@unpublished{12077, abstract = {We compare the Manin-type conjecture for Campana points recently formulated by Pieropan, Smeets, Tanimoto and V\'{a}rilly-Alvarado with an alternative prediction of Browning and Van Valckenborgh in the special case of the orbifold $(\mathbb{P}^1,D)$, where $D =\frac{1}{2}[0]+\frac{1}{2}[1]+\frac{1}{2}[\infty]$. We find that the two predicted leading constants do not agree, and we discuss whether thin sets could explain this discrepancy. Motivated by this, we provide a counterexample to the Manin-type conjecture for Campana points, by considering orbifolds corresponding to squareful values of binary quadratic forms.}, author = {Shute, Alec L}, booktitle = {arXiv}, title = {{On the leading constant in the Manin-type conjecture for Campana points}}, doi = {10.48550/arXiv.2104.14946}, year = {2021}, } @article{9558, abstract = {We show that turbulent dynamics that arise in simulations of the three-dimensional Navier--Stokes equations in a triply-periodic domain under sinusoidal forcing can be described as transient visits to the neighborhoods of unstable time-periodic solutions. Based on this description, we reduce the original system with more than 10^5 degrees of freedom to a 17-node Markov chain where each node corresponds to the neighborhood of a periodic orbit. The model accurately reproduces long-term averages of the system's observables as weighted sums over the periodic orbits. }, author = {Yalniz, Gökhan and Hof, Björn and Budanur, Nazmi B}, issn = {1079-7114}, journal = {Physical Review Letters}, number = {24}, publisher = {American Physical Society}, title = {{Coarse graining the state space of a turbulent flow using periodic orbits}}, doi = {10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.244502}, volume = {126}, year = {2021}, } @article{8602, abstract = {Collective cell migration offers a rich field of study for non-equilibrium physics and cellular biology, revealing phenomena such as glassy dynamics, pattern formation and active turbulence. However, how mechanical and chemical signalling are integrated at the cellular level to give rise to such collective behaviours remains unclear. We address this by focusing on the highly conserved phenomenon of spatiotemporal waves of density and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation, which appear both in vitro and in vivo during collective cell migration and wound healing. First, we propose a biophysical theory, backed by mechanical and optogenetic perturbation experiments, showing that patterns can be quantitatively explained by a mechanochemical coupling between active cellular tensions and the mechanosensitive ERK pathway. Next, we demonstrate how this biophysical mechanism can robustly induce long-ranged order and migration in a desired orientation, and we determine the theoretically optimal wavelength and period for inducing maximal migration towards free edges, which fits well with experimentally observed dynamics. We thereby provide a bridge between the biophysical origin of spatiotemporal instabilities and the design principles of robust and efficient long-ranged migration.}, author = {Boocock, Daniel R and Hino, Naoya and Ruzickova, Natalia and Hirashima, Tsuyoshi and Hannezo, Edouard B}, issn = {1745-2481}, journal = {Nature Physics}, pages = {267--274}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Theory of mechanochemical patterning and optimal migration in cell monolayers}}, doi = {10.1038/s41567-020-01037-7}, volume = {17}, year = {2021}, } @article{9817, abstract = {Elastic bending of initially flat slender elements allows the realization and economic fabrication of intriguing curved shapes. In this work, we derive an intuitive but rigorous geometric characterization of the design space of plane elastic rods with variable stiffness. It enables designers to determine which shapes are physically viable with active bending by visual inspection alone. Building on these insights, we propose a method for efficiently designing the geometry of a flat elastic rod that realizes a target equilibrium curve, which only requires solving a linear program. We implement this method in an interactive computational design tool that gives feedback about the feasibility of a design, and computes the geometry of the structural elements necessary to realize it within an instant. The tool also offers an iterative optimization routine that improves the fabricability of a model while modifying it as little as possible. In addition, we use our geometric characterization to derive an algorithm for analyzing and recovering the stability of elastic curves that would otherwise snap out of their unstable equilibrium shapes by buckling. We show the efficacy of our approach by designing and manufacturing several physical models that are assembled from flat elements.