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Mapping of spatial metabolic gradients in the mouse liver and intestine identifies fructose-induced focal derangements in liver metabolism.

Garg et al. determined structures of human Fructosamine-3-kinase (FN3K) bound with different nucleotide analogues and a small molecule sugar mimic substrate. Accompanied by biochemical analysis, they revealed features of the enzyme important for kinase activity and sugar moiety dynamics, providing mechanistic insights into FN3K function.

Bacterial antigens, such as lipopolysaccharides, are complex structures which remain difficult to synthesise or purify for antibody generation. Here, authors present a platform technology using Citrobacter rodentium - an enteric mouse pathogen - to both produce and present complex antigens for antibody generation.

This paper quantified carbon flux between two major plant metabolisms—photorespiration and C₁ metabolism—using ¹³CO₂ labelling and isotopically non-stationary metabolic flux analysis.

Nucleotide sugars are transported from the cytoplasm to the Golgi lumen where they are incorporated into cell wall polysaccharides and used for glycosylation of proteins and lipids. Here the authors identify GFT1, an ArabidopsisGolgi-localized GDP-fucose transporter that is required for plant growth and development

Designing biodegradable plastics is highly desirable, though it has been a challenge to balance mechanical properties with biodegradability. Here the authors design a multilayered biodegradable composite without compromising the mechanical properties.

Interstellar aldehydes are essential intermediates to form biomolecules necessary for the origins of life, but their formation mechanisms have remained elusive. Here, the authors elucidate the formation pathways of biologically relevant aldehyde, lactaldehyde, and its isomers in interstellar ice analogs composed of carbon monoxide and ethanol.

The role of pathogenic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutation in cancer remains to be studied. Here the authors show that high mtDNA mutation burden in lung cancer models leads to increased glycolysis but limited de novo serine synthesis, rendering sensitivity to dietary serine and glycine deprivation.

Few aerobic hyperthermophilic microorganisms are known to degrade polysaccharides. Here, Nou et al. use genomic information to enrich and optical tweezers to isolate an aerobic hyperthermophilic bacterium that can grow at 65–87.5 °C using polysaccharides as sole carbon sources.

Here the authors use in crystallo enzymology to obtain structural snapshots of a complete cellulose biosynthesis cycle and reveal the mechanism by which the bacterial cellulose synthase BcsA–BcsB translocates the nascent cellulose polymer.

Mohebi et al. report that dopamine (DA) pulses in different rat striatal subregions signal prediction errors across different timescales. In this way, one learning process may achieve a range of adaptive behaviors.

Cells must coordinate nutrient uptake for balanced growth, but the mechanism by which this occurs was unknown. Flux measurements and biochemical assays now identify α-ketoglutarate as the key signal in this process that accumulates upon nitrogen limitation and inhibits an enzyme involved in glucose transport.

N-linked glycosylation is processed in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi for eukaryotic proteins. Now, a single Golgi-localized UDP-N-acetyl-d-glucosamine transporter was identified to be essential for the processing of protein N-glycosylation and the synthesis of GlcNAc-containing sphingolipids.

Mass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful tool for the structural characterization of protein complexes. Here the authors offer a path for direct integration of MS and electron microscopy with a MS approach that enables grid deposition and structural preservation of gaseous protein complex ions.

The current biorefineries yield lignin with inadequate fractionation for bioconversion, yet substantial changes of these biorefinery designs could jeopardize carbohydrate efficiency and increase capital costs. Here the authors resolve the dilemma by designing ‘plug-in processes of lignin’ to enable economic waste valorization.

Crystal structures of unprocessed and mature crRNA-bound LbaCas13a shed light upon catalytic residues involved in crRNA maturation and mechanisms blocking Cas13a nuclease activity before target-RNA binding.

Knowing the age of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes is important to understand transmission risk as only old mosquitoes can transmit the disease. Here, the authors develop a method based on mid-infrared spectra of mosquito cuticle that can rapidly identify the species and age class of main malaria vectors.

It is unclear whether providing the results of abdominal aortic calcification imaging to patients improves diet parameters. This randomized trial shows that this intervention does not lead to improvements in fruit and vegetable intake, while showing an effect on some cardiovascular disease risk factors used as secondary outcomes.

To describe the biochemical composition of an organism multiple data sets must be combined and this information can then be used forin silico analysis. By combining metabolism and transcription data, Lerman et al. discovered new regulons and improved the gene annotation for the simple organism Thermotoga maritima.

Examination of the viral E1 hexameric helicase structure finds that a loop of each subunit becomes attached to a nucleotide and remains associated with it during the next six steps of translocation, thereby escorting a single nucleotide through the channel.

The enzyme uracil DNA glycosylase does not actively extrude just the uracil base from the DNA helix to facilitate its removal; instead, transient, passive opening of thymine: adenine and uracil: adenine base pairs allows both thymine and uracil to become extrahelical, but only uracil can subsequently fit in the active site.

