NATURE AND THE NATURE RESEARCH JOURNALS PRESS RELEASE
For papers that will be published online on 16 September 2007
This press release is copyrighted to the Nature journals mentioned below.
This press release contains:
· Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Genetics: A rose by any other gene - Nature
Biochemical pay dirt – Nature Chemical Biology
Delicate and dynamic immunological equilibrium – Nature Immunology
Many targets – one tube – Nature Methods
· Mention of papers to be published at the same time with the same embargo
· Geographical listing of authors
PDFs of all the papers mentioned on this release can be found in the relevant journal’s section of http://press.nature.com. Press contacts for the Nature journals are listed at the end of this release.
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NOTE: Once a paper is published, the digital object identifier (DOI) number can be used to retrieve the abstract and full text from the journal web site (abstracts are available to everyone, full text is available only to subscribers). To do this, add the DOI to the following URL: http://dx.doi.org/ (For example, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng730). For more information about DOIs and Advance Online Publication, see http://www.nature.com/ng/aop/.
PLEASE CITE THE SPECIFIC NATURE JOURNAL AND WEBSITE AS THE SOURCE OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO THE APPROPRIATE JOURNAL’S WEBSITE.
****************************************************NATURE************************************************
(http://www.nature.com/nature)
[1] Genetics: A rose by any other gene
DOI: 10.1038/nature06162
Genetic variation in just one single odorant receptor can affect an individual's experience of smells, as well as their sensitivity to them. Researchers screened ~400 human odorant receptors for response to 66 odours and combined these results with those from over 300 genetically varied subjects who were asked for their perceptions of the same compounds.
Leslie Vosshall and colleagues report in Nature this week that the receptor OR7D4 is selectively activated by androstenone, a steroid that some believe is a human pheromone, but not by the 64 other odours or by two solvents. Variations in the gene encoding OR7D4 affected how the subjects thought the androstenone smelt — some found it pleasant, others offensive, yet it remained odourless to others — and also how intense that smell was.
CONTACT
Leslie Vosshall (Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA)
Tel: +1 212 327 7236; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[2] Plasmacytoid dendritic cells sense self-DNA coupled with antimicrobial peptide
DOI: 10.1038/nature06116
[3]The structural basis of Holliday junction resolution by T7 endonuclease I
DOI: 10.1038/nature06158
[4]Crystal structure of T4 endonuclease VII resolving a Holliday junction
DOI: 10.1038/nature06152
*************************************NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY ***********************************
(http://www.nature.com/nchembio)
[5] Biochemical pay dirt
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.2007.29
Both halves of a protein, previously thought to operate with one half inactive, are required to produce ‘earth odour’, according to a paper in the November issue of Nature Chemical Biology. Geosmin – the chemical that is responsible for the smell of freshly ploughed soil – is produced by a number of micro-organisms. Although the chemical structure of geosmin has been known since 1965, the way it is made by these organisms has been difficult to decipher. Because geosmin causes an undesirable musty smell in water, wine and food products, understanding the biosynthesis of this earthy odour, beyond its chemical interest, may help in efforts to prevent musty food and drink.
David E. Cane and colleagues have now determined important details in the biosynthesis of geosmin. They did this by altering specific amino acids in the enzyme responsible for producing geosmin and chemically characterizing the enzymatic products of these ‘mutant’ enzymes. the authors demonstrated that one half of the protein catalyzes the formation of an intermediate chemical and then the other half of the protein turns this intermediate into geosmin.
Author contact:
David E. Cane, (Brown University, Providence, RI, USA)
Tel: +1 401 863 3588, E-mail: [email protected]
*******************************************NATURE IMMUNOLOGY ************************************
(http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology)
[6] Delicate and dynamic immunological equilibrium
DOI: 10.1038/ni1511
Immune cells patrolling the microbe-rich intestine are able to ‘tolerate’ harmless, microorganisms while attacking and eliminating potentially dangerous pathogens. Work published online this week in Nature Immunology deepens our understanding of how this process occurs.
Previous work implicates immune cells called regulatory T cells in enforcing immunological tolerance to harmless or ‘commensal’ gut microbes. Bali Pulendran and colleagues pinpointed particular populations of gut ‘accessory’ cells called macrophages and dendritic cells which, although located adjacent to each other in the gut mucosa, exert opposite immune functions. Macrophages promote production of regulatory T cells, whereas dendritic cells elicit development of potentially pathogenic non-regulatory T cells capable of releasing pro-inflammatory mediators.
Complete understanding of the molecular mechanisms regulating this likely dynamic cooperation among accessory cell populations in the gut awaits further investigation.
