@phdthesis{10083, abstract = {Plant motions occur across a wide spectrum of timescales, ranging from seed dispersal through bursting (milliseconds) and stomatal opening (minutes) to long-term adaptation of gross architecture. Relatively fast motions include water-driven growth as exemplified by root cell expansion under abiotic/biotic stresses or during gravitropism. A showcase is a root growth inhibition in 30 seconds triggered by the phytohormone auxin. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms are still largely unknown. This thesis covers the studies about this topic as follows. By taking advantage of microfluidics combined with live imaging, pharmaceutical tools, and transgenic lines, we examined the kinetics of and causal relationship among various auxininduced rapid cellular changes in root growth, apoplastic pH, cytosolic Ca2+, cortical microtubule (CMT) orientation, and vacuolar morphology. We revealed that CMT reorientation and vacuolar constriction are the consequence of growth itself instead of responding directly to auxin. In contrast, auxin induces apoplast alkalinization to rapidly inhibit root growth in 30 seconds. This auxin-triggered apoplast alkalinization results from rapid H+- influx that is contributed by Ca2+ inward channel CYCLIC NUCLEOTIDE-GATED CHANNEL 14 (CNGC14)-dependent Ca2+ signaling. To dissect which auxin signaling mediates the rapid apoplast alkalinization, we combined microfluidics and genetic engineering to verify that TIR1/AFB receptors conduct a non-transcriptional regulation on Ca2+ and H+ -influx. This non-canonical pathway is mostly mediated by the cytosolic portion of TIR1/AFB. On the other hand, we uncovered, using biochemical and phospho-proteomic analysis, that auxin cell surface signaling component TRANSMEMBRANE KINASE 1 (TMK1) plays a negative role during auxin-trigger apoplast alkalinization and root growth inhibition through directly activating PM H+ -ATPases. Therefore, we discovered that PM H+ -ATPases counteract instead of mediate the auxintriggered rapid H+ -influx, and that TIR1/AFB and TMK1 regulate root growth antagonistically. This opposite effect of TIR1/AFB and TMK1 is consistent during auxin-induced hypocotyl elongation, leading us to explore the relation of two signaling pathways. Assisted with biochemistry and fluorescent imaging, we verified for the first time that TIR1/AFB and TMK1 can interact with each other. The ability of TIR1/AFB binding to membrane lipid provides a basis for the interaction of plasma membrane- and cytosol-localized proteins. Besides, transgenic analysis combined with genetic engineering and biochemistry showed that vi they do function in the same pathway. Particularly, auxin-induced TMK1 increase is TIR1/AFB dependent, suggesting TIR1/AFB regulation on TMK1. Conversely, TMK1 also regulates TIR1/AFB protein levels and thus auxin canonical signaling. To follow the study of rapid growth regulation, we analyzed another rapid growth regulator, signaling peptide RALF1. We showed that RALF1 also triggers a rapid and reversible growth inhibition caused by H + influx, highly resembling but not dependent on auxin. Besides, RALF1 promotes auxin biosynthesis by increasing expression of auxin biosynthesis enzyme YUCCAs and thus induces auxin signaling in ca. 1 hour, contributing to the sustained RALF1-triggered growth inhibition. These studies collectively contribute to understanding rapid regulation on plant cell growth, novel auxin signaling pathway as well as auxin-peptide crosstalk. }, author = {Li, Lanxin}, issn = {2663-337X}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Rapid cell growth regulation in Arabidopsis}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:10083}, year = {2021}, } @unpublished{10095, abstract = {Growth regulation tailors plant development to its environment. A showcase is response to gravity, where shoots bend up and roots down1. This paradox is based on opposite effects of the phytohormone auxin, which promotes cell expansion in shoots, while inhibiting it in roots via a yet unknown cellular mechanism2. Here, by combining microfluidics, live imaging, genetic engineering and phospho-proteomics in Arabidopsis thaliana, we advance our understanding how auxin inhibits root growth. We show that auxin activates two distinct, antagonistically acting signalling pathways that converge on the rapid regulation of the apoplastic pH, a causative growth determinant. Cell surface-based TRANSMEMBRANE KINASE1 (TMK1) interacts with and mediates phosphorylation and activation of plasma membrane H+-ATPases for apoplast acidification, while intracellular canonical auxin signalling promotes net cellular H+-influx, causing apoplast alkalinisation. The simultaneous activation of these two counteracting mechanisms poises the root for a rapid, fine-tuned growth modulation while navigating complex soil environment.