Current Biology最新文献

{"title":"Divergence in neuronal signaling pathways despite conserved neuronal identity among Caenorhabditis species.","authors":"Itai Antoine Toker, Lidia Ripoll-Sánchez, Luke T Geiger, Antoine Sussfeld, Karan S Saini, Isabel Beets, Petra E Vértes, William R Schafer, Eyal Ben-David, Oliver Hobert","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.05.036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2025.05.036","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>One avenue to better understand brain evolution is to map molecular patterns of evolutionary changes in neuronal cell types across entire nervous systems of distantly related species. Generating whole-animal single-cell transcriptomes of three nematode species from the Caenorhabditis genus, we observed a remarkable stability of neuronal-cell-type identities over more than 45 million years of evolution. Conserved patterns of combinatorial expression of homeodomain transcription factors are among the best classifiers of homologous neuron classes. Unexpectedly, we discover an extensive divergence in neuronal signaling pathways. Although identities of neurotransmitter-producing neurons (glutamate, acetylcholine, γ-aminobutyric acid [GABA], and several monoamines) remain stable, expression of ionotropic and metabotropic receptors for all these neurotransmitter systems shows substantial divergence, resulting in more than half of all neuron classes changing their capacity to be receptive to specific neurotransmitters. Neuropeptidergic signaling is also remarkably divergent, both at the level of neuropeptide expression and receptor expression, yet the overall dense network topology of the wireless neuropeptidergic connectome remains stable. Novel neuronal signaling pathways are suggested by our discovery of small secreted proteins that show no obvious hallmarks of conventional neuropeptides but show similar patterns of highly neuron-type-specific and highly evolvable expression profiles. In conclusion, by investigating the evolution of entire nervous systems at the resolution of single-neuron classes, we uncover patterns that may reflect basic principles governing evolutionary novelty in neuronal circuits.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144141621","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":"Skin mycobiota-mediated antagonism against Staphylococcus aureus through a modified fatty acid.","authors":"Caitlin H Kowalski, Uyen Thy Nguyen, Susannah Lawhorn, T Jarrod Smith, Rebecca M Corrigan, Won Se Suh, Lindsay Kalan, Matthew F Barber","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.055","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.055","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Microbiota promote host health by inhibiting pathogen colonization, yet how host-resident fungi or mycobiota contribute to this process remains unclear. The human skin mycobiota is uniquely stable compared with other body sites and dominated by skin-adapted yeasts of the genus Malassezia. We observe that colonization of human skin by Malassezia sympodialis significantly reduces subsequent colonization by the prominent bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. In vitro, M. sympodialis generates a hydroxyl palmitic acid isomer from environmental sources that has potent bactericidal activity against S. aureus in the context of skin-relevant stressors and is sufficient to impair S. aureus skin colonization. Leveraging experimental evolution to pinpoint mechanisms of S. aureus adaptation in response to antagonism by Malassezia, we identified multiple mutations in the stringent response regulator Rel that promote survival against M. sympodialis and provide a competitive advantage on human skin when M. sympodialis is present. Similar Rel alleles have been reported in S. aureus clinical isolates, and natural Rel variants are sufficient for tolerance to M. sympodialis antagonism. Partial stringent response activation underlies tolerance to clinical antibiotics, with both laboratory-evolved and natural Rel variants conferring multidrug tolerance in a manner that is dependent on the alternative sigma factor SigB. These findings demonstrate the ability of the mycobiota to mediate pathogen colonization resistance through generation of a hydroxy palmitic acid isomer, identify new mechanisms of bacterial adaptation in response to microbiota antagonism, and reveal the potential for microbiota-driven evolution to shape pathogen antibiotic susceptibility.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"2266-2281.e8"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12093282/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143969670","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evolution: Disentangling dinosaur discovery and diversity.","authors":"Bethany J Allen","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.005","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Our knowledge of non-avian dinosaurs comes from an incomplete and biased fossil record. A new study shows how modelling the processes that shaped this record can help us understand these animals' demise.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":"35 10","pages":"R391-R393"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144110183","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":"Comparative transcriptomic insights into the evolution of vertebrate photoreceptor types.","authors":"Dario Tommasini, Takeshi Yoshimatsu, Teresa Puthussery, Tom Baden, Karthik Shekhar","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.060","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.060","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>To explore the molecular similarities and potential evolutionary origins of vertebrate photoreceptor types, we analyzed single-cell and -nucleus transcriptomic atlases from six vertebrate species: zebrafish, chicken, lizard, opossum, ground squirrel, and human. Comparative analyses identified conserved transcriptional signatures for the five ancestral photoreceptor types: red, blue, green, and UV cones, as well as rods. We further identified and validated molecular markers of the principal and accessory members of the tetrapod double cone. Comparative transcriptomics suggests that the principal member originated from ancestral red cones, although the origin of the accessory member is less clear. The gene expression variation among cone types mirrors their spectral order (red → green → blue → UV). We find that rods are highly dissimilar to all cone types, suggesting that rods may have diverged prior to the spectral diversification of cones.