Author contact:
Bali Pulendran (Emory Vaccine Center, Atlanta, GA, USA)
Tel: +1 404 727 8945; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Immunology to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[7] ‘Coreceptor tuning’: cytokine signals transcriptionally tailor CD8 coreceptor expression to the self-specificity of the TCR
DOI: 10.1038/ni1512
********************************************NATURE METHODS******************************************
(http://www.nature.com/nmeth)
[8] Many targets – one tube
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth1091
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a powerful method to specifically amplify stretches of DNA from the complex background of the genome. This week Nature Methods presents a strategy to increase the number of targets that are amplified in one reaction.
PCR requires two primers for every DNA sequence to be amplified, one on each end. Since these primer sequences are unique to the target region, in theory, primers for many different targets could be used simultaneously in the same PCR reaction, also known as a multiplex reaction. In practice the presence of multiple primers leads to unspecific priming and the formation of primer-dimers, both of which produce artifacts and severely limit the efficacy of the amplification.
To minimize these limitations Anthony Brookes and colleagues developed a solid-phase amplification method, where primers are physically separated from each other by immobilization on a solid surface. The authors show that this MegaPlex-PCR strategy can amplify 75 genomic regions selected at random. They also demonstrate that no complicated pre-selection of primers is needed, and primers against any sequence of choice yield high quality results.
MegaPlex PCR will be of interest to researchers needing to amplify many different regions, such as exons or promoters, from complex genomes in a single reaction.
Author contact:
Anthony Brookes (University of Leicester, UK)
Tel: +44 116 252 3401; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Methods to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[9] Speed-mapping quantitative trait loci using microarrays
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth1084
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Items from other Nature journals to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
NATURE PHOTONICS (http://www.nature.com/nphton)
[10] Lasing in metallic-coated nanocavities
DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2007.171
Nature PHYSICS (http://www.nature.com/naturephysics)
[11] Spin dynamics in the pseudogap state of a high-temperature superconductor
DOI: 10.1038/nphys720
[12] Imaging the two gaps of the high-temperature superconductor Bi2Sr2CuO6+x
DOI: 10.1038/nphys725
NATURE MATERIALS (http://www.nature.com/naturematerials)
[13] Large triangular single crystals formed by mild annealing of self-organized silver nanocrystals
DOI: 10.1038/nmat2004
[14] A microdiffraction set-up for nanoporous metal–organic-framework-type solids
DOI: 10.1038/nmat1991
[15] Epitaxial integration of the highly spin-polarized ferromagnetic semiconductor EuO with silicon and GaN
DOI: 10.1038/nmat2012
NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nnano)
[16] Highly selective dispersion of single-walled carbon nanotubes using aromatic polymers
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2007.290
[17] Highly scalable non-volatile and ultra-low-power phase-change nanowire memory
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2007.291
[18] Magnetic exchange bias of more than 1 Tesla in a natural mineral intergrowth
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2007.292
[19] Controlling optical gain in semiconducting polymers with nanoscale chain positioning and alignment
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2007.294
Nature MEDICINE (http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine)
[20] Central control of bone remodeling by neuromedin U
DOI: 10.1038/nm1640
[21] Mutational loss of PTEN induces resistance to NOTCH1 inhibition in T-cell leukemia
DOI: 10.1038/nm1636
[22] 27-Hydroxycholesterol is an endogenous SERM that inhibits the cardiovascular effects of estrogen
DOI: 10.1038/nm1641
Nature BIOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturebiotechnology)
[23] Exploiting lymphatic transport and complement activation in nanoparticle vaccines
DOI: 10.1038/nbt1332
[24] Mechanisms and optimization of in vivo delivery of lipophilic siRNAs
DOI: 10.1038/nbt1339
[25] A simple selection strategy for evolving highly efficient enzymes
DOI: 10.1038/nbt1341
NATURE GENETICS (http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics)
[26] Discovery of expression QTLs using large-scale transcriptional profiling in human lymphocytes
DOI: 10.1038/ng2119
[27] A genome-wide association study of global gene expression
DOI: 10.1038/ng2109
[28] Population genomics of human gene expression
DOI: 10.1038/ng2142
[29] A high-resolution atlas of nucleosome occupancy in yeast
DOI: 10.1038/ng2117
Nature NEUROSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience)
[30] Stargazin attenuates intracellular polyamine block of calcium-permeable AMPA receptors
DOI: 10.1038/nn1966
[31] Neurons in monkey visual area V2 encode combinations of orientations
DOI: 10.1038/nn1975
[32] Early visual deprivation impairs multisensory interactions in humans
DOI: 10.1038/nn1978
[33] A complexin fusion clamp regulates spontaneous neurotransmitter release and synaptic growth
DOI: 10.1038/nn1980
[34] Optimal sensorimotor transformations for balance
DOI: 10.1038/nn1986
Nature STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natstructmolbiol)
[35] Structural determinants of RNA recognition and cleavage by Dicer
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1293
[36] E2-BRCA1 RING interactions dictate synthesis of mono- or specific polyubiquitin chain linkages
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1295
[37] Failsafe nonsense-mediated mRNA decay does not detectably target eIF4E-bound mRNA
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1297
[38] The structure of bacterial ParM filaments
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1300
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GEOGRAPHICAL LISTING OF AUTHORS
The following list of places refers to the whereabouts of authors on the papers numbered in this release. The listing may be for an author's main affiliation, or for a place where they are working temporarily. Please see the PDF of the paper for full details.
