Current Biology最新文献

{"title":"A deletion at the X-linked ARHGAP36 gene locus is associated with the orange coloration of tortoiseshell and calico cats.","authors":"Hidehiro Toh, Wan Kin Au Yeung, Motoko Unoki, Yuki Matsumoto, Yuka Miki, Yumiko Matsumura, Yoshihiro Baba, Takashi Sado, Yasukazu Nakamura, Miho Matsuda, Hiroyuki Sasaki","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.075","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.075","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The X-linked orange (O) locus in domestic cats controls an unknown molecular mechanism that causes the suppression of black-brownish pigmentation in favor of orange coloration. The alternating black-brownish and orange patches seen in tortoiseshell and calico cats are considered classic examples of the phenotypic expression of random X chromosome inactivation (XCI) occurring in female mammals. However, the O gene in the cat genome has not been identified, and the genetic variation responsible for the orange coloration remains unknown. We report here that a 5.1-kilobase (kb) deletion within an intron of the X-linked ARHGAP36 gene, encoding a Rho GTPase-activating protein, is closely and exclusively associated with orange coloration. The deleted region contains a highly conserved putative regulatory element, whose removal is presumed to alter ARHGAP36 expression. Notably, ARHGAP36 expression in cat skin tissues is linked to the suppression of many melanogenesis genes, potentially shifting pigment synthesis from eumelanin to pheomelanin. Furthermore, we find evidence that the gene undergoes XCI in female human and mouse cells and XCI-dependent CpG island methylation consistent with random XCI in female domestic cats. The 5.1-kb deletion seems widespread in domestic cats with orange coat coloration, suggesting a single origin of this coat color phenotype.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144085733","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Molecular and genetic characterization of sex-linked orange coat color in the domestic cat.","authors":"Christopher B Kaelin, Kelly A McGowan, Joshaya C Trotman, Donald C Koroma, Victor A David, Marilyn Menotti-Raymond, Emily C Graff, Anne Schmidt-Küntzel, Elena Oancea, Gregory S Barsh","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.055","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Sex-linked orange mutation in domestic cats causes variegated patches of reddish/yellow hair and is a defining signature of random X inactivation in female tortoiseshell and calico cats. Unlike the situation for most coat color genes, there is no apparent homolog for Sex-linked orange in other mammals. We show that Sex-linked orange is caused by a 5-kb deletion that leads to ectopic and melanocyte-specific expression of the Rho GTPase Activating Protein 36 (Arhgap36) gene. Single-cell RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) studies from fetal cat skin reveal that red/yellow hair color is caused by reduced expression of melanogenic genes that are normally activated by the melanocortin 1 receptor (Mc1r)-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-protein kinase A (PKA) pathway, but Mc1r and its ability to stimulate cAMP accumulation is intact. Instead, we show that expression of Arhgap36 in melanocytes leads to reduced levels of the PKA catalytic subunit (PKA_C); thus, Sex-linked orange is genetically and biochemically downstream of Mc1r. Our findings resolve a longstanding comparative genetic puzzle, provide in vivo evidence for the ability of Arhgap36 to inhibit PKA, and reveal a molecular explanation for a charismatic color pattern with a rich genetic history.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144085761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Conscious tactile perception entails distinct neural dynamics within somatosensory areas.","authors":"Davide Albertini, Maria Del Vecchio, Ivana Sartori, Andrea Pigorini, Francesca Talami, Flavia Maria Zauli, Simone Sarasso, Ezequiel Pablo Mikulan, Marcello Massimini, Pietro Avanzini","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.052","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Distilling the neural correlates of consciousness (NCCs) in humans is challenging due to limitations in the spatiotemporal resolution of recording techniques and confounds related to pre- and post-perceptual processes. In this study, we leveraged the detailed insights provided by human intracortical recordings to elucidate how somatosensory responses to simple tactile stimuli vary across different stimulus intensities and reporting conditions. Among the various spatiotemporal components of somatosensory processing, we observed tonic responses in posterior perisylvian regions that exhibited all the key characteristics of somatosensory NCCs. These responses remained invariant regardless of reporting, displayed an all-or-nothing pattern at the verge of the sensory threshold, and showed the most pronounced divergence between perceived and non-perceived stimuli. Overall, our findings indicate that conscious perception of simple tactile stimuli depends on higher-order somatosensory regions and that sustained neural dynamics in these areas may serve as an organizational principle of somatosensory awareness.