November 2010

The regulation of cell shape and size is important for a wide variety of biological processes. A study conducted at University College London (see Picone et al., e1000542) reveals that microtubules (shown in green) impose unexpected limits on cell geometry, which enable cells to regulate their length. Since cells are the building blocks and architects of tissue morphogenesis, such intrinsically defined limits may be important for development and homeostasis in multicellular eukaryotes.

Image Credit: Remigio Picone, Centre for Mathematics and Physics in the Life Sciences and Experimental Biology (CoMPLEX), University College London

Editorial

Open Engagement: Exploring Public Participation in the Biosciences

Claire Marris, Nikolas Rose

PLOS Biology: published November 30, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000549

Synopses

Ancient DNA Indicates Farmers, not Just Farming, Spread West

Richard Robinson

PLOS Biology: published November 9, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000535

You Aren't Always What You Eat

Robin Meadows

PLOS Biology: published November 16, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001000

There Goes the (Gene Expression) Neighbourhood Theory

Rachel Jones

PLOS Biology: published November 30, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001002

Protein's “Part-Time Job” Reveals New Facet of Signaling Pathway

Mason Inman

PLOS Biology: published November 23, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001001

Essay

Functional Brain Imaging in the Clinical Assessment of Consciousness

Michael S. Rafii, James B. Brewer

PLOS Biology: published November 30, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000548

Perspective

“Interactive Technology Assessment” and Beyond: the Field Trial of Genetically Modified Grapevines at INRA-Colmar

The Local Monitoring Committee, Olivier Lemaire, Anne Moneyron, Jean E. Masson

PLOS Biology: published November 30, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000551

Primer

Epigenetics of Royalty

Alexandra Chittka, Lars Chittka

PLOS Biology: published November 2, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000532

Research Articles

Ancient DNA from European Early Neolithic Farmers Reveals Their Near Eastern Affinities

Wolfgang Haak, Oleg Balanovsky, Juan J. Sanchez, Sergey Koshel, Valery Zaporozhchenko, Christina J. Adler, Clio S. I. Der Sarkissian, Guido Brandt, Carolin Schwarz, Nicole Nicklisch, Veit Dresely, Barbara Fritsch, Elena Balanovska, Richard Villems, Harald Meller, Kurt W. Alt, Alan Cooper, the Genographic Consortium

PLOS Biology: published November 9, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000536

Evolutionary Relationships of Wild Hominids Recapitulated by Gut Microbial Communities

Howard Ochman, Michael Worobey, Chih-Horng Kuo, Jean-Bosco N. Ndjango, Martine Peeters, Beatrice H. Hahn, Philip Hugenholtz

PLOS Biology: published November 16, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000546

Pheromonal and Behavioral Cues Trigger Male-to-Female Aggression in Drosophila

María de la Paz Fernández, Yick-Bun Chan, Joanne Y. Yew, Jean-Christophe Billeter, Klaus Dreisewerd, Joel D. Levine, Edward A. Kravitz

PLOS Biology: published November 23, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000541

The Leukemia-Associated Mllt10/Af10-Dot1l Are Tcf4/β-Catenin Coactivators Essential for Intestinal Homeostasis

Tokameh Mahmoudi, Sylvia F. Boj, Pantelis Hatzis, Vivian S. W. Li, Nadia Taouatas, Robert G. J. Vries, Hans Teunissen, Harry Begthel, Jeroen Korving, Shabaz Mohammed, Albert J. R. Heck, Hans Clevers

PLOS Biology: published November 16, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000539

A Post-Burst Afterdepolarization Is Mediated by Group I Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor-Dependent Upregulation of Ca_v2.3 R-Type Calcium Channels in CA1 Pyramidal Neurons

Jin-Yong Park, Stefan Remy, Juan Varela, Donald C. Cooper, Sungkwon Chung, Ho-Won Kang, Jung-Ha Lee, Nelson Spruston

PLOS Biology: published November 16, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000534

