Biophysics

Functionally-Coupled Ion Channels Begin Co-assembling at the Start of Their Synthesis

1. Roya Pournejati
2. Jessica M Huang
3. Michael Ma
4. Claudia M Moreno
5. Oscar Vivas

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important manuscript provides compelling evidence that BK and CaV1.3 channels can co-localize as ensembles early in the biosynthetic pathway, including in the ER and Golgi. The findings, supported by a range of imaging and proximity assays, offer insights into channel organization in both heterologous and endogenous systems. While the data broadly support the central claims, mechanistic aspects remain unresolved, particularly regarding the determinants of mRNA co-localization, the temporal dynamics of ensemble trafficking, and the physiological implications of pre-assembly for channel function at the plasma membrane.

Reviewed by eLife

Unbend: Correction of local beam-induced sample motion in cryo-EM images using a 3D spline model

1. Lingli Kong
2. Ximena Zottig
3. Johannes Elferich
4. Nikolaus Grigorieff

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This paper describes Unbend - a new method for measuring and correcting motions in cryo-EM images, with a particular emphasis on more challenging in situ samples such as lamella and whole cells. The method, which fits a B-spline model using cross-correlation-based local patch alignment of micrograph frames, represents a valuable tool for the cryo-EM community. The authors elegantly use 2D template matching to provide solid evidence that Unbend outperforms the previously reported method of Unblur by the same authors. The paper would benefit from the inclusion of a similar analysis for established alternative methods, such as MotionCor2.

Reviewed by eLife

Conduction pathway for potassium through the Escherichia coli pump KdpFABC

1. Adel Hussein
2. Xihui Zhang
3. Bjørn P Pedersen
4. David L Stokes

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This manuscript revisits the well-studied KdpFABC potassium transport system from bacteria with a convincing set of new higher resolution structures, a protein expression strategy that permits purification of the active wildtype protein, and insight obtained from mutagenesis and activity assays. The thorough and thoughtful mechanistic analyses make this a valuable contribution to the membrane transport field.

Reviewed by eLife

Evolution of a fuzzy ribonucleoprotein complex in viral assembly

1. Huaying Zhao
2. Tiansheng Li
3. Sergio A Hassan
4. Ai Nguyen
5. Siddhartha AK Datta
6. Guofeng Zhang
7. Camden Trent
8. Agata M Czaja
9. Di Wu
10. Maria A Aronova
11. Kin Kui Lai
12. Grzegorz Piszczek
13. Richard D Leapman
14. Jonathan W Yewdell
15. Peter Schuck

• Curated by eLife

  eLife assessment

  This is a valuable study that combines a wide range of approaches to provide a biophysical and evolutionary mechanism that could explain why some particular mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 protein N arose during the COVID-19 pandemic. The evidence is solid and relies on multiple experimental approaches. However, some of the results were dependent on extremely high protein concentrations, which may affect certain conclusions.

Reviewed by eLife

Active regulation of the epidermal growth factor receptor by the membrane bilayer

1. Shwetha Srinivasan
2. Xingcheng Lin
3. Xuyan Chen
4. Raju Regmi
5. Bin Zhang
6. Gabriela S Schlau-Cohen

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  The authors describe an interesting approach to studying the dynamics and function of membrane proteins in different lipid environments. The important findings have theoretical and practical implications beyond the study of EGFR to all membrane signalling proteins. The evidence supporting the conclusions is convincing, based on the use of a nanodisk system to study membrane proteins in vitro, combined with state-of-the-art single-molecule FRET. The work will be of broad interest to cell biologists and biochemists.

Reviewed by eLife

Dynamic Architecture of Mycobacterial Outer Membranes Revealed by All-Atom Simulations

1. Turner P Brown
2. Matthieu Chavent
3. Wonpil Im

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  In their study, Brown et. al. provide an important advance in understanding the architecture of the mycobacterial outer membrane. Using all-atom simulations of model mycomembranes, the work reports compelling structural insights into how α-mycolic acids and outer leaflet lipids (PDIM and PAT) shape membrane organisation. The work revealed membrane heterogeneity with ordered inner leaflets and disordered outer leaflets that provide a molecular explanation for the resilience of the mycobacterial envelope.

Reviewed by eLife

Power-law decay of force on cell membrane tethers reflects long-ranged relaxation of membrane tension

1. Emeline Laborie
2. Andrew Callan-Jones

Reviewed by PREreview

Longitudinal awake imaging of mouse deep brain microvasculature with super-resolution ultrasound localization microscopy

1. Yike Wang
2. Matthew R Lowerison
3. Zhe Huang
4. Qi You
5. Bing-Ze Lin
6. Daniel A Llano
7. Pengfei Song

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This study presents important methodologies for repeated brain ultrasound localization microscopy (ULM) in awake mice and a set of results indicating that wakefulness reduces vascularity and blood flow velocity. The data supporting these findings are solid. This study is relevant for scientists investigating vascular physiology in the brain.

Reviewed by eLife

Controlling the synchronization and symmetry breaking of coupled bacterial pili on active biofilm carpets

1. Baha Altın
2. Yusuf Ilker Yaman
3. Enes Talha Günay
4. Alp Ünlü
5. Yiğithan Gediz
6. Neslihan Gedik
7. Bora Karadaş
8. Mustafa Başaran
9. Coşkun Kocabaş
10. Şahin Özdemir
11. Aşkın Kocabaş

• Curated by eLife

  eLife Assessment

  This important study concerns the propagation of waves in bacterial biofilms, bridging active matter physics and bacterial biophysics. While the experimental observations are solid, the theoretical interpretation and model validation are currently incomplete and require further refinement. This work will be of interest to microbiologists, biophysicists, and researchers studying collective behavior in biological systems.

Reviewed by eLife

Scaling down protein language modeling with MSA Pairformer

1. Yo Akiyama
2. Zhidian Zhang
3. Milot Mirdita
4. Martin Steinegger
5. Sergey Ovchinnikov

Reviewed by Arcadia Science