microPublication biologyPub Date : 2025-06-24eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001602
Florian Rouaud, Isabelle Mean, Lionel Jond, Sandra Citi
{"title":"Paracingulin controls the junctional accumulation of nonmuscle myosin-2 in endothelial cells in vivo.","authors":"Florian Rouaud, Isabelle Mean, Lionel Jond, Sandra Citi","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001602","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001602","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The localization of nonmuscle myosin-2 (NM2) isoforms in endothelial cells and the mechanisms that regulate their localizations are poorly understood. Here we show that NM2A and NM2B are localized at junctions of mouse aortic endothelial cells in vivo, whereas only NM2B is detectable at junctions of cultured bEnd.3 endothelial cells. In both models, the knockout of the junctional protein paracingulin results in the loss of the junctional localization of NM2s. These results demonstrate the physiological relevance of our previous in vitro observations on epithelial cells, provide a mechanism for the localization of NM2s at endothelial junctions, and raise new questions for future studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2025 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12238879/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144602412","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 : 2025-06-23eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001478
Zachery Middleton, Giovanna Alves, Em Bavuso, Phuong-Anh Bui, Kai Jandial, Drew Kirchner, Taylor Kiskamp, Blair Morgan, Kezie Osei, Rohit Paradkar, Sofia Taylor, Allison A Johnson
{"title":"Complete Genome Sequences of Mycobacteriophages Balomoji, Crumble, Frederick, ShowerHandel, TinyTimmy and Zabiza.","authors":"Zachery Middleton, Giovanna Alves, Em Bavuso, Phuong-Anh Bui, Kai Jandial, Drew Kirchner, Taylor Kiskamp, Blair Morgan, Kezie Osei, Rohit Paradkar, Sofia Taylor, Allison A Johnson","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001478","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001478","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We report the genome sequences of six novel phages infecting <i>Mycobacterium smegmatis</i> mc <sup>2</sup> 155. Each phage has siphoviral morphology and a double-stranded DNA genome. These genomes represent five different clusters of Mycobacterium phages, including a cluster K1 phage with a genome deletion that impacts the genes involved in lysogeny.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2025 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12235445/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144593094","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 : 2025-06-19eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001689
Ananya Nair, Allison J Yearwood, Brandi N Besednjak, Mikayla M Cully, Reece Turner, Joseph L Bedont
{"title":"Cold-raising unmasks sleep disruption in a <i>Drosophila</i> Alzheimer's disease model.","authors":"Ananya Nair, Allison J Yearwood, Brandi N Besednjak, Mikayla M Cully, Reece Turner, Joseph L Bedont","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001689","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001689","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Chronic sleep loss is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), and reduced and fragmented sleep is increasingly appreciated as an early-onset diagnostic and potential therapeutic target for AD. However, robustly modeling AD-like sleep deficits in fruit flies has often been challenging. We report that cold-raising unmasks deficits in sleep duration, fragmentation, and latency in one such model pan-neuronally expressing a highly pathogenic AD-associated amyloid species. This sensitized model provides a promising platform for identifying potential metabolic, proteostatic, glymphatic, and other candidate mediators bidirectionally linking sleep and AD.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2025 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12231311/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144585767","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 : 2025-06-19eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001671
Shannon Ballard, Lauren Holt, Elizabeth Stant, Ashley Arthur Moore, Luisa Zavala, Troy Shirangi
{"title":"An α-1,3-fucosyltransferase influences thermal nocifensive escape behaviors in <i>Drosophila</i> larvae.","authors":"Shannon Ballard, Lauren Holt, Elizabeth Stant, Ashley Arthur Moore, Luisa Zavala, Troy Shirangi","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001671","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001671","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>When exposed to noxious thermal or mechanical stimuli, <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> larvae will attempt to escape by performing a stereotypical nocifensive rolling behavior. Here, we report the identification of a mutation in <i>Drosophila</i> that specifically alters the thermal nocifensive escape behaviors of larvae. We provide genetic, molecular, and histological evidence that this mutation maps to the <i>FucTA</i> gene, which encodes an α-1,3-fucosyltransferase. Our results suggest that fucosylation is important for the thermal nociception rolling behavior of <i>Drosophila</i> larvae.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2025 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12231318/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144585766","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 : 2025-06-19eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001668
