microPublication biologyPub Date : 2026-10-05eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.002461
{"title":"Erratum: Corrigendum: Partial loss of the vitellogenins confers a fitness disadvantage but does not impact brood size in <i>C. elegans</i>.","authors":"","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002461","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002461","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>[This corrects the article DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001789.].</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2026 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13639730/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149119763","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
microPublication biologyPub Date : 2026-10-04eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.002448
Jasbelle Sosa, Michelle A McCauley, Victoria K Eggers, Janna L Fierst, Karolina Willicott
{"title":"Chromosome-Scale Assembly of Novel <i>Caenorhabditis sp. 65</i> (strain JU4118).","authors":"Jasbelle Sosa, Michelle A McCauley, Victoria K Eggers, Janna L Fierst, Karolina Willicott","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002448","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002448","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We present a chromosome-scale assembly of strain JU4118, an inbred line of <i>Caenorhabditis</i> <i>sp. 65</i> . This species is a wild isolate that was sampled in Da Lat, Vietnam by the Marie-Anne Félix lab in December 2019. This strain has a genome size of 126 Mb, with a GC content of 37.95 %. Comparisons of <i>C. sp. 65</i> with <i>C. elegans</i> show conserved broad-scale chromosomal organization, but finer-scale variation which may be clade-specific, such as expansion of the X chromosome and increased repeat content. By assembling and annotating its genome, we aim to expand future evolutionary studies on the <i>Caenorhabditis</i> genus.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2026 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13676774/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149221226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
microPublication biologyPub Date : 2026-10-03eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.002287
Jay Garaycochea, Milo Roth
{"title":"Loss of the Orphan GPCR <i>srd-44</i> Does Not Alter Chemotaxis of <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> to Carolina Mantle Slug Mucus.","authors":"Jay Garaycochea, Milo Roth","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002287","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002287","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>C. elegans</i> detect volatile odorants through amphid sensory neurons that express diverse G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), many of which remain functionally uncharacterized. We evaluated the candidate chemosensory GPCR <i>srd-44</i> using the RB1526 mutant strain in chemotaxis assays against diacetyl and Carolina mantle ( <i>Philomycus carolinianus</i> ) slug mucus. Wild-type and mutant animals exhibited similar chemotaxis responses to both stimuli across a range of concentrations. Under these conditions, these results do not support a role for <i>srd-44</i> in chemotaxis toward diacetyl or Carolina mantle slug mucus. These findings contribute to the functional evaluation of an orphan chemosensory GPCR in <i>C. elegans</i> .</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2026 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13675791/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149217612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
microPublication biologyPub Date : 2026-10-01eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.002380
Yuxin Xi, Yifei Zhao, Ye Hong, Hongtao Zhang
{"title":"Identification of GEI-14 as a candidate pro-crossover factor by TurboID in <i>C. elegans</i>.","authors":"Yuxin Xi, Yifei Zhao, Ye Hong, Hongtao Zhang","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002380","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002380","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Previously, our lab used TurboID-based proximity labeling followed by mass spectrometry (MS) to identify proteins that interact with COSA-1 , a cyclin-like pro-crossover factor that localizes at meiotic crossover sites. Here, we investigated potential interactions of COSA-1 with the top 10 COSA-1 ::TurboID-MS candidates ranked by relative intensity. Beyond the established COSA-1 - CDK-2 interaction, AlphaFold 3 predicted strong binding solely between COSA-1 and GEI-14 . Yeast two-hybrid assays confirmed this interaction and further revealed binding of GEI-14 to MSH-5 , another pro-crossover factor. These results demonstrate TurboID's utility in studying the pro-crossover interactome and highlight GEI-14 as a promising candidate for further characterization.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2026 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13675796/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149217606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
microPublication biologyPub Date : 2026-10-01eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.002256
Irfana Muqbil, Jordan D Johnson
{"title":"Targeting Muscle-Specific E3 Ligases in Cancer Cachexia Through Structure-Based Virtual Screening of Small-Molecule Inhibitors.","authors":"Irfana Muqbil, Jordan D Johnson","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002256","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002256","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cachexia is a multifactorial metabolic syndrome characterized by severe skeletal muscle loss that cannot be reversed by nutritional support. Common in cancer and other chronic diseases, it significantly increases morbidity and mortality. Muscle wasting is primarily driven by activation of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway through the E3 ubiquitin ligases MuRF1 and Atrogin-1, which promote protein degradation and muscle atrophy. This study used computational modeling and docking to identify small-molecule inhibitors targeting these ligases, including repurposed drugs with anti-cachectic potential. Thalidomide and EM12-So2F were prioritized based on integrated docking, binding affinity, and drug-likeness/ADME analyses for validation in C2C12 myotube-based cachexia models.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2026 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13675792/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149217650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
microPublication biologyPub Date : 2026-10-01eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.002344
Sarah Perry, Frankie Davis, Sydney Cardenas, Vishva Patel
