The genome sequence of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe grisea

Magnaporthe grisea is the most destructive pathogen of rice worldwide and the principal model organism for elucidating the molecular basis of fungal disease of plants. Here, we report the draft sequence of the M. grisea genome. Analysis of the gene set provides an insight into the adaptations required by a fungus to cause disease. The genome encodes a large and diverse set of secreted proteins, including those defined by unusual carbohydrate-binding domains. This fungus also possesses an expanded family of G-protein-coupled receptors, several new virulence-associated genes and large suites of enzymes involved in secondary metabolism. Consistent with a role in fungal pathogenesis, the expression of several of these genes is upregulated during the early stages of infection-related development. The M. grisea genome has been subject to invasion and proliferation of active transposable elements, reflecting the clonal nature of this fungus imposed by widespread rice cultivation.     

An Archaean heavy bombardment from a destabilized extension of the asteroid belt

The barrage of comets and asteroids that produced many young lunar basins (craters over 300 kilometres in diameter) has frequently been called the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB). Many assume the LHB ended about 3.7 to 3.8 billion years (Gyr) ago with the formation of Orientale basin. Evidence for LHB-sized blasts on Earth, however, extend into the Archaean and early Proterozoic eons, in the form of impact spherule beds: globally distributed ejecta layers created by Chicxulub-sized or larger cratering events4. At least seven spherule beds have been found that formed between 3.23 and 3.47?Gyr ago, four between 2.49 and 2.63?Gyr ago, and one between 1.7 and 2.1?Gyr ago. Here we report that the LHB lasted much longer than previously thought, with most late impactors coming from the E belt, an extended and now largely extinct portion of the asteroid belt between 1.7 and 2.1 astronomical units from Earth. This region was destabilized by late giant planet migration. E-belt survivors now make up the high-inclination Hungaria asteroids. Scaling from the observed Hungaria asteroids, we find that E-belt projectiles made about ten lunar basins between 3.7 and 4.1?Gyr ago. They also produced about 15 terrestrial basins between 2.5 and 3.7?Gyr ago, as well as around 70 and four Chicxulub-sized or larger craters on the Earth and Moon, respectively, between 1.7 and 3.7?Gyr ago. These rates reproduce impact spherule bed and lunar crater constraints.     

CD36 is a sensor of diacylglycerides

Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) is required for the recognition of numerous molecular components of bacteria, fungi and protozoa. The breadth of the ligand repertoire seems unusual, even if one considers that TLR2 may form heteromers with TLRs 1 and 6 (ref. 12), and it is likely that additional proteins serve as adapters for TLR2 activation. Here we show that an N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea-induced nonsense mutation of Cd36 (oblivious) causes a recessive immunodeficiency phenotype in which macrophages are insensitive to the R-enantiomer of MALP-2 (a diacylated bacterial lipopeptide) and to lipoteichoic acid. Homozygous mice are hypersusceptible to Staphylococcus aureus infection. Cd36(obl) macrophages readily detect S-MALP-2, PAM(2)CSK(4), PAM(3)CSK(4) and zymosan, revealing that some--but not all--TLR2 ligands are dependent on CD36. Already known as a receptor for endogenous molecules, CD36 is also a selective and nonredundant sensor of microbial diacylglycerides that signal via the TLR2/6 heterodimer.     

Alignment of the stellar spin with the orbits of a three-planet system

The Sun's equator and the planets' orbital planes are nearly aligned, which is presumably a consequence of their formation from a single spinning gaseous disk. For exoplanetary systems this well-aligned configuration is not guaranteed: dynamical interactions may tilt planetary orbits, or stars may be misaligned with the protoplanetary disk through chaotic accretion , magnetic interactions or torques from neighbouring stars. Indeed, isolated 'hot Jupiters' are often misaligned and even orbiting retrograde. Here we report an analysis of transits of planets over starspots on the Sun-like star Kepler-30 (ref. 8), and show that the orbits of its three planets are aligned with the stellar equator. Furthermore, the orbits are aligned with one another to within a few degrees. This configuration is similar to that of our Solar System, and contrasts with the isolated hot Jupiters. The orderly alignment seen in the Kepler-30 system suggests that high obliquities are confined to systems that experienced disruptive dynamical interactions. Should this be corroborated by observations of other coplanar multi-planet systems, then star-disk misalignments would be ruled out as the explanation for the high obliquities of hot Jupiters, and dynamical interactions would be implicated as the origin of hot Jupiters.     