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144085738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neofunctionalization of VAMP7 opened up a plant-unique vacuolar transport pathway.","authors":"Masaru Fujimoto, Yutaro Shimizu, Yoko Ito, Kazuo Ebine, Naoki Minamino, Takehiko Kanazawa, Yoichiro Fukao, Akihiko Nakano, Tomohiro Uemura, Takashi Ueda","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.062","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Each eukaryotic cell possesses a specialized membrane trafficking system that emerged through paralogous expansion followed by the neofunctionalization of trafficking machinery components, including soluble N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) proteins, during evolution. We discovered that the acquisition of an acidic insertion in the polypeptide converted the secretory R-SNARE vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP)72 into a major component of plant vacuolar transport. The moderately acidic insertion, originating from alternative splicing in the common ancestor of zygnematophytes and embryophytes, conferred binding ability to the clathrin adapter protein complex-4 (AP-4) at the trans-Golgi network (TGN), partially redirecting the VAMP72 protein from the secretory to the vacuolar transport pathway. Increased acidity of the insertion in angiosperms further reinforced the interaction with AP-4, leading VAMP727 to discrete zoning during sorting at the TGN and a definitive conversion to endosomal localization. This stepwise neofunctionalization of VAMP72 provided an option for the development of the intricate and complex vacuolar transport system in extant angiosperms.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144076652","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Expression of clock genes tracks daily and tidal time in brains of intertidal crustaceans Eurydice pulchra and Parhyale hawaiensis.","authors":"Andrew Oliphant, Chee Y Sia, Charalambos P Kyriacou, David C Wilcockson, Michael H Hastings","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.047","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.047","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Intertidal organisms, such as the crustaceans Eurydice pulchra and Parhyale hawaiensis, express daily and tidal rhythms of physiology and behavior to adapt to their temporally complex environments. Although the molecular-genetic basis of the circadian clocks driving daily rhythms in terrestrial animals is well understood, the nature of the circatidal clocks driving tidal rhythms remains a mystery. Using in situ hybridization, we identified discrete clusters of ∼60 putative \"clock\" cells co-expressing canonical circadian clock genes across the protocerebrum of E. pulchra and P. hawaiensis brains. In field-collected, tidally rhythmic E. pulchra sampled under a light:dark (LD) cycle, the expression of period (per) and cryptochrome 2 (cry2) exhibited daily rhythms in particular cell groups, whereas timeless (tim) showed 12-h rhythms in others. In tidally rhythmic laboratory-reared P. hawaiensis, previously entrained to 12.4-h cycles of agitation under LD and sampled under continuous darkness, several cell groups (e.g., medioposterior cells) exhibited circadian expression of per and cry2. In contrast, dorsal-lateral cells in the protocerebrum exhibited robust ∼12-h, i.e., circatidal, rhythms of per and cry2, phased to the prior tidal agitation but not the prior LD. In P. hawaiensis exhibiting daily behavior under LD without tidal agitation, robust daily rhythms of per and cry2 expression were evident in medioposterior and other cells, whereas expression in dorsal-lateral cells was not rhythmic, underlining their essentially tidal periodicity. These results implicate canonical circadian molecules in circatidal timekeeping and reveal conserved brain networks as potential neural substrates for the generation of daily and tidal rhythms appropriate to intertidal habitats.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143984964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chimpanzee drumming shows rhythmicity and subspecies variation.","authors":"Vesta Eleuteri, Jelle van der Werff, Wytse Wilhelm, Adrian Soldati, Catherine Crockford, Nisarg Desai, Pawel Fedurek, Maegan Fitzgerald, Kirsty E Graham, Kathelijne Koops, Jill Pruetz, Liran Samuni, Katie Slocombe, Angela Stoeger, Michael L Wilson, Roman M Wittig, Klaus Zuberbühler, Henry D Camara, Gnan Mamy, Andrea Ravignani, Catherine Hobaiter","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.019","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rhythmic percussion is present across human cultures and has been proposed as one of the earliest evolved forms of musical expression.