Jesus Fernandez-Abascal, Jesse D Hall, Laura Bianchi
{"title":"PEZO-1 is not required for AMsh glial responses to mechanical stimulation and does not play a major role in nose touch avoidance in <i>C. elegans</i>.","authors":"Jesus Fernandez-Abascal, Jesse D Hall, Laura Bianchi","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001668","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001668","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> , nose touch avoidance behavior is regulated by the Amphid Sheath (AMsh) glial cells via release of GABA. AMsh glia themselves exhibit calcium responses to mechanical stimulation, although the mechanosensitive channel responsible remains unidentified . Here, we investigated whether <i>pezo-1</i> , the sole <i>C. elegans</i> homolog of mammalian PIEZO1 and PIEZO2, mediates AMsh glial mechanosensitivity and contributes to nose touch avoidance. We examined behavioral responses in three <i>pezo-1</i> mutant strains, including a full gene deletion and two truncation alleles lacking the pore-forming transmembrane domains. In addition, we monitored calcium transients in the full gene deletion strain. While <i>pezo-1 ( av149 )</i> mutants showed a slight reduction in nose touch response, <i>pezo-1 ( av240 )</i> and <i>pezo-1 ( sy1199 )</i> mutants behaved like wild-type animals. In vivo calcium imaging revealed that AMsh glial responses to touch were preserved in <i>pezo-1 ( av240 )</i> mutants, with no significant difference in peak calcium signals compared to wild-type. These findings indicate that <i>pezo-1</i> is not required for AMsh glial mechanosensory responses or nose touch avoidance behavior. Further research is needed to identify the channels and pathways mediating mechanotransduction in AMsh glia.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2025 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12231307/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144585797","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 : 2025-06-14eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001409
Brian Critelli, Zoe Mrozek, Alexa Mihaita, Lianna Long, Abigail Robinson, Shantanu Bhatt
{"title":"The small regulatory RNA DsrA silences the locus of enterocyte effacement of enteropathogenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> in an RpoS-dependent manner.","authors":"Brian Critelli, Zoe Mrozek, Alexa Mihaita, Lianna Long, Abigail Robinson, Shantanu Bhatt","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001409","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001409","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Attaching and effacing (A/E) pathogens adhere to intestinal cells (attachment) and destroy their microvilli (effacement). The A/E pathophenotype is encoded by a cluster of genes that are organized into the pathogenicity island called locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE). While transcriptional regulation of the LEE has been extensively interrogated in A/E pathogens, posttranscriptional regulation remains poorly understood. The RNA-binding protein Hfq and Hfq-dependent regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) play important roles in regulating the LEE posttranscriptionally. In a recent screen, we identified the Hfq-dependent sRNA DsrA as a novel riboregulator of the LEE in the A/E pathogen enteropathogenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> . Our findings suggest that DsrA globally silences the LEE by negatively regulating transcription of the <i>LEE1</i> -encoded master regulator Ler. The repression of <i>LEE1</i> is mediated through the stationary phase sigma factor, RpoS. Interestingly, our results contrast with what has been previously reported on the role of DsrA in EHEC, where the sRNA activates transcription from the <i>LEE1</i> promoter in an RpoS-dependent manner. The contrasting regulatory role of DsrA in EPEC and EHEC underscores the need for experimental validation of sRNA networks within each lineage, rather than inferring their function based on their roles in related bacteria.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2025 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12205375/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144531457","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 : 2025-06-13eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001648
Jingxian Chen, Ainsley R Scheiner, Ivan B Falsztyn, L Ryan Baugh
