynaptic active zones in invertebrates and vertebrates Active zones and their associated cytoskeletal matrix in the presynapse regulate synaptic vesicle docking, release and synaptic plasticity. This review discusses the molecular structures and functions of AZ in diverse model organisms, and how they support synapse integrity. Frauke Ackermann, Clarissa L Waites, and Craig C Garner Published online 09.07.2015 Scientific Reports Binding to serine 65‐phosphorylated ubiquitin primes Parkin for optimal PINK1‐dependent phosphorylation and activation Binding of phosphorylated ubiquitin to Parkin is shown to induce a conformational change that allows Parkin phosphorylation and maximal activation by PINK1. Two residues crucial for the interaction between Parkin and ubiquitinphospho‐Ser65 are identified. Agne Kazlauskaite, R Julio Martínez‐Torres, Scott Wilkie, Atul Kumar, Julien Peltier, Alba Gonzalez, Clare Johnson, Jinwei Zhang, Anthony G Hope, Mark Peggie, Matthias Trost, Daan MF van Aalten, Dario R Alessi, Alan R Prescott, Axel Knebel, Helen Walden, and Miratul MK Muqit Published online 25.06.2015 Parasite‐induced ER stress response in hepatocytes facilitates Plasmodium liver stage infection This study is the first to describe the activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) in Plasmodium‐infected hepatocytes. UPR induction increases parasite liver burden in vivo, in an example of modulation of host pathways to favour infection. Patricia Inácio, Vanessa Zuzarte‐Luís, Margarida TG Ruivo, Brie Falkard, Nagarjuna Nagaraj, Koos Rooijers, Matthias Mann, Gunnar Mair, David A Fidock, and Maria M Mota Published online 25.06.2015 The RNA surveillance complex Pelo‐Hbs1 is required for transposon silencing in the Drosophila germline The Pelo (Dom34)‐Hbs1 mRNA surveillance complex is required for transposon silencing in the Drosophila germline, which reveals a novel mechanism of transposon silencing possibly at the translational level. Fu Yang, Rui Zhao, Xiaofeng Fang, Huanwei Huang, Yang Xuan, Yanting Ma, Hongyan Chen, Tao Cai, Yijun Qi, and Rongwen Xi Published online 29.06.2015 PARD3 induces TAZ activation and cell growth by promoting LATS1 and PP1 interaction This study reports that cytoplasmic PARD3 promotes the interaction of PP1A and LATS to induce LATS inactivation, therefore leading to TAZ dephosphorylation and activation. Xian‐Bo Lv, Chen‐Ying Liu, Zhen Wang, Yi‐Ping Sun, Yue Xiong, Qun‐Ying Lei, and Kun‐Liang Guan Published online 26.06.2015 Removal of H2A.Z by INO80 promotes homologous recombination This study shows that a major function of the human INO80 chromatin‐remodeling complex in homologous recombination is the removal of H2A.Z from damaged chromatin. Hanan E Alatwi and Jessica A Downs Published online 03.07.2015 Transcriptional slippage in the positive‐sense RNA virus family Potyviridae This study shows that expression of the recently identified potyviral movement protein P3N‐PIPO depends on polymerase slippage, which is the first example of this gene expression strategy in positive‐strand RNA viruses. Allan Olspert, Betty Y‐W Chung, John F Atkins, John P Carr, and Andrew E Firth Published online 25.06.2015 Articles Venus trap in the mouse embryo reveals distinct molecular dynamics underlying specification of first embryonic lineages Systematic analyses of a comprehensive map of mouse pre‐implantation development reveal that the timing and mechanism of lineage specification may be different between the trophectoderm and the inner cell mass. Jens‐Erik Dietrich, Laura Panavaite, Stefan Gunther, Sebastian Wennekamp, Anna C Groner, Anton Pigge, Stefanie Salvenmoser, Didier Trono, Lars Hufnagel, and Takashi Hiiragi Published online 03.07.2015 Deficiency in mTORC1‐controlled C/EBPβ‐mRNA translation improves metabolic health in mice Deficiency in mTORC1‐controlled expression of the C/EBPβ‐LIP protein isoform in C/EBPβΔuORF knockin mice results in an improved metabolic phenotype with features also observed under calorie restriction. Laura M Zidek, Tobias Ackermann, Götz Hartleben, Sabrina Eichwald, Gertrud Kortman, Michael Kiehntopf, Achim Leutz, Nahum Sonenberg, Zhao‐Qi Wang, Julia von Maltzahn, Christine Müller, and Cornelis F Calkhoven Published online 25.06.2015 Brahma is required for cell cycle arrest and late muscle gene expression during skeletal myogenesis The two catalytic subunits of the SWI/SNF chromatin‐remodeling complex have distinct functions during skeletal muscle differentiation. Brm promotes cell cycle arrest by repressing cyclin D1, controls satellite cell proliferation and activates late muscle genes, while Brg1 activates muscle genes at early stages of myogenesis. Sonia Albini, Paula Coutinho Toto, Alessandra Dall'Agnese, Barbora Malecova, Carlo Cenciarelli, Armando Felsani, Maurizia Caruso, Scott J Bultman, and Pier Lorenzo Puri Published online 01.07.2015   Unsubscribe from or edit your subscription for this service. 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