Current BiologyPub Date : 2026-10-05Epub Date: 2026-09-08DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.032
Teresa Zeibig, Maria A Spyrou, Arthur Kocher, Emily Gaul, Mark Aldenderfer, Rodrigo Barquera, Jessica F Beckett, Arman Beisenov, Andrey B Belinski, Philip P Betancourt, Ruth Boersma, Pablo Carrion, Ainash Childebayeva, Christine Cooper, Francesco Cucca, Rosaria Di Salvo, Marko Dizdar, Leyla Djansugurova, Michal Ernée, Susan C Ferrence, Lars Fehren-Schmitz, Ayshin Ghalichi, Karen L Giffin, Steven Gilbert, Jorge A Gómez-Valdés, Joscha Gretzinger, Leif Hansen, Svend Hansen, Diana Iraiz Hernandez-Zaragoza, Rimantas Jankauskas, Choongwon Jeong, Marcel Keller, Valery Khartanovich, Daewook Kim, Rebecca Kinaston, Alexey Kovalev, Justina Kozakaitė, Dirk Krausse, Siniša Krznar, Mario Küßner, Louise C Langford, Luca Lai, Sandra Lösch, Kerttu Majander, Marcello A Mannino, Lourdes Márquez-Morfín, Michael McCormick, Photini J P McGeorge, Megan Michel, Vyacheslav Moiseyev, Hyoungmin Moon, Angela Mötsch, Lyazzat Musralina, Erdene Myagmar, Elia Nakoro, Rita E Németh, Gunnar U Neumann, Mario Novak, Lauro Olmo Enciso, Päivi Onkamo, Luka Papac, Sanni Peltola, Cosimo Posth, Adam Powell, Chantal Radimilahy, Dragana Rajković, Jean-Aimé Rakotoarisoa, Bako Nirina Rasoarifetra, Sabine Reinhold, Roberto Risch, Zainolla Samashev, Duncan Sayer, Vittoria Schimmenti, Felicitas Schmitt, Elena Sintes, Philip Slavin, Denis Sorokin, Thomas Terberger, Rezeda Tukhbatova, Åshild J Vågene, Katrien Van de Vijver, Alfonso Vigil-Escalera Guirado, Vanessa Villalba-Mouco, Dmitriy Voyakin, Eun Jin Woo, Teresa Ximenez, Philipp Stockhammer, Christina Warinner, Kirsten Bos, Stephan Schiffels, Alissa Mittnik, Wolfgang Haak, Alexander Herbig, Johannes Krause
{"title":"Tracing the evolution and diversity of human parvovirus B19 across human history.","authors":"Teresa Zeibig, Maria A Spyrou, Arthur Kocher, Emily Gaul, Mark Aldenderfer, Rodrigo Barquera, Jessica F Beckett, Arman Beisenov, Andrey B Belinski, Philip P Betancourt, Ruth Boersma, Pablo Carrion, Ainash Childebayeva, Christine Cooper, Francesco Cucca, Rosaria Di Salvo, Marko Dizdar, Leyla Djansugurova, Michal Ernée, Susan C Ferrence, Lars Fehren-Schmitz, Ayshin Ghalichi, Karen L Giffin, Steven Gilbert, Jorge A Gómez-Valdés, Joscha Gretzinger, Leif Hansen, Svend Hansen, Diana Iraiz Hernandez-Zaragoza, Rimantas Jankauskas, Choongwon Jeong, Marcel Keller, Valery Khartanovich, Daewook Kim, Rebecca Kinaston, Alexey Kovalev, Justina Kozakaitė, Dirk Krausse, Siniša Krznar, Mario Küßner, Louise C Langford, Luca Lai, Sandra Lösch, Kerttu Majander, Marcello A Mannino, Lourdes Márquez-Morfín, Michael McCormick, Photini J P McGeorge, Megan Michel, Vyacheslav Moiseyev, Hyoungmin Moon, Angela Mötsch, Lyazzat Musralina, Erdene Myagmar, Elia Nakoro, Rita E Németh, Gunnar U Neumann, Mario Novak, Lauro Olmo Enciso, Päivi Onkamo, Luka Papac, Sanni Peltola, Cosimo Posth, Adam Powell, Chantal Radimilahy, Dragana Rajković, Jean-Aimé Rakotoarisoa, Bako Nirina Rasoarifetra, Sabine Reinhold, Roberto Risch, Zainolla Samashev, Duncan Sayer, Vittoria Schimmenti, Felicitas Schmitt, Elena Sintes, Philip Slavin, Denis Sorokin, Thomas Terberger, Rezeda Tukhbatova, Åshild J Vågene, Katrien Van de Vijver, Alfonso Vigil-Escalera Guirado, Vanessa Villalba-Mouco, Dmitriy Voyakin, Eun Jin Woo, Teresa Ximenez, Philipp Stockhammer, Christina Warinner, Kirsten Bos, Stephan Schiffels, Alissa Mittnik, Wolfgang Haak, Alexander Herbig, Johannes Krause","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.032","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.032","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Human parvovirus B19 (B19V) is an ubiquitously spread, exclusively human pathogen, mainly posing risks to children, as well as pregnant and immunocompromised individuals. Despite evidence of B19V infection of human populations as far back as 7,000 years, the evolutionary history of B19V remains poorly understood. In this study, we present B19V genomic data from the remains of 53 globally distributed individuals spanning more than 8,000 years, including 7 children. Our findings suggest that the most recent common ancestor of all present B19V lineages existed around 12,000 years ago, at the end of the last Ice Age. Additionally, we identified an extinct Eurasian clade that participated in the recombination event that led to the emergence of B19V genotype 2 (GT-2). We date this event to ∼3,200-1,800 BP, potentially in the greater Mediterranean area. Our study shows aspects of how ancient parvovirus variants arose, disseminated, and impacted human health through time.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"4914-4929.e24"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148910499","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}
Current BiologyPub Date : 2026-10-05Epub Date: 2026-09-17DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.061
Andrew P Villa, Jacqueline Trzeciak, Damien Wolfe, David E Ehichioya, Jeffrey Falkenstein, Justine T Wong, Renqi Wu, Lauren Dimalanta, Wyatt Kaiban, Jaskaran Dhanoa, Gregory Stevens, Moueez Shah, Fernando Garcia, Lori Scarpa, Chris Chalfoun, Larry S Zweifel, Rajeshwar Awatramani, Richard D Palmiter, Martin Darvas, Shin Yamazaki, Andrew D Steele