}, author = {Li, Lanxin and Verstraeten, Inge and Roosjen, Mark and Takahashi, Koji and Rodriguez Solovey, Lesia and Merrin, Jack and Chen, Jian and Shabala, Lana and Smet, Wouter and Ren, Hong and Vanneste, Steffen and Shabala, Sergey and De Rybel, Bert and Weijers, Dolf and Kinoshita, Toshinori and Gray, William M. and Friml, Jiří}, booktitle = {Research Square}, issn = {2693-5015}, title = {{Cell surface and intracellular auxin signalling for H+-fluxes in root growth}}, doi = {10.21203/rs.3.rs-266395/v3}, year = {2021}, } @article{10103, abstract = {The small cellular molecule inositol hexakisphosphate (IP6) has been known for ~20 years to promote the in vitro assembly of HIV-1 into immature virus-like particles. However, the molecular details underlying this effect have been determined only recently, with the identification of the IP6 binding site in the immature Gag lattice. IP6 also promotes formation of the mature capsid protein (CA) lattice via a second IP6 binding site, and enhances core stability, creating a favorable environment for reverse transcription. IP6 also enhances assembly of other retroviruses, from both the Lentivirus and the Alpharetrovirus genera. These findings suggest that IP6 may have a conserved function throughout the family Retroviridae. Here, we discuss the different steps in the viral life cycle that are influenced by IP6, and describe in detail how IP6 interacts with the immature and mature lattices of different retroviruses.}, author = {Obr, Martin and Schur, Florian KM and Dick, Robert A.}, issn = {1999-4915}, journal = {Viruses}, keywords = {virology, infectious diseases}, number = {9}, publisher = {MDPI}, title = {{A structural perspective of the role of IP6 in immature and mature retroviral assembly}}, doi = {10.3390/v13091853}, volume = {13}, year = {2021}, } @inproceedings{10108, abstract = {We argue that the time is ripe to investigate differential monitoring, in which the specification of a program's behavior is implicitly given by a second program implementing the same informal specification. Similar ideas have been proposed before, and are currently implemented in restricted form for testing and specialized run-time analyses, aspects of which we combine. We discuss the challenges of implementing differential monitoring as a general-purpose, black-box run-time monitoring framework, and present promising results of a preliminary implementation, showing low monitoring overheads for diverse programs.}, author = {Mühlböck, Fabian and Henzinger, Thomas A}, booktitle = {International Conference on Runtime Verification}, isbn = {978-3-030-88493-2}, issn = {1611-3349}, keywords = {run-time verification, software engineering, implicit specification}, location = {Virtual}, pages = {231--243}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Differential monitoring}}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-88494-9_12}, volume = {12974}, year = {2021}, } @misc{10110, abstract = {Pattern separation is a fundamental brain computation that converts small differences in input patterns into large differences in output patterns. Several synaptic mechanisms of pattern separation have been proposed, including code expansion, inhibition and plasticity; however, which of these mechanisms play a role in the entorhinal cortex (EC)–dentate gyrus (DG)–CA3 circuit, a classical pattern separation circuit, remains unclear. Here we show that a biologically realistic, full-scale EC–DG–CA3 circuit model, including granule cells (GCs) and parvalbumin-positive inhibitory interneurons (PV+-INs) in the DG, is an efficient pattern separator. Both external gamma-modulated inhibition and internal lateral inhibition mediated by PV+-INs substantially contributed to pattern separation. Both local connectivity and fast signaling at GC–PV+-IN synapses were important for maximum effectiveness. Similarly, mossy fiber synapses with conditional detonator properties contributed to pattern separation. By contrast, perforant path synapses with Hebbian synaptic plasticity and direct EC–CA3 connection shifted the network towards pattern completion. Our results demonstrate that the specific properties of cells and synapses optimize higher-order computations in biological networks and might be useful to improve the deep learning capabilities of technical networks.