Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Youssef Chebli, Amir J. Bidhendi, Karuna Kapoor, Anja Geitmann
Summary: The plant cell wall serves as an important extracellular matrix that envelops cells, maintains their shape and structure, interacts with symbionts, and protects against external stresses. The assembly of this matrix is regulated by the cytoskeleton, which also plays a key role in perceiving mechanical cues and mediating intracellular responses related to cell wall structure changes. Delivery processes of cell wall precursors and their structural continuity are crucial for cell wall assembly, with various morphogenetic processes relying on cell wall assembly as a critical element.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Enno R. Oldewurtel, Yuki Kitahara, Baptiste Cordier, Richard Wheeler, Gizem Ozbaykal, Elisa Brambilla, Ivo Gomperts Boneca, Lars D. Renner, Sven van Teeffelen
Summary: All bacterial cells must expand their envelopes during growth and this expansion is mainly controlled by the peptidoglycan cell wall. However, our study shows that the growth and shape changes of bacterial envelopes can still occur independently of cell wall insertion. Even when cell wall insertion is inhibited, bacterial cells can continue to expand their surface areas in proportion to biomass growth rate and alter their shape in response to mechanical forces.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hugh Mulvey, Liam Dolan
Summary: The RHO GTPase proteins, including ROP in plants, play a crucial role in regulating cell polarity and geometry during tissue development and organogenesis. The loss-of-function mutants of the ROP gene in M. polymorpha exhibit defective tissue development and organogenesis due to impaired polarized cell growth and cell division orientation.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Pengbo Liang, Clara Schmitz, Beatrice Lace, Franck Anicet Ditengou, Chao Su, Eija Schulze, Julian Knerr, Robert Grosse, Jean Keller, Cyril Libourel, Pierre-Marc Delaux, Thomas Ott
Summary: Legumes have the ability to associate with rhizobia for nitrogen-fixing root nodule symbiosis. In Medicago truncatula, root hair colonization by Sinorhizobium meliloti begins from young root hairs, which physically entwine around the symbiont to form rhizobial traps. This unique process involves alterations in membrane organization, cytosolic calcium gradient, actin rearrangements, and symbiotic responses in legumes.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zheng Zhang, Hongyuan Zhu, Guoqing Zhao, Yunyi Miao, Lingzhu Zhao, Jinteng Feng, Huan Zhang, Run Miao, Lin Sun, Bin Gao, Wencheng Zhang, Zheng Wang, Jianfang Zhang, Ying Zhang, Hui Guo, Feng Xu, Tian Jian Lu, Guy M. Genin, Min Lin
Summary: Dynamic adhesion between cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) affects cytoskeletal dynamics and cell fate. By using a DNA-driven molecular system, researchers found that cyclic adhesion can accelerate cytoskeletal dynamics and nuclear mechanosensing in human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), and the hysteresis effect can change the way cells sense ECM stiffness.
Review
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Zhen Wu
Summary: This article reviews the progress made in the past six decades on the interaction between spin-polarized atoms and container walls, including the physical mechanisms of spin relaxation and the impact on frequency shift. However, issues related to antirelaxation coatings require further research and understanding.
REVIEWS OF MODERN PHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Elodie Couttenier, Sophie Bachellier-Bassi, Christophe d'Enfert, Catherine Villard
Summary: The cell wall is a highly regulated viscoelastic shell that defines cell morphology in fungi. The bending stiffness of the cell wall in hyphae is in the MPa range. Disrupting cell wall physiology through inhibition of beta-glucan synthesis, hyperosmotic shock, or deletion of cell wall protein genes affects the bending stiffness to different extents. Overall, the cell wall has an elastic nature and can remodel at the scale of the entire hypha over minutes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chunli Lu, Xianming Wu, Xinyu Wang, Zhifeng Xiao, Longbing Ma, Jianwu Dai, Fengzeng Jian
Summary: Syringomyelia is a common clinical lesion associated with cerebrospinal fluid flow abnormalities. In this study, a reversible model with chronic extradural compression was used to mimic human canalicular syringomyelia and explore the pathological alterations during syrinx development. Ependymal cells, oligodendrocyte lineage, and microglia showed the most dynamic changes in response to neuroinflammation. Effective decompression led to resolution of the syrinx and recovery of pathological damage and neurological function, suggesting the presence of endogenous repair potential in early-stage syringomyelia.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xiaoquan Li, Joseph Dale Combs, Khalid Salaita, Xiaokun Shu
Summary: Researchers have developed a genetically encoded FAK activity sensor called SPARK, which allows visualization of endogenous FAK activity in living cells and vertebrates. They have discovered polarized FAK activity at the distal tip of newly formed single focal adhesions (FAs) in migrating cells, and found that FAK activity is proportional to the strength of tension applied to FAs. These findings advance our understanding of the mechanistic processes involved in cell migration.
