Publication highlights

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Explore a selection of research case studies from the past five years.

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Researchers at the Crick are tackling the big questions about human health and disease, and new findings are published every week.

Our faculty have picked some of the most significant papers published by Crick scientists, all of which are freely available thanks to our open science policy.

Structure of V1H

Researchers discover how cells raise the alarm when damaged or infected

Our cells need acidic compartments for digestion and recycling of nutrients. Acid is pumped in by a complex assembly of proteins called the V-ATPase. But what happens when our cells get damaged? The acid leaks out and the cell has to respond. Researchers at the Crick discovered how the V-ATPase proton pump itself sounds the alarm: one protein in the complex recruits a crucial part of the self-eating (autophagy) machinery. They think this is especially important during infection since some bacteria target this pathway, and many viruses like influenza trigger it.

The V-ATPase/ATG16L1 axis is controlled by the V1H subunit

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Published in Molecular Cell

Published

Dissected female (left) and male (right) guts of adult Drosophila. The tracheal branches that normally hold gut loops together are visualised in white.

Organ organisation: why sex-based differences in the size, shape, and position of the gut matter

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute, the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) and Imperial College London have revealed differences in the development, positioning, and ongoing maintenance of organs between male and female Drosophila flies that have consequences for healthy organ function. The researchers acquired 3D scans of many thousands of flies using a microCT scanner and outlined a complex dialogue between the gut and its vessels, that actively keep the gut looped in adult animals, and also leads to different shaped guts in males and females. Using genetic techniques, they relaxed the shape of the gut, and made female flies with a male gut shape. These flies had a reduced ability to produce offspring. The researchers believe that changing gut shape or position might interfere with the messages the intestine exchanges with other organs like the gonads. They are now applying the methods they have developed in flies to human MRI scans, to quantify the 3D features of our own intestinal tract.

The sex of organ geometry

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Published in Nature

Published

The brain of a fly larva showing in blue all the neurons, in yellow all of the support cells (glia) and in purple the neurons transmiting odour information to memory centers.

Tsetse flies choose to give birth on leaf litter

Unlike most insects, which lay eggs, pregnant tsetse flies (Glossina sp.) give birth to a single larva that rapidly burrows into the soil to pupate. In nature, pupae are often found clustered together, and laboratory-based studies suggest that pregnant tsetse females are attracted to suitable larviposition sites - places to give birth - by pupae-released pheromones. However, this effect could not be reproduced when tested in the flies' natural environment. So how do tsetse mothers recognise appropriate larviposition sites?

To resolve the discrepancy in the data, the researchers designed laboratory experiments that mimicked the natural situation as closely as possible. Our results show that under these conditions, females strongly prefer leaf litter-covered sand over bare sand, whereas the presence of pupae or pupal pheromones does not affect female choice. This indicates that larviposition site selection is not guided by pupal pheromones; rather, the type of ground cover (e.g. leaf litter) is the predominant cue used by pregnant females to select birthing sites. The study highlights the importance of taking the animal's ecology and natural environment into account when designing laboratory experiments.

Tsetse flies (Glossina morsitans morsitans) choose birthing sites guided by substrate cues with no evidence for a role of pheromones

Published in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences

Published

How mutations change the sense of smell

A study led by Lucia Prieto-Godino has investigated evolutionary changes in ligand preference that occur in a family of olfactory receptors. The work found that different receptors’ odour preferences are linked to particular protein mutations. Some of these mutations appear at the same position over evolutionary distances, highlighting of a “hot-spot” that has a major role in determining ligand preference.

Molecular reconstruction of recurrent evolutionary switching in olfactory receptor specificity

Published in eLife

Published

COVID testing

Pandemic peak SARS-CoV-2 infection and seroconversion rates in London frontline health-care workers

This important paper showed very high levels of infection amongst healthcare workers in a local hospital. It has influenced government policy – asymptomatic healthcare workers are to be screened as per our recommendation (announced October 12th).

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Published in The Lancet

Published

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Research case studies 

Explore a selection of recent case studies that spotlight particular areas of research at the Crick.