{"title":"<i>ist-1/IRS1</i> affects L1 starvation resistance in <i>daf-16/FoxO-</i> dependent and independent fashion.","authors":"Jingxian Chen, Ainsley R Scheiner, Ivan B Falsztyn, L Ryan Baugh","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001648","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001648","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The mammalian IRS1 gene is an important adaptor for the insulin and insulin-like growth factor receptors, but its sole homolog in the nematode <i>C. elegans</i> , <i>ist-1</i> , has received relatively little attention. We show that <i>ist-1 /IRS1</i> has modest effects on L1 starvation resistance, with two null mutants increasing larval growth and reproduction after recovery from extended L1 arrest. <i>ist-1 /IRS1</i> mutants increase nuclear localization of DAF-16 /FoxO, a critical effector of insulin/IGF signaling, in starved L1 larvae, consistent with IST-1 /IRS1 transducing DAF-2 /IGFR signaling. However, epistasis analysis suggests that <i>ist-1 /IRS1</i> also functions independently of <i>daf-16 /FoxO</i> , suggesting additional, novel function.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2025 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12205376/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144531455","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 : 2025-06-12eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001647
Ari King, Taylor M Emery, Katie Reese, Heather N Tinsley
{"title":"Yeast gene of unknown function <i>YGL081W</i> is involved in DNA damage response.","authors":"Ari King, Taylor M Emery, Katie Reese, Heather N Tinsley","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001647","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001647","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study aimed to better characterize gene of unknown function <i>YGL081W</i> in <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae.</i> Bioinformatic analysis revealed that <i>YGL081W</i> possesses a forkhead associated (FHA) domain, known to be involved in DNA repair and cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, <i>YGL081W</i> was predicted to interact with genes involved in cell cycle regulation and its expression changed during mitotic stress. <i>YGL081W</i> knockout cells grew modestly better than wild type under normal growth conditions, grew significantly less than wild type when exposed to UV light, and grew no differently than wild type in the presence of hydroxyurea. Collectively, these data suggest <i>YGL081W</i> is involved in mediating the DNA damage response in <i>S. cerevisiae.</i></p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2025 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12203241/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144531458","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 : 2025-06-12eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001634
Bridget M Walker, Caryn N Zimmerman, Katherine M Caruth, Bruce A Knutson, Ryan J Palumbo
{"title":"Maternal antioxidant treatment partially rescues developmental defects in a <i>Drosophila</i> Polr1D mutant model.","authors":"Bridget M Walker, Caryn N Zimmerman, Katherine M Caruth, Bruce A Knutson, Ryan J Palumbo","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001634","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001634","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p><i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> is a versatile <i>in vivo</i> platform for small-molecule screening across many disease models. Here, we utilized a <i>Drosophila</i> model carrying a clinically relevant mutation in Polr1D to test the antioxidant N-acetyl- <i>L</i> -cysteine (NAC) for therapeutic potential. Treating heterozygous <i>Polr1D</i> mothers with NAC partially suppressed the developmental defects of their homozygous <i>Polr1D</i> mutant larvae. These findings are consistent with antioxidant rescue effects observed in zebrafish and mouse models of Treacher Collins Syndrome (TCS). Our results demonstrate the value of a <i>Polr1D</i> mutant <i>Drosophila</i> model for identifying chemical suppressors and accelerating the discovery of promising therapeutics in disorders like TCS.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2025 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12203242/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144531456","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 : 2025-06-12eCollection Date: 2025-01-01DOI: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001611
Natalie J Guzikowski, Casey D Gailey, David M Miller Iii, Ege T Kavalali
{"title":"RIM Mutants Occlude the Effects of Aliphatic Alcohols on <i>C. elegans</i> Locomotion.","authors":"Natalie J Guzikowski, Casey D Gailey, David M Miller Iii, Ege T Kavalali","doi":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001611","DOIUrl":"10.17912/micropub.biology.001611","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Biomolecular condensates formed by liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) are emerging as a critical organizing principle for synaptic compartmentalization. Aliphatic alcohols are commonly used to disrupt LLPS in biochemical studies and in cells. Here, we tested the impact of aliphatic alcohols at the organismal level in <i>C. elegans</i> . We observe that aliphatic alcohols impair swimming behavior in wild-type controls but not in RIM/ UNC-10 mutant strains. Thus, our results suggest an <i>in vivo</i> correlate to the previously reported role of RIM liquid condensates in synaptic function in reduced systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":74192,"journal":{"name":"microPublication biology","volume":"2025 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12223791/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144562198","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}