Biophysics articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article |

    Spider webs consist of scaffolding silk, which supports the cobweb, and gumfoot silk, which can detach easily from the web upon contact with prey. Here, these different mechanical demands are shown to be met by silk attachments of two distinct architectures using the same pyriform silk secretions.

    • Vasav Sahni
    • , Jared Harris
    •  & Ali Dhinojwala

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Sodium-gated ion channels open and close in response to the flow of ions. Here, McCusker et al.report the open structure of a sodium-gated ion channel pore from a bacterial homologue, and show, by comparison with the closed structure, that the movement of a C-terminal helix is sufficient to open the channel.

    • Emily C. McCusker
    • , Claire Bagnéris
    •  & B.A. Wallace

  • Article |

    In the inner ear, sound waves produce movements in hair cell sterocilia, triggering the opening of ion channels. Hakizimana and colleagues show that the resultant currents change the length of sterocilia, and that these length changes alter the efficiency by which sound is converted into electrical signals.

    • Pierre Hakizimana
    • , William E. Brownell
    •  & Anders Fridberger

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many drugs exist that target the β-adrenergic receptor, but they have different efficacies. Kofukuet al. use NMR to show that methionine 82 in the transmembrane domain undergoes conformational changes depending on whether agonists or inverse agonists are bound, explaining the differential drug efficacy.

    • Yutaka Kofuku
    • , Takumi Ueda
    •  & Ichio Shimada

  • Article |

    Vesicle trafficking in the cell is likely to involve a tug-of-war between motor proteins of opposing directionality. Guet al. use high-speed single-particle tracking in neurons to uncover rotation of paused cargo vesicles, providing insight into the changing forces as the vesicles change direction.

    • Yan Gu
    • , Wei Sun
    •  & Ning Fang

  • Article |

    Supramolecular interactions allow some small molecules to self-assemble into nanofibres and hydrogels in aqueous environments. Gaoet al.report a hydrogelator that forms fluorescent nanofibres within cells, leading to the visualization of their self-assembly at the endoplasmic reticulum.

    • Yuan Gao
    • , Junfeng Shi
    •  & Bing Xu

  • Article |

    The mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) mediates both mitochondrial transcription and DNA compaction, but how it achieves these two functions is unknown. In this study, TFAM is shown to slide along DNA and cause local melting, suggesting a mechanism for how TFAM modulates both transcription and compaction.

    • Géraldine Farge
    • , Niels Laurens
    •  & Gijs J.L. Wuite

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Flavodoxin requires tight binding of its FMN cofactor to be active, but the residues involved are unknown. In this biophysical study, FMN binding is shown to change from nanomolar to picomolar affinity on extremely slow protein relaxation and the residues responsible for cofactor binding are identified.

    • Yves J.M. Bollen
    • , Adrie H. Westphal
    •  & Carlo P.M. van Mierlo

  • Article |

    Glycoprotein hormone receptors show negative cooperativity following a single molecule of agonist binding to each receptor dimer. Here, constitutively active receptors are shown to display less cooperative allosteric regulation, suggesting a direct relationship between conformational changes in the transmembrane domain and allosteric behaviour of the receptor dimers.

    • Maxime Zoenen
    • , Eneko Urizar
    •  & Sabine Costagliola

  • Article |

    The TREX complex and Nxf1 are involved in the export of mRNA from the nucleus but the precise molecular function of TREX is unclear. Here, the TREX components Aly and Thoc5 are shown to bind to Nxf1 resulting in a change in Nxf1 conformation that permits binding to mRNA and nuclear export.

    • Nicolas Viphakone
    • , Guillaume M. Hautbergue
    •  & Stuart A. Wilson

  • Article |

    Resilin is a polymeric elastic protein that is important for the flight and jumping of insects. Here, the structure-function relationships ofDrosophilaresilin are investigated, and a mechanical model is proposed to account for its elasticity.

    • Guokui Qin
    • , Xiao Hu
    •  & David L. Kaplan

  • Article |

    The bacterial channel protein MscL opens in response to mechanical forces and could be exploited for vesicular-based drug delivery. Doerneret al. show that functional MscL can be expressed in mammalian cells and facilitate the controlled cellular uptake of relatively large, membrane-impermeable bioactive molecules.

    • Julia F. Doerner
    • , Sebastien Febvay
    •  & David E. Clapham

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Following retinalcis/trans isomerisation, the active form of the G-protein-coupled receptor rhodopsin decays to opsin and all-trans-retinal. In this study, arrestin, a regulator of G-protein-coupled receptor activity, is shown to facilitate the concurrent sequestering of toxic all-trans-retinal and regeneration of 11-cis-retinal within the opsin population.

