Nature Communications - 13 July 2016

Advertisement $299 per ORF Clone $299 / ORF clone (0-1kb) $399 / ORF clone (1-2kb) 50,000+ human, and mouse genes Expression-ready, sequence-verified and guaranteed 150+ types vector Search ORF clone >>     Weekly Content Alert Nature Communications is now fully open access. Read more. 13 July 2016  Featured image: Zeeviet al. demonstrate an approach for optical imaging by dressing carbon nanotubes with nano-crystals. Latest content: Review Articles Journal homepage Recommend to library Web feed   Advertisement Open for Submissions A new open access, multi- and interdisciplinary journal dedicated to publishing the finest research on quantum information, the journal is now open for submissions. Explore the benefits of submitting your next your next paper to npj Quantum Information.   Advertisement Interested in publishing your next paper to NPG Asia Materials? Here are good reasons to submit your next excellent paper to NPG Asia Materials: - Impact Factor of 8.772* - Ranked 18 of 271 in Multidisciplinary Materials Science* - Open access: anyone can download and read your paper - Wide exposure and high usage at nature.com *2015 Journal Citation Reports (Thomson Reuters, 2016) Submit today!       Nature Communications - now fully open access All new submissions, if accepted, will be published open access and an article processing charge (APC) will apply. For more information visit the website. Visit our open access funding page or contact openaccess@nature.com to learn more about APC funding.       Latest Review View all Reviews     Recommendations for myeloid-derived suppressor cell nomenclature and characterization standards OPEN Vincenzo Bronte, Sven Brandau, Shu-Hsia Chen, Mario P. Colombo, Alan B. Frey, Tim F. Greten, Susanna Mandruzzato, Peter J. Murray, Augusto Ochoa, Suzanne Ostrand-Rosenberg, Paulo C. Rodriguez, Antonio Sica, Viktor Umansky, Robert H. Vonderheide and Dmitry I. Gabrilovich Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are a heterogeneous population expanded in cancer and other chronic inflammatory conditions. Here the authors identify the challenges and propose a set of minimal reporting guidelines for mouse and human MDSC. 06 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12150 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Immunology  Medical research        Latest Articles View all Articles     Underwater microscopy for in situ studies of benthic ecosystems OPEN Andrew D. Mullen, Tali Treibitz, Paul L. D. Roberts, Emily L. A. Kelly, Rael Horwitz, Jennifer E. Smith and Jules S. Jaffe Underwater microscopes have limited spatial and temporal resolutions. Here, Mullen et al. present a small non-invasive underwater microscope for both direct and fluorescence microscopy. They image coral bleaching and interspecific competition with resolutions approaching a micron and hundreds of milliseconds. 12 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12093 Physical Sciences  Ecology  Oceanography  Optical physics  Germline MC1R status influences somatic mutation burden in melanoma OPEN Carla Daniela Robles-Espinoza, Nicola D. Roberts, Shuyang Chen, Finbarr P. Leacy, Ludmil B. Alexandrov, Natapol Pornputtapong, Ruth Halaban, Michael Krauthammer, Rutao Cui, D. Timothy Bishop and David J. Adams Deleterious germline variants in the MC1R gene are associated with red hair and freckles, and with an increased risk of developing melanoma. Here, the authors investigate melanoma samples from patients with and without these variants and find that their presence is predictive of a higher overall mutation prevalence. 12 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12064 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Genetics  ERRα mediates metabolic adaptations driving lapatinib resistance in breast cancer OPEN Geneviève Deblois, Harvey W. Smith, Ingrid S. Tam, Simon-Pierre Gravel, Maxime Caron, Paul Savage, David P. Labbé, Louis R. Bégin, Michel L. Tremblay, Morag Park, Guillaume Bourque, Julie St-Pierre, William J. Muller and Vincent Giguère Despite initial benefits in treating HER2-positive breast cancer patients with lapatinib, resistance is prevalent. Here the authors show that lapatinib resistance can be ascribed to mTOR-mediated re-activation of ERRα and to the consequent induction of a metabolic adaptation. 12 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12156 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology  Host genotype and age shape the leaf and root microbiomes of a wild perennial plant OPEN Maggie R. Wagner, Derek S Lundberg, Tijana G. del Rio, Susannah G. Tringe, Jeffery L. Dangl and Thomas Mitchell-Olds Laboratory-based studies of the effect of plant genotype on plant microbiome composition often do not consider the influence of environmental heterogeneity. Here, Wagner et al. use a large-scale field experiment to assess the extent of host genetic and environmental factors on the microbiome of Boechera stricta. 