{"title":"A population of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra is required for food-anticipatory activity.","authors":"Andrew P Villa, Jacqueline Trzeciak, Damien Wolfe, David E Ehichioya, Jeffrey Falkenstein, Justine T Wong, Renqi Wu, Lauren Dimalanta, Wyatt Kaiban, Jaskaran Dhanoa, Gregory Stevens, Moueez Shah, Fernando Garcia, Lori Scarpa, Chris Chalfoun, Larry S Zweifel, Rajeshwar Awatramani, Richard D Palmiter, Martin Darvas, Shin Yamazaki, Andrew D Steele","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.061","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.061","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Anticipating daily food availability is a conserved circadian behavior that persists even in animals lacking the suprachiasmatic nucleus, yet its neural substrates remain poorly defined. Previous studies implicated dopamine signaling in food-anticipatory activity (FAA) but lacked the resolution to identify the responsible neuronal population. Here, we conditionally deleted tyrosine hydroxylase (Th) from molecularly defined dopamine neuron populations in mice. Broad deletion of Th in dopamine transporter-expressing neurons nearly abolished FAA, whereas the restoration of Th in substantia nigra dopamine neurons rescued anticipatory locomotion. Surprisingly, the deletion of Th from several large dopamine neuron populations had little effect on FAA. In contrast, deletion using Calb1<sup>Cre</sup>, targeting only ∼25% of substantia nigra dopamine neurons, produced a strong suppression of FAA. Notably, these mice exhibited a loss of anticipatory locomotion while retaining substantial anticipatory food-seeking behavior. These findings identify a small Calbindin1+ dopamine population required for anticipatory locomotion and demonstrate that distinct behavioral components of food anticipation can be genetically dissociated.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"5042-5054.e5"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13587268/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148988568","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}
Current BiologyPub Date : 2026-10-05DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.033
Iona Lim-Manley, Jeremy G Carlton
{"title":"Cytokinesis: The proteasome is a cutting-edge abscission timer.","authors":"Iona Lim-Manley, Jeremy G Carlton","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.033","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A new study reveals a key role for the proteasome in promoting cytokinesis via regulating Aurora B levels, and subsequent ESCRT-III function, during abscission.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":"36 19","pages":"R1033-R1036"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149105705","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}
Current BiologyPub Date : 2026-10-05Epub Date: 2026-09-17DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.059
Jonas Lescroart, Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, Molly Cassatt-Johnstone, Alejandra Bonilla-Sánchez, Caroline Charão Sartor, Fernando Angulo, Jorge L Ramirez, Larissa Rosa de Oliveira, Tadeu Gomes de Oliveira, Beth Shapiro, Enzo Aliaga-Rossel, Hannes Svardal, Eduardo Eizirik
{"title":"Phylogenomics and museomics reveal five distinct species of tiger cats in South America.","authors":"Jonas Lescroart, Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, Molly Cassatt-Johnstone, Alejandra Bonilla-Sánchez, Caroline Charão Sartor, Fernando Angulo, Jorge L Ramirez, Larissa Rosa de Oliveira, Tadeu Gomes de Oliveira, Beth Shapiro, Enzo Aliaga-Rossel, Hannes Svardal, Eduardo Eizirik","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.059","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.059","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The evolutionary history of elusive organisms can be characterized through genomic analyses, which have the power to reveal previously unknown taxa even in groups assumed to be well studied, such as cats. We have analyzed complete genomes of 38 individuals from the Neotropical cat genus Leopardus, including 26 individuals representing multiple evolutionary units of the contentious tiger cat (Leopardus tigrinus) species complex. Eight genomes were generated from museum specimens, which allowed the first genetic assessment of the type locality for L. tigrinus in the Guiana Shield. We found that this complex comprises five distinct species, including a novel cat species, discovered in the Bolivian Yungas and described in this study as L. tilcayo. The Peruvian Yungas unit of this complex also represents a distinct taxonomic entity, which we describe here as a novel subspecies, L. tigrinus antisuyo. Our phylogenomic analyses resolve the evolutionary relationships among the tiger cat geographic units, thus stabilizing their recalcitrant taxonomy and enabling adequate conservation assessment of these threatened felids. We also address other aspects of their evolution, including biogeography, past episodes of interspecies admixture, demographic history of each taxonomic unit, and temporal changes in genetic diversity. Altogether, our results clarify the evolutionary history of a complex radiation of wild cats, reveal novel taxa, and serve as a basis for conservation planning on behalf of these elusive wild cats.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"5027-5041.e8"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148988660","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}
Current BiologyPub Date : 2026-10-05Epub Date: 2026-09-09DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.037
