Biology & Life Sciences

Editor’s Picks: Experimental Biology

Published April 19, 2018 Curated Collections

The Experimental Biology Conference, hosted jointly by five scientific societies, brings together investigators from diverse biomedical disciplines. This conference provides an exciting opportunity to celebrate scientific advances made possible by cross-disciplinary research. In the Editor’s Picks: Experimental Biology Collection, PLOS ONE Associate Editor Anna Simonin highlights research in subject areas related to those that will be discussed by the host societies at the 2018 Experimental Biology conference: anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology, investigative pathology, nutrition and pharmacology. Within these categories, we have selected articles from the PLOS journals that use a variety of experimental approaches to advance our scientific knowledge in these areas.

Image Credit: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002108

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Anatomy
Physiology
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Pathology
Nutrition
Pharmacology
Microbiome
Physiological Responses to Exercise
Metabolism, Metabolic Syndrome, & Aging
Immunity & Host-Pathogen Interactions

Anatomy

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10.1371/journal.pbio.2002811

PLOS Biology Structure, function, and control of the human musculoskeletal network
January 18, 2018 Andrew C. Murphy, Sarah F. Muldoon, David Baker, Adam Lastowka, Brittany Bennett, Muzhi Yang, Danielle S. Bassett
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10.1371/journal.pone.0170476

PLOS ONE Retinal vessel density from optical coherence tomography angiography to differentiate early glaucoma, pre-perimetric glaucoma and normal eyes
February 2, 2017 Handan Akil, Alex S. Huang, Brian A. Francis, Sirinivas R. Sadda, Vikas Chopra
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10.1371/journal.pone.0169432

PLOS ONE Nuclear Pore-Like Structures in a Compartmentalized Bacterium
February 1, 2017 Evgeny Sagulenko, Amanda Nouwens, Richard I. Webb, Kathryn Green, Benjamin Yee, Garry Morgan, Andrew Leis, Kuo-Chang Lee, Margaret K. Butler, Nicholas Chia, Uyen Thi Phuong Pham, Stinus Lindgreen, Ryan Catchpole, Anthony M. Poole, John A. Fuerst
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10.1371/journal.pone.0134093

PLOS ONE Generation of Functional Cardiomyocytes from Efficiently Generated Human iPSCs and a Novel Method of Measuring Contractility
August 3, 2015 Sheeja Rajasingh, Jayakumar Thangavel, Andras Czirok, Saheli Samanta, Katherine F. Roby, Buddhadeb Dawn, Johnson Rajasingh
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10.1371/journal.pone.0166108

PLOS ONE A Mighty Claw: Pinching Force of the Coconut Crab, the Largest Terrestrial Crustacean
November 23, 2016 Shin-ichiro Oka, Taketeru Tomita, Kei Miyamoto
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10.1371/journal.pbio.1002512

PLOS Biology Spatial Embedding and Wiring Cost Constrain the Functional Layout of the Cortical Network of Rodents and Primates
July 21, 2016 Szabolcs Horvát, Răzvan Gămănuț, Mária Ercsey-Ravasz, Loïc Magrou, Bianca Gămănuț, David C. Van Essen, Andreas Burkhalter, Kenneth Knoblauch, Zoltán Toroczkai, Henry Kennedy

Physiology

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10.1371/journal.pbio.2003992

PLOS Biology Mitochondria are physiologically maintained at close to 50 °C
January 25, 2018 Dominique Chrétien, Paule Bénit, Hyung-Ho Ha, Susanne Keipert, Riyad El-Khoury, Young-Tae Chang, Martin Jastroch, Howard T. Jacobs, Pierre Rustin, Malgorzata Rak
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10.1371/journal.pone.0185541

PLOS ONE CCL11 is increased in the CNS in chronic traumatic encephalopathy but not in Alzheimer’s disease
September 26, 2017 Jonathan D. Cherry, Thor D. Stein, Yorghos Tripodis, Victor E. Alvarez, Bertrand R. Huber, Rhoda Au, Patrick T. Kiernan, Daniel H. Daneshvar, Jesse Mez, Todd M. Solomon, Michael L. Alosco, Ann C. McKee
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10.1371/journal.pone.0180472

PLOS ONE Exercise before breakfast increases 24-h fat oxidation in female subjects
July 10, 2017 Kaito Iwayama, Ryosuke Kawabuchi, Yoshiharu Nabekura, Reiko Kurihara, Insung Park, Masashi Kobayashi, Hitomi Ogata, Momoko Kayaba, Naomi Omi, Makoto Satoh, Kumpei Tokuyama
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10.1371/journal.pbio.2001402