Microglial Interactions with Synapses Are Modulated by Visual Experience

Marie-Ève Tremblay, Rebecca L. Lowery, Ania K. Majewska

PLOS Biology: published November 2, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000527

Quantitative Control of Organ Shape by Combinatorial Gene Activity

Min-Long Cui, Lucy Copsey, Amelia A. Green, J. Andrew Bangham, Enrico Coen

PLOS Biology: published November 9, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000538

Genetic Control of Organ Shape and Tissue Polarity

Amelia A. Green, J. Richard Kennaway, Andrew I. Hanna, J. Andrew Bangham, Enrico Coen

PLOS Biology: published November 9, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000537

A Polarised Population of Dynamic Microtubules Mediates Homeostatic Length Control in Animal Cells

Remigio Picone, Xiaoyun Ren, Kenzo D. Ivanovitch, Jon D. W. Clarke, Rachel A. McKendry, Buzz Baum

PLOS Biology: published November 16, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000542

Control of Directed Cell Migration In Vivo by Membrane-to-Cortex Attachment

Alba Diz-Muñoz, Michael Krieg, Martin Bergert, Itziar Ibarlucea-Benitez, Daniel J. Muller, Ewa Paluch, Carl-Philipp Heisenberg

PLOS Biology: published November 30, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000544

WRAP53 Is Essential for Cajal Body Formation and for Targeting the Survival of Motor Neuron Complex to Cajal Bodies

Salah Mahmoudi, Sofia Henriksson, Irene Weibrecht, Stephen Smith, Ola Söderberg, Staffan Strömblad, Klas G. Wiman, Marianne Farnebo

PLOS Biology: published November 2, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000521

Neighbourhood Continuity Is Not Required for Correct Testis Gene Expression in Drosophila

Lisa A. Meadows, Yuk Sang Chan, John Roote, Steven Russell

PLOS Biology: published November 30, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000552

Phenotypic Consequences of Copy Number Variation: Insights from Smith-Magenis and Potocki-Lupski Syndrome Mouse Models

Guénola Ricard, Jessica Molina, Jacqueline Chrast, Wenli Gu, Nele Gheldof, Sylvain Pradervand, Frédéric Schütz, Juan I. Young, James R. Lupski, Alexandre Reymond, Katherina Walz

PLOS Biology: published November 23, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000543

Co-Evolution of Transcriptional Silencing Proteins and the DNA Elements Specifying Their Assembly

Oliver A. Zill, Devin Scannell, Leonid Teytelman, Jasper Rine

PLOS Biology: published November 30, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000550

The DNA Methylome of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

Yingrui Li, Jingde Zhu, Geng Tian, Ning Li, Qibin Li, Mingzhi Ye, Hancheng Zheng, Jian Yu, Honglong Wu, Jihua Sun, Hongyu Zhang, Quan Chen, Ruibang Luo, Minfeng Chen, Yinghua He, Xin Jin, Qinghui Zhang, Chang Yu, Guangyu Zhou, Jinfeng Sun, Yebo Huang, Huisong Zheng, Hongzhi Cao, Xiaoyu Zhou, Shicheng Guo, Xueda Hu, Xin Li, Karsten Kristiansen, Lars Bolund, Jiujin Xu, Wen Wang, Huanming Yang, Jian Wang, Ruiqiang Li, Stephan Beck, Jun Wang, Xiuqing Zhang

PLOS Biology: published November 9, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000533

The Function and Three-Dimensional Structure of a Thromboxane A₂/Cysteinyl Leukotriene-Binding Protein from the Saliva of a Mosquito Vector of the Malaria Parasite

Patricia H. Alvarenga, Ivo M. B. Francischetti, Eric Calvo, Anderson Sá-Nunes, José M. C. Ribeiro, John F. Andersen

PLOS Biology: published November 30, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000547

Book Review%2FScience in the Media

The Alarming Proximity of Parasites

Frédéric Thomas

PLOS Biology: published November 2, 2010 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000526

Cover

Microtubules regulate cell geometry.

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