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Items tagged with: PLOSBiology

In 2025, #PLOSBiology continues to advocate for policy based on scientific evidence.

I feel strongly about the need for evidence-based policy and a dogged defence of science. I said it in 2020, and will reiterate it til the end of time.

The world may change - our principles should not.

This 2020 Editorial, “We need leaders that believe in scientific evidence”, resonates today as loudly as ever: plos.io/34lyl59.

PLOS Biology also continues to push for DEI and a diverse scientific community:
plos.io/3rzxczU

We need leaders that believe in scientific evidence

In a world beset by attempts to undermine scientific evidence and evidence-based policy, we emphasize their important role in helping humanity rise to the challenges of our time.
plos.io
#plosbiology

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#Coffee wilt disease is caused by the #fungus #Fusarium xylarioides. @little_peck @TimBarraclough9 &co compare 13 strains spanning 60 years & many outbreaks, showing that successive HGT from F. oxysporum affected host specificity & disease #PLOSBiology plos.io/4gnYTVk

Horizontal transfers between fungal Fusarium species contributed to successive outbreaks of coffee wilt disease

Outbreaks of coffee wilt disease, caused by the fungus Fusarium xylarioides, have severely impacted coffee production.
plos.io
#Coffee #plosbiology #fungus #fusarium

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How do plant-associated #microbiota regulate #plant hormones? @leidai_CAS &co reveal that #bacteria associated with #Arabidopsis & rice roots can degrade the #auxin IAA, mitigating the root inhibition caused by IAA-producing bacteria #PLOSBiology plos.io/3Oqzgaq

Systematic characterization of plant-associated bacteria that can degrade indole-3-acetic acid

How do plant-associated microbiota regulate plant hormones, affecting their growth and development? This study reveals that bacterial isolates associated with the roots of Arabidopsis and rice can degrade the auxin indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), mitigat…
plos.io
#plant #bacteria #plosbiology #microbiota #Arabidopsis #auxin

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Infants have impressive #auditory learning capabilities, even at day 1. Study shows that #newborns & 6–mo-olds already learn & detect #grammar-like rules; the underlying #BrainNetworks reorganize to be more adult-like after the first half-year #PLOSBiology plos.io/3UiaGMg

Functional reorganization of brain regions supporting artificial grammar learning across the first half year of life

Infants have impressive auditory learning capabilities, even from the newborn stage. This study provides neuroimaging evidence that both newborns and 6–7-month-olds already learn and detect grammar-like rules, and that the underlying brain networks a…
plos.io
#grammar #plosbiology #auditory #newborns #brainnetworks

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Some ancient divergences in #Opisthokonta (animals, fungi & their unicellular pals) remain contentious. Hongyue Liu @RokasLab Yuanning Li &co present a genome-scale #phylogeny & establish the geological timeline of #opisthokont diversification #PLOSBiology plos.io/3XrOD6U

A taxon-rich and genome-scale phylogeny of Opisthokonta

Opisthokonta is the major lineage that includes animals, fungi, and their unicellular relatives, but some ancient divergences remain contentious.
plos.io
#plosbiology #Phylogeny #opisthokonta #opisthokont

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.@bphmetz explores a #PLOSBiology study which uses in silico rewiring of #GeneticCodes & functional protein data to reveal a positive correlation between #robustness & protein #evolvability. Primer: plos.io/3K8lIP0 Paper: plos.io/4dXt85p

Genetic code robustness and protein evolvability are correlated and protein-specific

The relationship between genetic code robustness and protein evolvability is unknown. This Primer explores a new PLOS Biology study which uses in silico rewiring of genetic codes and functional protein data to identify a positive correlation between …
plos.io
#plosbiology #geneticcodes #robustness #evolvability

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Where do new genes come from? @HassanZaman91 @barricklab &co show that within the timescale of the #LTEE experiment, the co-option of #promoters, mainly from #TransposableElements, serves as the major source of raw material for #DeNovoGenes #PLOSBiology plos.io/4a8p6DT

Promoter recruitment drives the emergence of proto-genes in a long-term evolution experiment with Escherichia coli

De novo gene birth from non-genic sequence has received considerable attention due to the widespread occurrence of genes that are unique to particular species. This study shows that within the short evolutionary timescale of the iconic E.
plos.io
#plosbiology #ltee #TransposableElements #promoters #denovogenes