PLOS Biology Digital Health: Tracking Physiomes and Activity Using Wearable Biosensors Reveals Useful Health-Related Information
January 12, 2017 Xiao Li, Jessilyn Dunn, Denis Salins, Gao Zhou, Wenyu Zhou, Sophia Miryam Schüssler-Fiorenza Rose, Dalia Perelman, Elizabeth Colbert, Ryan Runge, Shannon Rego, Ria Sonecha, Somalee Datta, Tracey McLaughlin, Michael P. Snyder
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10.1371/journal.pone.0146087

PLOS ONE Ibuprofen Blunts Ventilatory Acclimatization to Sustained Hypoxia in Humans
January 4, 2016 Kemal Erdem Basaran, Michael Villongco, Baran Ho, Erika Ellis, Rachel Zarndt, Julie Antonova, Susan R. Hopkins, Frank L. Powell
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10.1371/journal.pone.0156803

PLOS ONE P2X6 Knockout Mice Exhibit Normal Electrolyte Homeostasis
June 2, 2016 Jeroen H. F. de Baaij, Andreas Kompatscher, Daan H. H. M. Viering, Caro Bos, René J. M. Bindels, Joost G. J. Hoenderop

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

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10.1371/journal.pone.0172176

PLOS ONE Novel molecular, structural and evolutionary characteristics of the phosphoketolases from bifidobacteria and Coriobacteriales
February 17, 2017 Radhey S. Gupta, Anish Nanda, Bijendra Khadka
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10.1371/journal.pone.0171661

PLOS ONE Role of the long non-coding RNA PVT1 in the dysregulation of the ceRNA-ceRNA network in human breast cancer
February 10, 2017 Federica Conte, Giulia Fiscon, Matteo Chiara, Teresa Colombo, Lorenzo Farina, Paola Paci
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10.1371/journal.pone.0146916

PLOS ONE Parallel Mapping of Antibiotic Resistance Alleles in Escherichia coli
January 15, 2016 Sophie J. Weiss, Thomas J. Mansell, Pooneh Mortazavi, Rob Knight, Ryan T. Gill
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10.1371/journal.pbio.1002552

PLOS Biology Sequence-Specific Targeting of Bacterial Resistance Genes Increases Antibiotic Efficacy
September 15, 2016 Dilay Hazal Ayhan, Yusuf Talha Tamer, Mohammed Akbar, Stacey M. Bailey, Michael Wong, Seth M. Daly, David E. Greenberg, Erdal Toprak

Pathology

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10.1371/journal.pone.0174572

PLOS ONE Excess atherosclerosis in systemic lupus erythematosus,—A matter of renal involvement: Case control study of 281 SLE patients and 281 individually matched population controls
April 17, 2017 Johanna T. Gustafsson, Marie Herlitz Lindberg, Iva Gunnarsson, Susanne Pettersson, Kerstin Elvin, John Öhrvik, Anders Larsson, Kerstin Jensen-Urstad, Elisabet Svenungsson
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10.1371/journal.pone.0149783

PLOS ONE Regulation of Inflammation by IL-17A and IL-17F Modulates Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Pathogenesis
February 19, 2016 Daniel A. Giles, Maria E. Moreno-Fernandez, Traci E. Stankiewicz, Monica Cappelletti, Stacey S. Huppert, Yoichiro Iwakura, Chen Dong, Shiva K. Shanmukhappa, Senad Divanovic
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10.1371/journal.pone.0165150

PLOS ONE Humanin Protects RPE Cells from Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Induced Apoptosis by Upregulation of Mitochondrial Glutathione
October 26, 2016 Douglas Matsunaga, Parameswaran G. Sreekumar, Keijiro Ishikawa, Hiroto Terasaki, Ernesto Barron, Pinchas Cohen, Ram Kannan, David R. Hinton

Nutrition

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10.1371/journal.pone.0187102

PLOS ONE Potential of golden potatoes to improve vitamin A and vitamin E status in developing countries
November 8, 2017 Chureeporn Chitchumroonchokchai, Gianfranco Diretto, Bruno Parisi, Giovanni Giuliano, Mark L. Failla
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10.1371/journal.pone.0181387