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"2228-2239.e4"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143967580","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":"Avoidance of infection.","authors":"Caroline R Amoroso, Amanda K Gibson, Pedro F Vale","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.031","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.031","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Since our first understanding of the nature of pathogen and parasite transmission, avoidance of infectious diseases has been an essential component of public health and epidemic suppression. Avoidance reduces an individual's risk of contacting pathogens. Humans are not the only host organisms that avoid their pathogens and parasites, though. In nature, infection avoidance is widespread in vertebrates, invertebrates, and even plants. Examining avoidance from this unified taxonomic perspective gives insights into its function, form, evolution, and application. In this Primer, we functionally define avoidance, outline its taxonomic breadth, provide an overview of what is known about its mechanisms and evolution, and identify applications of basic avoidance knowledge across fields as diverse as public health, conservation, and agriculture. We also highlight key open questions directing research into the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":"35 10","pages":"R367-R372"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144110142","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":"Ctenophores are a highly impactful predatory guild in open oceanic ecosystems.","authors":"Thomas Irvine, John H Costello, Brad J Gemmell, Kelly R Sutherland, Marco Corrales-Ugalde, James P Townsend, Sean P Colin","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.029","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.029","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The emergence of optical plankton sampling techniques has revealed that gelatinous zooplankton predators are considerably more numerous than previously observed.¹^,² This recognition of the widespread presence of gelatinous zooplankton challenges our understanding of oceanic food-web dynamics because gelatinous zooplankton have traditionally been viewed as only minor players in oceanic biogeochemical cycles, which are critical in regulating atmospheric carbon dioxide.³^,⁴^,⁵^,⁶^,⁷^,⁸ Ctenophores (commonly called comb jellies) can be numerically dominant predators in these gelatinous communities but are severely under-sampled due to their extremely delicate gelatinous bodies.⁹^,¹⁰^,¹¹^,¹² To better understand their trophic impact, we used novel, non-invasive SCUBA techniques to document prey ingestion patterns of four widespread oceanic ctenophore species. We found that these ctenophores, on average, ingested 32 prey/h and up to 50 prey/h. At these rates, lobate and cestid ctenophores consume prey at similar rates to their highly impactful coastal relative, Mnemiopsis leidyi, and are likely the most impactful planktonic predator in the open oceans. Further, we showed that although major dietary components overlapped, different oceanic ctenophore species appear to consume different members of the plankton. Since these oceanic ctenophore species frequently co-occur, they comprise a powerful predatory guild with synergistic impacts. Consequently, epipelagic ctenophores have much greater trophic effects on material cycles over broad areas of the open ocean than previously considered.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"2467-2473.e2"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143984422","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":"Reticulon-dependent ER-phagy mediates adaptation to heat stress in C. elegans.","authors":"Claudia Serot, Vincent Scarcelli, Alexandre Pouget, Céline Largeau, Audrey Sagot, Kenza El-Hachami, Denis Dupuy, Emmanuel Culetto, Christophe Lefebvre, Renaud Legouis","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.028","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.04.028","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The selective degradation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by autophagy, named ER-phagy, promotes the recovery of ER homeostasis after stress. Depending on the ER stress, different types of ER-phagy involve various selective autophagy receptors. In this study, we report a macroER-phagy induced by the fragmentation of tubular ER in response to acute heat stress. We identified a novel ER-phagy receptor encoded by the reticulon long isoform RET-1d. RET-1d is mainly expressed in the nervous system and the epidermis and colocalizes with the ubiquitin-like autophagy protein LGG-1/GABARAP during heat-stress-induced autophagy. Two LC3-interacting region (LIR) motifs in the long intrinsically disordered region of RET-1d mediate its interaction with the LGG-1 protein. The specific depletion of the RET-1d isoform or the mutations of the LIRs resulted in a defective ER-phagy and a decrease in the capacity of animals to adapt to heat stress. Our data revealed a RET-1d- and LGG-1-dependent ER-phagy mechanism that takes place in neurons and epidermis and participates in the adaptation of C. elegans to heat stress.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"2365-2378.e7"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143958582","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":"Identification of an a-factor-like pheromone secreted by the heterothallic ascomycete Aspergillus fumigatus.","authors":"Sven Krappmann, Elisabeth Gabl, Tobias Pazen, Anna Heizmann, Stefanie Pöggeler, Thomas Krüger, Olaf Kniemeyer, Jürgen Einsiedel, Peter Gmeiner, Yidong Yu, Paul S Dyer, Scott E Baker, Minou Nowrousian","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.080","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.080","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Members of the fungal kingdom serve as models for numerous cellular processes, among them sexuality.