AUSTRALIA
Crawley: 26
Geelong: 26
Waurn Ponds: 26
AUSTRIA
Vienna: 7
CANADA:
Toronto: 21, 29
FRANCE
Evry : 27
Gif-sur-Yvette:
Grenoble: 14
Paris: 13
Versailles: 14
GERMANY
Ausberg: 15
Bayreuth: 18
Düsseldorf: 2, 32
Garching: 15
Hamburg: 32
Heidelberg: 4
Julich: 15
Kiel: 2
Marburg: 32
ITALY
Padua: 21
JAPAN
Fukuoka: 20
Miyagi : 21
Osaka: 20
Nagoya : 12, 37
Saitama: 20
Tokyo: 19, 10
KOREA
Daejeon : 10
Seoul : 37
NETHERLANDS
Eindhoven : 10
NORWAY
Trondheim: 18
RUSSIA
Chernogolovka: 15
SINGAPORE
Singapore: 23
SPAIN
Alicante: 21
SWITZERLAND
Lausanne: 23
Zurich: 24, 25
TAIWAN
Taipei: 16
TURKEY
Istanbul: 7
UNITED KINGDOM
Cambridge: 18, 28
Dundee: 3
Leeds: 3
Leicester: 8
London: 2, 14, 27, 30
Oxford: 16, 27
Porton Down: 27
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
California
Berkeley: 35
Los Angeles: 19
Palo Alto: 29
San Francisco: 2, 38
Stanford: 28, 29
Connecticut
New Haven: 2, 9
Georgia
Atlanta: 6, 34
Iowa
Ames: 12
Maryland
Baltimore: 9
Bethesda: 4, 7, 9
Frederick: 7
Massachusetts
Boston: 9
Cambridge: 12, 24, 33
Michigan
Ann Arbor: 27
Minnesota
Minneapolis: 18
Missouri
St Louis: 31, 38
Montana
Bozeman: 15
New York
Albany: 29
Ithaca: 15
New York: 1, 21, 22, 23, 24
Rochester: 31, 37
North Carolina
Davidson: 7
Durham: 1
Raleigh: 9
Triangle Park: 22
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia: 7, 17
University Park: 15,
Rhode Island
Providence: 5
Texas
Dallas: 22
Houston: 2, 31
San Antonio: 26
Utah
Salt Lake City: 21
Virginia
Charlottesville: 38
Washington
Seattle: 36
Wisconsin
Milwaukee: 26
PRESS CONTACTS…
For media inquiries relating to embargo policy for all the Nature Research Journals:
Katherine Anderson (Nature London)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4502; E-mail: [email protected]
Ruth Francis (Senior Press Officer, Nature, London)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4562; E-mail: [email protected]
For media inquiries relating to editorial content/policy for the Nature Research Journals, please contact the journals individually:
Nature Biotechnology (New York)
Peter Hare
Tel: +1 212 726 9284; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Cell Biology (London)
Bernd Pulverer
Tel: +44 20 7843 4892; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Chemical Biology (Boston)
Andrea Garvey
Tel: +1 617 475 9241, E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Genetics (New York)
Orli Bahcall
Tel: +1 212 726 9311; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Immunology (New York)
Laurie Dempsey
Tel: +1 212 726 9372; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Materials (London)
Fabio Pulizzi
Tel: +44 20 7014 4024; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Medicine (New York)
Juan Carlos Lopez
Tel: +1 212 726 9325; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Methods (New York)
Allison Doerr
Tel: +1 212 726 9393; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Nanotechnology (London)
Peter Rodgers
Tel: +44 20 7014 4019; Email: [email protected]
Nature Neuroscience (New York)
Sandra Aamodt (based in California)
Tel: +1 530 795 3256; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Photonics (Tokyo))
Oliver Graydon
Tel: +81 3 3267 8776; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Physics (London)
Alison Wright
Tel: +44 20 7843 4555; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (New York)
Michelle Montoya
Tel: +1 212 726 9326; E-mail: [email protected]
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