{"title":"Evaluation of Hydrogen Peroxide as an Environmental Model of Parkinson's Disease in <i>Drosophila</i> Larvae.","authors":"Sarah Perry, Frankie Davis, Sydney Cardenas, Vishva Patel","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002344","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002344","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by motor dysfunction and dopaminergic neuron loss and is influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Here, we evaluated hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) as an accessible oxidative stress model of PD in <i>Drosophila</i> larvae. High H₂O₂ concentrations caused lethality or severe developmental impairment, whereas animals exposed to 0.005-0.025% H₂O₂ progressed through larval development and to pupation. Pupation timing was similar to untreated controls at 0.005% and 0.01% H₂O₂ but was delayed by 0.025% H₂O₂. Low-dose H₂O₂ reduced crawling speed and impaired navigational performance but did not cause detectable dopaminergic neuron loss or exacerbate locomotor deficits associated with A53T α-synuclein expression. Thus, H₂O₂ produces behavioral effects without fully recapitulating PD pathology and provides an accessible model for investigating developmental oxidative stress and its potential long-term consequences.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2026 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13675790/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149217582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
microPublication biologyPub Date : 2026-09-29eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.002360
Nathanial A Jordan, Suzanne Angeli
{"title":"Role of vitellogenins on the mitochondrial unfolded protein response.","authors":"Nathanial A Jordan, Suzanne Angeli","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002360","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002360","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sex-specific differences influence aging and disease onset. Using <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> , we previously found that hermaphroditic nematodes activate a robust mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPR <sup>mt</sup> ) in the intestines, while female nematodes do not. We hypothesized that the accumulation of vitellogenins in females was suppressing the UPR <sup>mt</sup> . Loss of vitellogenins via RNAi enhanced the UPR <sup>mt</sup> in hermaphrodites but had no impact on the UPR <sup>mt</sup> of females unless a combination of vitellogenins was simultaneously knocked down. Furthermore, combinatorial loss of vitellogenins did not restore the female UPR <sup>mt</sup> to hermaphroditic levels. We conclude that additional factors besides vitellogenins are involved in suppressing the intestinal UPR <sup>mt</sup> in female nematodes.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2026 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13659446/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149186684","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
microPublication biologyPub Date : 2026-09-29eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.002377
Victoria J Frost, Cadyn E Bagley, Logan A Beasley, Dylan C Lee, Kelsey G Martin, Elizabeth R Matthews, Myles A Moore, Emmie D Nightingale, Nathaniel S Pham, Emarie M Toirkens, Karen Uribe-Huizache, Kristi M Westover
{"title":"Complete Genome Sequences and Characteristics of <i>Mycobacterium smegmatis</i> Phages Lucia, Cleatunium, and Reccee.","authors":"Victoria J Frost, Cadyn E Bagley, Logan A Beasley, Dylan C Lee, Kelsey G Martin, Elizabeth R Matthews, Myles A Moore, Emmie D Nightingale, Nathaniel S Pham, Emarie M Toirkens, Karen Uribe-Huizache, Kristi M Westover","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002377","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002377","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bacteriophages Lucia, Reccee, and Cleatunium were isolated from soil beneath bushes at Winthrop University using the host bacterium <i>Mycobacterium smegmatis</i> mc <sup>2</sup> 155. Both Lucia and Reccee exhibit siphovirus morphology, with genome sizes of 54,700 bp and 70,134 bp, respectively. Cleatunium has a myovirus morphology and a genome size of 155,948 bp. Lucia can form lysogens, whereas both Reccee and Cleatunium are predicted to replicate only via the lytic cycle. Lucia is classified in the F1 subcluster, Reccee belongs to the B5 subcluster, and Cleatunium is in the C1 subcluster.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2026 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13675793/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149217601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
microPublication biologyPub Date : 2026-09-29eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.002356
Sam K Connors, Peter A Kropp
{"title":"Analysis of mechanical lysis paradigms for <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> protein extraction.","authors":"Sam K Connors, Peter A Kropp","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002356","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002356","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Extraction of proteins, mRNA, lipids, or any other biological material from <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> requires lysis of the cuticle. While many techniques have been utilized to this end, there are limited comparisons of mechanical lysis techniques individually or in combination. Therefore, we tested common mechanical lysis techniques to extract proteins from <i>C. elegans</i> samples. Due to cuticle structural differences, we compared these techniques with samples from both the L4 larval stage and day 1 adults. We found that mechanical lysis improves protein yield relative to no mechanical lysis and that most mechanical lysis techniques are comparable.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2026 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13675794/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149217551","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
microPublication biologyPub Date : 2026-09-29eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.002347
Braiden S McAlpin, Pablo Chialvo, Clare Scott Chialvo
{"title":"Gene model for the ortholog of <i>snu</i> in <i>Drosophila funebris</i>.","authors":"Braiden S McAlpin, Pablo Chialvo, Clare Scott Chialvo","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002347","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.002347","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We developed a gene model for the ortholog of the <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> gene <i>snustorr</i> ( <i>snu</i> ) in the ASM1890182v1 Genome Assembly (GenBank Accession: GCA_018901825.1 ) of <i>Drosophila funebris</i> . This ortholog was characterized as part of a developing dataset for a comparative study of detoxification gene family evolution in the <i>immigrans</i> - <i>tripunctata</i> radiation of the genus <i>Drosophila</i> using an adapted Genomics Education Partnership gene annotation protocol for Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2026 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13675789/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149217628","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}