¹ In heterothallic ascomycetes, mating-type systems ensure that only compatible isolates fuse to enter the sexual phase.²^,³^,⁴^,⁵^,⁶ This includes reciprocal secretion and recognition of pheromones, commonly termed α-factor and a-factor, which are processed from peptide precursors.⁷^,⁸^,⁹^,¹⁰ Identification of fungal mating pheromones and their cognate receptors has been achieved by homology searches¹¹^,¹²^,¹³^,¹⁴^,¹⁵^,¹⁶^,¹⁷; however, this approach had failed to detect a-factor-like pheromones from Eurotiomycetes,⁵^,¹⁸^,¹⁹^,²⁰^,²¹ a fungal group including medically and economically important species.²² Sexuality of the opportunistic pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus²³^,²⁴^,²⁵ is genetically determined by a bipolar mating-type system encoding MAT1-1-1 and MAT1-2-1 regulators.¹⁶^,²⁶^,²⁷^,²⁸^,²⁹^,³⁰ By analyzing transcriptome data from strains overexpressing the corresponding MAT genes,³¹ we identified a candidate pheromone precursor gene B (ppgB) to encode the elusive Eurotiomycete a-factor pheromone. Its deduced peptide is 24 aa in length and features a canonical CaaX farnesylation motif. Further analyses provided supporting evidence that PpgB is a prototype for the a-factor-like pheromone of the aspergilli, including expression of ppgB in a MAT1-2-1-dependent manner, and that an A. fumigatus ppgBΔ deletion strain was unable to mate and form fruiting bodies with a compatible partner. Inspection of Aspergillus genomes from members of the section Fumigati revealed high conservation of PpgB sequence as well as of the α-factor-like PpgA, indicating that incompatibility factors other than solely pheromone discrimination are responsible for speciation. The identification of the A. fumigatusa-factor-like pheromone closes a substantial knowledge gap with respect to cellular recognition and sexual propagation of Eurotiomycete fungi.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"2414-2423.e5"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143968934","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":"An end-to-end model of active electrosensation.","authors":"Denis Turcu, Abigail N Zadina, L F Abbott, Nathaniel B Sawtell","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.074","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.074","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Weakly electric fish localize and identify objects by sensing distortions in a self-generated electric field. Fish can determine the resistance and capacitance of an object, for example, even though the field distortions being sensed are small and highly dependent on object distance and size. The neural computations underlying these remarkable behavioral capacities are poorly understood. We measured responses of electroreceptor afferents and constructed a filter-based model that accurately accounts for them. We also built models of the electric fields generated by the fish and of the distortions in these fields due to objects of different resistances and capacitances at different locations. Combining these models provides an accurate and efficient method for generating large artificial datasets simulating fish interacting with a wide variety of objects. Using these sets, we trained an artificial neural network (ANN), representing brain areas downstream of the electroreceptors, to extract the 3D location, size, and electrical properties of objects. Model performance is comparable to that of real fish in experimentally tested behavioral tasks. Performance is maximized if the ANN operates in two stages: first estimating object distance and size and then using this information to extract electrical properties. These results highlight the potential of end-to-end modeling for studies of electrosensation and suggest a specific form of modularity in electrosensory processing that can be tested experimentally.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"2295-2306.e4"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143971863","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":"Representations of personally familiar voices are better resolved in the brain.","authors":"Elise Kanber, Clare Lally, Raha Razin, Victor Rosi, Lúcia Garrido, Nadine Lavan, Carolyn McGettigan","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.081","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2025.03.081","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The human voice is highly flexible, allowing for diverse expression during communication,¹ but presents perceptual challenges through large acoustic variability.²^,³^,⁴^,⁵^,⁶^,⁷^,⁸^,⁹^,¹⁰^,¹¹ The ability to recognize an individual person's voice depends on the listener's ability to overcome this within-speaker variability to extract a single identity percept.²^,¹⁸ Previous work has found that this process is greatly assisted by familiarity,⁶^,⁹^,¹³ with evidence suggesting that more extensive and varied exposure to a voice is associated with the formation of a more robust mental representation of it.⁴^,⁸ Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with representational similarity analysis¹⁴ to characterize how personal familiarity with a voice is reflected in neural representations. We measured and compared brain responses with voices of differing familiarity-a personally familiar voice, a voice familiarized through lab training, and a new (untrained) voice-while listeners identified these voices from naturally varying, spontaneous speech clips. Personally familiar voices elicited brain response patterns in voice-, face-, and person-selective corticesthat showed higher within- and between-speaker dissimilarity, compared with lower-familiarity lab-trained and untrained voices. These findings indicated that representations for the sounds of personally familiar voices are better resolved from each other in the brain, and they align with other research reporting intelligibility advantages for speech produced by familiar talkers.¹⁵^,¹⁶^,¹⁷^,¹⁸ Overall, our findings suggest that extensive and varied exposure to personally familiar voices results in the development of finer-grained representations of those voices, which cannot be achieved via short-term lab training.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"2424-2432.e6"},"PeriodicalIF":8.1,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143971865","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}