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Here they combine in vivo imaging with proteomics to characterize a protein complex comprised of Ccdc78 and Ccdc33 that acts at the extreme distal tip of 9 + 2 motile cilia to control tip architecture, cilia length, and cilia beating.

The CPLANE complex is essential for ciliogenesis, and mutations to all but one subunit have been associated with ciliopathies. Here they identify three familial mutations in the final subunit, RSG1, that cause ciliopathy and add to our understanding of ciliary transition zone assembly.

Using Xenopus epidermis as a model, John Wallingford and colleagues show that the planar cell polarity protein Dishevelled, acting in concert with Inturned and Rho, controls the apical positioning of basal bodies. Subsequently, Dvl and Rho are also required for directional ciliary beating, suggesting that a common signaling apparatus governs both apical docking and planar polarization of basal bodies.

John Wallingford and colleagues combine proteomics, in vivo imaging and genetic analyses to identify a new ciliopathy-associated protein module, which they call CPLANE. They show that CPLANE proteins, which include Fuzzy, Inturned and Wdpcp, interact with Jbts17 at basal bodies, where they act to recruit a specific subset of intraflagellar transport proteins.

Little is known about how detritivorous invertebrates cope with high levels of defensive plant polyphenols. Here, Liebekeet al. identify a new class of surface-active metabolites in earthworms exposed to high-polyphenol diets, and show that they play a protective role against precipitation of proteins.

The morphogenetic events that occur during gastrulation involve dramatic cell- and tissue-level changes. Here they show that propagation of nematic order, leading to long-range spatial correlation, is universally conserved during metazoan embryogenesis.

Voltage-gated potassium channels cycle between closed and open states through poorly-defined transitions. Pless and colleagues incorporate artificial amino acids into Shaker potassium channels and find that that the negative electrostatic surface potential of Phe481, destabilizes the channel open state.

Large-scale soil moisture gradients can lead to increases in vertical wind shear that promote the growth of mesoscale convective systems and enhance rainfall, according to an analysis of global hotspots of these extreme storm systems.

Exome sequencing of 851 trios from more than 2,500 individuals finds 187 genes with de novo mutations that contribute to meningomyelocele (spina bifida) and highlights critical pathways required for neural tube closure.

Frogs are an ancient and ecologically diverse group of amphibians that include important model systems. This paper reports genome sequences of multiple frog species, revealing remarkable stability of frog chromosomes and centromeres, along with highly recombinogenic extended subtelomeres.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza is an increasing global concern but its distribution in remote regions is not known. Here, the authors conduct an environmental influenza surveillance study in remote, uninhabited regions of the Global South by sampling fresh bird guano.

This study shows that rainfall and land surface conditions control tropical humid heatwaves, with enhanced rainfall preceding heatwaves in moisture-limited regions, and suppressed rainfall preceding those in energy limited regions.

An expert-elicitation process identifies current methodological barriers for monitoring terrestrial biodiversity, and how technological and procedural development of robotic and autonomous systems may contribute to overcoming these challenges.

Plant respiration at night is assumed to be temperature-controlled. Here, the authors show that temperature controls less than half of the variation in leaf respiration rate at night, and demonstrate how to account for such nocturnal variation in biosphere models.

The drug daclatasvir (DCV), which inhibits the hepatitis C virus (HCV) non-structural protein 5A (NS5A), can successfully reduce viral load in patients; here, a combination of DCV and an NS5A analogue is shown to enhance DCV potency on multiple genotypes and overcome resistance in vitro and in a mouse model.

Using biochemical fractionation and mass spectrometry, animal protein complexes are identified from nine species in parallel, and, along with genome sequence information, complex conservation is investigated and over one million protein–protein interactions are predicted in 122 eukaryotes.

Soils from 30 grasslands across Europe were subjected to 4 contrasting extreme climatic events under drought, flood, freezing and heat conditions, with the results suggesting that soil microbiomes from different climates share unified responses to extreme climatic events.

Improvements in European freshwater biodiversity occurred mainly before 2010 but have since plateaued, and communities downstream of dams, urban areas and cropland were less likely to experience recovery.

The two homoeologous subgenomes in the allotetraploid frog Xenopus laevis evolved asymmetrically; one often retained the ancestral state, whereas the other experienced gene loss, deletion, rearrangement and reduced gene expression.

Planar cell polarity — the asymmetric distribution of proteins in the plane of a cell sheet — dictates the orientation of various subcellular structures and drives collective cell rearrangements. Better understanding of this conserved axis of polarity can shed light on the mechanisms of morphogenetic processes and explain the underlying causes of human birth defects.

An international team of researchers finds high potential for improving climate projections by a more comprehensive treatment of largely ignored Arctic vegetation types, underscoring the importance of Arctic energy exchange measuring stations.

Thomas Carroll and colleagues show that attenuation of Wnt9b signaling during kidney morphogenesis affects planar cell polarity and causes an increase in tubule diameter. Their analyses suggest that tubule diameter is established by convergent extension movements and subsequently maintained by polarized cell divisions.

Alien species of animals and plants can invade new regions of the earth. This study performs a global analysis of temporal dynamics and spatial patterns of alien species introductions over the past 200 years, and reports no saturation in the rate at which these invasion are increasing.

Effects of habitat restoration on belowground organisms and ecosystem processes are poorly understood. Morriën and colleagues show that changes in the composition and network interactions of soil biota lead to improved carbon uptake efficiency when formerly cultivated land is restored.

Temsavir, a compound that inhibits HIV entry by binding envelope (Env), is currently in clinical development. Here, Lai et al. identify a more than 10-fold improved compound and, using lattice engineering, obtain crystal structures that give insights into improved inhibition between small molecules and Env.

The planar cell polarity (PCP) effector Fuz had not been studied in mice. Due to disrupted ciliogenesis, Fuz mutant mice show neural tube and skeletal defects. Fuz regulates trafficking of membrane cargoes to cilia through its interaction with a GTPase of the Rab family.

Convergent extension — a key tissue movement during vertebrate embryogenesis — requires precise control of cell polarity, which is regulated through a planar cell polarity pathway that is conserved across invertebrates. The identification of two new factors regulating convergent extension suggests that vertebrates may have introduced intriguing modifications of the planar cell polarity pathway to regulate morphogenesis.

A machine-learning approach accounting for methodological differences in studies and complex interactions among taxa allows independent soil studies to be combined at the taxonomy-based level to assess bacterial community structure.

Gerd Walz and colleagues use in vivo imaging in Xenopus laevis embryos and show that kidney tubule elongation occurs by a multicellular rosette-based mechanism, which has previously only been observed in Drosophila melanogaster. These data show that rosette-based cell intercalation is a highly conserved cellular mechanism during epithelial morphogenesis.

Groundwater is Earth’s largest source of freshwater, but the cost and ease with which it is turned to drinking water is dependent on the concentration of organic carbon. Here the authors show that climate change and urbanization will likely elevate future levels of groundwater dissolved organic carbon across the globe.

This study identifies and characterizes evolutionarily conserved cytosine methylation patterns related to age across mammals and establishes pan-mammalian epigenetic clocks.