Article describes how taxonomic profiling of ancient metagenomic samples is challenging due to the accumulation of specific damage patterns on DNA over time. The authors performed a comprehensive evaluation on simulated metagenomes representing human dental calculus microbiome, with the level of DNA damage successively raised to mimic modern to ancient metagenomes.

Authors of the article assert that imaging has long supported our ability to understand the inner life of plants, their development, and response to a dynamic environment. The purpose of this review was to provide the scientific community with an overview of current imaging methods, which rely variously on either nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), mass spectrometry (MS) or infrared (IR) spectroscopy, and to present some examples of their application in order to illustrate their utility.

Article asserts that the delivery of consistent and accurate fine-resolution data on biodiversity using metabarcoding promises to improve environmental assessment and research. The authors propose a novel hierarchical approach to recovering abundance information from metabarcoding, and demonstrate this technique using benthic macroinvertebrates.

Article discusses how the global sequencing of microRNA (miRNA; miR) and integration to downstream mRNA expression profiles in early life stages (ELS) of fish following exposure to crude oil determined consistently dysregulated miRNAs regardless of the oil source or fish species. The overlay of differentially expressed miRNAs and mRNAs into in silico software determined that the key roles of these miRNAs were predicted to be involved in cardiovascular, neurological and visually-mediated pathways.

Article discusses how a bifunctional peroxidase enzyme, 4-coumarate 3-hydroxylase (C3H/APX), provides a parallel route to the shikimate shunt pathway for the conversion of 4-coumarate to caffeate in the early steps of lignin biosynthesis. Here, a multi-omic approach was used to characterize molecular changes resulting from C3H/APX-KD associated lignin modification and negative growth phenotype in Brachypodium distachyon.

Article presents a case study of a 35 year-old Caucasian woman who experienced multiple vertebral fractures two months after her second pregnancy. The results suggest a potential role of heterozygous WNT1 variants in the pathogenesis of early-onset osteoporosis. The authors suggest that teriparatide is one of the most appropriate available therapies for such cases.

Article proposes a model in which, during C-lignin biosynthesis, caffeyl alcohol noncompetitively inhibits oxidation of coniferyl alcohol by cell wall laccases, a process that might limit movement of coniferyl alcohol to the apoplast.

Article measuring blood parameters in the left aortae and atria of crocodilians. The findings do not support the hypothesis that a R–L shunt serves to deliver CO2 for the gastrointestinal system after feeding in crocodilians.

This article is a study using crude oil as an example of an environmental stressor in adult zebrafish. The offspring obtained were then assessed for transgenerational epigenetic transfer of oil-induced phenotypes. The authors conclude that epigenetic transgenerational inheritance can lead to an immediate and simultaneous inheritance of both beneficial and maladaptive traits in a large proportion of the F1 larvae. The adaptive responses may help fish populations survive when facing transient environmental stressors.

Article discussing key questions and opportunities in the field of Proanthocyanidins (PA) biosynthesis.

This article is a review cataloging and contextualizing all of the plant genes currently known to be required for SNF in two model legume species, Medicago truncatula and Lotus japonicus, and two crop species, Glycine max (soybean) and Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean). The authors also briefly consider the future of SNF genetics in the era of pan-genomics and genome editing.

This article finds that the transcript profile of the laccase gene ChLAC8 parallels the accumulation of C-lignin during seed coat development. Recombinant ChLAC8 oxidizes caffeyl and sinapyl alcohols, generating their corresponding dimers or trimers in vitro, but cannot oxidize coniferyl alcohol. The authors propose a basis for this substrate preference based on molecular modeling/docking experiments. Suppression of ChLAC8 expression led to significantly reduced C-lignin content in the seed coats of transgenic Cleome plants. Feeding of 13C-caffeyl alcohol to the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) caffeic acid o-methyltransferase mutant resulted in no incorporation of 13C into C-lignin, but expressing ChLAC8 in this genetic background led to appearance of C-lignin with >40% label incorporation. These results indicate that ChLAC8 is required for C-lignin polymerization and determines lignin composition when caffeyl alcohol is available.

Article investigating the transgenerational inheritance from both parental lines in zebrafish. Adult zebrafish were separated into female and male groups exposed for 21 days to either a control diet or to a diet containing water accommodated fractions of crude oil. To determine the maternal and paternal influence on their offspring, the authors evaluated responses from molecular to whole organismal levels in both generations.

This review article calls for establishing the CaMV 35S promoter as a quantitative reference standard for transcription activity in plants.

This article shows that that the coordinated read-write activity of the epigenetic machinery extends to the cytoskeleton, with PBRM1 in the PBAF chromatin remodeling complex reading microtubule methyl marks written by the SETD2 histone methyltransferase. This article opens a previously unknown window into how chromatin remodeler defects can drive disease via both epigenetic and cytoskeletal dysfunction.

This article is a review presenting examples of gene editing responsible for conferring both biotic and abiotic stresses in tomato simultaneously. The literature on using this powerful technology to improve fruit quality, yield, and nutritional aspects in tomato is highlighted.

Article investigating if the exposure to diesel exhaust particles (DEP) can alter commensal lung microbiota, thereby promoting alterations in the lung’s immune and inflammatory responses. This article also explores if diet contributes to the alteration of the commensal lung microbiome.

This article describes the creation and validation of a new microbiology concept inventory using the American Society for Microbiology Curriculum Guidelines.

This article investigates physiological responses of larval fish to interactions between anthropogenic crude oile xposure andn atural factors.

This paper reviews current and historical studies that have facilitated the implementation of management techniques on multiple scales.

This article contains an analysis of 16 microstatellite loci from 300 Greater Sage-Grouse individuals to assess genetic structure among populations in Wyoming and southeast Montana.

This article investigates the influence of water temperature on cardiac plasticity in developing mahi-mahi.

This article suggests that cold acclimation alters cardiac shunting patterns with an increased R-L shunt flow, achieved through reducing systemic resistance and increasing systemic blood flow.

This article compares Bayesian, Robust maximum likelihood, and asymptotically generalized least squares interval estimates of factor correlations in ordinal confirmatory factor analysis models for small sample data.