12 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12151 Biological Sciences  Ecology  Microbiology  Plant sciences  Dynamic polarization vision in mantis shrimps OPEN Ilse M. Daly, Martin J. How, Julian C. Partridge, Shelby E. Temple, N. Justin Marshall, Thomas W. Cronin and Nicholas W. Roberts Mantis shrimps are known to display large pitch, yaw and torsional eye rotations. Here, the authors show that these eye movements allow mantis shrimp to orientate particular photoreceptors in order to better discriminate the polarization of light. 12 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12140 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Zoology  Orthogonal photoswitching in a multifunctional molecular system OPEN Michael M. Lerch, Mickel J. Hansen, Willem A. Velema, Wiktor Szymanski and Ben L. Feringa While molecular photoswitches have proven useful in many fields, selective and reversible control over multiple switches is an unsolved challenge. Here, the authors report on a system consisting of two classes of photoswitches that can be addressed orthogonally and demonstrate the applicability in phase-transfer control. 12 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12054 Chemical Sciences  Organic chemistry  Physical chemistry  Bottom-up synthesis of chiral covalent organic frameworks and their bound capillaries for chiral separation OPEN Hai-Long Qian, Cheng-Xiong Yang and Xiu-Ping Yan Porous materials can be used in columns for gas separation applications. Here, Yan and co-workers from a bottom-up method have produced chiral covalent organic frameworks and from an in situ strategy formed capillary columns for chiral gas chromatography. 12 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12104 Chemical Sciences  Analytical chemistry  Materials science  Organic chemistry  Claspin recruits Cdc7 kinase for initiation of DNA replication in human cells OPEN Chi-Chun Yang, Masahiro Suzuki, Shiori Yamakawa, Syuzi Uno, Ai Ishii, Satoshi Yamazaki, Rino Fukatsu, Ryo Fujisawa, Kenji Sakimura, Toshiki Tsurimoto and Hisao Masai Claspin mediates the transmission of a replication-stress signal from ATR to Chk1 and is necessary for efficient fork progression. Here the authors demonstrate that the C-terminal acidic patch is important for this role due to its interaction with Cdc7. 12 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12135 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Golgi membrane fission requires the CtBP1-S/BARS-induced activation of lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase δ OPEN Alessandro Pagliuso, Carmen Valente, Lucia Laura Giordano, Angela Filograna, Guiling Li, Diego Circolo, Gabriele Turacchio, Vincenzo Manuel Marzullo, Luigi Mandrich, Mikhail A. Zhukovsky, Fabio Formiggini, Roman S. Polishchuk, Daniela Corda and Alberto Luini CtBP1-S/BARS is required for fission of endomembrane compartments including the Golgi. Here the authors show that CtBP1-S/BARS activates a trans-Golgi lysophosphatidic acid acyltransferase that catalyses the production of phosphatidic acid and is required for fission of the post-Golgi carrier membrane. 12 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12148 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Cell biology  Highly stable and self-repairing membrane-mimetic 2D nanomaterials assembled from lipid-like peptoids OPEN Haibao Jin, Fang Jiao, Michael D. Daily, Yulin Chen, Feng Yan, Yan-Huai Ding, Xin Zhang, Ellen J. Robertson, Marcel D. Baer and Chun-Long Chen Biomimetic membranes can be used for various applications such as sensors and separations. Here, Chen et al. report the assembly of lipid-like peptoids into stable and self-repairing 2D membrane nanomaterials that change in thickness when under external stimuli. 