PLOS ONE A whey protein-based multi-ingredient nutritional supplement stimulates gains in lean body mass and strength in healthy older men: A randomized controlled trial
July 18, 2017 Kirsten E. Bell, Tim Snijders, Michael Zulyniak, Dinesh Kumbhare, Gianni Parise, Adrian Chabowski, Stuart M. Phillips
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10.1371/journal.pbio.2000862

PLOS Biology Commensal bacteria and essential amino acids control food choice behavior and reproduction
April 25, 2017 Ricardo Leitão-Gonçalves, Zita Carvalho-Santos, Ana Patrícia Francisco, Gabriela Tondolo Fioreze, Margarida Anjos, Célia Baltazar, Ana Paula Elias, Pavel M. Itskov, Matthew D. W. Piper, Carlos Ribeiro
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10.1371/journal.pone.0153990

PLOS ONE Effects of Genetic Loci Associated with Central Obesity on Adipocyte Lipolysis
April 22, 2016 Rona J. Strawbridge, Helmut Laumen, Anders Hamsten, Michaela Breier, Harald Grallert, Hans Hauner, Peter Arner, Ingrid Dahlman
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10.1371/journal.pone.0149479

PLOS ONE Thiamin and Riboflavin in Human Milk: Effects of Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplementation and Stage of Lactation on Vitamer Secretion and Contributions to Total Vitamin Content
February 17, 2016 Daniela Hampel, Setareh Shahab-Ferdows, Linda S. Adair, Margaret E. Bentley, Valerie L. Flax, Denise J. Jamieson, Sascha R. Ellington, Gerald Tegha, Charles S. Chasela, Debbie Kamwendo, Lindsay H. Allen

Pharmacology

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10.1371/journal.pbio.2001882

PLOS Biology Selective stalling of human translation through small-molecule engagement of the ribosome nascent chain
March 21, 2017 Nathanael G. Lintner, Kim F. McClure, Donna Petersen, Allyn T. Londregan, David W. Piotrowski, Liuqing Wei, Jun Xiao, Michael Bolt, Paula M. Loria, Bruce Maguire, Kieran F. Geoghegan, Austin Huang, Tim Rolph, Spiros Liras, Jennifer A. Doudna, Robert G. Dullea, Jamie H. D. Cate
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10.1371/journal.pone.0187191

PLOS ONE Metformin inhibits the development, and promotes the resensitization, of treatment-resistant breast cancer
December 6, 2017 Gerald Davies, Liubov Lobanova, Wojciech Dawicki, Gary Groot, John R. Gordon, Matthew Bowen, Troy Harkness, Terra Arnason
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10.1371/journal.pone.0179776

PLOS ONE Novel glycopolymer sensitizes Burkholderia cepacia complex isolates from cystic fibrosis patients to tobramycin and meropenem
June 29, 2017 Vidya P. Narayanaswamy, Scott Giatpaiboon, Shenda M. Baker, William P. Wiesmann, John J. LiPuma, Stacy M. Townsend
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10.1371/journal.pone.0147215

PLOS ONE When Quality Beats Quantity: Decision Theory, Drug Discovery, and the Reproducibility Crisis
February 10, 2016 Jack W. Scannell, Jim Bosley
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10.1371/journal.pone.0149984

PLOS ONE Deprescribing in Frail Older People: A Randomised Controlled Trial
March 4, 2016 Kathleen Potter, Leon Flicker, Amy Page, Christopher Etherton-Beer

Microbiome

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10.1371/journal.pone.0183898

PLOS ONE The nasal microbiota of dairy farmers is more complex than oral microbiota, reflects occupational exposure, and provides competition for staphylococci
August 29, 2017 Sanjay K. Shukla, Zhan Ye, Scott Sandberg, Iris Reyes, Thomas R. Fritsche, Matthew Keifer
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10.1371/journal.pone.0176555

PLOS ONE 16S rRNA gene sequencing and healthy reference ranges for 28 clinically relevant microbial taxa from the human gut microbiome
May 3, 2017 Daniel E. Almonacid, Francisco J. Ossandon, Yelena V. Budovskaya, Juan Pablo Cardenas, Elisabeth M. Bik, Audrey D. Goddard, Jessica Richman, Zachary S. Apte, Laurens Kraal
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10.1371/journal.pone.0173124

PLOS ONE Human norovirus binding to select bacteria representative of the human gut microbiota
March 3, 2017 Erin A. Almand, Matthew D. Moore, Janie Outlaw, Lee-Ann Jaykus
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10.1371/journal.pone.0140301

