Current Biology最新文献

{"title":"Plant synergid embryonic potential is unlocked following egg cell collapse.","authors":"Hanxian Xiong, Wei Wang, Meng-Xiang Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.074","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.074","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cell-cell communication is indispensable for cell specification and differentiation throughout plant reproduction. The egg cell and its sister synergid cell have long been considered closely coordinated partners during fertilization, yet the nature of this interplay and their specific roles remain unclear. Here, we show that synergid cells could acquire the competence to initiate cell division for embryogenesis following egg cell collapse. Unlike the traditional view, synergid cells appear to take over the egg cell role without undergoing fate conversion to adopt the egg cell identity. These findings suggest that synergid cells possess an intrinsic embryogenic potential, which is specifically unlocked upon egg cell collapse, thus enabling embryogenic initiation in the absence of a functional egg cell. Building on this discovery, we established an in planta haploid-induction system independent of conventional haploid-inducing genes. Importantly, this system also functions in tomato, a distantly related dicotyledonous crop, thus offering a broad conceptual framework for engineering haploid production across diverse plant species.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149243620","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":"Selective control of course correction over long timescales in the Drosophila central complex.","authors":"Anthony M Crown, Annie H Wu, Lindsey Hofflander, Gilad Barnea","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.069","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.069","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The insect central complex governs intricate navigational behaviors. One key region of the central complex, the fan-shaped body (FB), is where movement decisions are computed during goal-directed behaviors. However, our knowledge of when FB circuits are deployed is limited, and the FB has only been directly implicated in a few, narrowly defined behaviors. Here, we demonstrate that FB circuits affect course-correcting movements that, over long timescales, align the fly's heading with the perceived direction of optic flow. Silencing a major input neuronal population to the FB, the PFN_d neurons, abolishes this behavior while leaving certain reflexive turning behaviors intact. Further, introduction of a fictive error signal in either the PFN_d or PFN_a neurons via optogenetic activation reveals that they are sufficient to affect the forward movement of the fly while slightly biasing its heading direction. We propose a model whereby the fly recruits the circuitry of the central complex to selectively influence features of movement that emerge over long timescales.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149243626","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":"Females shape hunting of vertebrates in wild bonobos.","authors":"Gottfried Hohmann, Mattia Bessone, Nadia Balduccio, Francesca Decina, Tanguy Deville, Sonya Pashchevskaya, Valeska Soliday, Kathrine Stewart, Barbara Fruth","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.082","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hunting and meat consumption are widely considered key drivers of human evolution, and hypotheses about their origins draw on comparisons with our closest living relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos. These comparisons typically set up a behavioral dichotomy in which chimpanzees are characterized by cooperative hunting of arboreal primates by male-dominated parties, whereas bonobo hunts are thought to involve the opportunistic targeting of terrestrial ungulates, primarily by individual females.¹^,²^,³ Observations from two habituated bonobo communities at LuiKotale covering 10 years challenge this dichotomy. LuiKotale bonobos hunted both terrestrial ungulates (42%) and arboreal primates (43% of vertebrate prey), with red colobus monkeys comprising the majority of primate prey (77%). Males and females hunted arboreal primates at similar rates, and females accounted for most non-primate captures. Female age affected the hunting frequency of primates and ungulates, with the former being biased to younger and the latter to older females. The prominent role of female bonobos in hunting supports predictions that relate hunting activity to intersexual dominance relations rather than risk aversion, with the dominant sex being more active. Comparing data from neighboring communities revealed differences and suggests that social and environmental parameters affect prey choice by each community in different ways. Together, these findings challenge the assumption that chimpanzee-like, male-biased hunting represents the ancestral condition. They highlight the contribution of females to obtaining vertebrate prey, call for a reassessment of the role of females in hunting and meat sharing, and by extension, the framing of models of early hominin subsistence and social organization.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149243652","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":"Dorsal forerunner cells couple epiboly movements to zebrafish notochord extension.","authors":"Christopher Small, Margot Kossmann Williams","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.072","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.072","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Convergence and extension (C&E) cell movements promote anteroposterior axis extension and narrow both neuroectodermal and mesodermal tissues during gastrulation. Mediolateral cell intercalation is largely responsible for this morphogenetic process in vertebrates, but evidence suggests that additional cell-extrinsic forces generated by surrounding tissues contribute to the shaping of many structures. In zebrafish, for example, mechanical forces generated by the anteriorly migrating prechordal plate cooperate with tissue-autonomous cell intercalations to promote extension of the notochord. Here, we propose a novel model