12 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12252 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Cavity-enhanced Raman microscopy of individual carbon nanotubes OPEN Thomas Hümmer, Jonathan Noe, Matthias S. Hofmann, Theodor W. Hänsch, Alexander Högele and David Hunger Enhancement techniques are a viable route to improve the intrinsically weak Raman scattering intensity. Here the authors demonstrate Purcell enhancement of Raman scattering in a tunable, high-finesse microcavity and use it for Raman imaging of individual carbon nanotubes 12 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12155 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  Optical physics  Human islets contain four distinct subtypes of β cells OPEN Craig Dorrell, Jonathan Schug, Pamela S. Canaday, Holger A. Russ, Branden D. Tarlow, Maria T. Grompe, Tamara Horton, Matthias Hebrok, Philip R. Streeter, Klaus H. Kaestner and Markus Grompe Dysfunction or loss of insulin-secreting β cells in the pancreas is a hallmark of diabetes. Here, Dorrell et al. identify four subpopulations of β cells in humans, which differ in gene expression and insulin secretion kinetics, and the abundance of which is altered in patients with type 2 diabetes. 11 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms11756 Biological Sciences  Medical research  Hierarchical nanostructure and synergy of multimolecular signalling complexes OPEN Eilon Sherman, Valarie A. Barr, Robert K. Merrill, Carole K. Regan, Connie L. Sommers and Lawrence E. Samelson Imaging the nanostructure of signalling complexes in cells is challenging. Here, the authors present a multicolour, single-molecule, super-resolution approach with statistical tools to reveal a hierarchical topology and synergy of signalling complexes downstream of the T-cell receptor in fixed and live cells. 11 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12161 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Cell biology  Automated circuit fabrication and direct characterization of carbon nanotube vibrations OPEN G. Zeevi, M. Shlafman, T. Tabachnik, Z. Rogachevsky, S. Rechnitz, I. Goldshtein, S. Shlafman, N. Gordon, G. Alchanati, M. Itzhak, Y. Moshe, E. M. Hajaj, H. Nir, Y. Milyutin, T. Y. Izraeli, A. Razin, O. Shtempluck, V. Kotchtakov and Y. E. Yaish Integrating carbon nanotubes into electronic devices requires quick and non-invasive imaging of the nanostructures for precision positioning. Here, the authors use the base of the nanotubes to nucleate the growth of optically visible organic nanocrystals, which thus enables simple microscopy. 11 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12153 Physical Sciences  Nanotechnology  Piezoelectric enhancement under negative pressure OPEN Alexander Kvasov, Leo J. McGilly, Jin Wang, Zhiyong Shi, Cosmin S. Sandu, Tomas Sluka, Alexander K. Tagantsev and Nava Setter Recently, negative pressure has been observed in perovskite nanowires by annealing the wires from a lower-density phase. Here, the authors show that the negative pressure enhances the piezoelectric coefficient of PbTiO3 and Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 nanowires experimentally and by ab initio calculations. 11 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12136 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Materials science  Multiple scattering dynamics of fermions at an isolated p-wave resonance OPEN R. Thomas, K. O. Roberts, E. Tiesinga, A. C. J. Wade, P. B. Blakie, A. B. Deb and N. Kjærgaard Multiple scattering with wave-like atoms is known to produce non-trivial many-body effects. Here, the authors investigate multiple scattering in the semi-classical limit using deviations in the scattering halos produced by the collision of indistinguishable ultracold fermions. 11 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12069 Physical Sciences  Atomic and molecular physics  Plastid-nucleus communication involves calcium-modulated MAPK signalling OPEN Hailong Guo, Peiqiang Feng, Wei Chi, Xuwu Sun, Xiumei Xu, Yuan Li, Dongtao Ren, Congming Lu, Jean David Rochaix, Dario Leister and Lixin Zhang Retrograde signalling co-ordinates nuclear gene expression in response to stress perceived in the chloroplast. Here Guo et al. show that a MAPK cascade acting downstream of a plastid derived Ca2+ signal contributes to the regulation of nuclear gene expression by phosphorylation of ABI4 during retrograde signalling. 11 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12173 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Plant sciences  RUBIC identifies driver genes by detecting recurrent DNA copy number breaks OPEN Ewald van Dyk, Marlous Hoogstraat, Jelle ten Hoeve, Marcel J. T. Reinders and Lodewyk F. A. Wessels Analysis of cancer genome sequencing data has been used to predict genes associated with the pathogenesis of cancer. Here, the authors propose a new algorithm entitled RUBIC that predicts breaks in DNA as opposed to previously published methods that predict amplifications and deletions of DNA. 11 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12159 Biological Sciences  Bioinformatics  Cancer  Genetics  Leukaemia cell of origin identified by chromatin landscape of bulk tumour cells OPEN Joshy George, Asli Uyar, Kira Young, Lauren Kuffler, Kaiden Waldron-Francis, Eladio Marquez, Duygu Ucar and Jennifer J. Trowbridge A tumour’s cell of origin may influence tumour progression and response to therapy. Here, the authors demonstrate that the cell of origin determines the aggressiveness of AML in a mouse model and identify unique biomarkers of the specific leukaemia cell of origin by profiling open chromatin regions of AML samples. 