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How cells ensure an accurate 3' end for 18S rRNA. @RobinStanleyLab explores a #PLOSBiology study which reveals multiple checkpoints that ensure only #ribosomes containing the correct 3' end participate in translation. Primer: plos.io/4dmcv2L Paper: plos.io/3UNnn2F

Multiple checkpoints ensure ribosomes have the correct end

The 3’ end of 18S ribosomal RNA is formed by the endoribonuclease Nob1, but how cells ensure the accuracy of the 3’ end has been a mystery.
plos.io
#plosbiology #ribosomes

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#Bacterial acquisition of #zinc. @Ignacio_Luque_R @cyanofur &co reveal that a previously unstudied exoprotein from #cyanobacteria is an ancient system for Zn2+ acquisition that has been well conserved for billions of years #PLOSBiology plos.io/3PkyfBU

An ancient bacterial zinc acquisition system identified from a cyanobacterial exoproteome

Bacteria have developed fine-tuned responses to cope with limiting amounts of the essential mineral zinc.
plos.io
#plosbiology #bacterial #cyanobacteria #zinc

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The move from a free-living environment to an endosymbiotic relationship has profound effects on bacterial function.

This #PLOSBiology Unsolved Mystery from John P McCutcheon &co explores how bacterial endosymbionts work with so few genes. #symbiosis

plos.io/441F6Gk

How do bacterial endosymbionts work with so few genes?

The move from a free-living environment to a long-term residence inside a host eukaryotic cell has profound effects on bacterial function.
plos.io
#plosbiology #symbiosis

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#Bacteriophages encode anti-CRISPR proteins that inactivate bacterial #CRISPR-Cas systems, allowing successful invasion, replication & integration. This study shows that #antiCRISPR protein AcrIIA1 induces degradation of #Cas9 in human cells #PLOSBiology plos.io/3uUGAos

Cas9 degradation in human cells using phage anti-CRISPR proteins

Bacteriophages encode anti-CRISPR proteins that inactivate CRISPR-Cas bacterial immune systems, allowing successful invasion, replication, and prophage integration.
plos.io
#plosbiology #crispr #bacteriophages #cas9 #anticrispr

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#Phages are key drivers of #MicrobialEvolution, but many #phage genes are poorly understood. @denish_piya @AdamArkinLab @vivek_mutalik &co use arrayed genome-wide #CRISPRi to map gene the essentiality landscape in the iconic coliphages λ & P1. #PLOSBiology plos.io/3uLtzgU

Systematic and scalable genome-wide essentiality mapping to identify nonessential genes in phages

In this work, authors use an arrayed genome-wide CRISPR interference assay to map gene essentiality landscape in the canonical coliphages λ and P1.
plos.io
#plosbiology #phage #Phages #MicrobialEvolution #crispri @Vivek Mutalik

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The human #OAS1 protein restricts #SARSCoV2 replication, but #HorseshoeBat OAS1 has lost this ability. @spyroslytras @WilsonLabCVR &co resurrect the 60,000,000 yr old ancestral bat OAS1, revealing how this ancient #antiviral mechanism was lost #PLOSBiology plos.io/3N6fWPx

Resurrection of 2′-5′-oligoadenylate synthetase 1 (OAS1) from the ancestor of modern horseshoe bats blocks SARS-CoV-2 replication

The human OAS1 protein restricts SARS-CoV-2 replication, but the horseshoe bat OAS1 has lost this ability.
plos.io
#plosbiology #sarscov2 #Antiviral #horseshoebat #oas1

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How many #species are there on Earth? Projections have ranged from the millions to the trillions.

This Perspective looks at how a 2011 #PLOSBiology study transformed this field and what still needs to be done to find a definitive answer.

plos.io/3QRppvc

How many species are there on Earth? Progress and problems

How many species are there on Earth? Projections have ranged from the millions to the trillions. This Perspective looks at how a 2011 PLOS Biology study transformed this field and what is still to be done to find a definitive answer.
plos.io
#plosbiology #species

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The #symbioses that gave rise to primary #organelles are key events in the origin of #Eukaryotes. @PierreSGarcia @FredBarras & @SGribaldo use markers from 2 conserved machineries for [Fe-S] cluster biogenesis to support an early emergence of #mitochondria & #plastids within #Alphaproteobacteria & #Cyanobacteria #PLOSBiology plos.io/3FNP5E5

Components of iron–Sulfur cluster assembly machineries are robust phylogenetic markers to trace the origin of mitochondria and plastids