¹ Key features of human rhythmic percussion include individual and regional variation, as well as structural features widespread across musical cultures, such as the use of non-random timing and isochrony (i.e., evenly spaced note onsets).²^,³^,⁴^,⁵ Comparative studies of drumming in our ape relatives contribute to understanding the evolutionary origins of human rhythmic percussion. In this context, large, diverse datasets allow testing for species-level universals and regional variation. Chimpanzees and bonobos, like humans, drum on instrumental substrates.²^,⁶^,⁷^,⁸^,⁹ Wild chimpanzees drum on resonant tree buttresses, showing individual variation during traveling and resting contexts, and often integrate drumming into their long-distance pant-hoot vocalizations.⁶^,⁷^,⁸ But whether wild chimpanzee drumming shows structural musical features and regional variation in rhythm or in its integration within pant-hoots remains unknown. We show that wild chimpanzees drum with non-random timing and isochrony, providing evidence that rhythmic drumming on instrumental substrates may have been present in our last common ancestor.² Furthermore, we found subspecies-level regional rhythmic variation, showing that western chimpanzees drum isochronously, while eastern chimpanzees drum by alternating shorter and longer inter-hit intervals. Western chimpanzees also produce more drumming hits, drum at a faster tempo, and integrate drumming earlier in the pant-hoot vocalization, typically during the rhythmic build-up phase. Chimpanzee buttress drumming shows both species-level structural features of human musicality and stable subspecies regional differences across diverse ecologies.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143977177","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The expanded Bostrychia moritziana genome unveils evolution in the most diverse and complex order of red algae.","authors":"Romy Petroll, John A West, Michael Ogden, Owen McGinley, Rory J Craig, Susana M Coelho, Michael Borg","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.044","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.044","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Red algae are an ancient eukaryotic lineage that were among the first to evolve multicellularity. Although they share a common origin with modern-day plants and display complex multicellular development, comprehensive genome data from the most highly evolved red algal groups remain scarce. Here, we present a chromosome-level genome assembly of Bostrychia moritziana, a complex red seaweed in the Rhodomelaceae family of the Ceramiales-the largest and most diverse order of red algae. Contrary to the view that red algal genomes are typically small, we report significant genome size expansion in Bostrychia and other Ceramiales, which represents one of at least three independent expansion events in red algal evolution. Our analyses suggest that these expansions do not involve polyploidy or ancient whole-genome duplications, but in Bostrychia rather stem from the proliferation of a single lineage of giant Plavaka DNA transposons. Consistent with its enlarged genome, Bostrychia has an increased gene content shaped by de novo gene emergence and amplified gene families in common with other Ceramiales, providing insight into the genetic adaptations underpinning this successful and species-rich order. Finally, our sex-specific assemblies resolve the UV sex chromosomes in Bostrychia, which feature expanded gene-rich sex-linked regions. Notably, each sex chromosome harbors a three amino acid loop extension homeodomain (TALE-HD) transcription factor orthologous to ancient regulators of haploid-diploid transitions in other multicellular lineages. Together, our findings offer a unique perspective of the genomic adaptations driving red algal diversity and demonstrate how this red seaweed lineage can provide insight into the evolutionary origins and universal principles underpinning complex multicellularity.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144062851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Memory and the scheduling of parental care in an insect population in the wild.","authors":"Jeremy Field, Charlie Savill, William A Foster","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.045","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Animals are expected to schedule their activities so as to maximize fitness. Vertebrates achieve this using memories of previous events-what happened, where, and when¹^,²-but most studies have been lab based.