11 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12166 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Cell biology  Observation of interaction-induced modulations of a quantum Hall liquid’s area OPEN I. Sivan, H. K. Choi, Jinhong Park, A. Rosenblatt, Yuval Gefen, D. Mahalu and V. Umansky Quantum Hall liquids play host to a wide range of unusual physics. Here, the authors use an electronic Fabry-Pérot interferometer to observe modulations of a quantum Hall liquid’s area, which can offer a means to study the statistics of fractional charges. 11 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12184 Physical Sciences  Condensed matter  Treatment of ongoing autoimmune encephalomyelitis with activated B-cell progenitors maturing into regulatory B cells OPEN Sarantis Korniotis, Christophe Gras, Hélène Letscher, Ruddy Montandon, Jérôme Mégret, Stefanie Siegert, Sophie Ezine, Padraic G. Fallon, Sanjiv A. Luther, Simon Fillatreau and Flora Zavala Evidence of how functional Bregs develop in vivo has been lacking. Here the authors show that proB cells exposed in vivo to CpG differentiate into distinct Breg subsets that inhibit autoimmunity by arresting T cells in the lymph nodes via CCL19 and by producing IL-10 at the site of immunopathology. 11 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12134 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Phagocyte respiratory burst activates macrophage erythropoietin signalling to promote acute inflammation resolution OPEN Bangwei Luo, Jinsong Wang, Zongwei Liu, Zigang Shen, Rongchen Shi, Yu-Qi Liu, Yu Liu, Man Jiang, Yuzhang Wu and Zhiren Zhang Hypoxia induced during inflammation promotes the resolution phase. Here the authors show that the hypoxia results from the respiratory burst in myeloid cells, and induces local EPO production and signaling, which enhances macrophage phagocytosis of debris and migration to draining lymph nodes to promote resolution. 11 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12177 Biological Sciences  Immunology  Molecular biology  Monitoring G protein-coupled receptor and β-arrestin trafficking in live cells using enhanced bystander BRET OPEN Yoon Namkung, Christian Le Gouill, Viktoria Lukashova, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Mireille Hogue, Etienne Khoury, Mideum Song, Michel Bouvier and Stéphane A. Laporte Cellular signaling processes often involve trafficking of receptors and other proteins between subcellular compartments. Here the authors demonstrate a method based on the concept of Enhanced bystander Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer (EbBRET) that allows efficient real time monitoring of endocytosis and trafficking. 11 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12178 Biological Sciences  Biotechnology  Cell biology  Chunking as the result of an efficiency computation trade-off OPEN Pavan Ramkumar, Daniel E. Acuna, Max Berniker, Scott T. Grafton, Robert S. Turner and Konrad P. Kording Complex motions can be achieved by chunking together simple movements at the cost of producing smooth, efficient trajectories. Here the authors apply a new algorithm to monkeys learning complex motor sequences and show that optimization initially occurs within small chunks that are later combined. 11 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12176 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Homologous recombination-dependent repair of telomeric DSBs in proliferating human cells OPEN Pingsu Mao, Jingfan Liu, Zepeng Zhang, Hong Zhang, Haiying Liu, Song Gao, Yikang S. Rong and Yong Zhao Telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes from the DNA damage recognition machinery, however how damage in telomeres is repaired is poorly understood. Here the authors use CRISPR-Cas9 to induce DNA breaks and identify proliferation dependent homologous recombination repair. 11 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12154 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Essential role of autoactivation circuitry on Aurora B-mediated H2AX-pS121 in mitosis OPEN Midori Shimada, Takahiro Goshima, Hiromi Matsuo, Yoshikazu Johmura, Mayumi Haruta, Kazuhiro Murata, Hiromitsu Tanaka, Masahito Ikawa, Keiko Nakanishi and Makoto Nakanishi Aurora B activation at the centromere is critical for faithful chromosome segregation in mammals. Here the authors show that Aurora B-mediated phosphorylation of histone H2AX at serine 121 is essential for Aurora B auto-activation circuitry at centromeres, ensuring proper chromosome segregation. 