PLOS ONE Genome-Wide Association Studies of the Human Gut Microbiota
November 3, 2015 Emily R. Davenport, Darren A. Cusanovich, Katelyn Michelini, Luis B. Barreiro, Carole Ober, Yoav Gilad
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10.1371/journal.pone.0137347

PLOS ONE Phylogenetic and Metabolic Tracking of Gut Microbiota during Perinatal Development
September 2, 2015 Federica Del Chierico, Pamela Vernocchi, Andrea Petrucca, Paola Paci, Susana Fuentes, Giulia Praticò, Giorgio Capuani, Andrea Masotti, Sofia Reddel, Alessandra Russo, Cristina Vallone, Guglielmo Salvatori, Elsa Buffone, Fabrizio Signore, Giuliano Rigon, Andrea Dotta, Alfredo Miccheli, Willem M. de Vos, Bruno Dallapiccola, Lorenza Putignani
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10.1371/journal.pone.0134311

PLOS ONE Gut-Microbiota-Metabolite Axis in Early Renal Function Decline
August 4, 2015 Clara Barrios, Michelle Beaumont, Tess Pallister, Judith Villar, Julia K. Goodrich, Andrew Clark, Julio Pascual, Ruth E. Ley, Tim D. Spector, Jordana T. Bell, Cristina Menni

Physiological Responses to Exercise

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10.1371/journal.pone.0195219

PLOS ONE Core and skin temperature influences on the surface electromyographic responses to an isometric force and position task
March 29, 2018 Nico A. Coletta, Matthew M. Mallette, David A. Gabriel, Christopher J. Tyler, Stephen S. Cheung
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10.1371/journal.pone.0170547

PLOS ONE Aerobic exercise for Alzheimer’s disease: A randomized controlled pilot trial
February 10, 2017 Jill K. Morris, Eric D. Vidoni, David K. Johnson, Angela Van Sciver, Jonathan D. Mahnken, Robyn A. Honea, Heather M. Wilkins, William M. Brooks, Sandra A. Billinger, Russell H. Swerdlow, Jeffrey M. Burns
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10.1371/journal.pbio.1002279

PLOS Biology APOE Stabilization by Exercise Prevents Aging Neurovascular Dysfunction and Complement Induction
October 29, 2015 Ileana Soto, Leah C. Graham, Hannah J. Richter, Stephen N. Simeone, Jake E. Radell, Weronika Grabowska, W. Keith Funkhouser, Megan C. Howell, Gareth R. Howell
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10.1371/journal.pone.0134819

PLOS ONE Physical Activity Is Linked to Greater Moment-To-Moment Variability in Spontaneous Brain Activity in Older Adults
August 5, 2015 Agnieszka Z. Burzynska, Chelsea N. Wong, Michelle W. Voss, Gillian E. Cooke, Neha P. Gothe, Jason Fanning, Edward McAuley, Arthur F. Kramer
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10.1371/journal.pone.0131647

PLOS ONE Dose-Response of Aerobic Exercise on Cognition: A Community-Based, Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
July 9, 2015 Eric D. Vidoni, David K. Johnson, Jill K. Morris, Angela Van Sciver, Colby S. Greer, Sandra A. Billinger, Joseph E. Donnelly, Jeffrey M. Burns
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10.1371/journal.pone.0121138

PLOS ONE High Intensity Interval and Endurance Training Have Opposing Effects on Markers of Heart Failure and Cardiac Remodeling in Hypertensive Rats
March 24, 2015 Tanya M. Holloway, Darin Bloemberg, Mayne L. da Silva, Jeremy A. Simpson, Joe Quadrilatero, Lawrence L. Spriet

Metabolism, Metabolic Syndrome, & Aging

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10.1371/journal.pone.0182195

PLOS ONE Longer sleep is associated with lower BMI and favorable metabolic profiles in UK adults: Findings from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey
July 27, 2017 Gregory D. M. Potter, Janet E. Cade, Laura J. Hardie
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10.1371/journal.pone.0174099

PLOS ONE Dysbiosis and compositional alterations with aging in the gut microbiota of patients with heart failure
March 22, 2017 Takehiro Kamo, Wataru Suda, Akiko Saga-Kamo, Yu Shimizu, Hiroki Yagi, Qing Liu, Seitaro Nomura, Atsuhiko T. Naito, Norifumi Takeda, Mutsuo Harada, Haruhiro Toko, Hidetoshi Kumagai, Yuichi Ikeda, Eiki Takimoto, Jun-ichi Suzuki, Kenya Honda, Hidetoshi Morita, Masahira Hattori, Issei Komuro, Hiroshi Akazawa
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10.1371/journal.pone.0132117

