Adapting to change: insights from new organisms in cell and developmental biology.

We are living in an era of environmental change with undeniable parallels with past mass extinctions. To improve our understanding of planetary health and resilience, we must expand our research beyond traditional lab models. Forecasting the future of biological diversity relies on extrapolation of past trends, which necessitates the study of a wider range of biological systems.

MASTER-NAADP: a membrane permeable precursor of the Ca mobilizing second messenger NAADP.

Upon stimulation of membrane receptors, nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP) is formed as second messenger within seconds and evokes Ca signaling in many different cell types. Here, to directly stimulate NAADP signaling, MASTER-NAADP, a Membrane permeAble, STabilized, bio-rEversibly pRotected precursor of NAADP is synthesized and release of its active NAADP mimetic, benzoic acid C-nucleoside, 2'-phospho-3'F-adenosine-diphosphate, by esterase digestion is confirmed. In the presence of NAADP receptor HN1L/JPT2 (hematological and neurological expressed 1-like protein, HN1L, also known as Jupiter microtubule-associated homolog 2, JPT2), this active NAADP mimetic releases Ca and increases the open probability of type 1 ryanodine receptor.

Ca puffs underlie adhesion-triggered Ca microdomains in T cells.

Ca signalling is pivotal in T cell activation, an essential process in adaptive immune responses. Key to this activation are Ca microdomains, which are transient increases in cytosolic Ca concentration occurring within narrow regions between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the plasma membrane (PM), lasting a few tens of milliseconds. Adhesion Dependent Ca Microdomains (ADCM) rely on store-operated Ca entry (SOCE) via the ORAI/STIM system.

The cellular basis of feeding-dependent body size plasticity in sea anemones.

Many animals share a lifelong capacity to adapt their growth rates and body sizes to changing environmental food supplies. However, the cellular and molecular basis underlying this plasticity remains only poorly understood. We therefore studied how the sea anemones Nematostella vectensis and Aiptasia (Exaiptasia pallida) respond to feeding and starvation.

Linking cell biology and ecology to understand coral symbiosis evolution.

Understanding the evolution of coral endosymbiosis requires a predictive framework that integrates life-history theory and ecology with cell biology. The time has come to bridge disciplines and use a model systems approach to achieve this aim.