}, author = {Guzmán, José and Schlögl, Alois and Espinoza Martinez, Claudia and Zhang, Xiaomin and Suter, Benjamin and Jonas, Peter M}, publisher = {IST Austria}, title = {{How connectivity rules and synaptic properties shape the efficacy of pattern separation in the entorhinal cortex–dentate gyrus–CA3 network}}, doi = {10.15479/AT:ISTA:10110}, year = {2021}, } @article{10116, abstract = {The ubiquitous Ca2+ sensor calmodulin (CaM) binds and regulates many proteins, including ion channels, CaM kinases, and calcineurin, according to Ca2+-CaM levels. What regulates neuronal CaM levels, is, however, unclear. CaM-binding transcription activators (CAMTAs) are ancient proteins expressed broadly in nervous systems and whose loss confers pleiotropic behavioral defects in flies, mice, and humans. Using Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila, we show that CAMTAs control neuronal CaM levels. The behavioral and neuronal Ca2+ signaling defects in mutants lacking camt-1, the sole C. elegans CAMTA, can be rescued by supplementing neuronal CaM. CAMT-1 binds multiple sites in the CaM promoter and deleting these sites phenocopies camt-1. Our data suggest CAMTAs mediate a conserved and general mechanism that controls neuronal CaM levels, thereby regulating Ca2+ signaling, physiology, and behavior.}, author = {Vuong-Brender, Thanh and Flynn, Sean and Vallis, Yvonne and De Bono, Mario}, issn = {2050-084X}, journal = {eLife}, publisher = {eLife Sciences Publications}, title = {{Neuronal calmodulin levels are controlled by CAMTA transcription factors}}, doi = {10.7554/eLife.68238}, volume = {10}, year = {2021}, } @article{10117, abstract = {Proximity labeling provides a powerful in vivo tool to characterize the proteome of subcellular structures and the interactome of specific proteins. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is one of the most intensely studied organisms in biology, offering many advantages for biochemistry. Using the highly active biotin ligase TurboID, we optimize here a proximity labeling protocol for C. elegans. An advantage of TurboID is that biotin's high affinity for streptavidin means biotin-labeled proteins can be affinity-purified under harsh denaturing conditions. By combining extensive sonication with aggressive denaturation using SDS and urea, we achieved near-complete solubilization of worm proteins. We then used this protocol to characterize the proteomes of the worm gut, muscle, skin, and nervous system. Neurons are among the smallest C. elegans cells. To probe the method's sensitivity, we expressed TurboID exclusively in the two AFD neurons and showed that the protocol could identify known and previously unknown proteins expressed selectively in AFD. The active zones of synapses are composed of a protein matrix that is difficult to solubilize and purify. To test if our protocol could solubilize active zone proteins, we knocked TurboID into the endogenous elks-1 gene, which encodes a presynaptic active zone protein. We identified many known ELKS-1-interacting active zone proteins, as well as previously uncharacterized synaptic proteins. Versatile vectors and the inherent advantages of using C. elegans, including fast growth and the ability to rapidly make and functionally test knock-ins, make proximity labeling a valuable addition to the armory of this model organism.