08 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12059 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Integrative functional genomics identifies regulatory mechanisms at coronary artery disease loci OPEN Clint L. Miller, Milos Pjanic, Ting Wang, Trieu Nguyen, Ariella Cohain, Jonathan D. Lee, Ljubica Perisic, Ulf Hedin, Ramendra K. Kundu, Deshna Majmudar, Juyong B. Kim, Oliver Wang, Christer Betsholtz, Arno Ruusalepp, Oscar Franzén, Themistocles L. Assimes, Stephen B. Montgomery, Eric E. Schadt, Johan L.M. Björkegren and Thomas Quertermous. Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide with multiple environmental and genetic risk factors. Here the authors integrate genomic, epigenomic and transcriptomic mapping to elucidate causal variation and mechanisms of known genetic associations. 08 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12092 Biological Sciences  Genetics  Molecular biology  Wars2 is a determinant of angiogenesis OPEN Mao Wang, Patrick Sips, Ester Khin, Maxime Rotival, Ximing Sun, Rizwan Ahmed, Anissa Anindya Widjaja, Sebastian Schafer, Permeen Yusoff, Pervinder Kaur Choksi, Nicole Shi Jie Ko, Manvendra K. Singh, David Epstein, Yuguang Guan, Josef Houštěk, Tomas Mracek, Hana Nuskova, Brittney Mikell, Jessie Tan, Francesco Pesce et al. Blood supply to the heart is crucial for cardiac function. Here, the authors show that the mitochondrial tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase, WARS2, drives blood vessel generation in zebrafish and rats and that inhibition of Wars2 diminishes blood vessel growth both within and outside in the heart, suggesting a new target for manipulating angiogenesis. 08 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12061 Biological Sciences  Developmental biology  Medical research  Total synthesis of atropurpuran OPEN Jing Gong, Huan Chen, Xiao-Yu Liu, Zhi-Xiu Wang, Wei Nie and Yong Qin Polycyclic and caged molecules are common in nature but present challenging targets for synthesis. Here, the authors report a route to caged diterpene cores and apply to the total synthesis of atropurpuran, with oxidative dearomatization/intramolecular Diels-Alder cascade, aldol and ketyl-olefin cyclizations as key steps. 08 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12183 Chemical Sciences  Organic chemistry  Laser capture microscopy coupled with Smart-seq2 for precise spatial transcriptomic profiling OPEN Susanne Nichterwitz, Geng Chen, Julio Aguila Benitez, Marlene Yilmaz, Helena Storvall, Ming Cao, Rickard Sandberg, Qiaolin Deng and Eva Hedlund Laser capture microscopy (LCM) coupled with global transcriptome profiling requires relatively large numbers of cells. Here, the authors show that LCM coupled with full-length mRNA-sequencing (LCM-seq) can sequence single cells, and that LCM-seq can provide biological insight on highly similar neuronal populations. 08 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12139 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Neuroscience  Frizzled 7 and PIP2 binding by syntenin PDZ2 domain supports Frizzled 7 trafficking and signalling OPEN Antonio Luis Egea-Jimenez, Rodrigo Gallardo, Abel Garcia-Pino, Ylva Ivarsson, Anna Maria Wawrzyniak, Rudra Kashyap, Remy Loris, Joost Schymkowitz, Frederic Rousseau and Pascale Zimmermann PDZ domain-containing proteins are known to function as intracellular scaffolds. Here, Egea-Jimenez et al. report the structure of the tandem PDZ domains of syntenin in complex with a Frizzled 7 peptide and PIP2, show that the ligands bind to syntenin cooperatively and illustrate the role of the complex for Frizzled 7 function. 08 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12101 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Biophysics  Bio-inspired sensitive and reversible mechanochromisms via strain-dependent cracks and folds OPEN Songshan Zeng, Dianyun Zhang, Wenhan Huang, Zhaofeng Wang, Stephan G. Freire, Xiaoyuan Yu, Andrew T. Smith, Emily Y. Huang, Helen Nguon and Luyi Sun Muscle-controlled changes in surface structures are employed in nature to achieve rapid, reversible changes in colour and transparency. Here the authors develop a simple, bilayer platform capable of several distinct analogous mechanochromic behaviours. 