Search

A genome-wide association study including over 76,000 individuals with schizophrenia and over 243,000 control individuals identifies common variant associations at 287 genomic loci, and further fine-mapping analyses highlight the importance of genes involved in synaptic processes.

Large-scale sequence-based analyses identify novel risk variants and susceptibility genes for Crohn’s disease, and implicate mesenchymal cell-mediated intestinal homeostasis in disease etiology.

To keep track of input and output over a course of time, generation of rhythmic neuronal activity requires a form of spike counter. In this study, Pulver and Griffith show that electrogenic activity of Na⁺/K⁺ pump underlies afterhyperpolarization in Drosophila larval motor neuron, which can functions as an activity integrator and as an intrinsic mechanism of cellular short-term memory.

To understand how neuronal networks function, it is important to measure neuronal network activity at the systems level. Here Lemon et al. develop a framework that combines a high-speed multi-view light-sheet microscope, a whole-CNS imaging assay and computational tools to demonstrate simultaneous functional imaging across the entire isolated Drosophilalarval CNS.

Stratified medicine promises to tailor treatment for individual patients, however it remains a major challenge to leverage genetic risk data to aid patient stratification. Here the authors introduce an approach to stratify individuals based on the aggregated impact of their genetic risk factor profiles on tissue-specific gene expression levels, and highlight its ability to identify biologically meaningful and clinically actionable patient subgroups, supporting the notion of different patient ‘biotypes’ characterized by partially distinct disease mechanisms.

The authors defined a roadmap for investigating the genetic covariance between structural or functional brain phenotypes and risk for psychiatric disorders. Their proof-of-concept study using the largest available common variant data sets for schizophrenia and volumes of several (mainly subcortical) brain structures did not find evidence of genetic overlap.

This study uses gene expression predictors for the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and other brain regions to perform a transcriptomic imputation analysis of schizophrenia, identifying 413 genic associations across 13 brain regions and 36 significantly enriched pathways.

Sequencing the transcriptomes of more than 100 species of alga yields new channelrhodopsins with promising properties for optogenetics. A far red–shifted channelrhodopsin, Chrimson, opens up new behavioral capabilities in Drosophila, and alongside a fast yet light-sensitive blue channelrhodopsin, Chronos, enables independent excitation of two neuronal populations in brain slices.

Patterned movements in animals are achieved through combinations of contraction and delayed relaxation of muscles. Here, the authors identify a class of cholinergic higher-order premotor interneurons that regulates muscular relaxation during backward locomotion of Drosophila larvae.

Reactive electrophiles are noxious chemicals, such as acrolein in cigarette smoke, and are detected by the ion channel TRPA1 in humans. Here it is shown that TRPA1 channels sense these chemicals in the gustatory chemosensory neurons of fruitflies and mosquitoes, too. Further findings show that, unlike with other chemical senses such as smell or taste, the detection of reactive electrophiles relies on an ancient sensor that has been conserved in molecular detail through some 500 million years of evolution.

Sensitive protein sensors of calcium have been created; these new tools are shown to report neural activity in cultured neurons, flies and zebrafish and can detect single action potentials and synaptic activation in the mouse visual cortex in vivo.

The CNV analysis group of the Psychiatric Genomic Consortium analyzes a large schizophrenia cohort to examine genomic copy number variants (CNVs) and disease risk. They find an enrichment of CNV burden in cases versus controls and identify 8 genome-wide significant loci as well as novel suggestive loci conferring either risk or protection to schizophrenia.

Sexual dimorphism in genetic vulnerability to schizophrenia, systemic lupus erythematosus and Sjögren’s syndrome is linked to differential protein abundance from alleles of complement component 4.

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) can offer an attractive approach for providing light stimulation in high-throughput optogenetics. Here, the authors report a microstructured OLED array that provides local photo-stimulation in Drosophila melanogaster larvae for controlled motor responses.

Relatives of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis have an unexpectedly high incidence of schizophrenia. Here, the authors show a genetic link between the two conditions, suggesting shared neurobiological mechanisms.

Schizophrenia is a highly heritable genetic disorder, however, identification of specific genetic risk variants has proven difficult because of its complex polygenic nature—a large multi-stage genome-wide association study identifies 128 independent associations in over 100 loci (83 of which are new); key findings include identification of genes involved in glutamergic neurotransmission and support for a link between the immune system and schizophrenia.

It is shown here that flies sense ambient warmth not via their antennae, but rather by a small set of neurons in the brain. These 'AC' neurons in Drosophila are sensitive to warmth due to the expression of the warmth-activated ion channel dTrpA1.

Characterising forces deep inside biological tissue is a challenging task. Here, we demonstrate that deformable biointegrated microlasers can sense nanoscopic forces with unprecedented spatio-temporal resolution in vitro and in vivo.