}, author = {Hafner, Christian and Bickel, Bernd}, issn = {1557-7368}, journal = {ACM Transactions on Graphics}, keywords = {Computing methodologies, shape modeling, modeling and simulation, theory of computation, computational geometry, mathematics of computing, mathematical optimization}, location = {Virtual}, number = {4}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, title = {{The design space of plane elastic curves}}, doi = {10.1145/3450626.3459800}, volume = {40}, year = {2021}, } @article{9429, abstract = {De novo loss of function mutations in the ubiquitin ligase-encoding gene Cullin3 lead to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In mouse, constitutive haploinsufficiency leads to motor coordination deficits as well as ASD-relevant social and cognitive impairments. However, induction of Cul3 haploinsufficiency later in life does not lead to ASD-relevant behaviors, pointing to an important role of Cul3 during a critical developmental window. Here we show that Cul3 is essential to regulate neuronal migration and, therefore, constitutive Cul3 heterozygous mutant mice display cortical lamination abnormalities. At the molecular level, we found that Cul3 controls neuronal migration by tightly regulating the amount of Plastin3 (Pls3), a previously unrecognized player of neural migration. Furthermore, we found that Pls3 cell-autonomously regulates cell migration by regulating actin cytoskeleton organization, and its levels are inversely proportional to neural migration speed. Finally, we provide evidence that cellular phenotypes associated with autism-linked gene haploinsufficiency can be rescued by transcriptional activation of the intact allele in vitro, offering a proof of concept for a potential therapeutic approach for ASDs.}, author = {Morandell, Jasmin and Schwarz, Lena A and Basilico, Bernadette and Tasciyan, Saren and Dimchev, Georgi A and Nicolas, Armel and Sommer, Christoph M and Kreuzinger, Caroline and Dotter, Christoph and Knaus, Lisa and Dobler, Zoe and Cacci, Emanuele and Schur, Florian KM and Danzl, Johann G and Novarino, Gaia}, issn = {2041-1723}, journal = {Nature Communications}, keywords = {General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology}, number = {1}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Cul3 regulates cytoskeleton protein homeostasis and cell migration during a critical window of brain development}}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-021-23123-x}, volume = {12}, year = {2021}, } @article{8966, abstract = {During development, a single cell is transformed into a highly complex organism through progressive cell division, specification and rearrangement. An important prerequisite for the emergence of patterns within the developing organism is to establish asymmetries at various scales, ranging from individual cells to the entire embryo, eventually giving rise to the different body structures. This becomes especially apparent during gastrulation, when the earliest major lineage restriction events lead to the formation of the different germ layers. Traditionally, the unfolding of the developmental program from symmetry breaking to germ layer formation has been studied by dissecting the contributions of different signaling pathways and cellular rearrangements in the in vivo context of intact embryos. Recent efforts, using the intrinsic capacity of embryonic stem cells to self-assemble and generate embryo-like structures de novo, have opened new avenues for understanding the many ways by which an embryo can be built and the influence of extrinsic factors therein. Here, we discuss and compare divergent and conserved strategies leading to germ layer formation in embryos as compared to in vitro systems, their upstream molecular cascades and the role of extrinsic factors in this process.