08 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms11802 Physical Sciences  Materials science  Optical physics  A heavy metal P-type ATPase OsHMA4 prevents copper accumulation in rice grain OPEN Xin-Yuan Huang, Fenglin Deng, Naoki Yamaji, Shannon R.M. Pinson, Miho Fujii-Kashino, John Danku, Alex Douglas, Mary Lou Guerinot, David E. Salt and Jian Feng Ma Copper (Cu) is an essential mineral nutrient but high concentrations in rice grain can cause toxicity. Here the authors provide evidence that natural variation in rice grain Cu concentration is caused by altered sequestration of Cu into root vacuoles due to a single amino acid substitution in the OsHMA4 transporter. 08 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12138 Biological Sciences  Genetics  Plant sciences  Disruption of Kcc2-dependent inhibition of olfactory bulb output neurons suggests its importance in odour discrimination OPEN Kathrin Gödde, Olivier Gschwend, Dmytro Puchkov, Carsten K. Pfeffer, Alan Carleton and Thomas J. Jentsch Synaptic inhibition in the olfactory bulb (OB) is believed to play a role in odour processing. Here, the authors use a Pcdh21-driven Cre-line to disrupt KCC2 expression in OB mitral cells and find altered synaptic connectivity along with disrupted separation of odour-induced activity patterns. 08 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12043 Biological Sciences  Neuroscience  Rational design of carbon nitride photocatalysts by identification of cyanamide defects as catalytically relevant sites OPEN Vincent Wing-hei Lau, Igor Moudrakovski, Tiago Botari, Simon Weinberger, Maria B. Mesch, Viola Duppel, Jürgen Senker, Volker Blum and Bettina V. Lotsch Graphitic carbon nitride is a promising hydrogen evolution photocatalyst, although there is limited understanding of its mechanistic operation. Here, the authors employ molecular heptazine-based model catalysts to identify catalytically relevant defects and to rationally design a highly active carbon nitride photocatalyst. 08 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12165 Chemical Sciences  Catalysis  Materials science  Nanotechnology  The mechanical response of talin OPEN Mingxi Yao, Benjamin T. Goult, Benjamin Klapholz, Xian Hu, Christopher P. Toseland, Yingjian Guo, Peiwen Cong, Michael P. Sheetz and Jie Yan Talin is a mechanosensing cytoplasmic adaptor that links integrin cell adhesion receptors to the actin cytoskeleton. Here the authors measure the force-dependent folding and refolding kinetics of all talin rod domains to propose that talin can function as a force buffer under physiologically relevant conditions. 07 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms11966 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  aMAP is a validated pipeline for registration and segmentation of high-resolution mouse brain data OPEN Christian J. Niedworok, Alexander P. Y. Brown, M. Jorge Cardoso, Pavel Osten, Sebastien Ourselin, Marc Modat and Troy W. Margrie Anatomical segmentation of high-resolution 3D microscopy datasets is necessary to map large samples at cellular resolution. Here the authors present a pipeline for automated mouse atlas propagation (aMAP) to segment fluorescence images of the adult mouse brain and validate it against human segmentations. 07 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms11879 Biological Sciences  Biotechnology  Neuroscience  Functional characterization of the 12p12.1 renal cancer-susceptibility locus implicates BHLHE41 OPEN Pierre Bigot, Leandro M. Colli, Mitchell J. Machiela, Lea Jessop, Timothy A. Myers, Julie Carrouget, Sarah Wagner, David Roberson, Caroline Eymerit, Daniel Henrion and Stephen J. Chanock A common susceptibility haplotype for renal cell carcinoma is located on chromosome 12p12.1. Here, the authors show that the variant rs7132434 alters binding of the AP-1 transcription factor, which increases the expression of BHLHE41 in renal cells. 07 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12098 Biological Sciences  Cancer  Genetics  Microcanonical and resource-theoretic derivations of the thermal state of a quantum system with noncommuting charges OPEN Nicole Yunger Halpern, Philippe Faist, Jonathan Oppenheim and Andreas Winter A central concept in thermodynamics is the thermal state, which is the one towards which the system relaxes. Here, the authors derive the same state, through three different approaches, in the case of a quantum system whose conserved quantities correspond to operators that do not commute with one another. 07 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12051 Physical Sciences  Theoretical physics  Thermodynamics of quantum systems with multiple conserved quantities OPEN Yelena Guryanova, Sandu Popescu, Anthony J. Short, Ralph Silva and Paul Skrzypczyk The second law of thermodynamics constrains how much of a conserved quantity, such as energy, can be extracted from a system in the form of work. Here, the authors generalize this law to quantum systems whose conserved quantities need not commute, showing that it is their combination to be constrained. 