}, author = {Artan, Murat and Barratt, Stephen and Flynn, Sean M. and Begum, Farida and Skehel, Mark and Nicolas, Armel and De Bono, Mario}, issn = {1083-351X}, journal = {Journal of Biological Chemistry}, number = {3}, publisher = {Elsevier}, title = {{Interactome analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans synapses by TurboID-based proximity labeling}}, doi = {10.1016/J.JBC.2021.101094}, volume = {297}, year = {2021}, } @article{10123, abstract = {Solution synthesis of particles emerged as an alternative to prepare thermoelectric materials with less demanding processing conditions than conventional solid-state synthetic methods. However, solution synthesis generally involves the presence of additional molecules or ions belonging to the precursors or added to enable solubility and/or regulate nucleation and growth. These molecules or ions can end up in the particles as surface adsorbates and interfere in the material properties. This work demonstrates that ionic adsorbates, in particular Na⁺ ions, are electrostatically adsorbed in SnSe particles synthesized in water and play a crucial role not only in directing the material nano/microstructure but also in determining the transport properties of the consolidated material. In dense pellets prepared by sintering SnSe particles, Na remains within the crystal lattice as dopant, in dislocations, precipitates, and forming grain boundary complexions. These results highlight the importance of considering all the possible unintentional impurities to establish proper structure-property relationships and control material properties in solution-processed thermoelectric materials.}, author = {Liu, Yu and Calcabrini, Mariano and Yu, Yuan and Genç, Aziz and Chang, Cheng and Costanzo, Tommaso and Kleinhanns, Tobias and Lee, Seungho and Llorca, Jordi and Cojocaru‐Mirédin, Oana and Ibáñez, Maria}, issn = {1521-4095}, journal = {Advanced Materials}, keywords = {mechanical engineering, mechanics of materials, general materials science}, number = {52}, publisher = {Wiley}, title = {{The importance of surface adsorbates in solution‐processed thermoelectric materials: The case of SnSe}}, doi = {10.1002/adma.202106858}, volume = {33}, year = {2021}, } @article{10134, abstract = {We investigate the effect of coupling between translational and internal degrees of freedom of composite quantum particles on their localization in a random potential. We show that entanglement between the two degrees of freedom weakens localization due to the upper bound imposed on the inverse participation ratio by purity of a quantum state. We perform numerical calculations for a two-particle system bound by a harmonic force in a 1D disordered lattice and a rigid rotor in a 2D disordered lattice. We illustrate that the coupling has a dramatic effect on localization properties, even with a small number of internal states participating in quantum dynamics.}, author = {Suzuki, Fumika and Lemeshko, Mikhail and Zurek, Wojciech H. and Krems, Roman V.}, issn = {1079-7114}, journal = {Physical Review Letters}, keywords = {General Physics and Astronomy}, number = {16}, publisher = {American Physical Society }, title = {{Anderson localization of composite particles}}, doi = {10.1103/physrevlett.127.160602}, volume = {127}, year = {2021}, } @phdthesis{10135, abstract = {Plants maintain the capacity to develop new organs e.g. lateral roots post-embryonically throughout their whole life and thereby flexibly adapt to ever-changing environmental conditions. Plant hormones auxin and cytokinin are the main regulators of the lateral root organogenesis. Additionally to their solo activities, the interaction between auxin and cytokinin plays crucial role in fine-tuning of lateral root development and growth. In particular, cytokinin modulates auxin distribution within the developing lateral root by affecting the endomembrane trafficking of auxin transporter PIN1 and promoting its vacuolar degradation (Marhavý et al., 2011, 2014). This effect is independent of transcription and translation. Therefore, it suggests novel, non-canonical cytokinin activity occuring possibly on the posttranslational level. Impact of cytokinin and other plant hormones on auxin transporters (including PIN1) on the posttranslational level is described in detail in the introduction part of this thesis in a form of a review (Semeradova et al., 2020). To gain insights into the molecular machinery underlying cytokinin effect on the endomembrane trafficking in the plant cell, in particular on the PIN1 degradation, we conducted two large proteomic screens: 1) Identification of cytokinin binding proteins using chemical proteomics. 