Patrick Lewin, Sarah Bond, Oliver Padget, Stephanie M Harris, Lewis Lancaster-Reeves, Melany de Boer, Patricia P Serafini, Gwennan Hughes, Joe Wynn, Joe Morford, Tim Guilford
{"title":"Free-ranging Manx shearwaters do not rely on magnetic maps or compasses.","authors":"Patrick Lewin, Sarah Bond, Oliver Padget, Stephanie M Harris, Lewis Lancaster-Reeves, Melany de Boer, Patricia P Serafini, Gwennan Hughes, Joe Wynn, Joe Morford, Tim Guilford","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.037","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.037","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Many animals, from moths to sharks, are thought to navigate using the earth's magnetic field.<sup>1</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>2</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>3</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>4</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>5</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>6</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>7</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>8</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>9</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>10</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>11</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>12</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>13</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>14</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>15</sup> The field can provide both compass information and-through spatial variation in inclination, declination, and intensity-positional information.<sup>16</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>17</sup> Night-migratory songbirds are sensitive to the inclination of the earth's magnetic field, using this cue as a compass<sup>5</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>18</sup> and perhaps as part of a map sense.<sup>13</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>14</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>15</sup> However, without a definitively identified receptor,<sup>18</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>19</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>20</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>21</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>22</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>23</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>24</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>25</sup> and with mixed evidence from experiments in other birds,<sup>26</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>27</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>28</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>29</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>30</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>31</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>32</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>33</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>34</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>35</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>36</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>37</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>38</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>39</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>40</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>41</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>42</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>43</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>44</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>45</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>46</sup> avian magnetoreception remains controversial. Following recent observational findings that wild Manx shearwaters (Puffinus puffinus) use geomagnetic inclination to relocate their natal colony after their first migration,<sup>47</sup> we used this species to conduct the largest magnetic disruption experiment in wild birds to date. We found no effects of magnetic disruption on movement or navigation during the long-distance foraging trips of adult Manx shearwaters. Assessment of effect sizes and confidence intervals suggests that shearwaters do not require geomagnetic cues to home accurately. This demonstrates that at least some birds are capable of remarkable long-distance navigation in the absence of geomagnetic information, and we propose that the field of animal navigation should seek to understand the factors driving the differences in the navigational mechanisms of avian taxa.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"5079-5087.e3"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148918755","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}
Current BiologyPub Date : 2026-10-05DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.043
Jonas Oppenheimer, Alexandre Gilardet, Maxim B Kozlikin, Pavel Kosintsev, Sergey K Vasiliev, Michael V Shunkov, Georgios Xenikoudakis, Sarah Ford, Katerina Douka, Peter D Heintzman, Beth Shapiro, Love Dalén
