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Top 7 in cell biology

A snapshot of the most highly ranked articles in cell biology and related areas, from Faculty of 1000

Written byBob Grant
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linkurl:1. SWEET proteins found;http://www.f1000biology.com/article/w7k0gdj9cm62gtt/id/6785956 A new class of proteins, dubbed SWEETs, function as glucose transporters, shuttling sugar molecules out of plant, worm and human cells. In some plants, SWEET proteins are co-opted by bacterial pathogens to deliver nutrition to the invaders.L.Q. Chen et al., linkurl:"Sugar transporters for intercellular exchange and nutrition of pathogens,";http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/21107422?dopt=Abstract&holding=f1000%2Cf1000m __Nature__, 468:527-32, 2010. Evaluations by Julian Schroeder, UCSD; Akiko Sugio and Saskia Hogenhout, The John Innes Centre, UK; John Patrick, Univ Newcastle, Australia; David Alpers, Wash U Sch of Med; Bruno Stieger, Univ Hosp Zurich; Tapio Palva, Univ Helsinki; H Ekkehard Neuhaus, Univ Kaiserslautern, Germany. linkurl:Free F1000 Evaluation;http://www.f1000biology.com/article/w7k0gdj9cm62gtt/id/6785956 linkurl:2. Codons boost protein expression;http://www.f1000biology.com/article/8t1j76m6ygprt0b/id/1160043 A library of more than 150 synthetic green fluorescent protein genes, inserted into E. coli DNA, showed that changing synonymous codons -- different nucleotide triplets that encode the same amino acid -- can alter protein expression up to 250-fold, likely a result of mRNA structural stability and rates of translation.G. Kudla et al., linkurl:"Coding-sequence determinants of gene expression in Escherichia coli,";http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/19359587?dopt=Abstract&holding=f1000%2Cf1000m __Science__, 324:255-58, 2009. Evaluations by Jonathan R Warner, Albert Einstein Coll of Med; Panayiotis Benos, Univ Pitt; Daniel Dykhuizen, Stony Brook; Jurg Bahler, UCL; Neeraj Dhar and John McKinney, EPFL, Switzerland; Audrey Gasch, Univ Wisc-Madison. linkurl:Free F1000 Evaluation;http://www.f1000biology.com/article/8t1j76m6ygprt0b/id/1160043
Astrocyte with focal adhesion kinases
tagged green
Image: Neurorocker at en.wikipedia
linkurl:3. Focus on focal adhesions;http://www.f1000biology.com/article/nfjlg58s3qm3l70/id/6623956 The architecture of focal adhesions -- structures that mediate signaling and adhesion to the extra cellular matrix -- is described in vivid detail, showing several distinct strata including an integrin signaling layer, an intermediate force-transduction layer, and an actin-regulatory layer.P. Kanchanawong et al., linkurl:"Nanoscale architecture of integrin-based cell adhesions,";http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/21107430?dopt=Abstract&holding=f1000%2Cf1000m __Nature__, 468:580-84, 2010. Evaluations by Martin Humphries, Univ Manchester; Herbert Schiller and Reinhard Fassler, Max Planck Gesellschaft, Germany; Ronen Zaidel-Bar, Nat Univ Singapore; John Couchman, Univ Copenhagen. linkurl:Free F1000 Evaluation;http://www.f1000biology.com/article/nfjlg58s3qm3l70/id/6623956 linkurl:4. The degradation trick;http://www.f1000biology.com/article/byqx3xlcj6b6059/id/5674957 Hooking an arginine to certain N-terminal amino acids of a protein, such as cytoskeletal protein γ-actin, tags that protein for degradation via the ubiquitin pathway. But somehow β-actin, which shares 98 percent amino acid identity with γ-actin, functions normally despite its naturally occurring terminal arginine. The difference turns out to be due to different synonymous codons within the two genes, which lead to a different speed of translation.F. Zhang et al., linkurl:"Differential arginylation of actin isoforms is regulated by coding sequence-dependent degradation,";http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/20847274?dopt=Abstract&holding=f1000%2Cf1000m __Science__, 329:1534-37, 2010. Evaluations by Sarah M P Jacobo and Andrius Kazlauskas, Harvard Med Sch; Jike Cui and Dennis Wall, Harvard Med