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Anna Petrova, Tatyana Gorshkova, Liudmila Kozlova
Summary: The study used atomic force microscopy to analyze the mechanical properties of cell walls in different tissues of the apical part of maize roots, finding that the inner cortex may serve as a growth-limiting tissue in maize roots.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Brooke M. Britton, Remy A. Yovanno, Sara F. Costa, Joshua McCausland, Albert Y. Lau, Jie Xiao, Zach Hensel
Summary: In this study, the structure and dynamics of the E. coli divisome core complex were investigated using various techniques including structure prediction, molecular dynamics simulation, single-molecule imaging, and mutagenesis. The interactions and roles of proteins FtsW, FtsI, FtsQ, FtsL, FtsB, and FtsN in the complex were explored. The findings provide insights into the mechanism of cell wall synthesis activation by FtsN through modulating interactions between FtsI and FtsW.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Garrett Zills, Trinanjan Datta, Abdul Naseer Malmi-Kakkada
Summary: Cells are dynamic systems with temporal variations in biophysical properties. The recruitment and release of actin filaments into and out of the cell cortex lead to cell stiffening and softening before and after division. It is unclear how stiffness change at the single-cell scale affects spatial structure and dynamics at the multicellular scale in 3D cell collectives. This is important for understanding cell spatial organization and cancer progression.
Article
Plant Sciences
Nadia Stroppa, Elisabetta Onelli, Patrick Moreau, Lilly Maneta-Peyret, Valeria Berno, Eugenia Cammarota, Roberto Ambrosini, Marco Caccianiga, Monica Scali, Alessandra Moscatelli
Summary: Pollen tubes play an important role in the fertilization process by creating safe routes for sperm cells. Recent studies on tobacco pollen tubes have focused on lipid rafts, microdomains rich in sterols and sphingolipids, which are involved in cell polarization. This research examines the hypothesis that these lipids link actin dynamics and polarized secretion in pollen tube growth. The use of inhibitors to disrupt lipid biosynthesis helps determine the role of sterols and sphingolipids in successful fertilization.
Article
Cell Biology
Shefali Talwar, Aayush Kant, Tina Xu, Vivek B. Shenoy, Richard K. Assoian
Summary: Reversible differentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells plays a critical role in vascular biology and disease. Cellular response to arterial extracellular matrix stiffness generates different endpoints, which are mediated by Rac-Rho homeostasis.
Editorial Material
Plant Sciences
Pawan Kumar Jewaria, Meng Yu, Xiaojuan Li
Summary: The study demonstrates how feedback between the cell wall and auxin response controls differential growth in apical hook development in plants.
TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Karina Atriztan-Hernandez, Alfredo Herrera-Estrella
Summary: The response mechanism of fungi to injury and predators is similar to that of plants and animals, activating specific signaling pathways to initiate defense mechanisms. Attack by fruit flies can inhibit fungal regeneration and immune defense, possibly involving components of fruit fly salivary glands.
Article
Virology
Blanca Taboada, Selene Zarate, Rodrigo Garcia-Lopez, Jose Esteban Munoz-Medina, Alejandro Sanchez-Flores, Alfredo Herrera-Estrella, Celia Boukadida, Bruno Gomez-Gil, Nelly Selem Mojica, Mauricio Rosales-Rivera, Angel Gustavo Salas-Lais, Rosa Maria Gutierrez-Rios, Antonio Loza, Xaira Rivera-Gutierrez, Joel Armando Vazquez-Perez, Margarita Matias-Florentino, Marissa Perez-Garcia, Santiago Avila-Rios, Juan Manuel Hurtado, Carla Ivon Herrera-Najera, Jose de Jesus Nunez-Contreras, Brenda Sarquiz-Martinez, Victor Eduardo Garcia-Arias, Maria Guadalupe Santiago-Mauricio, Bernardo Martinez-Miguel, Julissa Enciso-Ibarra, Cristobal Chaidez-Quiroz, Pavel Isa, Rosa Maria Wong-Chew, Maria-Eugenia Jimenez-Corona, Susana Lopez, Carlos F. Arias
Summary: In this study, the sequences of SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant isolates in Mexico were analyzed. The dominant sublineages were AY.20, AY.26, and AY.100, which may have originated in Mexico. These sublineages showed different geographical distributions in the country. The study highlights the importance of genomic surveillance for timely identification of emerging variants.