    • Martha E. Sommer
    • , Klaus Peter Hofmann
    •  & Martin Heck

  • Article |

    Cyclic nucleotide-gated channels are apparently voltage insensitive despite having the S4-type voltage sensor. Marchesiet al.show that the gating of wild-type CNGA1 and native CNG channels is voltage-independent in the presence of Li+, Na+ and K+, but that it is voltage-dependent in the presence of Rb+, Cs+ and organic cations.

    • Arin Marchesi
    • , Monica Mazzolini
    •  & Vincent Torre

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The motor protein myosin-V transports cargo along actin filaments, but the biophysical mechanisms by which myosin-V generates force are unclear. Here, optical tweezers and a DNA handle are used to study the forces generated by myosin-V: the mechanism of force generation is found to depend on the load applied.

    • Keisuke Fujita
    • , Mitsuhiro Iwaki
    •  & Toshio Yanagida

  • Article |

    Chromatin in embryonic stem cells is present in an open state presumably to facilitate gene expression changes required for pluripotency and subsequent multilineage differentiation. This study describes roles for lamin A, histone acetylation and G9a-mediated histone H3 lysine 9 methylation in regulating chromatin plasticity in these cells.

    • Shai Melcer
    • , Hadas Hezroni
    •  & Eran Meshorer

  • Article |

    Nucleic acid superstructures are required to package genomes into the nucleus of cells. In this study, the superstructure of an RNA supercoil species is reported and is shown to be dependent on an RNA-binding protein that induces a higher level of organization compared with DNA superstructures.

    • Jason R. Stagno
    • , Buyong Ma
    •  & Xinhua Ji

  • Article |

    Proteins can undergo folding while being translated by the ribosome, and the extent of this folding is influenced by the rate at which amino acids are added to the nascent chain. This study provides a framework for predicting domain folding probabilities as a function of the kinetics of amino-acid addition.

    • Edward P. O'Brien
    • , Michele Vendruscolo
    •  & Christopher M. Dobson

  • Article |

    Processes that regulate the mechanical and dynamic properties of actin cytoskeleton are important for multiple eukaryotic cell functions. In this study, using reconstituted crosslinked actin networks, organization is found to be determined by the competing kinetics of actin gelation and bundle formation.

    • Tobias T. Falzone
    • , Martin Lenz
    •  & Margaret L. Gardel

  • Article |

    Platelets are formed from megakaryocytes but the exact mechanisms are unknown. Thonet al.describe circular preplatelets and barbell shaped proplatelets in human blood and demonstrate, with the aid of a mathematical model, a role for microtubule-based forces in regulating final platelet size.

    • Jonathan N Thon
    • , Hannah Macleod
    •  & Joseph E. Italiano Jr

  • Article |

    Calcium nanodomains arise from the cytoplasmic mouth of calcium channels but have not been directly visualized. In this study, the nanodomain of the CaV2.2 calcium channel is imaged using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy and a genetically encoded calcium sensor attached to the carboxy terminus.

    • Lai Hock Tay
    • , Ivy E. Dick
    •  & David T. Yue

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pulsed infrared laser light can directly stimulate nerves and muscles, but the underlying biophysical mechanism has remained enigmatic. This study reveals that infrared pulses depolarize target cells by reversibly altering the electrical capacitance of the plasma membrane.

    • Mikhail G. Shapiro
    • , Kazuaki Homma
    •  & Francisco Bezanilla

  • Article |

    Perturbation of the cardiac voltage-gated sodium channel, NaV1.5, by drugs or inherited mutation can underlie and trigger cardiac arrhythmias. Here, the role of the NaV1.5 carboxy terminus in channel inactivation is investigated, and structural details of an arrhythmia associated H6 mutant are reported.

    • Ian W. Glaaser
    • , Jeremiah D. Osteen
    •  & Robert S. Kass

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The peripheral stalks of rotary ATPases counteract torque generated by rotation of the central stalk during ATP synthesis or hydrolysis. Stewartet al.report the crystal structure of an A-type ATPase/synthase peripheral stalk and identify bending and twisting motions that permit the radial wobbling of the headgroup.

    • Alastair G. Stewart
    • , Lawrence K. Lee
    •  & Daniela Stock

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Na+/K+-ATPase pump exports three Na+ ions for the exchange of two K+ ions, and three transient current components have been associated with Na+ binding and release. Now, these three components are found to be tightly correlated confirming that the binding and release of Na+ions is sequential.