07 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12049 Physical Sciences  Theoretical physics  Extra-coding RNAs regulate neuronal DNA methylation dynamics OPEN Katherine E. Savell, Nancy V. N. Gallus, Rhiana C. Simon, Jordan A. Brown, Jasmin S. Revanna, Mary Katherine Osborn, Esther Y. Song, John J. O’Malley, Christian T. Stackhouse, Allison Norvil, Humaira Gowher, J. David Sweatt and Jeremy J. Day DNA methylation in the brain is a dynamic process, but gene-specific regulation of this process is poorly understood. Here, Day and colleagues show that extra-coding RNAs interact with DNA methyltransferases and regulate neuronal DNA methylation to control gene expression in locus-specific manner in neurons. 07 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12091 Biological Sciences  Molecular biology  Neuroscience  High potential for weathering and climate effects of non-vascular vegetation in the Late Ordovician OPEN P. Porada, T. M. Lenton, A. Pohl, B. Weber, L. Mander, Y. Donnadieu, C. Beer, U. Pöschl and A. Kleidon Early non-vascular vegetation may have caused an interval of glaciations in the Late Ordovician by enhancing global chemical weathering. Here, by simulating the organisms with a spatially explicit, process-based model, the authors propose that Ordovician vegetation had a high potential for chemical weathering. 07 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12113 Earth Sciences  Biogeochemistry  Climate science  Ecology  Analysis of chromosomal aberrations and recombination by allelic bias in RNA-Seq OPEN Uri Weissbein, Maya Schachter, Dieter Egli and Nissim Benvenisty Chromosomal aberrations can be detected by global gene expression analysis. Here, the authors report eSNP-Karyotyping, a new method that can detect chromosomal aberrations by measuring the ratio of expression between the two alleles without comparison to a matched diploid sample. 07 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12144 Biological Sciences  Bioinformatics  Molecular biology  Van der Waals pressure and its effect on trapped interlayer molecules OPEN K. S. Vasu, E. Prestat, J. Abraham, J. Dix, R. J. Kashtiban, J. Beheshtian, J. Sloan, P. Carbone, M. Neek-Amal, S. J. Haigh, A. K. Geim and R. R. Nair Molecules trapped between the layers of two-dimensional materials are thought to experience high pressure. Here, the authors report measurements of this interfacial pressure by capturing pressure-sensitive molecules and studying their structural changes, and show that it can also induce chemical reaction. 07 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12168 Chemical Sciences  Materials science  Nanotechnology  MBTPS2 mutations cause defective regulated intramembrane proteolysis in X-linked osteogenesis imperfecta OPEN Uschi Lindert, Wayne A. Cabral, Surasawadee Ausavarat, Siraprapa Tongkobpetch, Katja Ludin, Aileen M. Barnes, Patra Yeetong, Maryann Weis, Birgit Krabichler, Chalurmpon Srichomthong, Elena N. Makareeva, Andreas R. Janecke, Sergey Leikin, Benno Röthlisberger, Marianne Rohrbach, Ingo Kennerknecht, David R. Eyre, Kanya Suphapeetiporn, Cecilia Giunta, Joan C. Marini et al. Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is genetically linked to autosomal dominant or autosomal recessive mutations. Here, Marini et al. describe two families with X-chromosome-linked OI with mutations in MBTPS2 that alter regulated intramembrane proteolysis and subsequent defects in collagen crosslinking and osteoblast function. 06 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms11920 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Genetics  Medical research  The Arabidopsis Golgi-localized GDP-L-fucose transporter is required for plant development OPEN Carsten Rautengarten, Berit Ebert, Lifeng Liu, Solomon Stonebloom, Andreia M. Smith-Moritz, Markus Pauly, Ariel Orellana, Henrik Vibe Scheller and Joshua L. Heazlewood Nucleotide sugars are transported from the cytoplasm to the Golgi lumen where they are incorporated into cell wall polysaccharides and used for glycosylation of proteins and lipids. Here the authors identify GFT1, an Arabidopsis Golgi-localized GDP-fucose transporter that is required for plant growth and development 06 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12119 Biological Sciences  Plant sciences  NEDDylation promotes stress granule assembly OPEN Aravinth Kumar Jayabalan, Anthony Sanchez, Ra Young Park, Sang Pil Yoon, Gum-Yong Kang, Je-Hyun Baek, Paul Anderson, Younghoon Kee and Takbum Ohn Stress granules that form in response to stress contain translationally stalled mRNPs and play important roles in cellular homeostasis. Here the authors implicate SRSF3 neddylation as an important factor in the formation of stress granules in response to arsenite exposure. 