Article
Microbiology
Selene Zarate, Blanca Taboada, Jose Esteban Munoz-Medina, Pavel Isa, Alejandro Sanchez-Flores, Celia Boukadida, Alfredo Herrera-Estrella, Nelly Selem Mojica, Mauricio Rosales-Rivera, Bruno Gomez-Gil, Angel Gustavo Salas-Lais, Clara Esperanza Santacruz-Tinoco, Hector Montoya-Fuentes, Julio Elias Alvarado-Yaah, Gloria Maria Molina-Salinas, Gloria Elena Espinoza-Ayala, Jose Antonio Enciso-Moreno, Rosa Maria Gutierrez-Rios, Antonio Loza, Joaquin Moreno-Contreras, Rodrigo Garcia-Lopez, Xaira Rivera-Gutierrez, Andreu Comas-Garcia, Rosa Maria Wong-Chew, Maria-Eugenia Jimenez-Corona, Rosa Maria del Angel, Joel Armando Vazquez-Perez, Margarita Matias-Florentino, Marissa Perez-Garcia, Santiago Avila-Rios, Hugo G. Castelan-Sanchez, Luis Delaye, Leon P. Martinez-Castilla, Marina Escalera-Zamudio, Susana Lopez, Carlos F. Arias
Summary: The B.1.1.7 (Alpha) lineage of SARS-CoV-2 emerged and rapidly increased worldwide, but did not become the dominant lineage in most of Mexico. The states at the Mexico-U.S. border had the highest prevalence of B.1.1.7 and showed the highest lineage diversity, suggesting possible introductions from the United States. Community transmission of B.1.1.7 occurred in Mexico, as evidenced by localized distribution and specific mutations.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Travis A. Parker, Jose Cetz, Lorenna Lopes de Sousa, Saarah Kuzay, Sassoum Lo, Talissa de Oliveira Floriani, Serah Njau, Esther Arunga, Jorge Duitama, Judy Jernstedt, James R. Myers, Victor Llaca, Alfredo Herrera-Estrella, Paul Gepts
Summary: Fruit development plays a crucial role in the evolution and domestication of flowering plants. This study focuses on common bean and identifies the genetic and developmental patterns associated with pod fibre deposition. The findings provide important insights into green bean production.
Article
Biology
Marlene Henriquez-Urrutia, Rebecca Spanner, Consuelo Olivares-Yanez, Aldo Seguel-Avello, Rodrigo Perez-Lara, Hector Guillen-Alonso, Robert Winkler, Alfredo Herrera-Estrella, Paulo Canessa, Luis F. Larrondo
Summary: This study confirms the existence of circadian rhythms in Trichoderma atroviride and highlights the importance of these rhythms in the fungal-fungal interaction with Botrytis cinerea. The study also reveals the impact of clock components on various aspects of T. atroviride's lifestyle and the modulation of fungal interactions and dynamics.
Article
Plant Sciences
Danae Cabrera-Toledo, Eddy Mendoza-Galindo, Nerea Larranaga, Alfredo Herrera-Estrella, Marilyn Vasquez-Cruz, Tania Hernandez-Hernandez
Summary: This study provides more information about the genetic differentiation and diversity of different landraces of Agave angustifolia in the Jalisco region of Mexico. The large genome-level dataset used in this study allows for a better understanding of the genetic identity of important traditional and autochthonous landraces of A. angustifolia.