    • David C. Gadsby
    • , Francisco Bezanilla
    •  & Miguel Holmgren

  • Article |

    Actin filaments are involved in the modulation of nuclear shape and function, but mechanistic understanding of these processes is lacking. Versaevelet al. show that orientation and deformation of the nucleus are regulated by lateral compressive forces driven by tension in central actomyosin fibres.

    • Marie Versaevel
    • , Thomas Grevesse
    •  & Sylvain Gabriele

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The super elongation complex, which is involved in transcriptional elongation, contains the Eleven-nineteen Lysine-rich Leukemia protein (ELL). In this study, ELL is shown to stabilize RNA polymerase II prior to recruitment into the super elongation complex, suggesting ELL has a role in early transcription elongation.

    • Jung S. Byun
    • , Temesgen D. Fufa
    •  & Kevin Gardner

  • Article |

    Inward rectifier potassium channels are regulated by a range of ligands that act on a common gate, but the structural details of gating are unclear. Here, the molecular motions associated with gating of KirBac1.1 channels are assessed using small molecule fluorescent probes attached to introduced cysteines.

    • Shizhen Wang
    • , Sun-Joo Lee
    •  & Colin G. Nichols

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In the classical model, fast neuronal signalling occurs at specialized presynaptic terminals. Now, Ratnayakaet al. show that stimulus-driven fusion and recycling of synaptic vesicles can occur at axonal sites remote from conventional synapses. These findings have implications for dynamic forms of neuron–neuron communication.

    • Arjuna Ratnayaka
    • , Vincenzo Marra
    •  & Kevin Staras

  • Article |

    Surface characterization of soft materialsin situis challenging due to the importance of non-covalent interactions. Now, a new chemical imaging method is reported that generates images of surface interactions by combining many molecular probe trajectories.

    • Robert Walder
    • , Nathaniel Nelson
    •  & Daniel K. Schwartz

  • Review Article |

    Hair cells of the inner ear transduce vibrations of the basilar membrane into electrical signals by a process known as mechanotransduction. Recent advances in genetic and molecular tools have led to an improved understanding of mechanotransduction as Peng and colleagues summarize in this Review.

    • Anthony W. Peng
    • , Felipe T. Salles
    •  & Anthony J. Ricci

  • Article |

    In non-NMDA glutamate receptors, intersubunit contacts within agonist binding domains affect functional desensitization. Now, NMDA receptor activation, but not desensitization, is shown to involve rearrangements at the heterodimer interface, suggesting that the intersubunit contacts of NMDA and non-NMDA receptors may have distinct functional roles.

    • William F. Borschel
    • , Swetha E. Murthy
    •  & Gabriela K. Popescu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A bacterial export gate complex transports flagellar proteins across the cytoplasmic membrane, but the mechanism of this process is unclear. Here, the export gate complex is revealed as a proton–protein antiporter that uses separate components of the proton motive force for different steps of the export process.

    • Tohru Minamino
    • , Yusuke V. Morimoto
    •  & Keiichi Namba

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cell-penetrating peptides can deliver molecular cargoes into living cells, and cross biological membranes by transduction—a non-endocytic mechanism. Here, the transduction efficiency of cyclic arginine-rich peptides is shown to be higher than that of more flexible linear peptides.

    • Gisela Lättig-Tünnemann
    • , Manuel Prinz
    •  & M. Cristina Cardoso

  • Article |

    The development of radial progenitor cells and astroglia in the cerebral cortex depends on the microtubule cytoskeleton. Eomet al. have developed a new mouse model where the microtubules of astrocytes and radial glia cells are fluorescently tagged, facilitating the detailed study of microtubule dynamics and development in these cells.

    • Tae-Yeon Eom
    • , Amelia Stanco
    •  & E.S. Anton

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How microtubules are organized correctly in plant cells is not well understood. Ambroseet al. use 4D imaging and computer modelling to show that sharp cell edges induce microtubule depolymerization and that the microtubule-associated protein CLASP mitigates this process to modulate array organization.

    • Chris Ambrose
    • , Jun F. Allard
    •  & Geoffrey O. Wasteneys

  • Article
    | Open Access

    RNA editing is important in regulating neuronal excitability, and a specific editing event has been shown to alter the permeation pathway of voltage-gate potassium channels. Gonzalezet al.find that the tip of the channel's inactivation gate makes a direct hydrophobic interaction with the edited position.

    • Carlos Gonzalez
    • , Angelica Lopez-Rodriguez
    •  & Miguel Holmgren

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