}, author = {Schauer, Alexandra and Heisenberg, Carl-Philipp J}, issn = {0012-1606}, journal = {Developmental Biology}, keywords = {Developmental Biology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology}, pages = {71--81}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Reassembling gastrulation}}, doi = {10.1016/j.ydbio.2020.12.014}, volume = {474}, year = {2021}, } @article{9349, abstract = {The way in which interactions between mechanics and biochemistry lead to the emergence of complex cell and tissue organization is an old question that has recently attracted renewed interest from biologists, physicists, mathematicians and computer scientists. Rapid advances in optical physics, microscopy and computational image analysis have greatly enhanced our ability to observe and quantify spatiotemporal patterns of signalling, force generation, deformation, and flow in living cells and tissues. Powerful new tools for genetic, biophysical and optogenetic manipulation are allowing us to perturb the underlying machinery that generates these patterns in increasingly sophisticated ways. Rapid advances in theory and computing have made it possible to construct predictive models that describe how cell and tissue organization and dynamics emerge from the local coupling of biochemistry and mechanics. Together, these advances have opened up a wealth of new opportunities to explore how mechanochemical patterning shapes organismal development. In this roadmap, we present a series of forward-looking case studies on mechanochemical patterning in development, written by scientists working at the interface between the physical and biological sciences, and covering a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, organisms, and modes of development. Together, these contributions highlight the many ways in which the dynamic coupling of mechanics and biochemistry shapes biological dynamics: from mechanoenzymes that sense force to tune their activity and motor output, to collectives of cells in tissues that flow and redistribute biochemical signals during development.}, author = {Lenne, Pierre François and Munro, Edwin and Heemskerk, Idse and Warmflash, Aryeh and Bocanegra, Laura and Kishi, Kasumi and Kicheva, Anna and Long, Yuchen and Fruleux, Antoine and Boudaoud, Arezki and Saunders, Timothy E. and Caldarelli, Paolo and Michaut, Arthur and Gros, Jerome and Maroudas-Sacks, Yonit and Keren, Kinneret and Hannezo, Edouard B and Gartner, Zev J. and Stormo, Benjamin and Gladfelter, Amy and Rodrigues, Alan and Shyer, Amy and Minc, Nicolas and Maître, Jean Léon and Di Talia, Stefano and Khamaisi, Bassma and Sprinzak, David and Tlili, Sham}, issn = {1478-3975}, journal = {Physical biology}, number = {4}, publisher = {IOP Publishing}, title = {{Roadmap for the multiscale coupling of biochemical and mechanical signals during development}}, doi = {10.1088/1478-3975/abd0db}, volume = {18}, year = {2021}, } @article{7883, abstract = {All vertebrates have a spinal cord with dimensions and shape specific to their species. Yet how species‐specific organ size and shape are achieved is a fundamental unresolved question in biology. The formation and sculpting of organs begins during embryonic development. As it develops, the spinal cord extends in anterior–posterior direction in synchrony with the overall growth of the body. The dorsoventral (DV) and apicobasal lengths of the spinal cord neuroepithelium also change, while at the same time a characteristic pattern of neural progenitor subtypes along the DV axis is established and elaborated. At the basis of these changes in tissue size and shape are biophysical determinants, such as the change in cell number, cell size and shape, and anisotropic tissue growth. These processes are controlled by global tissue‐scale regulators, such as morphogen signaling gradients as well as mechanical forces. Current challenges in the field are to uncover how these tissue‐scale regulatory mechanisms are translated to the cellular and molecular level, and how regulation of distinct cellular processes gives rise to an overall defined size. Addressing these questions will help not only to achieve a better understanding of how size is controlled, but also of how tissue size is coordinated with the specification of pattern.}, author = {Kuzmicz-Kowalska, Katarzyna and Kicheva, Anna}, issn = {1759-7692}, journal = {Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Developmental Biology}, publisher = {Wiley}, title = {{Regulation of size and scale in vertebrate spinal cord development}}, doi = {10.1002/wdev.383}, year = {2021}, } @article{9250, abstract = {Aprotic alkali metal–O2 batteries face two major obstacles to their chemistry occurring efficiently, the insulating nature of the formed alkali superoxides/peroxides and parasitic reactions that are caused by the highly reactive singlet oxygen (1O2). Redox mediators are recognized to be key for improving rechargeability. However, it is unclear how they affect 1O2 formation, which hinders strategies for their improvement. Here we clarify the mechanism of mediated peroxide and superoxide oxidation and thus explain how redox mediators either enhance or suppress 1O2 formation. We show that charging commences with peroxide oxidation to a superoxide intermediate and that redox potentials above ~3.5 V versus Li/Li+ drive 1O2 evolution from superoxide oxidation, while disproportionation always generates some 1O2. We find that 1O2 suppression requires oxidation to be faster than the generation of 1O2 from disproportionation. Oxidation rates decrease with growing driving force following Marcus inverted-region behaviour, establishing a region of maximum rate.