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Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A,
2003]
The discovery of transgene silencing in plants and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) interference in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans has led to the latest revolution in molecular biology, RNA interference (RNAi). Over 10 years ago it was noted that several transgenic plant lines each containing the same ectopic transgene not only failed to be expressed but also inhibited the expression of the endogenous gene. Similarly, a determined Craig Mello and Andy Fire, attempting to reduce gene function using using antisense RNA in the worm, discovered a minor contaminant in their antisense RNA preparation effectively and repeatedly reduced expression of the endogenous gene. In both cases, dsRNA homologous to the gene of interest was responsible for these observations. In the last 4 years, these discoveries have been extended to include protozoa,
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Cell Res,
2014]
In a recent paper in Nature, Ermolaeva et al. uncover a systemic response to DNA damage in germ cells that protects somatic tissues, providing mechanistic insight into the bidirectional communication between germ line and soma.
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Cell,
2009]
The serine/threonine kinase Akt is a focal point in signaling pathways that control cell tumorigenesis and insulin resistance. In this issue, Padmanabhan et al. (2009) identify a phosphatase regulatory subunit PPTR-1 that regulates the insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 pathway by counteracting Akt activity in worms and mammalian cells.
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Cell Metab,
2007]
Metabolic component depletion in model systems results in life-span extension, which has been difficult to reconcile with human metabolic pathologies. Recently, Rea et al. (2007) have shown that mitochondrial electron transport chain RNAi phenotypes in the worm C. elegans are dose dependent, providing an alternative view of mitochondrial function in longevity and metabolic diseases.
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Cell Metab,
2019]
Mitochondria are organelles descended from an endosymbiosed bacterium, and many bacterial toxins impair mitochondria, likely as an echo of ancient bacterial warfare. However, the signal transduction pathways that translate mitochondrial dysfunction into a transcriptional program for detoxification have not been well understood. In this issue of Cell Metabolism, Mao etal. (2019) provide insight into how mitochondrial perturbations can activate both the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPR<sup>mito</sup>) and detoxification response and, importantly, how these responses differentially affect organismal physiology under normal conditions or with pathogenic challenges.
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Curr Biol,
2011]
Recent work on a Caenorhabditis elegans transmembrane ATPase reveals a central role for the aminophospholipid phosphatidylethanolamine in the production of a class of extracellular vesicles.
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Nat Cell Biol,
2011]
Aurora A kinase is a key regulator of cell division, whose functions were attributed to its ability to phosphorylate diverse substrates. Aurora A is now shown to have a kinase-independent role in the regulation of chromatin-mediated microtubule assembly.
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Elife,
2015]
Chromosome separation is regulated by a cycle that involves a protein undergoing an unusual topological conversion.