06 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12125 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Cell biology  Envelope-specific B-cell populations in African green monkeys chronically infected with simian immunodeficiency virus OPEN Ruijun Zhang, David R. Martinez, Quang N. Nguyen, Justin Pollara, Trina Arifin, Christina Stolarchuk, Andrew Foulger, Josh D. Amos, Robert Parks, Jonathon E. Himes, Minyue Wang, Regina W. Edwards, Ashley M. Trama, Nathan Vandergrift, Lisa Colvin, Ken Dewar, Nikoleta Juretic, Jessica Wasserscheid, Guido Ferrari, Hua-Xin Liao et al. Infection of African green monkeys with simian immunodeficiency virus is a potential model for HIV vaccine development. Here, Zhang et al. catalogue the immunoglobulin loci present in the genome of these animals, and experimentally study their B-cell response to the viral envelope protein. 06 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12131 Biological Sciences  Genetics  Immunology  Virology  Signal transduction controls heterogeneous NF-κB dynamics and target gene expression through cytokine-specific refractory states OPEN Antony Adamson, Christopher Boddington, Polly Downton, William Rowe, James Bagnall, Connie Lam, Apolinar Maya-Mendoza, Lorraine Schmidt, Claire V. Harper, David G. Spiller, David A. Rand, Dean A. Jackson, Michael R. H. White and Pawel Paszek In biological systems, timing is often critical to the interpretation of signals that determine cell fate. Here the authors demonstrate how single cells and cellular populations respond dynamically to pulsatile stimulation by TNFα and IL-1β, and suggest a mechanism by which the two cytokines can synergistically modulate inflammation. 06 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12057 Biological Sciences  Cell biology  Systems biology  A combined cryo-EM and molecular dynamics approach reveals the mechanism of ErmBL-mediated translation arrest OPEN Stefan Arenz, Lars V. Bock, Michael Graf, C. Axel Innis, Roland Beckmann, Helmut Grubmüller, Andrea C. Vaiana and Daniel N. Wilson When the antibiotic erythromycin is bound to the ribosomal exit tunnel, ErmBL peptide translation stalls and allows translation of the downstream methyltransferase ErmB. Here the authors combine cryo-EM and molecular dynamics simulations to identify the underlying basis for the inhibition of peptide bond formation that results in ribosome stalling. 06 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12026 Biological Sciences  Biochemistry  Bioinformatics  Biophysics  Action potential broadening in a presynaptic channelopathy OPEN Rahima Begum, Yamina Bakiri, Kirill E. Volynski and Dimitri M. Kullmann Episodic ataxia type 1 is caused by mutations in the potassium channel Kv1.1, which is found in cerebellar basket cells. Here, the authors use electrophysiology techniques to characterize these mutant channels, and observe that the changes result in decreased spontaneous Purkinje cell firing with no evidence for developmental compensation. 06 July 2016 | doi: 10.1038/ncomms12102 Biological Sciences  Biophysics  Neuroscience    Nature Communications JOBS of the week Postdoctoral Fellow Cornell University Postdoctoral Research Scientist Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute in Glasgow Laboratory Research Scientist The Francis Crick Institute Postdoctoral Fellow Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Postdoctoral Fellow Stanford University School of Medicine, Dept. of Neurology and Neurological Sciences Postdoc m / f Leiden University Medical Center Senior Research Associate University of East Anglia (UEA) Postdoctoral Research Assistant University of Dundee Junior Group Leader Positions Institut Curie 3 PhD Positions University Medical Center Gottingen More Science jobs from Nature Communications EVENT Canceromatics III: Tumor Heterogeneity 13.11.16 Madrid, Spain More science events from     Advertisement Nature Medicine and the Volkswagen Foundation present:  GENOME EDITING FOR GENE AND CELL THERAPY, A HERRENHAUSEN SYMPOSIUM November 3-4, 2016 | Herrenhausen Palace Conference Center, Hanover, Germany REGISTER NOW!   Natureevents is a fully searchable, multi-disciplinary database designed to maximise exposure for events organisers. 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