A neuronal coping mechanism linking stress-induced anxiety to motivation for reward.

Stress coping involves innate and active motivational behaviors that reduce anxiety under stressful situations. However, the neuronal bases directly linking stress, anxiety, and motivation are largely unknown. Here, we show that acute stressors activate mouse GABAergic neurons in the interpeduncular nucleus (IPN).

Retro Is Cool: Structure of the Versatile Retromer Complex.

In this issue of Structure, Kendall et al. (2020) reveal the cryo-EM structure of the mammalian retromer complex, which is essential in sorting membrane proteins in endosomes. The retromer heterotrimer can oligomerize in multiple conformations; this versatility is promoted by a flexible interface of electrostatic residues on the VPS35 subunit.

Off the wall: The rhyme and reason of hyphal morphogenesis.

The fungal cell wall building processes are the ultimate determinants of hyphal shape. In the main cell wall components, β-1,3-glucan and chitin, are synthesized by enzymes conveyed by specialized vesicles to the hyphal tip. These vesicles follow different secretory routes, which are delicately coordinated by cargo-specific Rab GTPases until their accumulation at the Spitzenkörper.

Exposing the Elusive Exocyst Structure.

A major challenge for a molecular understanding of membrane trafficking has been the elucidation of high-resolution structures of large, multisubunit tethering complexes that spatially and temporally control intracellular membrane fusion. Exocyst is a large hetero-octameric protein complex proposed to tether secretory vesicles at the plasma membrane to provide quality control of soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE)-mediated membrane fusion. Breakthroughs in methodologies, including sample preparation, biochemical characterization, fluorescence microscopy, and single-particle cryoelectron microscopy, are providing critical insights into the structure and function of the exocyst.

Hyphal ontogeny in : a model organism for all seasons.

Filamentous fungi have proven to be a better-suited model system than unicellular yeasts in analyses of cellular processes such as polarized growth, exocytosis, endocytosis, and cytoskeleton-based organelle traffic. For example, the filamentous fungus develops a variety of cellular forms. Studying the molecular basis of these forms has led to a better, yet incipient, understanding of polarized growth.

Role of BGT-1 and BGT-2, two predicted GPI-anchored glycoside hydrolases/glycosyltransferases, in cell wall remodeling in Neurospora crassa.

Neurospora crassa BGT-1 (NCU06381) and BGT-2 (NCU09175) are two putative glycoside hydrolases (GHs) with additional predicted glycosyltransferase activity and binding sites for a glycosyl phosphatidyl inositol (GPI) anchor that would facilitate their attachment to the plasma membrane (PM). To discern their role in key morphogenetic events during vegetative development of N. crassa, BGT-1 and BGT-2 were labeled with the green fluorescent protein (GFP).