PLOS ONE Increased Dietary Intake of Saturated Fatty Acid Heptadecanoic Acid (C17:0) Associated with Decreasing Ferritin and Alleviated Metabolic Syndrome in Dolphins
July 22, 2015 Stephanie K. Venn-Watson, Celeste Parry, Mark Baird, Sacha Stevenson, Kevin Carlin, Risa Daniels, Cynthia R. Smith, Richard Jones, Randall S. Wells, Sam Ridgway, Eric D. Jensen
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10.1371/journal.pone.0120413

PLOS ONE Intermittent Fasting Results in Tissue-Specific Changes in Bioenergetics and Redox State
March 6, 2015 Bruno Chausse, Marcel A. Vieira-Lara, Angélica B. Sanchez, Marisa H. G. Medeiros, Alicia J. Kowaltowski
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10.1371/journal.pgen.1004972

PLOS Genetics Mitochondrial and Cytoplasmic ROS Have Opposing Effects on Lifespan
February 11, 2015 Claire E. Schaar, Dylan J. Dues, Katie K. Spielbauer, Emily Machiela, Jason F. Cooper, Megan Senchuk, Siegfried Hekimi, Jeremy M. Van Raamsdonk

Immunity & Host-Pathogen Interactions

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10.1371/journal.pone.0181226

PLOS ONE Resistance to the crayfish plague, Aphanomyces astaci (Oomycota) in the endangered freshwater crayfish species, Austropotamobius pallipes
July 27, 2017 Laura Martín-Torrijos, Miquel Campos Llach, Quim Pou-Rovira, Javier Diéguez-Uribeondo
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10.1371/journal.pone.0173004

PLOS ONE Pili-like proteins of Akkermansia muciniphila modulate host immune responses and gut barrier function
March 1, 2017 Noora Ottman, Justus Reunanen, Marjolein Meijerink, Taija E. Pietilä, Veera Kainulainen, Judith Klievink, Laura Huuskonen, Steven Aalvink, Mikael Skurnik, Sjef Boeren, Reetta Satokari, Annick Mercenier, Airi Palva, Hauke Smidt, Willem M. de Vos, Clara Belzer
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10.1371/journal.pone.0135047

PLOS ONE Breastmilk-Saliva Interactions Boost Innate Immunity by Regulating the Oral Microbiome in Early Infancy
September 1, 2015 Saad S. Al-Shehri, Christine L. Knox, Helen G. Liley, David M. Cowley, John R. Wright, Michael G. Henman, Amitha K. Hewavitharana, Bruce G. Charles, Paul N. Shaw, Emma L. Sweeney, John A. Duley
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10.1371/journal.pbio.1002169

PLOS Biology Host–Pathogen Coevolution: The Selective Advantage of Bacillus thuringiensis Virulence and Its Cry Toxin Genes
June 4, 2015 Leila Masri, Antoine Branca, Anna E. Sheppard, Andrei Papkou, David Laehnemann, Patrick S. Guenther, Swantje Prahl, Manja Saebelfeld, Jacqueline Hollensteiner, Heiko Liesegang, Elzbieta Brzuszkiewicz, Rolf Daniel, Nicolaas K. Michiels, Rebecca D. Schulte, Joachim Kurtz, Philip Rosenstiel, Arndt Telschow, Erich Bornberg-Bauer, Hinrich Schulenburg
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10.1371/journal.pone.0120012

PLOS ONE A Novel Host-Proteome Signature for Distinguishing between Acute Bacterial and Viral Infections
March 18, 2015 Kfir Oved, Asi Cohen, Olga Boico, Roy Navon, Tom Friedman, Liat Etshtein, Or Kriger, Ellen Bamberger, Yura Fonar, Renata Yacobov, Ron Wolchinsky, Galit Denkberg, Yaniv Dotan, Amit Hochberg, Yoram Reiter, Moti Grupper, Isaac Srugo, Paul Feigin, Malka Gorfine, Irina Chistyakov, Ron Dagan, Adi Klein, Israel Potasman, Eran Eden
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10.1371/journal.pone.0117993

PLOS ONE Identification of Genetic Determinants of the Sexual Dimorphism in CNS Autoimmunity
February 11, 2015 Frank Bearoff, Laure K. Case, Dimitry N. Krementsov, Emma H. Wall, Naresha Saligrama, Elizabeth P. Blankenhorn, Cory Teuscher