}, author = {Petit, Yann K. and Mourad, Eléonore and Prehal, Christian and Leypold, Christian and Windischbacher, Andreas and Mijailovic, Daniel and Slugovc, Christian and Borisov, Sergey M. and Zojer, Egbert and Brutti, Sergio and Fontaine, Olivier and Freunberger, Stefan Alexander}, issn = {1755-4349}, journal = {Nature Chemistry}, keywords = {General Chemistry, General Chemical Engineering}, number = {5}, pages = {465--471}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Mechanism of mediated alkali peroxide oxidation and triplet versus singlet oxygen formation}}, doi = {10.1038/s41557-021-00643-z}, volume = {13}, year = {2021}, } @article{9438, abstract = {Rigorous investigation of synaptic transmission requires analysis of unitary synaptic events by simultaneous recording from presynaptic terminals and postsynaptic target neurons. However, this has been achieved at only a limited number of model synapses, including the squid giant synapse and the mammalian calyx of Held. Cortical presynaptic terminals have been largely inaccessible to direct presynaptic recording, due to their small size. Here, we describe a protocol for improved subcellular patch-clamp recording in rat and mouse brain slices, with the synapse in a largely intact environment. Slice preparation takes ~2 h, recording ~3 h and post hoc morphological analysis 2 d. Single presynaptic hippocampal mossy fiber terminals are stimulated minimally invasively in the bouton-attached configuration, in which the cytoplasmic content remains unperturbed, or in the whole-bouton configuration, in which the cytoplasmic composition can be precisely controlled. Paired pre–postsynaptic recordings can be integrated with biocytin labeling and morphological analysis, allowing correlative investigation of synapse structure and function. Paired recordings can be obtained from mossy fiber terminals in slices from both rats and mice, implying applicability to genetically modified synapses. Paired recordings can also be performed together with axon tract stimulation or optogenetic activation, allowing comparison of unitary and compound synaptic events in the same target cell. Finally, paired recordings can be combined with spontaneous event analysis, permitting collection of miniature events generated at a single identified synapse. In conclusion, the subcellular patch-clamp techniques detailed here should facilitate analysis of biophysics, plasticity and circuit function of cortical synapses in the mammalian central nervous system.}, author = {Vandael, David H and Okamoto, Yuji and Borges Merjane, Carolina and Vargas Barroso, Victor M and Suter, Benjamin and Jonas, Peter M}, issn = {1750-2799}, journal = {Nature Protocols}, number = {6}, pages = {2947–2967}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Subcellular patch-clamp techniques for single-bouton stimulation and simultaneous pre- and postsynaptic recording at cortical synapses}}, doi = {10.1038/s41596-021-00526-0}, volume = {16}, year = {2021}, } @article{9428, abstract = {Thermalization is the inevitable fate of many complex quantum systems, whose dynamics allow them to fully explore the vast configuration space regardless of the initial state---the behaviour known as quantum ergodicity. In a quest for experimental realizations of coherent long-time dynamics, efforts have focused on ergodicity-breaking mechanisms, such as integrability and localization. The recent discovery of persistent revivals in quantum simulators based on Rydberg atoms have pointed to the existence of a new type of behaviour where the system rapidly relaxes for most initial conditions, while certain initial states give rise to non-ergodic dynamics. This collective effect has been named ”quantum many-body scarring’by analogy with a related form of weak ergodicity breaking that occurs for a single particle inside a stadium billiard potential. In this Review, we provide a pedagogical introduction to quantum many-body scars and highlight the emerging connections with the semiclassical quantization of many-body systems. We discuss the relation between scars and more general routes towards weak violations of ergodicity due to embedded algebras and non-thermal eigenstates, and highlight possible applications of scars in quantum technology.