Chemical investigation of hassium (element 108)

The periodic table provides a classification of the chemical properties of the elements. But for the heaviest elements, the transactinides, this role of the periodic table reaches its limits because increasingly strong relativistic effects on the valence electron shells can induce deviations from known trends in chemical properties. In the case of the first two transactinides, elements 104 and 105, relativistic effects do indeed influence their chemical properties, whereas elements 106 and 107 both behave as expected from their position within the periodic table. Here we report the chemical separation and characterization of only seven detected atoms of element 108 (hassium, Hs), which were generated as isotopes (269)Hs (refs 8, 9) and (270)Hs (ref. 10) in the fusion reaction between (26)Mg and (248)Cm. The hassium atoms are immediately oxidized to a highly volatile oxide, presumably HsO(4), for which we determine an enthalpy of adsorption on our detector surface that is comparable to the adsorption enthalpy determined under identical conditions for the osmium oxide OsO(4). These results provide evidence that the chemical properties of hassium and its lighter homologue osmium are similar, thus confirming that hassium exhibits properties as expected from its position in group 8 of the periodic table.     

Increasing dominance of large lianas in Amazonian forests

Ecological orthodoxy suggests that old-growth forests should be close to dynamic equilibrium, but this view has been challenged by recent findings that neotropical forests are accumulating carbon and biomass, possibly in response to the increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. However, it is unclear whether the recent increase in tree biomass has been accompanied by a shift in community composition. Such changes could reduce or enhance the carbon storage potential of old-growth forests in the long term. Here we show that non-fragmented Amazon forests are experiencing a concerted increase in the density, basal area and mean size of woody climbing plants (lianas). Over the last two decades of the twentieth century the dominance of large lianas relative to trees has increased by 1.7-4.6% a year. Lianas enhance tree mortality and suppress tree growth, so their rapid increase implies that the tropical terrestrial carbon sink may shut down sooner than current models suggest. Predictions of future tropical carbon fluxes will need to account for the changing composition and dynamics of supposedly undisturbed forests.     

A naturally occurring MTA1 variant sequesters oestrogen receptor-alpha in the cytoplasm

Oestrogen receptor (ER) is a good prognostic marker for the treatment of breast cancers. Upregulation of metastatic tumour antigen 1 (MTA1) is associated with the invasiveness and metastatic potential of several human cancers and acts as a co-repressor of nuclear ER-alpha. Here we identify a naturally occurring short form of MTA1 (MTA1s) that contains a previously unknown sequence of 33 amino acids with an ER-binding motif, Leu-Arg-Ile-Leu-Leu (LRILL). MTA1s localizes in the cytoplasm, sequesters ER in the cytoplasm, and enhances non-genomic responses of ER. Deleting the LRILL motif in MTA1s abolishes its co-repressor function and its interaction with ER, and restores nuclear localization of ER. Dysregulation of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 in breast cancer cells enhances the expression of MTA1s and the cytoplasmic sequestration of ER. Expression of MTA1s in breast cancer cells prevents ligand-induced nuclear translocation of ER and stimulates malignant phenotypes. MTA1s expression is increased in human breast tumours with no or low nuclear ER. The regulation of the cellular localization of ER by MTA1s represents a mechanism for redirecting nuclear receptor signalling by nuclear exclusion.     

Rapid accretion and early core formation on asteroids and the terrestrial planets from Hf-W chronometry

The timescales and mechanisms for the formation and chemical differentiation of the planets can be quantified using the radioactive decay of short-lived isotopes. Of these, the (182)Hf-to-(182)W decay is ideally suited for dating core formation in planetary bodies. In an earlier study, the W isotope composition of the Earth's mantle was used to infer that core formation was late (> or = 60 million years after the beginning of the Solar System) and that accretion was a protracted process. The correct interpretation of Hf-W data depends, however, on accurate knowledge of the initial abundance of (182)Hf in the Solar System and the W isotope composition of chondritic meteorites. Here we report Hf-W data for carbonaceous and H chondrite meteorites that lead to timescales of accretion and core formation significantly different from those calculated previously. The revised ages for Vesta, Mars and Earth indicate rapid accretion, and show that the timescale for core formation decreases with decreasing size of the planet. We conclude that core formation in the terrestrial planets and the formation of the Moon must have occurred during the first approximately 30 million years of the life of the Solar System.     

