Highlights from Nature and the Nature Research Journals

****************************************************NATURE************************************************(http://www.nature.com/nature)

[1] Chimps show social conformity

DOI: 10.1038/nature04047

New feeding techniques can spread rapidly among chimpanzee communities through a process of 'social conformism', according to a study published online this week by Nature. This discovery highlights the importance of cultural transmission - the passing of new knowledge or skills between individuals through social interaction - in these apes, and suggests that the propensity for social conformism in humans may have ancient evolutionary roots.

Andrew Whiten and his colleagues studied three groups of chimpanzees at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia. For two of the groups, they privately taught a high-ranking female to use a feeding apparatus called the 'pan-pipes', using a tool in either a lifting or a poking technique to obtain a food reward. The third group was not given any training by humans.

The researchers then allowed each chimpanzee group access to the feeding apparatus. Other chimpanzees observed the senior female's technique and generally were quick to copy it, showing that they can learn skills in the absence of direct human tuition. The 'poke' method was more effective, as shown by the fact that several members of the 'lift' group independently discovered and adopted the 'poke' technique. But despite this, the 'lift' group retained its overall bias towards the 'lift' method, showing that social conformity is important in maintaining patterns of social behaviour.

Other papers from Nature to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:

[2] Crystal structure of the RNA component of bacterial ribonuclease P DOI: 10.1038/nature04074

************************************************NATURE MEDICINE***************************************(http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine)

[3] New treatment against SARS effective in monkeys

DOI: 10.1038/nm1280

A paper in the September issue of Nature Medicine reports that small interfering RNAs, short RNA sequences that can inhibit gene expression, are effective against infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus in monkeys.

In 2003, the SARS virus spread through the world, causing lethal pneumonia and lung failure. Since then, the search for therapies against this pathogen has been a very active research field. Now, Patrick Lu and his colleagues show that siRNA can both prevent the onset of SARS and cure an existing infection in macaques.

The authors delivered the siRNA intranasally to groups of macaques before or after infection with the SARS virus. They found that the siRNA provided relief from the symptoms of SARS infection and reduced the virus-induced lung damage with no apparent side effects.

These results constitute the first successful therapeutic use of siRNA in primates, and significantly boost up the potential of this tool to prevent and treat SARS in people.

Other papers from Nature Medicine to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo: [4] Vaccine induced tumor-specific immunity despite severe B-cell depletion in mantle cell lymphomaDOI: 10.1038/nm1290

*******************************************NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY*********************************(http://www.nature.com/naturebiotechnolgy)

[5] New plant gene could help allay concerns over GM crops

DOI: 10.1038/nbt1134

A newly identified plant gene that could change the way we develop GM plants is reported in the September issue of Nature Biotechnology. The naturally antibiotic resistant gene, found in thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), could provide a strong alternative to current practices, say Neal Stewart and colleagues.

Traditionally, GM plants have been engineered with bacterial antibiotic resistance markers (ARMs) to help effectively identify which seedlings have taken up transgenes. The successful plants grow because of their resistance to antibiotics. This method of 'hooking up' antibiotic-resistance genes to transgenes of interest has been widely used in plant research since the 1980s. One major, theoretical health and safety concern over this practice has been the potential for 'reverse' horizontal gene transfer (HGT) back to bacteria " ingesting GM plants could increase our immunity to the antibiotics used in this engineering process.

The thale cress gene AtWBC19 has the potential to be used in place of bacterial ARMs, say the authors. Overexpression of this gene causes resistance to the common antibiotic kanamycin in tobacco plants. Belonging to a group of proteins that specialise in capturing and evicting toxins in plants, AtWBC19 works as effectively against kanamycin as conventional bacterial resistance genes " such as the nptII gene (neomycin phosphotransferase II) from Escherichia coli. Because of the difference in cell structure and the mechanisms that drive both bacterial and plant cells, the team say that it is highly unlikely that acquisition of the gene by a bacterium could confer antibiotic resistance.