Polyreactivity increases the apparent affinity of anti-HIV antibodies by heteroligation

During immune responses, antibodies are selected for their ability to bind to foreign antigens with high affinity, in part by their ability to undergo homotypic bivalent binding. However, this type of binding is not always possible. For example, the small number of gp140 glycoprotein spikes displayed on the surface of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disfavours homotypic bivalent antibody binding. Here we show that during the human antibody response to HIV, somatic mutations that increase antibody affinity also increase breadth and neutralizing potency. Surprisingly, the responding naive and memory B cells produce polyreactive antibodies, which are capable of bivalent heteroligation between one high-affinity anti-HIV-gp140 combining site and a second low-affinity site on another molecular structure on HIV. Although cross-reactivity to self-antigens or polyreactivity is strongly selected against during B-cell development, it is a common serologic feature of certain infections in humans, including HIV, Epstein-Barr virus and hepatitis C virus. Seventy-five per cent of the 134 monoclonal anti-HIV-gp140 antibodies cloned from six patients with high titres of neutralizing antibodies are polyreactive. Despite the low affinity of the polyreactive combining site, heteroligation demonstrably increases the apparent affinity of polyreactive antibodies to HIV.     

Sequence of Plasmodium falciparum chromosomes 2, 10, 11 and 14

The mosquito-borne malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum kills an estimated 0.7-2.7 million people every year, primarily children in sub-Saharan Africa. Without effective interventions, a variety of factors-including the spread of parasites resistant to antimalarial drugs and the increasing insecticide resistance of mosquitoes-may cause the number of malaria cases to double over the next two decades. To stimulate basic research and facilitate the development of new drugs and vaccines, the genome of Plasmodium falciparum clone 3D7 has been sequenced using a chromosome-by-chromosome shotgun strategy. We report here the nucleotide sequences of chromosomes 10, 11 and 14, and a re-analysis of the chromosome 2 sequence. These chromosomes represent about 35% of the 23-megabase P. falciparum genome.     

Proof and evolutionary analysis of ancient genome duplication in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Whole-genome duplication followed by massive gene loss and specialization has long been postulated as a powerful mechanism of evolutionary innovation. Recently, it has become possible to test this notion by searching complete genome sequence for signs of ancient duplication. Here, we show that the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae arose from ancient whole-genome duplication, by sequencing and analysing Kluyveromyces waltii, a related yeast species that diverged before the duplication. The two genomes are related by a 1:2 mapping, with each region of K. waltii corresponding to two regions of S. cerevisiae, as expected for whole-genome duplication. This resolves the long-standing controversy on the ancestry of the yeast genome, and makes it possible to study the fate of duplicated genes directly. Strikingly, 95% of cases of accelerated evolution involve only one member of a gene pair, providing strong support for a specific model of evolution, and allowing us to distinguish ancestral and derived functions.     

Articulated Palaeozoic fossil with 17 plates greatly expands disparity of early chitons

Modern chitons (Mollusca: Polyplacophora) possess a highly conserved skeleton of eight shell plates (valves) surrounded by spicules or scales, and fossil evidence suggests that the chiton skeleton has changed little since the first appearance of the class in the Late Cambrian period (about 500 million years before present, Myr bp). However, the Palaeozoic problematic taxon Multiplacophora, in spite of having a more complex skeleton, shares several derived characters with chitons. The enigmatic status of the Multiplacophora is due in part to the fact that its members had an exoskeleton of numerous calcium carbonate valves that usually separated after death. A new articulated specimen from the Carboniferous period (about 335 Myr bp) of Indiana reveals that multiplacophorans had a dorsal protective surface composed of head and tail valves, left and right columns of overlapping valves (five on each side), and a central zone of five smaller valves, all surrounded by an annulus of large spines. Here we describe and name the articulated specimen and present evidence that multiplacophorans were chitons. Thus the highly conserved body plan of living chitons belies the broad disparity of this clade during the Palaeozoic era.