Kaspar Gierke, Michalina Gadomska, Julia Breuer, Julius N. Bahr, Tanja M. Müller, Hanna Ehnis, Sina Zobel, Nancy Mejia Villagran, Sonja A. Kirsch, Alexandra Skrzypek, Renato Frischknecht, Anna Fejtová, Rainer A. Böckmann, Carolin Wichmann, Hanna Regus-Leidig, Johann Helmut Brandstätter
How SRs tether hundreds of synaptic vesicles to sustain continuous neurotransmitter release at sensory synapses remains unknown. In the current study, Gierke et al. demonstrate that the SR-associated protein Piccolino is essential for this tethering and propose a direct protein–lipid interaction as the underlying molecular mechanism.
Mariyah Saiduddin, Juhee Pae, Asier M. Vidal, Martin L. Alani, Ruth Lehmann
Saiduddin et al. use optogenetics and live imaging in Drosophila embryos to identify an unexpected role of Torso receptor tyrosine kinase in activating PI3K signaling. They demonstrate that the germplasm-specific ubiquitin ligase adaptor GCL is required to prune PIP3 from the membrane to establish the soma-germline boundary.
Mori et al. demonstrate that the presynaptic active zone proteins CAST and ELKS directly interact with endophilin-A to maintain the functional synaptic vesicle pool. This study redefines their roles beyond structural organization, highlighting how they coordinate synaptic vesicle release processes necessary for efficient neurotransmission.
Babli Adhikary, Alexander Chang, Atsuko Y. Higashi, Hideki Chiba, Ann L. Miller, Tomohito Higashi
Adhikary et al. show that PAK4 drives dynamic vertex remodeling in cells and embryos through spatiotemporal regulation of myosin II. Inhibition of PAK4 disrupts tissue packing and compromises junctional continuity and barrier function, indicating that PAK4 is essential for vertex remodeling to preserve tissue integrity.
Analeigha V. Colarusso, Alison C.E. Wirshing, Daniel J. Lew
Budding yeasts are thought to use septins to mark mother–bud necks as sites for cytokinesis. Here, Colarusso et al. find that the multibudding yeast Aureobasidium pullulans can position cytokinetic machinery at most bud necks even in the absence of septins, revealing a novel pathway to mark cytokinesis sites.
Darren R. Mallett, Mengqiu Jiang, Gianna M. Minnuto, Sue Biggins
Unattached kinetochores cluster in budding yeast to promote microtubule capture. Mallett et al. dissect the molecular mechanisms of this pathway, showing Mps1 kinase regulates an interaction between Stu1 and Slk19 to drive clustering.
Fan et al. reveal how nutrient sensing in intestinal epithelial cells controls stem cell activity. Inhibition of Rag GTPases or mTORC1 in enterocytes non-cell autonomously promotes ISC proliferation via Upd3–JAK–STAT signaling. In this process, Mitf activation mediates the effect of Rag GTPases but not mTORC1. These findings link dietary cues to intestinal homeostasis.
Ruth M. Kearney, Anushka Sharma, Ciaran G. Morrison
Kearney, Sharma, and Morrison preview work from the Firat-Karalar lab, which reveals how PCM1 multimerization drives assembly of centriolar satellites and recruitment of client proteins.
Patricia L. Opresko and Orlando D. Schärer highlight work from Muniesa-Vargas and colleagues, which reveals insight into the mechanisms that regulate the dynamics of XPG recruitment and release during nucleotide excision repair.
Mami Sato, Florencio Porto Freitas, José Pedro Friedmann Angeli
José Pedro Friedmann Angeli and colleagues preview work from Ndoci et al., which reveals a system by which mitochondria prioritize CoQ retention when the mevalonate pathway is impaired, preserving respiration at the expense of antioxidant defenses.
