Issues

ZGA is a watershed event in early development essential for subsequent cell fate determination and morphogenesis. In this study, Qian et al. determined that proper spatial patterning of ZGA is required for embryogenesis and the existence of a surveillance system for embryo quality control exquisitely tuned to spatiotemporal ordering of genome activation.

Wang et al. uncovered the molecular basis of Ana1-driven centriole elongation in Drosophila spermatogenesis. They demonstrated that Ana1/CEP295 promotes longitudinal centriole extension through direct interactions with both Cep135 and microtubules, providing new mechanistic insights into how giant centrioles are assembled during sperm development.

Jana, Ngo et al. reveal that β1-integrin and the tetraspanins CD9, CD81, and CD151 link the surface receptor CD36 to cortical actin, thereby regulating its dynamic organization and signaling. With their many interactions, integrins and tetraspanins may link many receptors lacking actin-binding motifs to cortical actin.

Bartolutti et al. show that physiological function for the unfolded protein response differs dramatically from its canonical role in driving a transcriptional program. Instead, this Ire1-mediated response prevents aberrant endoplasmic reticulum (ER) structures and represses translation, which reduces protein translocation into the ER, allowing cells to enter the meiotic program.

Asuka Yamaguchi and Takeshi Sasamura et al. show that cell chirality arises from directional actin flows driven by class 1 myosins in Drosophila macrophages. Myo1D organizes polarized circular F-actin that Myo2 rotates clockwise, providing a molecular basis for cell chirality.

Chi et al. demonstrate that 12-HHT-BLT2 signaling protects alveolar epithelial cells from pore-forming toxin-induced damage by promoting membrane repair. BLT2 facilitates extracellular vesicle shedding and actin remodeling, revealing a host defense mechanism that may be exploited therapeutically against bacterial infections.

Bhaskar Naidu and Vera Lillo et al. show that extracellular mechanical forces reciprocally regulate Golgi function. By linking cell adhesion and spreading, Golgi membrane mechanics, microtubule acetylation, lipid and protein kinase D signaling, and transport carrier formation, the study reveals a feedback pathway by which Golgi export supports cell spreading and mechanoadaptation.

BDCPs represent a family of large membrane-associated transmembrane cargo adaptors. In the current study, Dahl et al. determined the cryo-EM structure of the full-length BEACH domain protein NBEAL2 and identified the N-terminal α-solenoid/concanavalin A–like domain assembly of the typical BDCPs NBEAL1, NBEAL2, LYST, ALFY, LRBA, and NBEA as a modular membrane recruitment domain.

Bucciarelli et al. report that mutations in terno lead to a third meiotic division in Drosophila males. Terno interacts with cyclins A and B and the APC/C complex, and its loss increases the cyclin levels. This is likely to increase Cdk1-CycA and Cdk1-CycB activities, resulting in an extra meiotic division.

CERT protein regulates the levels of ceramide and PE-Cer in photoreceptor neurons. CERT function is required to maintain the structure of, and protein localization at, ER-PM MCS in Drosophila. In turn, intact MCS in these cells are required to maintain phosphoinositide levels at the plasma membrane during G-protein–coupled PLC signalling in neurons.

Nsamba and Villeneuve use high-resolution immunofluorescence microscopy and live imaging to investigate C. elegans oocyte meiosis, providing evidence for a model in which β-tubulin isotype composition helps to maintain a balance between microtubule-crosslinking and microtubule severing required for normal assembly and function of acentrosomal spindles.

The role of astrocytic cholesterol signaling in modulating presynaptic function remains poorly understood. Using dynamic nanoscale-precision imaging in hippocampal synapses, the authors demonstrate that astrocytic cholesterol release modulates synaptic transmission in an activity-dependent manner to fine-tune the balance and spatial organization of different forms of synaptic exo- and endocytosis.

Tran et al. show that mammalian metaphase kinetochores undergo large-scale, complex, and elastic deformations under forces of different timescales, magnitudes, and directions. They demonstrate that condensin is required for kinetochore local structural organization and microtubule attachment under force.

Ruault et al. reveal how budding yeast telomeres reorganize from peripheral foci to a central hypercluster in long-lived quiescent cells. They show that the sequential inactivation of nuclear envelope anchoring pathways after the diauxic shift drives this reorganization, linking metabolism and genome organization.

Super-resolution imaging reveals that CAR-T cells assemble immunological synapses with distinct actin architectures, including reduced central clearance and enhanced protrusions, highlighting fundamental cytoskeletal differences from TCR-driven synapses that may shape CAR-T signaling dynamics, synapse stability, and effector function.

Plasek-Hedge et al. show that Malat1, a lncRNA thought to be exclusively nuclear, highly abundant, and very stable, in fact localizes to the cytoplasm in early G1, where it is degraded at the onset of each cell cycle by a translation-mediated decay pathway.

Bharathan et al. provide the first comprehensive description of the 3D desmosome in A431 epidermoid carcinoma, human mammary epithelial cells, and airway epithelia in volume electron microscopy datasets. This study reports the variety of desmosome shapes, sizes, and other morphological characteristics across cell types, and reveals discontinuities or “gaps” in the desmosome plaque.

A versatile optogenetic tool enables light-controlled manipulation of nuclear proteins and structures. Using NLS-LARIAT in Drosophila ovarian cells, the authors reveal how rapid inhibition and clustering of GFP-tagged nuclear factors regulate border cell migration, nuclear mechanics, and the cell-fate consequences of nuclear protein dosage.

Lo et al. provide a perspective on the role of skeletal muscle caveolae, focusing on the cellular processes impaired by caveola dysfunction in muscle disease. They propose a new classification for disease-associated CAV3 variants.

Geert Kops previews work from Tran and colleagues, which uses super resolution live imaging to show that condensin is required for local structural organization and microtubule attachment of kinetochores.

The Golgi responds to the mechanical force of cell spreading by increasing its secretory output, sustaining spreading through a self-reinforcing feedback loop.