Issues

Needhi Bhalla previews work from Narula and Wignall that describes an unexpected, noncanonical role for PLK-1 in the suppression of centrosome maturation during meiosis.

Heffler and Lammerding discuss recent studies from the Schlieker and Henne groups that identify two proteins serving as crucial mechanical elements in the endoplasmic reticulum.

Tony Harris previews work from Kim et al., which identifies an inhibitory pathway that controls the formation of epithelial tubes during Drosophila salivary gland development.

Chung and Muallem discuss recent work from Militsin et al. revealing how STIM1 and STIM2 affect breast cancer cell migration by regulating IP₃R-mediated Ca²⁺ release.

Mellor et al. discuss the molecular mechanisms of mammalian genomic instability arising from folate deficiency and how this impacts genome biology in health and disease.

The mitotic spindle requires a balance of forces to achieve proper function. This paper reveals that tubulin isotypes, which copolymerize into spindle microtubules, calibrate the opposing outward- and inward-directed forces generated by kinesin-5 and kinesin-14 motors, respectively, to ensure proper anaphase spindle morphogenesis.

Teixeira et al. identify the onconeural antigen CDR2 as an ER-localized adaptor for the microtubule-based motor cytoplasmic dynein-1 and show that CDR2 contributes to ER organization through its interaction with the integral ER membrane protein kinectin.

Borisyuk et al. identify a signaling regulatory network of peroxisome proliferation, uncovering PKC as a positive regulator of peroxisome–ER interaction. During neuronal differentiation, activation of PKC contributes to an increase in peroxisome formation.

Narula and Wignall combine high-resolution imaging with auxin-inducible degradation to demonstrate that PLK-1 suppresses centrosome maturation and dampens microtubule polymerization in C. elegans oocytes. Since this essential kinase promotes centrosome maturation during mitosis, these findings reveal that PLK-1 plays a noncanonical role to promote the fidelity of the meiotic divisions.

This work reveals essential roles for TUBD1 in male germ cell development and male fertility, specifically in stabilizing the meiotic kinetochores during division and shaping the sperm head via the manchette. Our data suggest that TUBD1 interacts with katanins to achieve microtubule severing.

Morgan et al. demonstrate that pan-expansion microscopy is an exceptional tool for probing the molecular composition and structural plasticity of individual NPCs: they reveal LINC complex–dependent NPC diameter biases across the nuclear surface and changing nucleoporin positions in an ALS model.

Kim et al. report on Arc, a large PDZ domain–containing cell membrane–associated protein that controls Drosophila salivary gland architecture. Arc facilitates apical membrane delivery of Crumbs; in turn, Crumbs limits accumulation and activity of non-muscle myosin II to regulate the number of salivary gland cells that internalize at a given time.

Dennison and Baldridge investigate how the Golgi-localized Tul1 complex targets substrates to the proteasome versus the vacuole in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Deep mutational scanning of the Tul1 ubiquitin ligase revealed a role in regulating substrate degradation through polyubiquitin chain length.

The p97 ATPase and its membrane-localized adaptor UBXD8 maintain peroxisome abundance by removing ubiquitylated peroxisome membrane proteins that would otherwise serve as a signal of degradation of peroxisomes by autophagy.

STIM1 and STIM2 are critical regulators of breast cancer cell migration. Militsin et al. reveal novel crosstalk between STIM proteins and IP3Rs, whereby STIM activation alters the spatial pattern of IP3R-mediated Ca²⁺ release, shifting it from a promigratory localized signal to a diffuse, migration-suppressing signal.

This study explores the evolutionary history of caveolins, a family of unusual membrane remodeling proteins. Using computational predictions and cryo-electron microscopy, the authors show both animal and choanoflagellate caveolins assemble into amphipathic disks composed of seven conserved structural elements.

Naughton et al. establish that the ER experiences forces in the piconewton range across the ER lumen and identify NOMO as a force-bearing transmembrane protein that is required for myogenesis.

Neurons and muscles must maintain structural contact despite mechanical strain. Ermanoska et al. identify a presynaptic actomyosin core at Drosophila neuromuscular junctions that coordinates with integrin adhesion receptors to sense and respond to tension changes, preserving neuron–muscle mechanical continuity.

The authors identify the conserved unconventional class XV myosin, Myo15, an actin motor, as a novel regulator of presynaptic assembly and remodeling in Drosophila. They find Myo15 to be essential for presynaptic functional homeostatic plasticity and memory consolidation.

The WAVE complex is an actin nucleator that regulates sheet-like lamellipodial protrusions. M. Wu et al. find that the WAVE complex is a core and limiting component of a highly stereotyped membrane curvature-dependent linear array that could serve as a structural template for lamellipodial generation.

Pasolli, Meiring et al. describe tools to acutely relocate vimentin intermediate filaments by inducibly coupling them to microtubule motors. Rapid perinuclear clustering of vimentin had no strong effects on microtubules or actin but was accompanied by redistribution of mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum sheets, and reduced cell stiffness.