}, author = {Serbyn, Maksym and Abanin, Dmitry A. and Papić, Zlatko}, issn = {1745-2481}, journal = {Nature Physics}, number = {6}, pages = {675–685}, publisher = {Nature Research}, title = {{Quantum many-body scars and weak breaking of ergodicity}}, doi = {10.1038/s41567-021-01230-2}, volume = {17}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{9397, abstract = {Accumulation of interstitial fluid (IF) between embryonic cells is a common phenomenon in vertebrate embryogenesis. Unlike other model systems, where these accumulations coalesce into a large central cavity – the blastocoel, in zebrafish, IF is more uniformly distributed between the deep cells (DC) before the onset of gastrulation. This is likely due to the presence of a large extraembryonic structure – the yolk cell (YC) at the position where the blastocoel typically forms in other model organisms. IF has long been speculated to play a role in tissue morphogenesis during embryogenesis, but direct evidence supporting such function is still sparse. Here we show that the relocalization of IF to the interface between the YC and DC/epiblast is critical for axial mesendoderm (ME) cell protrusion formation and migration along this interface, a key process in embryonic axis formation. We further demonstrate that axial ME cell migration and IF relocalization engage in a positive feedback loop, where axial ME migration triggers IF accumulation ahead of the advancing axial ME tissue by mechanically compressing the overlying epiblast cell layer. Upon compression, locally induced flow relocalizes the IF through the porous epiblast tissue resulting in an IF accumulation ahead of the leading axial ME. This IF accumulation, in turn, promotes cell protrusion formation and migration of the leading axial ME cells, thereby facilitating axial ME extension. Our findings reveal a central role of dynamic IF relocalization in orchestrating germ layer morphogenesis during gastrulation.}, author = {Huljev, Karla}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {101}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Coordinated spatiotemporal reorganization of interstitial fluid is required for axial mesendoderm migration in zebrafish gastrulation}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:9397}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{9728, abstract = {Most real-world flows are multiphase, yet we know little about them compared to their single-phase counterparts. Multiphase flows are more difficult to investigate as their dynamics occur in large parameter space and involve complex phenomena such as preferential concentration, turbulence modulation, non-Newtonian rheology, etc. Over the last few decades, experiments in particle-laden flows have taken a back seat in favour of ever-improving computational resources. However, computers are still not powerful enough to simulate a real-world fluid with millions of finite-size particles. Experiments are essential not only because they offer a reliable way to investigate real-world multiphase flows but also because they serve to validate numerical studies and steer the research in a relevant direction. In this work, we have experimentally investigated particle-laden flows in pipes, and in particular, examined the effect of particles on the laminar-turbulent transition and the drag scaling in turbulent flows. For particle-laden pipe flows, an earlier study [Matas et al., 2003] reported how the sub-critical (i.e., hysteretic) transition that occurs via localised turbulent structures called puffs is affected by the addition of particles. In this study, in addition to this known transition, we found a super-critical transition to a globally fluctuating state with increasing particle concentration. At the same time, the Newtonian-type transition via puffs is delayed to larger Reynolds numbers. At an even higher concentration, only the globally fluctuating state is found. The dynamics of particle-laden flows are hence determined by two competing instabilities that give rise to three flow regimes: Newtonian-type turbulence at low, a particle-induced globally fluctuating state at high, and a coexistence state at intermediate concentrations. The effect of particles on turbulent drag is ambiguous, with studies reporting drag reduction, no net change, and even drag increase. The ambiguity arises because, in addition to particle concentration, particle shape, size, and density also affect the net drag. Even similar particles might affect the flow dissimilarly in different Reynolds number and concentration ranges. In the present study, we explored a wide range of both Reynolds number and concentration, using spherical as well as cylindrical particles. We found that the spherical particles do not reduce drag while the cylindrical particles are drag-reducing within a specific Reynolds number interval. The interval strongly depends on the particle concentration and the relative size of the pipe and particles. Within this interval, the magnitude of drag reduction reaches a maximum. These drag reduction maxima appear to fall onto a distinct power-law curve irrespective of the pipe diameter and particle concentration, and this curve can be considered as the maximum drag reduction asymptote for a given fibre shape. Such an asymptote is well known for polymeric flows but had not been identified for particle-laden flows prior to this work.