Consumer versus resource control of species diversity and ecosystem functioning

A key question in ecology is which factors control species diversity in a community. Two largely separate groups of ecologists have emphasized the importance of productivity or resource supply, and consumers or physical disturbance, respectively. These variables show unimodal relationships with diversity when manipulated in isolation. Recent multivariate models, however, predict that these factors interact, such that the disturbance diversity relationship depends on productivity, and vice versa. We tested these models in marine food webs, using field manipulations of nutrient resources and consumer pressure on rocky shores of contrasting productivity. Here we show that the effects of consumers and nutrients on diversity consistently depend on each other, and that the direction of their effects and peak diversity shift between sites of low and high productivity. Factorial meta-analysis of published experiments confirms these results across widely varying aquatic communities. Furthermore, our experiments demonstrate that these patterns extend to important ecosystem functions such as carbon storage and nitrogen retention. This suggests that human impacts on nutrient supply and food-web structure have strong and interdependent effects on species diversity and ecosystem functioning, and must therefore be managed together.     

Na(+)/H(+ ) exchanger regulatory factor 2 directs parathyroid hormone 1 receptor signalling

The parathyroid hormone 1 receptor (PTH1R) is a class II G-protein-coupled receptor. PTH1R agonists include both PTH, a hormone that regulates blood calcium and phosphate, and PTH-related protein (PTHrP), a paracrine/autocrine factor that is essential for development, particularly of the skeleton. Adenylyl cyclase activation is thought to be responsible for most cellular responses to PTH and PTHrP, although many actions appear to be independent of adenylyl cyclase. Here we show that the PTH1R binds to Na(+)/H(+) exchanger regulatory factors (NHERF) 1 and 2 through a PDZ-domain interaction in vitro and in PTH target cells. NHERF2 simultaneously binds phospholipase C beta 1 and an atypical, carboxyl-terminal PDZ consensus motif, ETVM, of the PTH1R through PDZ1 and PDZ2, respectively. PTH treatment of cells that express the NHERF2 PTH1R complex markedly activates phospholipase C beta and inhibits adenylyl cyclase through stimulation of inhibitory G proteins (G(i/o) proteins). NHERF-mediated assembly of PTH1R and phospholipase C beta is a unique mechanism to regulate PTH signalling in cells and membranes of polarized cells that express NHERF, which may account for many tissue- and cell-specific actions of PTH/PTHrP and may also be relevant to signalling by many G-protein-coupled receptors.     

VEGF regulates haematopoietic stem cell survival by an internal autocrine loop mechanism

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a principal regulator of blood vessel formation and haematopoiesis, but the mechanisms by which VEGF differentially regulates these processes have been elusive. Here we describe a regulatory loop by which VEGF controls survival of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). We observed a reduction in survival, colony formation and in vivo repopulation rates of HSCs after ablation of the VEGF gene in mice. Intracellularly acting small-molecule inhibitors of VEGF receptor (VEGFR) tyrosine kinase dramatically reduced colony formation of HSCs, thus mimicking deletion of the VEGF gene. However, blocking VEGF by administering a soluble VEGFR-1, which acts extracellularly, induced only minor effects. These findings support the involvement in HSC survival of a VEGF-dependent internal autocrine loop mechanism (that is, the mechanism is resistant to inhibitors that fail to penetrate the intracellular compartment). Not only ligands selective for VEGF and VEGFR-2 but also VEGFR-1 agonists rescued survival and repopulation of VEGF-deficient HSCs, revealing a function for VEGFR-1 signalling during haematopoiesis.     

T-box gene tbx5 is essential for formation of the pectoral limb bud

The T-box genes Tbx4 and Tbx5 have been shown to have key functions in the specification of the identity of the vertebrate forelimb (Tbx5) and hindlimb (Tbx4). Here we show that in zebrafish, Tbx5 has an additional early function that precedes the formation of the limb bud itself. Functional knockdown of zebrafish tbx5 through the use of an antisense oligonucleotide resulted in a failure to initiate fin bud formation, leading to the complete loss of pectoral fins. The function of the tbx5 gene in the development of zebrafish forelimbs seems to involve the directed migration of individual lateral-plate mesodermal cells into the future limb-bud-producing region. The primary defect seen in the tbx5-knockdown phenotype is similar to the primary defects described in known T-box-gene mutants such as the spadetail mutant of zebrafish and the Brachyury mutant of the mouse, which both similarly exhibit an altered migration of mesodermal cells. A common function for many of the T-box genes might therefore be in mediating the proper migration and/or changes in adhesive properties of early embryonic cells.