by Ellinor O. Alseth, Rafael Custodio, Sarah A. Sundius, Rachel A. Kuske, Sam P. Brown, Edze R. Westra Where there are bacteria, there will be bacteriophages. These viruses are known to be important players in shaping the wider microbial community in which they are embedded, with potential implications for human health. On the other hand, bacteria possess a range of distinct immune mechanisms that provide protection against bacteriophages, including the mutation or complete loss of the phage receptor, and CRISPR-Cas adaptive immunity. While our previous work showed how a microbial community ma ..read more

by Meghal Desai, Hemant, Ankita Deo, Jagyanseni Naik, Prathamesh Dhamale, Avinash Kshirsagar, Tania Bose, Amitabha Majumdar Orb2 the Drosophila homolog of cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding (CPEB) protein forms prion-like oligomers. These oligomers consist of Orb2A and Orb2B isoforms and their formation is dependent on the oligomerization of the Orb2A isoform. Drosophila with a mutation diminishing Orb2A’s prion-like oligomerization forms long-term memory but fails to maintain it over time. Since this prion-like oligomerization of Orb2A plays a crucial role in the maintenance of memor ..read more

by Gokul Gopinathan, Qian Xu, Xianghong Luan, Thomas G. H. Diekwisch The densely packed centromeric heterochromatin at minor and major satellites is comprised of H3K9me2/3 histones, the heterochromatin protein HP1α, and histone variants. In the present study, we sought to determine the mechanisms by which condensed heterochromatin at major and minor satellites stabilized by the chromatin factor CFDP1 affects the activity of the small GTPase Ran as a requirement for spindle formation. CFDP1 colocalized with heterochromatin at major and minor satellites and was essential for the structural stabi ..read more

by John P. McCutcheon, Arkadiy I. Garber, Noah Spencer, Jessica M. Warren The move from a free-living environment to a long-term residence inside a host eukaryotic cell has profound effects on bacterial function. While endosymbioses are found in many eukaryotes, from protists to plants to animals, the bacteria that form these host-beneficial relationships are even more diverse. Endosymbiont genomes can become radically smaller than their free-living relatives, and their few remaining genes show extreme compositional biases. The details of how these reduced and divergent gene sets work, and how ..read more

by Emmi Schlicht, Carol Gilsenan, Peter Santema, Agnes Türk, Andrea Wittenzellner, Bart Kempenaers In animals, reproductive performance typically improves over time early in life. Several ultimate and proximate mechanisms may contribute to such an age-related improvement and these mechanisms can act in a relative or in an absolute sense. Low performance of young individuals may be the consequence of a comparison or competition with older individuals (relative), or it may be due to specific traits of young individuals and be unrelated to the presence of older competitors (absolute). Here, we pe ..read more

by Alexander Strudwick Young Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) can be affected by confounding. Family-based GWAS uses random, within-family genetic variation to avoid this. A study in PLOS Biology details how different sources of confounding affect GWAS and whether family-based designs offer a solution. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) can be affected by confounding, but family-based GWASs use random, within-family genetic variation to avoid this. This Primer explores a study in PLOS Biology which asks how different sources of confounding affect GWASs and whether family-based desi ..read more

by Benjamin Phillips, Timo N. Haschler, Natasha A. Karp ..read more

by Michael A. Brockhurst, Duncan D. Cameron, Andrew P. Beckerman Endosymbiosis drives evolutionary innovation and underpins the function of diverse ecosystems. The mechanistic origins of symbioses, however, remain unclear, in part because early evolutionary events are obscured by subsequent evolution and genetic drift. This Essay highlights how experimental studies of facultative, host-switched, and synthetic symbioses are revealing the important role of fitness trade-offs between within-host and free-living niches during the early-stage evolution of new symbiotic associations. The mutational ..read more

by Laila P. Partida-Martínez Rhizopus microsporus is an example of a fungal holobiont. Strains of this species can harbor bacterial and viral endosymbionts inherited by the next generation. These microbial allies increase pathogenicity and defense and control asexual and sexual reproduction. Rhizopus microsporus is an example of a fungal holobiont, harboring bacterial and viral endosymbionts. This Perspective article discusses how these microbial allies increase pathogenicity and defense and control asexual and sexual reproduction in the fungus ..read more

by Thomas A. Richards, Nancy A. Moran How do distinct species cofunction in symbiosis, despite conflicting interests? A new collection of articles explores emerging themes as researchers exploit modern research tools and new models to unravel how symbiotic interactions function and evolve. This editorial discusses a new collection of articles exploring emerging themes in symbiosis research, as researchers exploit modern research tools and new models to unravel how symbiotic interactions function and evolve ..read more