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Escherichia coli uses curli fibres, oligomers of the functional amyloid CsgA, as a barrier to protect against the predatory bacteria Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus and Myxococcus xanthus in a mechanism that is independent of genes required for biofilm formation.

Zeinert et al. provide cryo-EM structures of the E. coli Mg²⁺ importer MgtA: unexpectedly, this P-type ATPase is a dimer with an uncommon transmembrane ion-binding site and knotted N-terminus, which are functionally important features.

This study identifies the conversion of lysine to Δ¹-piperideine-6-carboxylic acid (P6C) via pipecolate oxidase as a conserved pathway in plants and humans. P6C interacts with vitamin B6, affecting its homeostasis. Imbalances in vitamin B6 homeostasis disrupt defence in plants and cause neuropathology in humans.

The control of flagellar synthesis and function in the Lyme spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi is poorly understood, as this pathogen lacks the typical flagellar sigma factor and transcriptional regulators. Here, the authors identify a broadly conserved structural flagellar component that modulates flagellar assembly and is important for cell division, motility and virulence.

Systematic analysis from the Global Burden of Disease study reported that, despite global improvements from 1990 to 2021, dietary iron deficiency-associated disease burden remains high in women, children and residents in low socio-demographic index countries.

In a post-hoc analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) features from patients with metastatic prostate cancer treated with [¹⁷⁷Lu]Lu–PSMA-617 or cabazitaxel in the randomized phase 2 TheraP trial, low ctDNA levels at baseline were predictive of clinical benefit from [¹⁷⁷Lu]Lu–PSMA-617, and PTEN or ATM alterations were identified as potential biomarkers of response.

To date, brain gene therapies require high vector doses. Here, authors devised an AAV capsid screen and found variants with unprecedented potency for transduction of deep brain and cortical neurons and human iPSC-neurons with cell tropism relevant for Huntington’s and Parkinson’s disease.

The lamprey adaptive immune system is evolutionarily distinct from ours and based on recognition by leucine-rich repeat proteins rather than antibodies. The crystal structure of a lamprey variable lymphocyte receptor in complex with a protein antigen now gives insight into how a distinct adaptive immune molecule recognizes a protein antigen.

Chiea Chuen Khor, Tin Aung, Francesca Pasutto, Janey Wiggs and colleagues report a global genome-wide association study of exfoliation syndrome and a fine-mapping analysis of a previously identified disease-associated locus, LOXL1. They identify a rare protective variant in LOXL1 exclusive to the Japanese population and five new common variant susceptibility loci.

Variants of adeno-associated viruses displaying robust and widespread transduction in murine, porcine and non-human-primate kidneys, and in human kidney organoids, can be obtained via the cross-species cycling of capsid libraries in the different kidney models.

Crystal structures of the human HMCES SRAP ___domain in complex with DNA substrates demonstrate how the SRAP ___domain interacts with a variety of single-strand- and double-strand-containing DNA structures found at DNA-damage sites.

PcdA interacts with DivIVA and FtsZ, promoting Z-ring formation and division plane selection in Staphylococcus aureus, which increases virulence in mice and reduces sensitivity to cell-wall-targeting antibiotics.

Identification of host antiviral restriction factors could provide targets for antiviral therapy. Here, using a genome-wide CRISPR screen, the authors identify the glycosyltransferase B3GAT1 as a host protein which, when ectopically overexpressed, restricts influenza virus infection in vitro and in mice, as well as other viruses relying on sialic acid for entry.

The authors demonstrate a graphene/CrSBr heterostructure exhibiting anisotropic surface plasmon polariton (SPP) propagation in the mid-infrared and terahertz range. Charge transfer at the interface directs SPPs along the quasi-1D chains that compose each CrSBr layer, with propagation lengths varying by an order of magnitude between the two in-plane crystallographic axes.

Gonzalez et al. use a viral evolutionary approach to generate cross-species compatible AAV (ccAAVs) vectors. They describe a highly potent new variant, AAV.cc47, with enhanced transduction efficiency over AAV serotype 9 and show its efficacy in different mouse models, pigs and non-human primates.

We present comprehensive thermodynamic and spectroscopic evidence for an antiferromagnetically ordered heavy-fermion ground state in the van der Waals metal CeSiI.