Sch; Irina Kaverina, Vanderbilt Univ Med Cntr; Zhihua Li and Edward M Marcotte, Univ Texas. linkurl:Free F1000 Evaluation;http://www.f1000biology.com/article/byqx3xlcj6b6059/id/5674957 linkurl:5. Fat rat daddies have diabetic daughters;http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/57757/ Male rats fed a high-fat diet had daughters with diabetes-like beta cell dysfunction, showing for the first time in mammals that environment of the parent can influence the phenotype of the offspring.S.F. Ng et al., linkurl:"Chronic high-fat diet in fathers programs beta-cell dysfunction in female rat offspring,";http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/20962845?dopt=Abstract&holding=f1000%2Cf1000m __Nature__, 467:963-6, 2010. Evaluations by Russell Bonduriansky, Univ New South Wales, Australia; Enrico Avvedimento, Univ Federico II, Italy; Qingchun Tong and Perry Bickel, Univ Texas; Atsushi Iriki, RIKEN Brain Sci Inst, Japan; Mehboob Hussain, Johns Hopkins Univ; William H Colledge, Univ Cambridge. linkurl:Free F1000 Evaluation;http://f1000.com/5758956?key=5qy0jc0fyrrpcgf linkurl:6. Shaping the ER;http://www.f1000biology.com/article/m48j8v427ksk2n7/id/6989956 Hinting at the enigmatic process of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) formation, researchers identify a role for transmembrane protein Climp-63 in the creation of the sheet-like structures prominent in rough ER, and for curvature-inducing membrane proteins in determining the ratio of such sheets to the tubules characteristic of smooth ER.Y. Shibata et al., linkurl:"Mechanisms determining the morphology of the peripheral ER,";http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/21111237?dopt=Abstract&holding=f1000%2Cf1000m __Cell__, 143:774-88, 2010. Evaluations by Charles Barlowe, Dartmouth Med Sch; Matthias Seedorf, Univ Heidelberg, Germany; Sascha Martens, Univ Vienna. linkurl:Free F1000 Evaluation;http://www.f1000biology.com/article/m48j8v427ksk2n7/id/6989956 linkurl:7. The genome shuffle;http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/57907/ In some cancers, chromosomes are broken apart and stitched back together, resulting in tens to hundreds of spontaneous genomic rearrangements, contravening the model of slowly accumulating point mutations and more subtle chromosome rearrangements. The process, dubbed "chromothripsis," occurs in at least 2-3 percent of all cancers, across many subtypes, and is present in 25 percent of bone cancers.P.J. Stephens et al., linkurl:"Massive genomic rearrangement acquired in a single catastrophic event during cancer development,";http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/21215367?dopt=Abstract&holding=f1000%2Cf1000m __Cell__, 144:27-40, 2011. Evaluations by Jordi Camps and Thomas Ried, NCI/NIH; Yamini Dalal, NCI/NIH; Giovanni Neri, Univ Cattolica del S Cuore, Italy; Robert Booth, Virobay Inc; Yan Xu and Makoto Komiyama, Univ Tokyo. linkurl:Free F1000 Evaluation;http://www.f1000biology.com/article/g79vstgp2slq12q/id/7848958 The F1000 Top 7 is a snapshot of the highest ranked articles from a 30-day period on Faculty of 1000 Cell Biology and, as calculated on February 11, 2011. Faculty Members evaluate and rate the most important papers in their field. To see the latest rankings, search the database, and read daily evaluations, visit linkurl:http://f1000.com.;http://f1000.com
**__Related stories:__***linkurl:Top 7 worm papers;http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/57980/
[10th February 2011]*linkurl:Top 7 in immunology;http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/57977/
[8th February 2011]*linkurl:Normal today, cancer tomorrow;http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/57907/
[6th January 2011]*linkurl:Rat dad's diet affects pups;http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/57757/
[20th October 2010]
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Meet the Author

  • Bob Grant

    From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.

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