The symbioses that gave rise to primary organelles are key events in the origin of Eukaryotes. This study uses a dataset of markers belonging to two conserved machineries responsible for [Fe-S] cluster biogenesis to support an early emergence of mito…
plos.io
#plosbiology #mitochondria #cyanobacteria #eukaryotes #organelles #alphaproteobacteria #plastids #symbioses

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How do sunflowers track the sun during the day? Light manipulation & transcriptomics reveals that #sunflowers use multiple #photoreceptors & distinct growth pathways to generate daytime & nighttime bending movements during #heliotropism #PLOSBiology plos.io/46VpHbc

Multiple light signaling pathways control solar tracking in sunflowers

Sunflowers are famous for their ability to track the sun throughout the day and then reorient at night to face east the following morning.
plos.io
#plosbiology #heliotropism #photoreceptors #sunflowers

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Organisms use a range of defense systems against #parasites. Using a #bacteria-#phage model system, @drbridgetwatson @edzewestra &co ask what drives the transient evolution of different systems; implications for #HostEcology & #pathogenicity #PLOSBiology plos.io/3LoFSoM

Transient eco-evolutionary dynamics early in a phage epidemic have strong and lasting impact on the long-term evolution of bacterial defences

Organisms use a range of defence systems to protect against their parasites. Using a bacteria-phage model system, we investigate what drives the transient evolution of different systems, which has important implications for host ecology and pathogeni…
plos.io
#bacteria #plosbiology #phage #pathogenicity #hostecology #parasites

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#Aspergillus fumigatus, a saprotrophic #fungus that can cause serious life-threatening invasive infections, smashes the record for number of meiotic crossovers... ~30 per #chromosome (>2x the previous record holder) @TheRedBen @EvelineSnelders #PLOSBiology plos.io/3rc3k1L

The human fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus can produce the highest known number of meiotic crossovers

Aspergillus fumigatus is a saprotrophic fungus that can cause serious life-threatening invasive infections in immunocompromised individuals. By constructing a recombination map, this study shows that A.
plos.io
#plosbiology #fungus #chromosome #Aspergillus

#science #career #academia #plosbiology #diversity

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Analysis of 10k peer reviews reveals that those for high-#ImpactFactor #journals pay more attention to Materials/Methods but less to Presentation/Reporting (those for low-#JIF journals emphasize solutions) @annasvrn @eggersnsf @ste_mueller &co #PLOSBiology plos.io/45tDVzz

Relationship between journal impact factor and the thoroughness and helpfulness of peer reviews

An analysis of the content of 10,000 peer review reports reveals that reports submitted to journals with higher impact factors pay more attention to the materials and methods of a study but less attention to presentation and reporting, whereas journa…
plos.io
#plosbiology #journals #jif #impactfactor

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Into the #Unknome. The function of many human genes still remains mysterious; @mjafreeman, Sean Munro &co present an “Unknome database,” and show that screens focusing on the "Unknome" can shed light on fundamental biological processes #PLOSBiology plos.io/3YqumhS

Functional unknomics: Systematic screening of conserved genes of unknown function

The human genome contains many genes whose function remains mysterious, despite decades of research; this study presents a publicly available “Unknome database” and reveals that genetic screens that focus on this "unknome" can help shed light on fund…
plos.io
#plosbiology #unknome

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#Rotifers have been studied for >100 years re #microevolution, #EcologicalDynamics & #ecotoxicology. This study presents a #CRISPR-based method for KO mutation of 1 or 2 alleles, and KI mutations, in rotifers with high efficiency @MBLscience #PLOSBiology plos.io/3Kb8CAC

Highly efficient CRISPR-mediated gene editing in a rotifer

Rotifers have been studied in the laboratory and field for over 100 years in investigations of microevolution, ecological dynamics and ecotoxicology.
plos.io
#plosbiology #crispr #ecotoxicology #ecologicaldynamics #microevolution #rotifers

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Movement proteins enable cell-to-cell transfer of #plant RNA & DNA viruses via #plasmodesmata. @Butkovic_A @mkrupovic &co show that 30K movement proteins originated from #virus #JellyRoll capsid proteins, emphasizing the key role of exaptation #PLOSBiology plos.io/3NxGsBX

Plant virus movement proteins originated from jelly-roll capsid proteins

Movement proteins, a signature of plant RNA and DNA viruses, enable cell-to-cell movement of the virus via plasmodesmata channels.
plos.io
#Virus #plant #plosbiology #jellyroll #plasmodesmata