Ancestral land plants had a free-living gametophyte, but in flowering plants the gametophyte develops within the sporophyte. This study shows that male gametophyte development in Arabidopsis is directed by the sporophyte through repression of gametogenesis genes.

Conjugative plasmids block translocation of rival plasmids using fertility inhibition factors (FINs). Here Maindola et al.present the structure of the FIN Osa and show that it contains a ParB/Sulfiredoxin fold with both ATPase and DNase activity, with general functional implications for this fold.

All natural AAV serotypes transduce murine hepatocytes more efficiently than their human counterparts in human liver chimeric mouse models. Here the authors developed a novel humanized mouse were human transduction of AAV can be studied.

Nephrotic syndrome is the second most common chronic kidney disease but there are no targeted treatment strategies available. Here the authors identify mutations of six genes codifying for proteins involved in cytoskeleton remodelling and modulation of small GTPases in 17 families with nephrotic syndrome.

Adeno-associated viruses can be secreted in a pre-lytic manner as free or extracellular vesicle (EV)-associated particles. Here, Elmore et al. show that the recently identified membrane-associated accessory protein (MAAP) functions as an AAV egress factor via association to EVs.

Electron–phonon coupling in a monolayer WSe₂ on a substrate is investigated by femtosecond surface X-ray scattering. Counterintuitively, the absorbed optical photon energy is dominantly coupled to the in-plane lattice vibrations within 1 ps.

In bacteria, a newly identified endonuclease activated by ribosome collisions truncates mRNA to trigger rescue of stalled ribosomes.

Mutations in the Protein Phosphatase PPM1D are oncogenic in certain cancers including diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). Here, the authors show that PPM1D mutations in DIPG induce the silencing of the nicotinic acid phosphoribosyltransferase gene and display synthetic lethality with nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase inhibitors.

Tin Aung, Chiea-Chuen Khor and colleagues report the results of a genome-wide association study of exfoliation syndrome. They replicate a known association at LOXL1 and identify a previously unreported association at CACNA1A.

Love and colleagues show that THEMIS enhances the TCR signaling response to low-affinity ligands by inhibiting the tyrosine-phosphatase activity of SHP-1.

Replacing amino acid residues in an immunodominant and conserved T-cell epitope in the capsid of an adeno-associated virus widely used in gene therapies abrogates its immunogenicity while preserving its function and potency.

The molecular mechanisms that underpin thymocyte selection remain incompletely defined. Groups led by Love, Gascoigne and Schwartz independently identify Themis, a signaling protein essential for the positive selection of thymocytes.

The TET family of enzymes convert 5-methylcytosine (5mC) to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) in DNA. Mutations in the gene encoding TET2 are frequently observed in myeloid malignancies. Here it is shown that these disease-associated mutations compromise TET2 catalytic activity; bone marrow samples from patients with TET2 mutations have low levels of 5hmC in genomic DNA, and TET2 is required for normal haematopoietic differentiation. Measurement of genomic 5hmC levels may prove valuable as a diagnostic tool in myeloid cancers.

rAAV vectors vary in their effectiveness between species, making it difficult to predict clinical outcomes. Here authors show that AAV capsid proteins influence the vector epigenomic state in cells, and that a single amino acid change in the vector can alter the vector epigenome and hence transgene expression levels between species.

Gene therapy vectors based on adeno-associated virus tend to accumulate in the liver, limiting their utility for targeting other organs. Using site-directed mutagenesis of the capsid surface, Asokan et al. generate a variant that efficiently transduces a wide range of muscle groups while avoiding the liver.

The mystery of how bacteria that lack motile structures such as pili or flagella can ‘glide’ along surfaces is solved by a detailed description of the bacterial focal adhesion complex and its associated protein machinery.

The Cdc48 adaptor Vms1 is a peptidyl-tRNA hydrolase that cooperates with the ribosome quality control complex to catalyse the removal of nascent polypeptides from stalled ribosomes.

Chiea Chuen Khor, Tin Aung and colleagues report the results of a large genome-wide association study of primary angle closure glaucoma. They identify five new susceptibility loci and provide insights into disease pathogenesis.

It is unclear how Rhs toxins lacking a PAAR motif are secreted by Type VI secretion systems. Here, the authors show for one of these proteins that the mechanism requires removal of an N-terminal fragment by auto-proteolysis, followed by interaction with a PAAR protein and then secretion.