for notochord morphogenesis by which epiboly forces within the enveloping layer are transmitted to the posterior end of the notochord via a cluster of dorsal forerunner cells (DFCs) that physically links the two. We found that scattering or absence of DFCs caused by loss of crb2a or sox32, respectively, reduces notochord C&E and exacerbates axis extension defects in planar cell polarity signaling-deficient embryos. Using an automated image segmentation and cell shape analysis pipeline, we show that cells within the posterior notochord fail to properly elongate when DFCs are scattered or absent. Finally, we demonstrate that the loss of crb2a and sox32 fails to disrupt C&E of zebrafish embryonic explants in which no epiboly occurs and all extension is driven by cell-intrinsic behaviors. Together, these findings support a model in which DFCs facilitate mechanical coupling of the enveloping layer to the posterior notochord during epiboly to ensure its robust morphogenesis during gastrulation.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149243629","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":"Integration of hydrogen peroxide sensing and detoxification by the C. elegans nervous system.","authors":"Yuyan Xu, Sahana Gangadharan, Maedeh Seyedolmohadesin, Eyob Gebeyaw, Mia Flack, Alyson Fulton, Christopher Ashih, Meagan Duncan, Matea Zelich, Jun Liu, Mahdi Torkashvand, Daniel Shaw, Katerina Gusarova, Meha Macwan, Avery Kelly, Isidora Beslic, Aishwarya Sood, Olivia Liu, Monika Scholz, Vivek Venkatachalam, Javier Apfeld","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.062","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is the most common reactive chemical threat organisms face. Here, we map the neural circuit that drives chemotactic escape from environmental H₂O₂ in the nematode C. elegans. Twenty-four neuron classes with sensory endings at the mouth and nose respond to H₂O₂, with dynamics encoding stimulus intensity and exposure history. Sensing begins when H₂O₂ oxidizes the peroxidatic and resolving cysteines of the cytosolic peroxiredoxin PRDX-2, which relays this oxidative signal to cysteines on the LITE-1 and GUR-3 ion channels, triggering calcium influx in sensory neurons that drive escape. Most of these neurons release glutamate to drive H₂O₂-dependent excitation of AIA interneurons, whereas others signal through non-glutamatergic routes. Thus, the C. elegans nervous system monitors H₂O₂-induced changes in the intracellular H₂O₂-detoxification machinery and relays them to interneurons driving organism-wide escape. This raises the possibility that changes in neuronal activity in aging and neurodegenerative diseases arise from altered peroxiredoxin-mediated H₂O₂ signaling rather than primarily from direct macromolecular damage by H₂O₂.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149237224","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":"Dynamic roles of embryonic glial cells in octopus brain development.","authors":"Mark Achilles Lassnig, Enora Geslain, Bao Nguyen, Darina Abaffyová, Ruth Styfhals, Katina Spanier, Annika Patel, Asmita Gattamraju, Suresh Poovathingal, Marta Wojno, Marie Van Dijck, Eduardo Almansa, Thea F Rogers, Oleg Simakov, Alice Accorsi, Eve Seuntjens","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.068","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Coleoid cephalopods, such as octopus, squid, and cuttlefish, have evolved remarkably large nervous systems with neuron numbers comparable to those of small mammals. Despite this, little is known about how these nervous systems develop, which genetic programs drive the formation and diversification of their neural cells, and what factors contribute to evolutionary brain expansion. This study combined single-cell multi-omics with spatial expression analysis to uncover the cell types and the regulatory mechanisms underlying nervous system development and evolution in Octopus vulgaris. We discovered an early embryonic glial cell population that is distinct from neurogenic progenitors and defined by orphan nuclear receptor 4a (nr4a), distal-less homeobox (dlx), and prospero homeobox (pros) regulons. Their spatial distribution and dynamic transcriptional profile during embryogenesis indicated that these cells might orchestrate cell migration, axon guidance, and brain patterning before expressing neuronal markers or differentiating into mature glia. Comparison of embryonic glial transcriptional signatures across two cephalopods, a gastropod, and Drosophila revealed shared expression of nr4a, dlx, and pros in mollusks, while embryonic glia in Drosophila expressed pros, dlx, repo, ttk, and gcm but not nr4a. Intriguingly, the overall gene expression profile of cephalopod embryonic glia has diverged from that of Pomacea canaliculata (golden apple snail), whose glia do not express guidance or patterning genes. Together, these findings identified a conserved embryonic glial cell type in mollusks that might have acquired new functions in coleoid cephalopods to organize neuronal migration and wiring in their expanded brain.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149237307","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":"Interbacterial competition triggers stress-induced CRISPR immunity against bacteriophages.","authors":"Rafael Custodio, Maria M Martignoni, Wenlong Zhu, Rachel Kuske, Ellinor O Alseth, Pedro Moura-Alves, Sam P Brown, Edze R Westra","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.078","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.078","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bacteria-phage interactions are often studied in relatively simple experimental systems involving a single bacterial strain infected by a single phage.¹ In natural environments, however, bacteria typically inhabit complex multispecies communities where species compete for limited resources and ecological niches.²^,³^,⁴ Recent studies show that the microbial community context can have profound effects on the evolution of phage resistance.⁵ For example, Pseudomonas aeruginosa evolves phage resistance primarily through receptor loss when grown in isolation but switches to CRISPR-based immunity in the presence of bacterial competitors.