Catálogo de publicaciones - revistas

<jats:p> James <jats:italic>et al</jats:italic> . claim that there are areas of concern in our work. We believe that they have misunderstood the methods behind our paper and that differences in scale have been overlooked. Once those misunderstandings have been resolved, their remaining criticisms are either not sustained or agree with our statements. To advance the field, we recommend additional sampling using comparable methodologies in underrepresented areas. </jats:p>

<jats:title>Convergent HIV evolution across species</jats:title> <jats:p> Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has a highly diverse envelope protein that it uses to target human cells, and the complexity of the viral envelope has stymied vaccine development. Roark <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> report that the immediate and short-term evolutionary potential of the HIV envelope is constrained because of a number of essential functions, including antibody escape. Consequently, when introduced into humans as HIV or into rhesus macaque monkeys as chimeric simian-human immunodeficiency virus, homologous envelope glycoproteins appear to exhibit conserved patterns of sequence evolution, in some cases eliciting broadly neutralizing antibodies in both hosts. Conserved patterns of envelope variation and homologous B cell responses in humans and monkeys represent examples of convergent evolution that may serve to guide HIV vaccine development. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" related-article-type="in-this-issue" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abd2638">eabd2638</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:p> Phillips <jats:italic>et al</jats:italic> . (Reports, 25 October 2019, p. 480) incorrectly conclude that tropical earthworm communities are less diverse and abundant than temperate communities. This result is an artifact generated by some low-quality datasets, lower sampling intensity in the tropics, different patterns in richness-area relationships, the occurrence of invasive species in managed soils, and a focus on local rather than regional richness. </jats:p>

<jats:title>Remodeling an RNA processing machine</jats:title> <jats:p> Splicing of precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) is carried out by the spliceosome, a highly dynamic, supramolecular complex that undergoes assembly, activation, catalysis, and disassembly. These essential spliceosome remodeling events are driven by a conserved family of adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase)/helicases. In the presence of its coactivator Spp2, the ATPase/helicase Prp2 associates with the activated spliceosome and translocates the single-stranded pre-mRNA toward its 3′ end. Bai <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> now report the cryo–electron microscopy structures of Prp2 both before and after recruitment into the activated spliceosome. These structures and the associated biochemical analysis reveal how Prp2 remodels the activated spliceosome and how Spp2 safeguards the function of Prp2. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" related-article-type="in-this-issue" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abe8863">eabe8863</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>Complex diversity from shared toolkits</jats:title> <jats:p>Neural development builds diverse circuits out of a common toolkit, with shared mechanisms, transcription factors, and cellular signaling systems. Sitko and Goodrich compare and contrast the development of visual and auditory systems to parse the similarities in logic and the differences in sensory information processing.</jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" related-article-type="in-this-issue" xlink:href="10.1126/science.aaz6317">eaaz6317</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>Glycylation regulates axonemal dyneins</jats:title> <jats:p> Physiological functions of the microtubule cytoskeleton are expected to be regulated by a variety of posttranslational tubulin modifications. For instance, tubulin glycylation is almost exclusively found in cilia and flagella, but its role in the function of these organelles remains unclear. Gadadhar <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> now demonstrate in mice that glycylation, although nonessential for the formation of cilia and flagella, coordinates the beat waveform of sperm flagella. This activity is a prerequisite for progressive sperm swimming and thus for male fertility. At the ultrastructural level, lack of glycylation perturbed the distribution of axonemal dynein conformations, which may explain the observed defects in flagellar beat. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" related-article-type="in-this-issue" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abd4914">eabd4914</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:title>Microbes modify plant root permeability</jats:title> <jats:p> The root provides mineral nutrients and water to the plant. Diffusion barriers seal the root, preventing the loss of internal water and nutrients. Salas-González <jats:italic>et al.</jats:italic> found that microbes living on and in roots of the model plant <jats:italic>Arabidopsis thaliana</jats:italic> influence diffusion barrier formation, which affects the balance of mineral nutrients in the plant (see the Perspective by Busch and Chory). Plants with modified root diffusion barriers show altered bacterial community composition. Microbes tap into the plant's abscisic acid hormone signals to stabilize the root diffusion barrier against perturbations in environmental nutrient availability, thus enhancing plant stress tolerance. </jats:p> <jats:p> <jats:italic>Science</jats:italic> , this issue p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" related-article-type="in-this-issue" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abd0695">eabd0695</jats:related-article> ; see also p. <jats:related-article xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" ext-link-type="doi" issue="6525" page="125" related-article-type="in-this-issue" vol="371" xlink:href="10.1126/science.abf5591">125</jats:related-article> </jats:p>

<jats:p>When I became director of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) in June 2020, the world was in the midst of a pandemic that continues to reshape daily lives, work, education, and the research enterprise. As we enter 2021 with the promise of suppressing COVID-19, the world looks to the science and engineering community for solutions to speed global recovery. To generate the solutions needed from all sectors of science and engineering, the United States must create a vigorous culture of innovation nationwide, leverage public-private partnerships to tackle complex research questions, and align exploratory research with societal impacts.</jats:p>

<jats:p>A roundup of weekly science policy and related news.</jats:p>