{"title":"Ancient genomes reveal an extinct bovine species from mid-latitude Asia.","authors":"Jonas Oppenheimer, Alexandre Gilardet, Maxim B Kozlikin, Pavel Kosintsev, Sergey K Vasiliev, Michael V Shunkov, Georgios Xenikoudakis, Sarah Ford, Katerina Douka, Peter D Heintzman, Beth Shapiro, Love Dalén","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.043","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.043","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>A previously undescribed bovine mitochondrial clade, termed yak X, was recently discovered in Pleistocene Asia.<sup>1</sup> However, the genome-wide relationships of this lineage to other bovines remain unclear. Here, we present 20 Middle and Late Pleistocene yak X nuclear genomes that were recovered from Denisova Cave and other sites in mid-latitude Asia and have a temporal span of over 200,000 years. Phylogenetic and population genomic approaches show that yak X was a separate species that began diverging from extant yaks at least 400,000 years ago. We also document a demographic decline in yak X over the Mid-to-Late Pleistocene, along with potential population turnover accompanied by a decrease in genetic diversity around the Last Interglacial (∼130,000 to ∼115,000 years ago). Unlike divergent hominin lineages within Pleistocene Asia,<sup>2</sup> we find negligible evidence for gene flow between yak X and other bovine species, including steppe bison (Bison priscus) and aurochs (Bos primigenius), despite their geographic and temporal co-occurrence.<sup>1</sup> Our results show that yak X was a distinct species whose disappearance may have previously gone unrecognized during the Late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions, and highlight the broader Altai-Sayan region as a hotspot of diversity during the Pleistocene.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149105668","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}
Current BiologyPub Date : 2026-10-05Epub Date: 2026-09-09DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.038
Camila Demaestri, Yingchu He, Jamie L Maguire
{"title":"Central amygdala CRF+ neurons tune defensive state stability during threat.","authors":"Camila Demaestri, Yingchu He, Jamie L Maguire","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.038","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.038","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The central amygdala (CeA) is critical for mediating behavioral responses to threat,<sup>1</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>2</sup> including the coordination of competing freezing and mobile responses through distinct cell types.<sup>3</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>4</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>5</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>6</sup> Defensive behavior must remain flexible as threat contingencies change,<sup>7</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>8</sup> yet the circuit mechanisms that regulate how threat is translated into appropriate defensive states remain unclear. Using a dual-threat conditioning paradigm, we found that divergence from an immobility-dominant passive phenotype during a temporally immediate threat (delay conditioned stimulus [CS]) toward a more active phenotype during a variable-trace threat (variable trace CS; vTrace) emerged specifically through increased disengagement from immobility. Chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) disrupted this transition-level phenotype in males, thereby promoting immobility persistence that generalized during the trace threat. To identify the circuit mechanisms underlying these effects, we manipulated CeA neurons expressing corticotropin-releasing factor (CeA CRF+) during threat recall using chemogenetics and blocked CRFR1 signaling via systemic administration of the antagonist antalarmin. Silencing CeA CRF+ neurons and CRFR1 antagonism reduced transitions out of immobility without impairing cue discrimination, thus phenocopying the transition-level deficit observed in CUS males. These findings suggest that stress-induced behavioral rigidity, particularly under temporal uncertainty of threat, may arise from impaired CRF-dependent destabilization of passive defensive states. Together, our findings indicate that CeA CRF+ neurons and CRFR1 signaling regulate threat responding by facilitating the transitions out of immobility during threat evaluation. This work identifies CRF signaling as a mechanism that enables defensive responding to adjust to temporal threat contingencies, which may be disrupted in fear-related pathology.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"5088-5098.e3"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148918713","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}
Current BiologyPub Date : 2026-10-05Epub Date: 2026-09-21DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.003
Jingxian Li, Juan Pablo Castillo, Shouqiang Cheng, Indya Weathers, Wioletta I Nawrocka, Jorge Alvarado, Minglei Zhao, Andrea Calixto, Engin Özkan, Demet Araç