As a plant gene destined for use in plants, AtWBC19 overcomes theoretical concerns over the combination of genetic material across kingdom boundaries. Also, AtWBC19 may prove a valuable substitute for nptII in the development of soybean, cotton, Brassica and Solanaceae crops (cabbage and potato family crops), as well as some forest tree species, argue the researchers.

Other papers from Nature Biotechnology to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:

[6] Genome sequence of the chlorinated compound"respiring bacterium Dehalococcoides species strain CBDB1DOI: 10.1038/nbt1131

*******************************************NATURE GENETICS ******************************************(http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics) and

NATURE STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY(http://www.nature.com/natstructmolbiol)

[7] " [11] Unwinding Fanconi anemia

[7] DOI: 10.1038/ng1624[8] DOI: 10.1038/ng1625[9] DOI: 10.1038/ng1626[10] DOI: 10.1038/ng1627[11] DOI: 10.1038/nsmb981

A series of five related papers published in the September issues of Nature Genetics and Nature Structural & Molecular Biology describe two new genes associated with Fanconi anemia, acting in the Fanconi anemia tumor suppressor pathway. Together, these studies provide insight into the mechanism underlying the chromosomal instability that characterizes the disease.

Fanconi anemia is an inherited anemia that predisposes to bone marrow failure and cancer, with many individuals developing acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) at an early age. Fanconi anemia is a rare pediatric disorder, typically diagnosed in children age 2 " 15 years, with varied expected survival ranging from 2 to 25 years. Cells from individuals with Fanconi anemia have been characterized as highly sensitive to chromosomal breakage, suggesting that there may be a deficiency in repairing damaged DNA. The two new genes implicated in the Fanconi anemia pathway encode proteins that interact directly with DNA and are involved in DNA unwinding. This provides clues into the mechanism by which the complex of related Fanconi anemia genes recognize and processes damaged DNA.

Other papers from Nature Structural & Molecular Biology to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:

[12] Evolution from DNA to RNA recognition by the bI3 LAGLIDADG maturase DOI: 10.1038/nsmb976

[13] Model for growth hormone receptor activation based on subunit rotation within a receptor dimer DOI: 10.1038/nsmb977

[14] Idiosyncratic tuning of tRNAs to achieve uniform ribosome binding DOI: 10.1038/nsmb978

[15] Translation elongation factor 1A is essential for regulation of the actin cytoskeleton and cell morphology DOI: 10.1038/nsmb979

[16] RNA splicing promotes translation and RNA surveillance DOI: 10.1038/nsmb980

*******************************************NATURE IMMUNOLOGY ************************************(http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology)

[17] Avoiding new food allergens

DOI: 10.1038/ni0905-857

The genetic modification of plants provides a necessary solution for feeding the ever-increasing world population. However, manipulating the genetic makeup of plants may inadvertently result in the production of new proteins that can cause allergy. In a Commentary in this month's Nature Immunology, Dean Metcalfe discusses the steps taken to detect such new food allergens from genetically modified plants and also discusses the limitations of these safeguard measures.

Because we still do not have a precise understanding of what makes certain food items allergenic, it is important to take appropriate steps to detect potential new allergens. In 1996, the relevant governing agencies across the globe proposed a set of guidelines for testing for food allergens from genetically modified plants. This set of guidelines was revised in 2001. As Metcalfe points out however, at present individual evaluations such as testing on animals or looking for similarity to proteins that might be allergenic are not fail-safe. Although these assessments will improve with advances in the underlying scientific understanding of allergy induction, Metcalfe reinforces the idea that the best way forward is a combination of many analyses.