2) Monitoring of proteomic and phosphoproteomic changes upon cytokinin treatment. In the first screen, we identified DYNAMIN RELATED PROTEIN 2A (DRP2A). We found that DRP2A plays a role in cytokinin regulated processes during the plant growth and that cytokinin treatment promotes destabilization of DRP2A protein. However, the role of DRP2A in the PIN1 degradation remains to be elucidated. In the second screen, we found VACUOLAR PROTEIN SORTING 9A (VPS9A). VPS9a plays crucial role in plant’s response to cytokin and in cytokinin mediated PIN1 degradation. Altogether, we identified proteins, which bind to cytokinin and proteins that in response to cytokinin exhibit significantly changed abundance or phosphorylation pattern. By combining information from these two screens, we can pave our way towards understanding of noncanonical cytokinin effects.}, author = {Semerádová, Hana}, isbn = {978-3-99078-014-5}, issn = {2663-337X}, publisher = {Institute of Science and Technology Austria}, title = {{Molecular mechanisms of the cytokinin-regulated endomembrane trafficking to coordinate plant organogenesis}}, doi = {10.15479/at:ista:10135}, year = {2021}, } @article{10146, abstract = {The enzymes of the mitochondrial electron transport chain are key players of cell metabolism. Despite being active when isolated, in vivo they associate into supercomplexes1, whose precise role is debated. Supercomplexes CIII2CIV1-2 (refs. 2,3), CICIII2 (ref. 4) and CICIII2CIV (respirasome)5,6,7,8,9,10 exist in mammals, but in contrast to CICIII2 and the respirasome, to date the only known eukaryotic structures of CIII2CIV1-2 come from Saccharomyces cerevisiae11,12 and plants13, which have different organization. Here we present the first, to our knowledge, structures of mammalian (mouse and ovine) CIII2CIV and its assembly intermediates, in different conformations. We describe the assembly of CIII2CIV from the CIII2 precursor to the final CIII2CIV conformation, driven by the insertion of the N terminus of the assembly factor SCAF1 (ref. 14) deep into CIII2, while its C terminus is integrated into CIV. Our structures (which include CICIII2 and the respirasome) also confirm that SCAF1 is exclusively required for the assembly of CIII2CIV and has no role in the assembly of the respirasome. We show that CIII2 is asymmetric due to the presence of only one copy of subunit 9, which straddles both monomers and prevents the attachment of a second copy of SCAF1 to CIII2, explaining the presence of one copy of CIV in CIII2CIV in mammals. Finally, we show that CIII2 and CIV gain catalytic advantage when assembled into the supercomplex and propose a role for CIII2CIV in fine tuning the efficiency of electron transfer in the electron transport chain.}, author = {Vercellino, Irene and Sazanov, Leonid A}, issn = {1476-4687}, journal = {Nature}, number = {7880}, pages = {364--367}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{Structure and assembly of the mammalian mitochondrial supercomplex CIII2CIV}}, doi = {10.1038/s41586-021-03927-z}, volume = {598}, year = {2021}, } @inproceedings{10148, abstract = {Tactile feedback of an object’s surface enables us to discern its material properties and affordances. This understanding is used in digital fabrication processes by creating objects with high-resolution surface variations to influence a user’s tactile perception. As the design of such surface haptics commonly relies on knowledge from real-life experiences, it is unclear how to adapt this information for digital design methods. In this work, we investigate replicating the haptics of real materials. Using an existing process for capturing an object’s microgeometry, we digitize and reproduce the stable surface information of a set of 15 fabric samples. In a psychophysical experiment, we evaluate the tactile qualities of our set of original samples and their replicas. From our results, we see that direct reproduction of surface variations is able to influence different psychophysical dimensions of the tactile perception of surface textures. While the fabrication process did not preserve all properties, our approach underlines that replication of surface microgeometries benefits fabrication methods in terms of haptic perception by covering a large range of tactile variations. Moreover, by changing the surface structure of a single fabricated material, its material perception can be influenced. We conclude by proposing strategies for capturing and reproducing digitized textures to better resemble the perceived haptics of the originals.