Epigenetic and Transcriptional Variability Shape Phenotypic Plasticity
BioEssays, September 2018. (Source: BioEssays)
Source: BioEssays - December 18, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Simone Ecker
,
Vera Pancaldi
,
Alfonso Valencia
,
Stephan Beck
,
Dirk S. Paul Source Type: research
The Wnt Transcriptional Switch: TLE Removal or Inactivation?
Many targets of the Wnt/β‐catenin signaling pathway are regulated by TCF transcription factors, which play important roles in animal development, stem cell biology, and oncogenesis. TCFs can regulate Wnt targets through a “transcriptional switch,” repressing gene expression in unstimulated cells and promoting transcription upon Wnt signaling. However, it is not clear whether this switch mechanism is a general feature of Wnt gene regulation or limited to a subset of Wnt targets. Co‐repressors of the TLE family are known to contribute to the repression of Wnt targets in the absence of signaling, but how they are ina...
Source: BioEssays - December 18, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Aravinda ‐Bharathi Ramakrishnan, Abhishek Sinha, Vinson B. Fan, Ken M. Cadigan Tags: Prospects & Overviews Source Type: research
RNA Decay Factor UPF1 Promotes Protein Decay: A Hidden Talent
The RNA‐binding protein, UPF1, is best known for its central role in the nonsense‐mediated RNA decay (NMD) pathway. Feng et al. now report a new function for UPF1—it is an E3 ubiquitin ligase that specifically promotes the decay of a key pro‐muscle transcription factor: MYOD. UPF1 achieves this through its RING‐like domain, which confers ubiquitin E3 ligase activity. Feng et al. provide evidence that the ability of UPF1 to destabilize MYOD represses myogenesis. In the future, it will be important to define other protein substrates of UPF1‐driven ubiquitination and to determine whether this biochemical activity ...
Source: BioEssays - December 13, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Terra ‐Dawn M. Plank, Miles F. Wilkinson Tags: Prospects & Overviews Source Type: research
It Is Time to Re ‐Evaluate the Peer Review Process for Preclinical Research
Problems in peer review, the backbone of maintaining high standards in scientific publishing, have led to wide spread discontent within the scientific community. Training in the peer review process and a simpler format to assist in decision making are possible courses to improve and expedite the process of peer review and scientific publishing.
The authors discuss problems in the peer review process focusing on challenges related to major revisions and reviewer's wish list of experiments; this leads to the loss of time and money. Major revisions rarely lead to significant improvements, while simultaneously delay the disse...
Source: BioEssays - December 11, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Rajat Bhattacharya, Lee M. Ellis Tags: Insights & Perspectives Source Type: research
mRNA Traffic Control Reviewed: N6 ‐Methyladenosine (m6A) Takes the Driver's Seat
BioEssays, September 2018. (Source: BioEssays)
Source: BioEssays - December 4, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Abhirami Visvanathan
,
Kumaravel Somasundaram Source Type: research
Ca2+ ‐Dependent Hyperpolarization Pathways in Sleep Homeostasis and Mental Disorders
BioEssays, September 2018. (Source: BioEssays)
Source: BioEssays - December 4, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Shoi Shi
,
Hiroki R. Ueda Source Type: research
mRNA Traffic Control Reviewed: N6 ‐Methyladenosine (m6A) Takes the Driver's Seat
Messenger RNA is a flexible tool box that plays a key role in the dynamic regulation of gene expression. RNA modifications variegate the message conveyed by the mRNA. Similar to DNA and histone modifications, mRNA modifications are reversible and play a key role in the regulation of molecular events. Our understanding about the landscape of RNA modifications is still rudimentary in contrast to DNA and histone modifications. The major obstacle has been the lack of sensitive detection methods since they are non‐editing events. However, with the advent of next‐generation sequencing techniques, RNA modifications are being ...
Source: BioEssays - December 4, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Abhirami Visvanathan, Kumaravel Somasundaram Tags: Prospects & Overviews Source Type: research
Review of “Making Sense of Genes” by Kostas Kampourakis
(Source: BioEssays)
Source: BioEssays - December 1, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Charalambos P. Kyriacou Tags: Thoughts & Opinion Source Type: research
Epigenetic and Transcriptional Variability Shape Phenotypic Plasticity
Epigenetic and transcriptional variability contribute to the vast diversity of cellular and organismal phenotypes and are key in human health and disease. In this review, we describe different types, sources, and determinants of epigenetic and transcriptional variability, enabling cells and organisms to adapt and evolve to a changing environment. We highlight the latest research and hypotheses on how chromatin structure and the epigenome influence gene expression variability. Further, we provide an overview of challenges in the analysis of biological variability. An improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms underl...
