Research Highlights in 2018

A plant complex comprising SUVH1, SUVH3, DNAJ1 and DNAJ2 counteracts DNA-methylation-mediated silencing of transposon-neighbouring genes.

Mitochondrial dynamics regulates stem cell expansion and differentiation.

STELLA protects the genome of mouse oocytes from de novo DNA methylation by the E3 ubiquitin ligase UHRF1 and the DNA methyltransferase DNMT1.

DNA N⁶-adenosine methylation is a transgenerational epigenetic modification that confers mitochondrial stress adaptation in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

The RNA-binding protein TIS11B forms a membraneless organelle, the TIS granule, in an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) subdomain termed the TIS granule–ER (TIGER) domain, which facilitates 3ʹ UTR-mediated protein–protein interactions that regulate protein trafficking.

The first demonstration of a mechanism for active sorting of anterograde cargo in the Golgi via protein palmitoylation.

Excessive microtubule polyglutamylation has been linked to neurodegeneration.

Cyclic GMP–AMP synthase (cGAS) inhibits DNA damage repair in the nucleus and thereby promotes tumorigenesis.

Transcription elongation supported by the super elongation complex, and H3K9 methylation and gene repression by G9a mediate the oncogenic function of Myc.

Endothelial cells in white adipose tissue communicate with adipocytes through extracellular vesicles, relaying systemic metabolic information.

DNA double-strand breaks at active genes are repaired by a dedicated homologous recombination mechanism involving R-loop formation and RAD52 recruitment.

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology congratulates the winners of the 2018 Lasker Foundation Awards.

The kinase ATR senses the completion of DNA replication and controls the S/G2 cell-cycle transition.

Direct demonstration that mutations in intrinsically disordered regions modulate protein–protein interaction networks, which may cause disease.

3′uridylation by TUT4 and TUT7 is shown as a post-transcriptional mechanism restricting retrotransposition of LINE-1 elements and also replication of animal RNA viruses.

A study reports that CRISPR–Cas9 induces extensive on-target mutagenesis in mouse and human cells, calling for greater caution when using it in clinical contexts.

Poly(dA:dT) tracts characterize strong DNA replication origins in mammals and cause replication-fork collapse and DNA breaks that underlie the expression of fragile sites.

A new study in Nature identifies a molecular axis linking diabetes to cancer, whereby AMPK, which is inhibited in high glucose conditions, regulates the stability of TET2 DNA demethylase, thereby impacting DNA methylation and gene expression.

Eliminating senescent cells by administering senolytic drugs can improve healthspan and lifespan in mice.

The chromatin remodelling complex NuRD fine-tunes gene expression by modulating nucleosome density at gene regulatory elements.