Trace metals have been an important ingredient for life throughout Earth’s history. Here, the authors show that a member of an elusive archaeal lineage (Caldarchaeales or Aigarchaeota) requires tungsten for growth, and provide evidence that tungsten-dependent metabolism played a role in the origin and evolution of this lineage.

The authors identified a pH-dependent protonated status in the miR-21 precursor, which leads to additional base pairing in its secondary structure, thus affecting Dicer processing and miR-21 maturation.

Microbiomes designed with predictable functions could enable broad applications in health, agriculture and bioprocessing. Here the authors use a model-guided approach to design diverse synthetic human gut communities for production of the health-relevant metabolite butyrate.

Access to glycoenzymes for basic and applied research is limited by difficulties with their recombinant expression. Here, the authors describe a universal strategy for converting membrane-bound glycosyltransferases into water-soluble biocatalysts, which are expressed at high levels with retention of activity.

Foreign body response can result in failure of biomaterials in vivo. Solvent-free crystals containing anti-fibrotic drugs now show the potential for long-term inhibition of fibrosis on a number of implantable devices in rodents and non-human primates.

MGAT1 is a glycosyltransferase critical for the synthesis and maturation of complex N-glycans. Here, the authors show that MGAT1 modulation of CD73 glycosylation and function regulates tumor immune response in triple-negative breast cancer.

Yeast central carbon metabolism has been engineered to achieve a more efficient isoprenoid biosynthesis pathway, an advance that brings commodity-scale production of such compounds a step closer.

Biomass, such as lignocellulose, can be processed into value-added products and energy, offering a promising solution for carbon-neutral chemical and fuel production. This Review discusses engineering strategies, including systems and synthetic biology approaches, to optimize lignocellulose biorefineries.

A genetic mouse model is used to reveal a two-pronged mechanism of fructose-induced de novo lipogenesis in the liver, in which fructose catabolism in hepatocytes provides a signal to promote lipogenesis, whereas fructose metabolism by the gut microbiota provides acetate as a substrate to feed lipogenesis.

Nocturnin is a rhythmically expressed protein that regulates metabolism under the control of circadian clock proposed to function through the deadenylation of metabolic enzyme mRNAs. Here the authors show that Nocturnin and its fly homolog Curled catalyze the removal of 2′-phosphate from NADP⁺ and NADPH, providing a direct link to metabolic regulation.

A library of fluorogenic dyes enables the measurement of protein unfolding for a large range of proteins.

Elevated atmospheric CO₂ has stimulated plant growth, yet the future land carbon sink may be constrained in part by nutrient availability. Here the authors review plant nutrient acquisition strategies and the need for better representation in models to improve predictions of land carbon uptake.

Biallelic mutations in the sorbitol dehydrogenase gene SORD are identified as a common cause of hereditary neuropathy. Functional studies suggest that SORD deficiency may be treatable with aldose reductase inhibitors.

A screen utilizing an environmental DNA library in Escherichia coli is used to identify Brig1, a previously unknown anti-phage defence system with homologues across distinct clades of bacteria.

Mosquito salivary glands and malaria parasites exhibit daily rhythms, which impact blood feeding and sporozoite gene expression.

The Food Compass is a nutrient profiling system to characterize the healthfulness of diverse foods, beverages and meals. In a nationally representative cohort of 47,999 U.S. adults, the authors validate a person’s individual Food Compass Score against health outcomes.

Perceptions of drinking water safety influence how people use and value water. Here, the authors find that 52.3% of adults across 141 countries self-report anticipating harm from drinking water.

Microbial production of succinic acid at an industrially relevant scale has been hindered by high downstream processing costs arising from neutral pH fermentation. Here, the authors report an end-to-end pipeline for succinic acid production at low pH using engineered acid-tolerant Issatchenkia orientalis strain.

SLEAP is a versatile deep learning-based multi-animal pose-tracking tool designed to work on videos of diverse animals, including during social behavior.

In Bacteroidetes, SusCD complexes mediate uptake of large nutrients across the outer membrane. SusCD structures in the apo state and in complex with β2,6 fructo-oligosaccharides reveal several substrate molecules in the binding cavity and suggest details of the pedal bin mechanism employed in glycan import.

By integrating time series analyses of transcripts, lipids and metabolites, the authors show that microorganisms in the open ocean partition scarce resources temporally, with different microbial groups expressing nitrogen uptake and assimilation processes at different points throughout the diel cycle.

To understand the potential for seaweed as a Blue Carbon strategy, the authors quantify carbon burial under 20 globally distributed seaweed farms. They attribute an average of 1.06 ± 0.74 tCO₂e ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ to seaweed farms, and show increased accumulation of carbon with farm age.