Nature Chemical Biology

RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Switching on germination    p847  Caitlin Deane  doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0358-7  Breathing the same air    p847  Grant Miura  doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0359-6  Lights, enzyme, action!    p847  Caitlin Deane  doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0360-0  Stick it to proteins    p847  Mirella Bucci  doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0361-z
NEWS & VIEWS
Site-specific m6A editing    pp848 - 849  Jiangbo Wei & Chuan He  doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0349-8  The N6-methyladenosine modification on RNA affects almost all steps of RNA metabolism. A new approach, using the CRISPR-based technology to modulate m6A level in mRNA, enables direct functional interrogation of site-specific m6A. T(oo)bAd    pp849 - 850  Priscille Brodin & Eik Hoffmann  doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0347-x  An unusual terpene nucleoside, 1-TbAd, made by pathogenic mycobacteria acts as an antacid to block mycobacterial degradation in host cell vacuoles. The antacid activity acts to reduce acidity by neutralizing the pH of these degradative cell organelles. Polar-opposite fates    pp850 - 852  Helena R. Ma & Lingchong You  doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0337-z  Asymmetric cell division, which generates daughter cells with distinct characteristics, is a mechanism for creating complex systems through cellular differentiation. Two studies in this issue develop synthetic platforms that program spatial localization of genetic material or signaling molecules to enable asymmetric cell division in Escherichia coli.
REVIEW ARTICLES
Emerging structural insights into glycosyltransferase-mediated synthesis of glycans    pp853 - 864  Kelley W. Moremen & Robert S. Haltiwanger  doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0350-2  Analysis of recent X-ray crystallography data on eukaryotic glycosyltransferases in complex with acceptor and donor substrates reveals structural features that govern substrate specificity and glycosylation site selection.
ARTICLES
Programmable RNA N6-methyladenosine editing by CRISPR-Cas9 conjugates    pp865 - 871  Xiao-Min Liu, Jun Zhou, Yuanhui Mao, Quanquan Ji & Shu-Bing Qian  doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0327-1  Fusion of Cas9 with m6A writers METTL3 and METTL14 or eraser ALKBH5 enables site-specific writing or erasing of RNA m6A modifications in mammalian cells and investigation of individual m6A modification-mediated function.
A PCBP1–BolA2 chaperone complex delivers iron for cytosolic [2Fe–2S] cluster assembly    pp872 - 881  Sarju J. Patel, Avery G. Frey, Daniel J. Palenchar, Sooraj Achar, Kimberly Z. Bulloughet al.  doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0330-6  The iron chaperone poly(rC)-binding protein 1 (PCBP1) coordinates ferrous iron via its KH3 domain and, together with BolA2 and glutathione, forms a complex that is required for the assembly of [2Fe–2S] clusters on the cytosolic BolA2–Glrx3 chaperone.
A split CRISPR–Cpf1 platform for inducible genome editing and gene activation    pp882 - 888  Yuta Nihongaki, Takahiro Otabe, Yoshibumi Ueda & Moritoshi Sato doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0338-y  Split Cpf1 pairs are identified to enable chemical- and light-induced genome editing via dimerization. Another pair of split Cpf1 can be used to activate gene expression with high efficiency in cells and in mice.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis releases an antacid that remodels phagosomes    pp889 - 899  Jeffrey Buter, Tan-Yun Cheng, Marwan Ghanem, Anita E. Grootemaat, Sahadevan Raman et al.  doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0336-0  Buter et al. elucidated the biological function of the terpene nucleoside 1-TbAd, which is made abundantly by virulent but not avirulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains, and demonstrate that 1-TbAd regulates the pH and function of host macrophage endolysosomes.
2-Hydroxyacyl-CoA lyase catalyzes acyloin condensation for one-carbon bioconversion    pp900 - 906  Alexander Chou, James M. Clomburg, Shuai Qian & Ramon Gonzalez doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0328-0  A bacterial 2-hydroxyacyl-CoA lyase catalyzes ligation of carbonyl-containing molecules of different chain lengths with formyl-CoA to produce elongated 2-hydroxyacyl-CoAs, enabling a one-carbon bioconversion pathway with formaldehyde as a substrate.
Toll-like receptor mediated inflammation requires FASN-dependent MYD88 palmitoylation    pp907 - 916  Young-Chan Kim, Sang Eun Lee, Somi K. Kim, Hyun-Duk Jang, Injoo Hwang et al.  doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0344-0  Inhibition of fatty acid synthase, FASN, blocks innate immune signaling through TLR/MyD88 in neutrophils by blocking palmitoylation of MyD88 by palmitoyltransferase zDHHC6 and improves outcomes in two mouse models of sepsis.
A synthetic system for asymmetric cell division in Escherichia coli    pp917 - 924  Sara Molinari, David L. Shis, Shyam P. Bhakta, James Chappell, Oleg A. Igoshin et al. doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0339-x  The chromosomal partitioning system (par) of Caulobacter crescentus was repurposed to create an inducible genetic circuit for asymmetric plasmid partitioning and cell division in Escherichia coli.
Inducible asymmetric cell division and cell differentiation in a bacterium   pp925 - 931  Nikolai V. Mushnikov, Anastasia Fomicheva, Mark Gomelsky & Grant R. Bowman doi:10.1038/s41589-019-0340-4  Small molecule or light-inducible gene circuits in Escherichia coli enable asymmetric cell pole localization of diguanylate phosphodiesterase and facilitate asymmetric cell division regulated by c-di-GMP-responsive transcription factors.