}, author = {Agrawal, Nishchal}, issn = {2663-337X}, keywords = {Drag Reduction, Transition to Turbulence, Multiphase Flows, particle Laden Flows, Complex Flows, Experiments, Fluid Dynamics}, pages = {118}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Transition to turbulence and drag reduction in particle-laden pipe flows}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:9728}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{9992, abstract = {Blood – this is what animals use to heal wounds fast and efficient. Plants do not have blood circulation and their cells cannot move. However, plants have evolved remarkable capacities to regenerate tissues and organs preventing further damage. In my PhD research, I studied the wound healing in the Arabidopsis root. I used a UV laser to ablate single cells in the root tip and observed the consequent wound healing. Interestingly, the inner adjacent cells induced a division plane switch and subsequently adopted the cell type of the killed cell to replace it. We termed this form of wound healing “restorative divisions”. This initial observation triggered the questions of my PhD studies: How and why do cells orient their division planes, how do they feel the wound and why does this happen only in inner adjacent cells. For answering these questions, I used a quite simple experimental setup: 5 day - old seedlings were stained with propidium iodide to visualize cell walls and dead cells; ablation was carried out using a special laser cutter and a confocal microscope. Adaptation of the novel vertical microscope system made it possible to observe wounds in real time. This revealed that restorative divisions occur at increased frequency compared to normal divisions. Additionally, the major plant hormone auxin accumulates in wound adjacent cells and drives the expression of the wound-stress responsive transcription factor ERF115. Using this as a marker gene for wound responses, we found that an important part of wound signalling is the sensing of the collapse of the ablated cell. The collapse causes a radical pressure drop, which results in strong tissue deformations. These deformations manifest in an invasion of the now free spot specifically by the inner adjacent cells within seconds, probably because of higher pressure of the inner tissues. Long-term imaging revealed that those deformed cells continuously expand towards the wound hole and that this is crucial for the restorative division. These wound-expanding cells exhibit an abnormal, biphasic polarity of microtubule arrays before the division. Experiments inhibiting cell expansion suggest that it is the biphasic stretching that induces those MT arrays. Adapting the micromanipulator aspiration system from animal scientists at our institute confirmed the hypothesis that stretching influences microtubule stability. In conclusion, this shows that microtubules react to tissue deformation and this facilitates the observed division plane switch. This puts mechanical cues and tensions at the most prominent position for explaining the growth and wound healing properties of plants. Hence, it shines light onto the importance of understanding mechanical signal transduction. }, author = {Hörmayer, Lukas}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {168}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Wound healing in the Arabidopsis root meristem}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:9992}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{9623, abstract = {Cytoplasmic reorganizations are essential for morphogenesis. In large cells like oocytes, these reorganizations become crucial in patterning the oocyte for later stages of embryonic development. Ascidians oocytes reorganize their cytoplasm (ooplasm) in a spectacular manner. Ooplasmic reorganization is initiated at fertilization with the contraction of the actomyosin cortex along the animal-vegetal axis of the oocyte, driving the accumulation of cortical endoplasmic reticulum (cER), maternal mRNAs associated to