{"title":"The teneurin TEN-1 and its ligand LRON-11 support microbiota-induced neuroprotection and mechanosensory function in C. elegans.","authors":"Jingxian Li, Juan Pablo Castillo, Shouqiang Cheng, Indya Weathers, Wioletta I Nawrocka, Jorge Alvarado, Minglei Zhao, Andrea Calixto, Engin Özkan, Demet Araç","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Neuroprotection preserves neuronal structure and function by limiting damage and cell death, and diet-associated microbiota produce metabolites capable of influencing neuronal survival.<sup>1</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>2</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>3</sup> In C. elegans, GABA and lactate produced by E. coli HT115 protect touch receptor neurons (TRNs) from MEC-4(d)-induced degeneration,<sup>2</sup> and comparative gene-expression analysis identified the teneurin ten-1 as required for this microbiota-induced neuroprotection.<sup>3</sup> Teneurins are evolutionarily conserved cell-adhesion molecules that regulate nervous system development, axon guidance, synapse formation, and neuronal connectivity primarily through trans-cellular interactions,<sup>4</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>5</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>6</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>7</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>8</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>9</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>10</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>11</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>12</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>13</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>14</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>15</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>16</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>17</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>18</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>19</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>20</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>21</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>22</sup> and C. elegans, which contains a single teneurin gene, requires TEN-1 for normal nervous system development and tissue organization.<sup>5</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>13</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>14</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>23</sup> Although vertebrate teneurins bind latrophilin G protein-coupled receptors,<sup>17</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>21</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>22</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>24</sup> the C. elegans latrophilin homolog LAT-1 acts in parallel to TEN-1,<sup>25</sup> leaving the receptor-ligand interactions that underlie TEN-1 function incompletely understood. Here, we identify Leucine-Rich Repeat Only 11 (LRON-11), a previously uncharacterized cell-adhesion molecule, as the ligand for TEN-1. The high-resolution cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the TEN-1-LRON-11 complex reveals that the leucine-rich repeat domain of LRON-11 directly engages the transthyretin (TTR) domain of TEN-1 through a previously unrecognized interaction interface. Tissue-specific genetic analyses demonstrate that TEN-1 and LRON-11 are required for microbiota-mediated neuroprotection, and structure-guided interface mutations disrupting TEN-1-LRON-11 binding impair normal touch responses in vivo. Together, our findings establish a conserved receptor-ligand signaling axis that supports microbiota-mediated neuroprotection and normal touch responses, revealing how a single receptor-ligand interaction can support distinct neuronal functions.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"5068-5078.e6"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13633843/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149016003","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}
Current BiologyPub Date : 2026-10-05Epub Date: 2026-09-09DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.050
Xilan Yang, Maria Njo, Zishan Fu, Ana Julia Sagasti, Laura M Cooper, Xiao Ma, Ward Poelmans, Riet De Rycke, Hans Motte, Rieko Fujinami, C Jill Harrison, Alexander J Hetherington, Tom Beeckman
{"title":"Independent origins of endodermis in lycopsid and euphyllophyte roots.","authors":"Xilan Yang, Maria Njo, Zishan Fu, Ana Julia Sagasti, Laura M Cooper, Xiao Ma, Ward Poelmans, Riet De Rycke, Hans Motte, Rieko Fujinami, C Jill Harrison, Alexander J Hetherington, Tom Beeckman","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.050","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.050","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The endodermis is a vital barrier tissue in plants, but its origin, evolution, and homologies across land plants remain ambiguous. Here, we implement a multifaceted investigation of the endodermis in lycopsids to shed light on its evolution in roots. We confirmed the presence of an endodermis with Casparian strips (CSs) in two of the three living lineages of lycopsids, while endodermoid layers with polar lignin caps were identified in the Lycopodiaceae. Although lignified tissues, including CSs, can be preserved in fossils, we did not find evidence for either an endodermis or an endodermoid in early fossils spanning the origin of the vascular plant lineage, the divergence of lycophytes and euphyllophytes, or the split of the early lycophytes and lycopsids. Together with evidence from extant lineages, these observations are most consistent with the endodermis having evolved at least twice independently in vascular plants. Expression analysis of homologous genes of the known seed plant regulatory genes SHORT-ROOT (SHR) and SCARECROW (SCR) suggests an ancestral role in defining the boundary between vascular and non-vascular tissues and the independent recruitment in lycopsids and seed plants.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"4979-4991.e3"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148918691","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}