⁶^,⁷ Previous work showed that interspecies competition can favor CRISPR-immune bacteria over surface mutants after phage resistance has evolved.⁶ However, it remains unknown whether competition also alters the initial generation of CRISPR immunity by changing CRISPR-Cas expression and spacer acquisition before selection among resistance phenotypes occurs. Here, we show that interbacterial competition can trigger CRISPR-Cas activation and adaptation in P. aeruginosa. When co-cultured with Acinetobacter baumannii, P. aeruginosa exhibited markedly increased expression of CRISPR-Cas genes and a higher frequency of new spacer acquisition, whereas no such induction occurred in monoculture or mixed communities lacking A. baumannii. This upregulation was associated with markers of DNA damage and stress signaling, indicating that competition-induced stress primes the bacterial adaptive immune response. These findings identify interbacterial antagonism as an ecological and physiological trigger for CRISPR activation, linking competitive interactions to enhanced antiphage defense. More broadly, our results suggest that bacteria sense and respond to competitive stress in complex microbial communities by increasing the generation of more adapted genotypes.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149227504","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":"A bacterial effector triggers dual-layer plant immunity through interaction with cell-surface and intracellular proteins.","authors":"Jun Cai, Lihaitian Wang, Min Chen, Xiaoxu Li, Yuqing Qi, Haoen He, Da Xu, Marc Valls, Yong Zhang, Feng Yu, Dousheng Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.066","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.066","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plants deploy a two-layered immune system, comprising pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI), to defend against pathogens. Although PTI and ETI pathways converge on similar downstream responses, they are activated by distinct molecules at the cell surface and in the cytoplasm, respectively. Here, we report that the harpin-like effector RipW from Ralstonia solanacearum localizes to both the apoplastic and intracellular compartments, where it acts as a dual elicitor capable of activating PTI-like and ETI-like responses. We show that RipW triggers PTI-like responses through the receptor-like kinase RLK902 and its associated downstream signaling kinase BRASSINOSTEROID-SIGNALING KINASE1 (BSK1), while it physically interacts with the COP9 signalosome subunit 5 (CSN5), which contributes to the full activation of RipW-triggered ETI-like responses. Despite their roles in immune activation, knockdown of either RLK902 or CSN5 did not alter plant resistance against bacterial wilt caused by wild-type R. solanacearum because other type III effectors from the pathogen interfere with the two immune signaling pathways triggered by RipW. We further demonstrate that RLK902-mediated PTI-like responses are compromised by effectors RipAJ and RipG1, while CSN5-mediated ETI-like responses are suppressed by RipAF1 and RipN, respectively. Our findings reveal a unique pathogenic tactic, wherein a single effector triggers dual immune layers, and a corresponding virulence strategy, wherein the pathogen employs ancillary effectors to neutralize this elicited immunity.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"5240-5255.e6"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149024310","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":"Circadian control of dopaminergic signaling to the mushroom body regulates sleep through rhythmic Pka-C1 transcription in Drosophila.","authors":"Blanca Lago Solis, Rafael Koch, Emi Nagoshi","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Despite the progress in understanding the circadian pacemaker, the specific mechanism by which it regulates sleep remains incompletely understood. We have previously demonstrated that a substantial number of genes are rhythmically expressed in the mushroom body (MB) Kenyon cells (KCs), including Pka-C1, which encodes the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A (PKA). PKA-C1 plays a crucial role in promoting daytime wakefulness; however, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. Here, using a newly developed in vivo luciferase reporter, we show that the γ lobe is the primary site of rhythmic Pka-C1 expression. Through a combination of in silico analysis, CRISPR mutagenesis, and chromatin immunoprecipitation, we identify the transcription factor Onecut as a regulator of Pka-C1 transcriptional rhythms in γ-KCs. Furthermore, genetic trans-synaptic connectivity mapping and neuronal activity imaging reveal that the dorsal lateral clock neurons (LNds) provide inhibitory input to a subset of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the protocerebral anterior medial (PAM) cluster, PAM-γ5, rhythmically modulating their activity. This, in turn, rhythmically activates MB γ-KCs via excitatory Dop1R signaling. Resulting γ-neuron activity rhythms drive Pka-C1 transcriptional rhythms through Onecut. Furthermore, these PKA-C1 rhythms reinforce neuronal activity rhythms, creating a feedback cycle between transcriptional and neural activity rhythms that promotes daytime wakefulness. Our findings highlight the conserved role of DA in promoting wakefulness and offer mechanistic insights into its complex regulation. More generally, this work provides a mechanistic framework for how circadian rhythms are translated into neural activity to orchestrate complex behaviors such as sleep.</p>","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"5365-5382.e7"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149105646","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":"Visual field asymmetries vary between children and adults.","authors":"Marisa Carrasco, Mariel Roberts, Caroline Myers, Lavanya Shukla","doi":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.071","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.071","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11359,"journal":{"name":"Current Biology","volume":" ","pages":"5427"},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2026-10-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149105683","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}