it and a mitochondria-rich subcortical layer – the myoplasm – in a region of the vegetal pole termed contraction pole (CP). Here we have used the species Phallusia mammillata to investigate the changes in cell shape that accompany these reorganizations and the mechanochemical mechanisms underlining CP formation. We report that the length of the animal-vegetal (AV) axis oscillates upon fertilization: it first undergoes a cycle of fast elongation-lengthening followed by a slow expansion of mainly the vegetal pole (VP) of the cell. We show that the fast oscillation corresponds to a dynamic polarization of the actin cortex as a result of a fertilization-induced increase in cortical tension in the oocyte that triggers a rupture of the cortex at the animal pole and the establishment of vegetal-directed cortical flows. These flows are responsible for the vegetal accumulation of actin causing the VP to flatten. We find that the slow expansion of the VP, leading to CP formation, correlates with a relaxation of the vegetal cortex and that the myoplasm plays a role in the expansion. We show that the myoplasm is a solid-like layer that buckles under compression forces arising from the contracting actin cortex at the VP. Straightening of the myoplasm when actin flows stops, facilitates the expansion of the VP and the CP. Altogether, our results present a previously unrecognized role for the myoplasm in ascidian ooplasmic segregation. }, author = {Caballero Mancebo, Silvia}, isbn = {978-3-99078-012-1}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {111}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Fertilization-induced deformations are controlled by the actin cortex and a mitochondria-rich subcortical layer in ascidian oocytes}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:9623}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{10307, abstract = {Bacteria-host interactions represent a continuous trade-off between benefit and risk. Thus, the host immune response is faced with a non-trivial problem – accommodate beneficial commensals and remove harmful pathogens. This is especially difficult as molecular patterns, such as lipopolysaccharide or specific surface organelles such as pili, are conserved in both, commensal and pathogenic bacteria. Type 1 pili, tightly regulated by phase variation, are considered an important virulence factor of pathogenic bacteria as they facilitate invasion into host cells. While invasion represents a de facto passive mechanism for pathogens to escape the host immune response, we demonstrate a fundamental role of type 1 pili as active modulators of the innate and adaptive immune response.}, author = {Tomasek, Kathrin}, issn = {2663-337X}, pages = {73}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Pathogenic Escherichia coli hijack the host immune response}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:10307}, year = {2021}, } @article{9006, abstract = {Cytoplasm is a gel-like crowded environment composed of various macromolecules, organelles, cytoskeletal networks, and cytosol. The structure of the cytoplasm is highly organized and heterogeneous due to the crowding of its constituents and their effective compartmentalization. In such an environment, the diffusive dynamics of the molecules are restricted, an effect that is further amplified by clustering and anchoring of molecules. Despite the crowded nature of the cytoplasm at the microscopic scale, large-scale reorganization of the cytoplasm is essential for important cellular functions, such as cell division and polarization. How such mesoscale reorganization of the cytoplasm is achieved, especially for large cells such as oocytes or syncytial tissues that can span hundreds of micrometers in size, is only beginning to be understood. In this review, we will discuss recent advances in elucidating the molecular, cellular, and biophysical mechanisms by which the cytoskeleton drives cytoplasmic reorganization across different scales, structures, and species.