}, author = {Degraen, Donald and Piovarci, Michael and Bickel, Bernd and Kruger, Antonio}, booktitle = {34th Annual ACM Symposium}, isbn = {978-1-4503-8635-7}, location = {Virtual}, pages = {954--971}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, title = {{Capturing tactile properties of real surfaces for haptic reproduction}}, doi = {10.1145/3472749.3474798}, year = {2021}, } @article{10153, abstract = {Gradual typing is a principled means for mixing typed and untyped code. But typed and untyped code often exhibit different programming patterns. There is already substantial research investigating gradually giving types to code exhibiting typical untyped patterns, and some research investigating gradually removing types from code exhibiting typical typed patterns. This paper investigates how to extend these established gradual-typing concepts to give formal guarantees not only about how to change types as code evolves but also about how to change such programming patterns as well. In particular, we explore mixing untyped "structural" code with typed "nominal" code in an object-oriented language. But whereas previous work only allowed "nominal" objects to be treated as "structural" objects, we also allow "structural" objects to dynamically acquire certain nominal types, namely interfaces. We present a calculus that supports such "cross-paradigm" code migration and interoperation in a manner satisfying both the static and dynamic gradual guarantees, and demonstrate that the calculus can be implemented efficiently.}, author = {Mühlböck, Fabian and Tate, Ross}, issn = {2475-1421}, journal = {Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages}, keywords = {gradual typing, gradual guarantee, nominal, structural, call tags}, location = {Chicago, IL, United States}, publisher = {Association for Computing Machinery}, title = {{Transitioning from structural to nominal code with efficient gradual typing}}, doi = {10.1145/3485504}, volume = {5}, year = {2021}, } @article{10163, abstract = {The C-terminal domain (CTD) of the largest subunit of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) is a regulatory hub for transcription and RNA processing. Here, we identify PHD-finger protein 3 (PHF3) as a regulator of transcription and mRNA stability that docks onto Pol II CTD through its SPOC domain. We characterize SPOC as a CTD reader domain that preferentially binds two phosphorylated Serine-2 marks in adjacent CTD repeats. PHF3 drives liquid-liquid phase separation of phosphorylated Pol II, colocalizes with Pol II clusters and tracks with Pol II across the length of genes. PHF3 knock-out or SPOC deletion in human cells results in increased Pol II stalling, reduced elongation rate and an increase in mRNA stability, with marked derepression of neuronal genes. Key neuronal genes are aberrantly expressed in Phf3 knock-out mouse embryonic stem cells, resulting in impaired neuronal differentiation. Our data suggest that PHF3 acts as a prominent effector of neuronal gene regulation by bridging transcription with mRNA decay.}, author = {Appel, Lisa-Marie and Franke, Vedran and Bruno, Melania and Grishkovskaya, Irina and Kasiliauskaite, Aiste and Kaufmann, Tanja and Schoeberl, Ursula E. and Puchinger, Martin G. and Kostrhon, Sebastian and Ebenwaldner, Carmen and Sebesta, Marek and Beltzung, Etienne and Mechtler, Karl and Lin, Gen and Vlasova, Anna and Leeb, Martin and Pavri, Rushad and Stark, Alexander and Akalin, Altuna and Stefl, Richard and Bernecky, Carrie A and Djinovic-Carugo, Kristina and Slade, Dea}, issn = {2041-1723}, journal = {Nature Communications}, keywords = {general physics and astronomy, general biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology, general chemistry}, number = {1}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, title = {{PHF3 regulates neuronal gene expression through the Pol II CTD reader domain SPOC}}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-021-26360-2}, volume = {12}, year = {2021}, } @article{10166, abstract = {While sexual reproduction is widespread among many taxa, asexual lineages have repeatedly evolved from sexual ancestors. Despite extensive research on the evolution of sex, it is still unclear whether this switch represents a major transition requiring major molecular reorganization, and how convergent the changes involved are. In this study, we investigated the phylogenetic relationship and patterns of gene expression of sexual and asexual lineages of Eurasian Artemia brine shrimp, to assess how gene expression patterns are affected by the transition to asexuality. We find only a few genes that are consistently associated with the evolution of asexuality, suggesting that this shift may not require an extensive overhauling of the meiotic machinery. While genes with sex-biased expression have high rates of expression divergence within Eurasian Artemia, neither female- nor male-biased genes appear to show unusual evolutionary patterns after sexuality is lost, contrary to theoretical expectations.