Source: BioEssays - December 1, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Simone Ecker, Vera Pancaldi, Alfonso Valencia, Stephan Beck, Dirk S. Paul Tags: Prospects & Overviews Source Type: research
Supporting Behaviour, Not Sex: The Women in Science Debate Re ‐Framed…
(Source: BioEssays)
Source: BioEssays - December 1, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Andrew Moore Tags: Editorial Source Type: research
Combing Chromosomal DNA Mediated by the SMC Complex: Structure and Mechanisms
Genome maintenance requires various nucleoid‐associated factors in prokaryotes. Among them, the SMC (Structural Maintenance of Chromosomes) protein has been thought to play a static role in the organization and segregation of the chromosome during cell division. However, recent studies have shown that the bacterial SMC is required to align left and right arms of the emerging chromosome and that the protein dynamically travels from origin to Ter region. A rod form of the SMC complex mediates DNA bridging and has been recognized as a machinery responsible for DNA loop extrusion, like eukaryotic condensin or cohesin complex...
Source: BioEssays - December 1, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Katsuhiko Kamada, Daniela Barill à Tags: Prospects & Overviews Source Type: research
Evolution Is Linear: Debunking Life's Little Joke
Linear depictions of the evolutionary process are ubiquitous in popular culture, but linear evolutionary imagery is strongly rejected by scientists who argue that evolution branches. This point is frequently illustrated by saying that we didn't evolve from monkeys, but that we are related to them as collateral relatives. Yet, we did evolve from monkeys, but our monkey ancestors are extinct, not extant. Influential voices, such as the late Stephen Jay Gould, have misled audiences for decades by falsely portraying the linear and branching aspects of evolution to be in conflict, and by failing to distinguish between the legit...
Source: BioEssays - December 1, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Ronald A. Jenner Tags: Thoughts & Opinion Source Type: research
Transposable Element Mediated Innovation in Gene Regulatory Landscapes of Cells: Re ‐Visiting the “Gene‐Battery” Model
Transposable elements (TEs) are no longer considered to be “junk” DNA. Here, we review how TEs can impact gene regulation systematically. TEs encode various regulatory elements that enables them to regulate gene expression. RJ Britten and EH Davidson hypothesized that TEs can integrate the function of various transcriptional regulators into gene regulatory networks. Uniquely TEs can deposit regulatory sites across the genome when they transpose, and thereby bring multiple genes under control of the same regulatory logic. Several studies together have robustly established that TEs participate in embryonic development an...
Source: BioEssays - December 1, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Vasavi Sundaram, Ting Wang Tags: Prospects & Overviews Source Type: research
Ca2+ ‐Dependent Hyperpolarization Pathways in Sleep Homeostasis and Mental Disorders
Although we are beginning to understand the neuronal and biochemical nature of sleep regulation, questions remain about how sleep is homeostatically regulated. Beyond its importance in basic physiology, understanding sleep may also shed light on psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders. Recent genetic studies in mammals revealed several non‐secretory proteins that determine sleep duration. Interestingly, genes identified in these studies are closely related to psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, suggesting that the sleep‐wake cycle shares some common mechanisms with these disorders. Here we review recent ...
Source: BioEssays - December 1, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Shoi Shi, Hiroki R. Ueda Tags: Prospects & Overviews Source Type: research
Soft ‐Bodied Fossils Are Not Simply Rotten Carcasses – Toward a Holistic Understanding of Exceptional Fossil Preservation
Exceptionally preserved fossils are the product of complex interplays of biological and geological processes including burial, autolysis and microbial decay, authigenic mineralization, diagenesis, metamorphism, and finally weathering and exhumation. Determining which tissues are preserved and how biases affect their preservation pathways is important for interpreting fossils in phylogenetic, ecological, and evolutionary frameworks. Although laboratory decay experiments reveal important aspects of fossilization, applying the results directly to the interpretation of exceptionally preserved fossils may overlook the impact of...
Source: BioEssays - November 29, 2017 Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Luke A. Parry, Fiann Smithwick, Klara K. Nord én, Evan T. Saitta, Jesus Lozano‐Fernandez, Alastair R. Tanner, Jean‐Bernard Caron, Gregory D. Edgecombe, Derek E. G. Briggs, Jakob Vinther Tags: Insights & Perspectives Source Type: research