}, author = {Shamipour, Shayan and Caballero Mancebo, Silvia and Heisenberg, Carl-Philipp J}, issn = {1878-1551}, journal = {Developmental Cell}, number = {2}, pages = {P213--226}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Cytoplasm's got moves}}, doi = {10.1016/j.devcel.2020.12.002}, volume = {56}, year = {2021}, } @unpublished{10316, abstract = {A key attribute of persistent or recurring bacterial infections is the ability of the pathogen to evade the host’s immune response. Many Enterobacteriaceae express type 1 pili, a pre-adapted virulence trait, to invade host epithelial cells and establish persistent infections. However, the molecular mechanisms and strategies by which bacteria actively circumvent the immune response of the host remain poorly understood. Here, we identified CD14, the major co-receptor for lipopolysaccharide detection, on dendritic cells as a previously undescribed binding partner of FimH, the protein located at the tip of the type 1 pilus of Escherichia coli. The FimH amino acids involved in CD14 binding are highly conserved across pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains. Binding of pathogenic bacteria to CD14 lead to reduced dendritic cell migration and blunted expression of co-stimulatory molecules, both rate-limiting factors of T cell activation. While defining an active molecular mechanism of immune evasion by pathogens, the interaction between FimH and CD14 represents a potential target to interfere with persistent and recurrent infections, such as urinary tract infections or Crohn’s disease.}, author = {Tomasek, Kathrin and Leithner, Alexander F and Glatzová, Ivana and Lukesch, Michael S. and Guet, Calin C and Sixt, Michael K}, booktitle = {bioRxiv}, title = {{Type 1 piliated uropathogenic Escherichia coli hijack the host immune response by binding to CD14}}, doi = {10.1101/2021.10.18.464770}, year = {2021}, } @unpublished{10077, abstract = {Although much is known about how single neurons in the hippocampus represent an animal’s position, how cell-cell interactions contribute to spatial coding remains poorly understood. Using a novel statistical estimator and theoretical modeling, both developed in the framework of maximum entropy models, we reveal highly structured cell-to-cell interactions whose statistics depend on familiar vs. novel environment. In both conditions the circuit interactions optimize the encoding of spatial information, but for regimes that differ in the signal-to-noise ratio of their spatial inputs. Moreover, the topology of the interactions facilitates linear decodability, making the information easy to read out by downstream circuits. These findings suggest that the efficient coding hypothesis is not applicable only to individual neuron properties in the sensory periphery, but also to neural interactions in the central brain.}, author = {Nardin, Michele and Csicsvari, Jozsef L and Tkačik, Gašper and Savin, Cristina}, booktitle = {bioRxiv}, title = {{The structure of hippocampal CA1 interactions optimizes spatial coding across experience}}, doi = {10.1101/2021.09.28.460602}, year = {2021}, } @article{10167, abstract = {Schistosomes, the human parasites responsible for snail fever, are female-heterogametic. Different parts of their ZW sex chromosomes have stopped recombining in distinct lineages, creating “evolutionary strata” of various ages. Although the Z-chromosome is well characterized at the genomic and molecular level, the W-chromosome has remained largely unstudied from an evolutionary perspective, as only a few W-linked genes have been detected outside of the model species Schistosoma mansoni. Here, we characterize the gene content and evolution of the W-chromosomes of S. mansoni and of the divergent species S. japonicum. We use a combined RNA/DNA k-mer based pipeline to assemble around 100 candidate W-specific transcripts in each of the species. About half of them map to known protein coding genes, the majority homologous to S. mansoni Z-linked genes. We perform an extended analysis of the evolutionary strata present in the two species (including characterizing a previously undetected young stratum in S. japonicum) to infer patterns of sequence and expression evolution of W-linked genes at different time points after recombination was lost. W-linked genes show evidence of degeneration, including high rates of protein evolution and reduced expression. Most are found in young lineage-specific strata, with only a few high expression ancestral W-genes remaining, consistent with the progressive erosion of nonrecombining regions. Among these, the splicing factor u2af2 stands out as a promising candidate for primary sex determination, opening new avenues for understanding the molecular basis of the reproductive biology of this group.}, author = {Elkrewi, Marwan N and Moldovan, Mikhail A. and Picard, Marion A L and Vicoso, Beatriz}, issn = {1537-1719}, journal = {Molecular Biology and Evolution}, keywords = {sex chromosomes, evolutionary strata, W-linked gene, sex determining gene, schistosome parasites}, number = {12}, pages = {5345--58}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, title = {{Schistosome W-linked genes inform temporal dynamics of sex chromosome evolution and suggest candidate for sex determination}}, doi = {10.1093/molbev/msab178}, volume = {138}, year = {2021}, }