Table of Contents
INSIDE JEB
OUTSIDE JEB
REVIEWS
- Evolution of neuropeptide signalling systems
Summary: A review of the revolutionary advances in our knowledge of the evolution of neuropeptide signalling systems that have been enabled by comparative genomics and neuropeptide receptor deorphanisation.
- The long and the short of it – a perspective on peptidergic regulation of circuits and behaviour
Summary: Neuropeptides are the largest class of neuromodulators in nervous systems. Here we review the general principles and mechanistic insights that have emerged from studies of various animal models and discuss some of the outstanding major challenges.
- New techniques, applications and perspectives in neuropeptide research
Summary: This Review discusses a range of molecular aspects of neuropeptide biology and integrates techniques, model organisms and applications, highlighting new perspectives enabled by technical advancements in neuropeptide research.
RESEARCH ARTICLES
- Reducing gravity takes the bounce out of running
Highlighted Article: During running, humans take higher leaps in normal gravity than in reduced gravity, in order to optimally balance the competing costs of stance and leg-swing work.
- Honey bee (Apis mellifera) sociability and nestmate affiliation are dependent on the social environment experienced post-eclosion
Summary: Sociability and nestmate affiliation in honey bees are influenced by social experience and exposure to the hive environment in early adult life.
- Directionality of nose-emitted echolocation calls from bats without a nose leaf (Plecotus auritus)
Summary: Nose-emitting bats without an obvious means of emitting a narrow bio-sonar beam still emit a highly directional beam, potentially by emitting sound through the mouth as well as the nostrils.
- Exposure to CO2 influences metabolism, calcification and gene expression of the thecosome pteropod Limacina retroversa
Summary: Severity and duration of CO2 exposure influence calcification and respiration differentially in Limacina retroversa, as shown by organismal and gene expression responses, while captivity interactively influences respiration and gene expression.
- Eating when ill is risky: immune defense impairs food detoxification in the caterpillar Manduca sexta
Editors' Choice: Appetite loss during illness occurs in all animals. It may be an important protection against food toxins. Mobilizing immune defense depresses the ability to detoxify food (as shown in caterpillars).
- Visual associative learning in wood ants
Summary: Ants form an associative memory of a visual cue paired with a reward through classical conditioning. This allows visual associative learning to be studied in fixed rather than free-moving ants.
- GABAA receptors activate fish feeding behaviour via two distinct functional pathways
Summary: Behavioural tests combined with cellular and molecular electrophysiology clarify molecular mechanisms that control fish feeding, revealing two partially competitive mechanisms originating from the same neural receptor.
- Conversion efficiency of α-linolenic acid to omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids in aerial insectivore chicks
Highlighted Article: A stable-isotope-labeled tracer reveals the mechanism for omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) limitation in a wild avian insectivore, showing that HUFAs are an ecologically essential nutrient.
- Ontogeny and morphometrics of the gills and swim bladder of air-breathing striped catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus
Summary: The paradox of how an active tropical fish can meet its oxygen requirements using gills with an apparently small surface area is explained.
CORRECTIONS
This issue
Other journals from The Company of Biologists
Editors’ choice – Breath-holding locusts don't keep spiracles open when they exhale
Photo credit: Stav Talal.
Diapausing butterfly larvae keep their spiracles open while exhaling during discontinuous gas exchange; however, a recent study from Stav Talal and co-workers reveals that adult locusts do not. Instead they repeatedly open and close their spiracles in time with contractions of the abdominal muscle to expel air from the body.
JEB in the news – Sheep hair curl secret in cells
Photo credit: Anita Grosvenor.
Why does hair curl? By looking at curly merino sheep wool, scientists from New Zealand and Japan have discovered that the hair cells lining the outside of the curl are long (orthocortical cells) while the cells on the inside of the curl are another type (paracortical cells), which are short, making the hair bend to give it a curl. This JEB Research Article was reported in the New York Times and ABC news.
Commentary – Robotics-inspired biology
Robotic devices are increasingly generating ideas for experiments on living animals. Nick Gravish and George V. Lauder explore this new twist on the inspiration that biologists have traditionally taken from mechanical systems.
JEB symposium 2017 – The biology of fat
Delegates at the 2017 Journal of Experimental Biology symposium ‘The biology of fat’ share their experiences and highlights of the meeting. We have also recently published a special issue featuring review articles based on the talks at this meeting.