***************************************************************************************************************Items from other Nature journals to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:

NATURE MATERIALS (http://www.nature.com/naturematerials)

[18] From anisotropic photo-fluidity towards nanomanipulation in the optical near-fieldDOI: 10.1038/nmat1459

[19] X-ray-diffraction characterization of Pt(111) surface nanopatterning induced by C60 adsorptionDOI: 10.1038/nmat1456

[20] Reproducible on"off switching of solid-state luminescence by controlling molecular packing through heat-mode interconversionDOI: 10.1038/nmat1454

NATURE NEUROSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience)

[21] Bag1 is essential for differentiation and survival of hematopoietic and neuronal cells DOI: 10.1038/nn1524

[22] Opponent appetitive-aversive neural processes underlie predictive learning of pain relief DOI: 10.1038/nn1527

[23] Auditory thalamus integrates visual inputs into behavioral gains DOI: 10.1038/nn1528

[24] Activation of GPCRs modulates quantal size in chromaffin cells through Gbetagamma and PKC DOI: 10.1038/nn1529

[25] Structural and functional asymmetry of lateral Heschl's gyrus reflects pitch perception preference DOI: 10.1038/nn1530

NATURE CELL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturecellbiology)

[26] Listeria hijacks the clathrin-dependent endocytic machinery to invade mammalian cellsDOI: 10.1038/ncb1292

[27] PDGFRbeta+ perivascular progenitor cells in tumours regulate pericyte differentiation and vascular survivalDOI: 10.1038/ncb1288

[28] Clusterin inhibits apoptosis by interacting with activated BaxDOI: 10.1038/ncb1291

[29] Phospho-caveolin-1 mediates integrin-regulated membrane domain internalizationDOI: 10.1038/ncb1293

***************************************************************************************************************

GEOGRAPHICAL LISTING OF AUTHORS

The following list of places refers to the whereabouts of authors on the papers numbered in this release. The listing may be for an author's main affiliation, or for a place where they are working temporarily. Please see the PDF of the paper for full details.

AUSTRALIAFitzroy: 13Nedlands: 13St. Lucia: 13

AUSTRIAInnsbruck: 21

CANADAVancouver: 14

CHINABeijing: 3, 24Guangzhou: 3Hong Kong: 3Shanghai: 24

FRANCEGrenoble: 19Paris: 26

GERMANYBerlin: 6Berlin-Dahlem: 6Bonn: 18Dusseldorf: 7Heidelberg: 25Potsdam: 18Stuttgart: 19Wuerzburg: 7, 21

ITALYRome: 19, 22Trento: 19Trieste: 19

JAPANKawaguchi: 23Tokyo: 20Toyama: 23Tsukuba: 23

THE NETHERLANDSAmsterdam: 8, 9Leiden: 8Maastricht: 25

POLANDBydgoszcz: 8Poznan: 14

SPAINMadrid: 7, 29

UNITED KINGDOMCambridge: 8, 10, 11Fife: 1Liverpool: 25London: 8, 9, 22Southampton: 25

UNITED STATES OF AMERICACaliforniaLa Jolla: 21, 27, 29Pasadena: 22San Francisco: 27GeorgiaAtlanta: 1IllinoisChicago: 2Evanston: 2, 14MarylandRockville: 3Frederick: 4Baltimore: 9Bethesda: 4, 17, 24MichiganAnn Arbor: 28Missouri St. Louis: 24New JerseyPiscataway: 15New YorkIthaca: 6New York: 7North CarolinaChapel Hill: 12Research Triangle Park: 12OhioCincinnati: 9OregonPortland: 9PennsylvaniaUniversity Park: 2TennesseeKnoxville: 5TexasDallas: 29Houston: 4, 16VirginiaCharlottesville: 29

Nature Publishing Group (NPG) is a division of Macmillan Publishers Ltd, dedicated to serving the academic and professional scientific community. NPG's flagship title, Nature, is the world's most highly-cited weekly multidisciplinary journal and was first published in 1869. Other publications include Nature research journals, Nature Reviews, Nature Clinical Practice, and a range of prestigious academic journals, including society-owned publications.

NPG is a global company, with headquarters in London and offices in New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston, Tokyo, Paris, Munich and Basingstoke. For more information, please go to www.nature.com

PLEASE CITE THE SPECIFIC NATURE JOURNAL AND WEBSITE AS THE SOURCE OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO THE APPROPRIATE JOURNAL'S WEBSITE.