Webb AE et al. (2013) Nat Cell Biol "FOXO flips the longevity SWItch."

Brunet A, Webb AE

[Nat Cell Biol, 2013]

FOXO transcription factors promote longevity from worms to mammals, but the mechanisms by which FOXO extends lifespan have remained elusive. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, FOXO is now shown to recruit the nucleosome remodelling complex SWI/SNF to its target genes, which is essential for FOXO to elicit stress resistance and longevity.

Tuck S (2011) Curr Biol "Extracellular vesicles: budding regulated by a phosphatidylethanolamine translocase."

Tuck S

[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.

Kress E et al. (2011) Nat Cell Biol "Aurora A in cell division: kinase activity not required."

Kress E, Gotta M

[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.

Musacchio A (2015) Elife "Closing the Mad2 cycle."

Musacchio A

[Elife, 2015]

Chromosome separation is regulated by a cycle that involves a protein undergoing an unusual topological conversion.

Prosser SL et al. (2015) Curr Biol "Centrosome biology: the ins and outs of centrosome assembly."

Pelletier L, Prosser SL

[Curr Biol, 2015]

As a microtubule-organizing center, the centrosome undergoes a dramatic increase in size - via expansion of the pericentriolar material - during mitosis. Recent work reveals shared assembly properties of a protein scaffold that facilitates and supports this expansion, a process critical to spindle assembly.

Louis T et al. (2014) Cell "Neurons and behavior: ex uno, plures."

Louis T, Tomchik SM

[Cell, 2014]

Li et al. demonstrate that a single interneuron can regulate analog- and digital-like behaviors guided by two different postsynaptic neurons. Releasing a single neurotransmitter onto downstream neurons that express receptors with distinct biophysical properties enables a small set of neurons to direct a range of functional responses.

Scott CP (2009) Nat Chem Biol "Taking the chemical out of chemical genetics."

Scott CP

[Nat Chem Biol, 2009]

Screening a library of expressed cyclic peptides identified clones that reverse the cytotoxicity of alpha-synuclein in yeast and Caenorhabditis elegans. The results suggest a new approach for intervention in Parkinson's disease, and perhaps a druggable target.

Ringstad N (2017) Curr Biol "Neuromodulation: The Fevered Mind of the Worm."

Ringstad N

[Curr Biol, 2017]

A landmark study has revealed that an interleukin-17-like signaling system modulates a neural circuit that controls the aggregation behavior of nematodes.

Zhao B et al. (2013) Curr Biol "Neuropeptide signaling: from the gut."

Zhao B, Schafer WR

[Curr Biol, 2013]

In the defecation motor program of Caenorhabditis elegans, a pacemaker rhythm generated by the intestine leads to the activation of motor neurons controlling enteric muscle contraction. A new study demonstrates that this signal is conveyed by a neuropeptide that is released from intestinal cells and acutely depolarizes the motorneurons, acting much like a classical neurotransmitter.

Carstens RP (2014) Mol Cell "Networking in an alternative splicing world."

Carstens RP

[Mol Cell, 2014]

Using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system, Norris et al. (2014) define complex combinatorial regulation of alternative splicing at single-neuron resolution and illustrate functional coherence among components of a splicing regulatory network controlled by a neuronal splicing factor.