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Why are #MultipartiteViruses so widespread, given the apparent costs of this form of genome organization? @AsherLeeks @StuWest8 &co show that selection for cheats can drive the #evolution of multipartite #viruses under realistic conditions #PLOSBiology plos.io/3Lshrax

Cheating leads to the evolution of multipartite viruses

In multipartite viruses, the genome is split into multiple segments, each of which is transmitted via a separate capsid.
plos.io
#Evolution #plosbiology #viruses #multipartiteviruses

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Photosynthetic organisms like #algae can capture carbon and be used to manufacture bioplastics and biofuels. Researchers from @uts_c3 explain how algae can be used in industry to both reduce #carbon emissions and produce useful materials #PLOSBiology
plos.io/3TR0ybT

Save the planet with green industries using algae

We can use photosynthesis to capture carbon and make industries greener. Algae-driven carbon capture and manufacturing offer the potential for reducing CO2 emissions while also producing commodities such as bioplastics.
plos.io
#carbon #plosbiology #algae

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Unexpected #endosymbiont complexity in a fly species, wherein a #Wolbachia bacterium that kills males lives alongside a second strain that causes #CytoplasmicIncompatibility in the same host @MosWhisperer @drosobachia @PEARG_Lab &co #PLOSBiology plos.io/3TEicQe

A male-killing Wolbachia endosymbiont is concealed by another endosymbiont and a nuclear suppressor

Wolbachia bacteria live in the cells of many insects and have a variety of reproductive effects on their host.
plos.io
#plosbiology #wolbachia #cytoplasmicincompatibility #Endosymbiont

New #BehindThePaper blog post!
@annasimsbiol discusses her new paper on superinfection exclusion in influenza virus plos.io/3HXscie and working in a #virology lab during a pandemic
#PLOSBiology #academiclife #AcademicChatter
biologue.plos.org/2023/03/22/h…

Behind the paper: human collaboration to study virus interactions - PLOS Biologue

In this ‘behind the paper’ post, Anna Sims discusses her experience working in a virology lab during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic while not working in SARS-COV-2, and the importance of collaboration and discussion with peers in science.
PLOS Biology (PLOS Biologue)
#academicchatter #plosbiology #virology #academiclife #behindthepaper

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#Viral #taxonomy: transforming the existing classification of #viruses into a phylogenetic one is an ongoing challenge. This Consensus View explains how such #taxonomy can encapsulate viral diversity & recognize independent biological origins #PLOSBiology plos.io/3xnbLqi

Four principles to establish a universal virus taxonomy

Transforming an existing phenotypic classification of viruses into one based on evolutionary relationships that can accommodate the vast number of viruses characterized in metagenomics and environmental studies is an ongoing challenge.
plos.io
#viral #plosbiology #viruses #taxonomy

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RT @PLOSBiology
In another Perspective, @RokasLab & @jlsteenwyk look at the effect that relaxed phylogenetics (first published in #PLOSBiology in 2006 by @alexeidrummond &co) has had on the field of #evolution plos.io/3XW1AEu
4/4

The dawn of relaxed phylogenetics

In 2006, a landmark study on relaxed phylogenetics was published in PLOS Biology. This Perspective discusses how relaxed phylogenetics has influenced the field of evolutionary biology by enabling researchers to investigate evolution’s tempo.
plos.io
#Evolution #plosbiology @PLOS Biology

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Viruses are the most abundant biological entity in the #ocean. In this #PLOSBiology Essay, @vincentflora @vardilab discuss interactions between hosts and #viruses in the ocean and their relevance for global ocean ecosystem function in a changing climate.
plos.io/3kJcjDY

Viral infection in the ocean—A journey across scales

Viruses are the most abundant biological entity in the ocean. This Essay journeys across several orders of magnitude of biological organization, time, and space, to investigate interactions between hosts and viruses in the ocean and their relevance f…
plos.io
#Ocean #plosbiology #viruses @vincentflora

Hi Fediverse! 👋

We are very happy to be here! For those of us who don't know us, #PlosBiology is an #OpenAccess, #nonprofit scientific journal.

We are the PLOS flagship in the #LifeSciences. Our policies aim to depressurize de publication process & increase transparency. As all of PLOS, we're staunch promoters of #OpenScience.

Take a look at our current issue, with a gorgeous photo on the cover taken by one of our staff editors when she lived in #SouthAfrica

journals.plos.org/plosbiology/…

Current Issue | PLOS Biology

journals.plos.org
#openscience #OpenAccess #southafrica #lifesciences #nonprofit #plosbiology

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