³ Here, we investigate the scheduling of parental care by progressively provisioning digger wasps (Ammophila) in their natural environment, where fitness consequences are observable and we can relate behavior to its ecological context. Despite their miniature brains, females used information including all three elements of the what-where-when paradigm. Remarkably, they remember the locations of up to 9 separate nests simultaneously (where), each nest containing a single offspring. Without having to resample, females feed offspring in order of age (when), reducing the chance of starvation, and can adjust the sequence flexibly. Memory capacity might sometimes constrain performance: offspring were fed out of order when there were more of them to choose between or if the age sequence was altered following offspring deaths. Mothers delayed feeding offspring that had been given larger first food items experimentally (what), enabling them to initiate additional offspring earlier, but in this case decisions were based on resampling offspring needs directly rather than on memories of the food provided during egg-laying. Resampling could reflect ecological pressures rather than cognitive constraints: mothers relied on memory if resampling would expose offspring to parasites but resampled when risks were reduced. Progressive provisioning requires mothers to coordinate the feeding of multiple offspring and assess offspring maternity and needs during development. These skills may have preadapted some lineages for sociality.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143957903","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evolution of far-red light photoacclimation in cyanobacteria.","authors":"Laura A Antonaru, Cecilia Rad-Menéndez, Susan Mbedi, Sarah Sparmann, Matthew Pope, Thomas Oliver, Shujie Wu, David H Green, Muriel Gugger, Dennis J Nürnberg","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.038","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cyanobacteria oxygenated the atmosphere of early Earth and continue to be key players in global carbon and nitrogen cycles. A phylogenetically diverse subset of extant cyanobacteria can perform photosynthesis with far-red light through a process called far-red light photoacclimation, or FaRLiP. This phenotype is enabled by a cluster of ∼20 genes and involves the synthesis of red-shifted chlorophylls d and f, together with paralogs of the ubiquitous photosynthetic machinery used in visible light. The FaRLiP gene cluster is present in diverse, environmentally important cyanobacterial groups, but its origin, evolutionary history, and connection to early biotic environments have remained unclear. This study takes advantage of the recent increase in (meta)genomic data to help clarify this issue: sequence data mining, metagenomic assembly, and phylogenetic tree networks were used to recover more than 600 new FaRLiP gene sequences, corresponding to 51 new gene clusters. These data enable high-resolution phylogenetics and-by relying on multiple gene trees, together with gene arrangement conservation-support FaRLiP appearing early in cyanobacterial evolution. Sampling information shows that considerable FaRLiP diversity can be observed in microbialites to the present day, and we hypothesize that the process was associated with the formation of microbial mats and stromatolites in the early Paleoproterozoic. The ancestral FaRLiP cluster was reconstructed, revealing features that have been maintained for billions of years. Overall, far-red-light-driven oxygenic photosynthesis may have played a significant role in Earth's early history.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144076598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Conserved mechanical hallmark guides four-way junction avoidance during plant cytokinesis.","authors":"Elsa Gascon, Camila Goldy, Alexis Lebecq, Samantha Moulin, Guillaume Cerutti, Vincent Bayle, Florian Gacon, Amelie Bauer, Aurélie Fangain, Romain Azaïs, Olivier Ali, Marie-Cécile Caillaud","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.046","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>When building an organ, adjacent cells coordinate to form topologically stable junctions by integrating mechanosensitive signaling pathways. Positioning the newly formed tricellular junction in walled multicellular organisms is critical, as cells cannot migrate. The cell division site must avoid existing cellular junctions to prevent unstable four-way junctions. The microtubule preprophase band (PPB) is a guideline for the plant cell's future cell division site. Yet, mutants impaired in PPB formation hardly display defects, suggesting the presence of an alternative mechanism. Here, we report the existence of a process that guides the cell division site close to an adjacent tricellular junction. This PPB-independent mechanism depends on the phosphoinositide phosphatase SUPPRESSION OF ACTIN 9 (SAC9): in the Arabidopsis mutant sac9-3, the cell plate abnormally attaches at two equidistant positions from an adjacent tricellular junction. Numerical simulations suggest that elastic energy accumulation at the subcellular level within walls, due to their rheological response to mechanical stresses, could act as positional cues revealing the positions of tricellular junctions. Moreover, perturbation of the root mechanical homeostasis results in four-way junction formation. This provides a scenario in which cells avoid four-way junction formation during cytokinesis through discrete subcellular mechanical hallmarks.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143962538","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}