}, author = {Huylmans, Ann K and Macon, Ariana and Hontoria, Francisco and Vicoso, Beatriz}, issn = {1471-2954}, journal = {Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences}, keywords = {asexual reproduction, parthenogenesis, sex-biased genes, sexual conflict, automixis, crustaceans}, number = {1959}, publisher = {The Royal Society}, title = {{Transitions to asexuality and evolution of gene expression in Artemia brine shrimp}}, doi = {10.1098/rspb.2021.1720}, volume = {288}, year = {2021}, } @article{10167, abstract = {Schistosomes, the human parasites responsible for snail fever, are female-heterogametic. Different parts of their ZW sex chromosomes have stopped recombining in distinct lineages, creating “evolutionary strata” of various ages. Although the Z-chromosome is well characterized at the genomic and molecular level, the W-chromosome has remained largely unstudied from an evolutionary perspective, as only a few W-linked genes have been detected outside of the model species Schistosoma mansoni. Here, we characterize the gene content and evolution of the W-chromosomes of S. mansoni and of the divergent species S. japonicum. We use a combined RNA/DNA k-mer based pipeline to assemble around 100 candidate W-specific transcripts in each of the species. About half of them map to known protein coding genes, the majority homologous to S. mansoni Z-linked genes. We perform an extended analysis of the evolutionary strata present in the two species (including characterizing a previously undetected young stratum in S. japonicum) to infer patterns of sequence and expression evolution of W-linked genes at different time points after recombination was lost. W-linked genes show evidence of degeneration, including high rates of protein evolution and reduced expression. Most are found in young lineage-specific strata, with only a few high expression ancestral W-genes remaining, consistent with the progressive erosion of nonrecombining regions. Among these, the splicing factor u2af2 stands out as a promising candidate for primary sex determination, opening new avenues for understanding the molecular basis of the reproductive biology of this group.}, author = {Elkrewi, Marwan N and Moldovan, Mikhail A. and Picard, Marion A L and Vicoso, Beatriz}, issn = {1537-1719}, journal = {Molecular Biology and Evolution}, keywords = {sex chromosomes, evolutionary strata, W-linked gene, sex determining gene, schistosome parasites}, publisher = {Oxford University Press }, title = {{Schistosome W-Linked genes inform temporal dynamics of sex chromosome evolution and suggest candidate for sex determination}}, doi = {10.1093/molbev/msab178}, year = {2021}, } @unpublished{10174, abstract = {Quantitative stochastic homogenization of linear elliptic operators is by now well-understood. In this contribution we move forward to the nonlinear setting of monotone operators with p-growth. This first work is dedicated to a quantitative two-scale expansion result. Fluctuations will be addressed in companion articles. By treating the range of exponents 2≤p<∞ in dimensions d≤3, we are able to consider genuinely nonlinear elliptic equations and systems such as −∇⋅A(x)(1+|∇u|p−2)∇u=f (with A random, non-necessarily symmetric) for the first time. When going from p=2 to p>2, the main difficulty is to analyze the associated linearized operator, whose coefficients are degenerate, unbounded, and depend on the random input A via the solution of a nonlinear equation. One of our main achievements is the control of this intricate nonlinear dependence, leading to annealed Meyers' estimates for the linearized operator, which are key to the quantitative two-scale expansion result.