Article
Plant Sciences
Ingrid Gonzalez-Lemes, Alexis Acosta-Maspons, Jose E. Cetz-Chel, Jose A. Polania, Jorge A. Acosta-Gallegos, Alfredo Herrera-Estrella, Alejandra A. Covarrubias
Summary: The resistant cultivar of common bean promotes carbon recycling and respiration in pods and seeds, which are key processes for resistance to terminal drought.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Virology
Selene Zarate, Blanca Taboada, Mauricio Rosales-Rivera, Rodrigo Garcia-Lopez, Jose Esteban Munoz-Medina, Alejandro Sanchez-Flores, Alfredo Herrera-Estrella, Bruno Gomez-Gil, Nelly Selem Mojica, Angel Gustavo Salas-Lais, Joel Armando Vazquez-Perez, David Alejandro Cabrera-Gaytan, Larissa Fernandes-Matano, Luis Antonio Uribe-Noguez, Juan Bautista Chale-Dzul, Brenda Irasema Maldonado Meza, Fidencio Mejia-Nepomuceno, Rogelio Perez-Padilla, Rosa Maria Gutierrez-Rios, Antonio Loza, Benjamin Roche, Susana Lopez, Carlos F. Arias
Summary: This study presents the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 subvariant in Mexico, which quickly replaced the Delta variant and caused the fourth COVID-19 surge in the country. The spread of BA.1 began in early December 2021 and became dominant within three weeks. Unlike previous variants, BA.1 did not exhibit a geographically distinct circulation pattern, but there were regional differences in the speed of replacing the Delta variant.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Antonio Loza, Rosa Maria Wong-Chew, Maria-Eugenia Jimenez-Corona, Selene Zarate, Susana Lopez, Ricardo Ciria, Diego Palomares, Rodrigo Garcia-Lopez, Pavel Isa, Blanca Taboada, Mauricio Rosales, Celia Boukadida, Alfredo Herrera-Estrella, Nelly Selem Mojica, Xaira Rivera-Gutierrez, Jose Esteba Munoz-Medina, Angel Gustavo Salas-Lais, Alejandro Sanchez-Flores, Joel Armando Vazquez-Perez, Carlos F. Arias, Rosa Maria Gutierrez-Rios
Summary: This paper describes the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico. It found that Mexico experienced four epidemic waves with a total of 5,702,143 confirmed cases, 680,063 hospitalizations (11.9%), and 324,436 deaths (5.7%). Males had a higher risk of death and hospital admission, and severity increased with age. Comorbidities, particularly hypertension-diabetes, doubled the risk of severe illness. The health policy implemented by the Mexican government reduced hospitalizations and deaths.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Iris Eisermann, Marisela Garduno-Rosales, Nicholas J. Talbot
Summary: Fungal pathogens undergo specific morphogenetic transitions to invade plants, and the ability to change cell shape is crucial for them. Septin GTPases play important roles in actin remodeling, plasma membrane curvature sensing, and cell polarity, and their assemblages are involved in cell shape changes and formation of infection structures in plant cells. This review focuses on the functions of septins in plant pathogenic fungi, particularly in invasive growth, and discusses their potential as targets for broad-spectrum antifungal plant protection strategies.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Rodrigo Garcia-Lopez, Xaira Rivera-Gutierrez, Mauricio Rosales-Rivera, Selene Zarate, Jose Esteban Munoz-Medina, Benjamin Roche, Alfredo Herrera-Estrella, Bruno Gomez-Gil, Alejandro Sanchez-Flores, Blanca Taboada, Carlos F. Arias
Summary: The BW.1 and its descendant BW.1.1 variants emerged in Southeast Mexico and likely originated during the fifth wave of COVID-19 in July 2022. These variants share similar immune escape mutations with the BQ.1 variant, which may contribute to their rapid spread.
Article
Immunology
Isaac Vega-Munoz, Alfredo Herrera-Estrella, Octavio Martinez-de la Vega, Martin Heil
Summary: The plant immune response to DNA is highly self/nonself-specific. The activation of the DNA-damage response (DDR) is required for the complete immune response, while an unknown mechanism allows for the differential activation of the wound response.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Martin O. Camargo-Escalante, Edgar Balcazar-Lopez, Exsal M. Albores Mendez, Robert Winkler, Alfredo Herrera-Estrella
Summary: Fungi use oxylipins as signaling molecules to induce asexual development, but the physiological and molecular mechanisms triggered by oxylipins are not well understood. This study reveals the functional role of a patatin-like phospholipase and a unique lipoxygenase in the response to injury in the model fungus Trichoderma atroviride. These genes are essential for the production of specific oxylipins and the transcriptional reprogramming required for asexual development.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2023)