}, author = {Clozeau, Nicolas and Gloria, Antoine}, booktitle = {arXiv}, title = {{Quantitative nonlinear homogenization: control of oscillations}}, year = {2021}, } @article{10176, abstract = {We give a combinatorial model for r-spin surfaces with parameterized boundary based on Novak (“Lattice topological field theories in two dimensions,” Ph.D. thesis, Universität Hamburg, 2015). The r-spin structure is encoded in terms of ℤ𝑟-valued indices assigned to the edges of a polygonal decomposition. This combinatorial model is designed for our state-sum construction of two-dimensional topological field theories on r-spin surfaces. We show that an example of such a topological field theory computes the Arf-invariant of an r-spin surface as introduced by Randal-Williams [J. Topol. 7, 155 (2014)] and Geiges et al. [Osaka J. Math. 49, 449 (2012)]. This implies, in particular, that the r-spin Arf-invariant is constant on orbits of the mapping class group, providing an alternative proof of that fact.}, author = {Runkel, Ingo and Szegedy, Lorant}, issn = {00222488}, journal = {Journal of Mathematical Physics}, number = {10}, publisher = {AIP Publishing}, title = {{Topological field theory on r-spin surfaces and the Arf-invariant}}, doi = {10.1063/5.0037826}, volume = {62}, year = {2021}, } @article{10177, abstract = {Phonon polaritons (PhPs)—light coupled to lattice vibrations—with in-plane hyperbolic dispersion exhibit ray-like propagation with large wave vectors and enhanced density of optical states along certain directions on a surface. As such, they have raised a surge of interest, promising unprecedented manipulation of infrared light at the nanoscale in a planar circuitry. Here, we demonstrate focusing of in-plane hyperbolic PhPs propagating along thin slabs of α-MoO3. To that end, we developed metallic nanoantennas of convex geometries for both efficient launching and focusing of the polaritons. The foci obtained exhibit enhanced near-field confinement and absorption compared to foci produced by in-plane isotropic PhPs. Foci sizes as small as λp/4.5 = λ0/50 were achieved (λp is the polariton wavelength and λ0 is the photon wavelength). Focusing of in-plane hyperbolic polaritons introduces a first and most basic building block developing planar polariton optics using in-plane anisotropic van der Waals materials.}, author = {Martín-Sánchez, Javier and Duan, Jiahua and Taboada-Gutiérrez, Javier and Álvarez-Pérez, Gonzalo and Voronin, Kirill V. and Prieto Gonzalez, Ivan and Ma, Weiliang and Bao, Qiaoliang and Volkov, Valentyn S. and Hillenbrand, Rainer and Nikitin, Alexey Y. and Alonso-González, Pablo}, issn = {23752548}, journal = {Science Advances}, number = {41}, publisher = {American Association for the Advancement of Science}, title = {{Focusing of in-plane hyperbolic polaritons in van der Waals crystals with tailored infrared nanoantennas}}, doi = {10.1126/sciadv.abj0127}, volume = {7}, year = {2021}, } @article{10178, abstract = {In dense biological tissues, cell types performing different roles remain segregated by maintaining sharp interfaces. To better understand the mechanisms for such sharp compartmentalization, we study the effect of an imposed heterotypic tension at the interface between two distinct cell types in a fully 3D Voronoi model for confluent tissues. We find that cells rapidly sort and self-organize to generate a tissue-scale interface between cell types, and cells adjacent to this interface exhibit signature geometric features including nematic-like ordering, bimodal facet areas, and registration, or alignment, of cell centers on either side of the two-tissue interface. The magnitude of these features scales directly with the magnitude of the imposed tension, suggesting that biologists can estimate the magnitude of tissue surface tension between two tissue types simply by segmenting a 3D tissue. To uncover the underlying physical mechanisms driving these geometric features, we develop two minimal, ordered models using two different underlying lattices that identify an energetic competition between bulk cell shapes and tissue interface area. When the interface area dominates, changes to neighbor topology are costly and occur less frequently, which generates the observed geometric features.}, author = {Sahu, Preeti and Schwarz, J. M. and Manning, M. Lisa}, issn = {13672630}, journal = {New Journal of Physics}, number = {9}, publisher = {IOP Publishing}, title = {{Geometric signatures of tissue surface tension in a three-dimensional model of confluent tissue}}, doi = {10.1088/1367-2630/ac23f1}, volume = {23}, year = {2021}, }