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1. A century of statistical Ecology

   https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4283  

   Gilbert, Neil_A; Amaral, Bruna_R; Smith, Olivia_M; Williams, Peter_J; Ceyzyk, Sydney; Ayebare, Samuel; Davis, Kayla_L; Leuenberger, Wendy; Doser, Jeffrey_W; Zipkin, Elise_F (May 2024, Ecology)

   Abstract As data and computing power have surged in recent decades, statistical modeling has become an important tool for understanding ecological patterns and processes. Statistical modeling in ecology faces two major challenges. First, ecological data may not conform to traditional methods, and second, professional ecologists often do not receive extensive statistical training. In response to these challenges, the journalEcologyhas published many innovative statistical ecology papers that introduced novel modeling methods and provided accessible guides to statistical best practices. In this paper, we reflect onEcology's history and its role in the emergence of the subdiscipline of statistical ecology, which we define as the study of ecological systems using mathematical equations, probability, and empirical data. We showcase 36 influential statistical ecology papers that have been published inEcologyover the last century and, in so doing, comment on the evolution of the field. As data and computing power continue to increase, we anticipate continued growth in statistical ecology to tackle complex analyses and an expanding role forEcologyto publish innovative and influential papers, advancing the discipline and guiding practicing ecologists. 

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2. PEK14 : A Kinesin‐4 Necessary for Male‐Derived Fertility in Arabidopsis thaliana

   https://doi.org/10.1002/cm.22042  

   Mendes, Isabella_N; Groves, Norman_R; Li, Jessica_Z; Thompson, Lily_N; Smith, Brian_J; Husbands, Aman_Y; Meier, Iris (May 2025, Cytoskeleton)

   ABSTRACT Of the 61 kinesins annotated inArabidopsis thaliana, many are still without assigned function. Here, we have screened an insertional mutant library of Arabidopsis pollen‐expressed kinesins for fertility defects. Insertional mutants for three kinesins showed a significant reduction in seed set. Among them, we focused on the sole kinesin‐4 expressed in pollen (kinesin‐4C, here Pollen‐Expressed Kinesin 14, PEK14). We show a seed‐set defect in the three independent allelespek14‐1, pek14‐2, and pek14‐3. This defect is male‐derived and is equally distributed throughout the silique. Maturepek14‐1anthers contain about 10% inviable pollen grains.pek14‐1pollen tubes grow 20% more slowly and show reduced pollen tube bending. Analysis of the male germ unit (MGU), as it travels through the pollen tube, demonstrates an aberrant organization of thepek14‐1MGU in 30% of pollen tubes and an increase in the distance of the MGU to the tip by 24%. Expression of GFP‐tagged PEK14 successfully complemented the observed seed set defect, as well as the growth rate, bending, and MGU organization defects observed inpek14‐1. In pollen, PEK14‐GFP is located diffusely at the pollen tube tip. PEK14‐GFP is also expressed in the root meristematic zone and is located at the mid‐zone of the phragmoplast, but no apparent root growth phenotype was observed, likely due to redundancy in this organ. 

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3. A Massive H i -absorption-selected Galaxy at z  ≈ 2.356

   https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adb83d  

   Kaur, B; Kanekar, N; Neeleman, M; Zhu, Y; Prochaska, J X; Rafelski, M; Becker, G (March 2025, The Astrophysical Journal Letters)

   Abstract We use the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array to detect CO(1–0), CO(3–2), and rest-frame 349 GHz continuum emission from an Hi-selected galaxy, DLA1020+2733g, atz ≈ 2.3568 in the field of thez= 2.3553 damped Lyαabsorber (DLA) toward QSO J1020+2733. The VLA CO(1–0) detection yields a molecular gas mass of (2.84 ± 0.42) × 10¹¹ × (α_CO/4.36)M_⊙, the largest ever measured in an Hi-selected galaxy. The DLA metallicity is +0.28 ± 0.16, from the Zniiλ2026 absorption line detected in a Keck Echellette Spectrograph and Imager spectrum. This continues the trend of high-metallicity DLAs being frequently associated with massive galaxies. We obtain a star formation rate (SFR) of ≲400M_⊙yr⁻¹from the rest-frame 349 GHz continuum emission and a relatively long molecular gas depletion timescale of ≳0.6 Gyr. The excitation of theJ= 3 rotational level is subthermal, with $r_{31}\equiv L{\prime }_{\mathrm{CO}(3-2)}/L{\prime }_{\mathrm{CO}(1-0)}=0.513\pm 0.081$, suggesting that DLA1020+2733g has a low SFR surface density. The large velocity spread of the CO lines, ≈500 km s⁻¹, and the long molecular gas depletion timescale suggest that DLA1020+2733g is likely to be a cold rotating-disk galaxy. 

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4. Copper( i ) and silver( i ) chemistry of vinyltrifluoroborate supported by a bis(pyrazolyl)methane ligand

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d1dt00974e  

   Zacharias, Adway O.; Mao, James X.; Nam, Kwangho; Dias, H. V. (June 2021, Dalton Transactions)

   null (Ed.)

   Although unsaturated organotrifluoroborates are common synthons in metal–organic chemistry, their transition metal complexes have received little attention. [CH 2 (3,5-(CH 3 ) 2 Pz) 2 ]Cu(CH 2 CHBF 3 ), (SIPr)Cu(MeCN)(CH 2 CHBF 3 ) and [CH 2 (3,5-(CH 3 ) 2 Pz) 2 ]Ag(CH 2 CHBF 3 ) represent rare, isolable molecules featuring a vinyltrifluoroborate ligand on coinage metals. The X-ray crystal structures show the presence of three-coordinate metal sites in these complexes. The vinyltrifluoroborate group binds asymmetrically to the metal site in [CH 2 (3,5-(CH 3 ) 2 Pz) 2 ]M(CH 2 CHBF 3 ) (M = Cu, Ag) with relatively closer M–C(H) 2 distances. The computed structures of [CH 2 (3,5-(CH 3 ) 2 Pz) 2 ]M(CH 2 CHBF 3 ) and M(CH 2 CHBF 3 ), however, have shorter M–C(H)BF 3 distances than M–C(H) 2 . These molecules feature various inter- or intra-molecular contacts involving fluorine of the BF 3 group, possibly affecting these M–C distances. The binding energies of [CH 2 CHBF 3 ] − to Cu + , Ag + and Au + have been calculated at the wB97XD/def2-TZVP level of theory, in the presence and absence of the supporting ligand CH 2 (3,5-(CH 3 ) 2 Pz) 2 . The calculation shows that Au + has the strongest binding to the [CH 2 CHBF 3 ] − ligand, followed by Cu + and Ag + , irrespective of the presence of the supporting ligand. However, in all three metals, the supporting ligand weakens the binding of olefin to the metal. The same trends were also found from the analysis of the σ-donation and π-backbonding interactions between the metal fragment and the π and π* orbitals of [CH 2 CHBF 3 ] − . 

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5. Identification of a Prunus   MAX1 homolog as a unique strigol synthase

   https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19052  

   Wu, Sheng; Zhou, Anqi; Hiugano, Kozue; Yoda, Akiyoshi; Xie, Xiaonan; Yamane, Kenji; Miura, Kenji; Nomura, Takahito; Li, Yanran (September 2023, New Phytologist)

   Summary Strigol is the first identified and one of the most important strigolactones (SLs), but the biosynthetic pathway remains elusive. We functionally identified a strigol synthase (cytochrome P450 711A enzyme) in the Prunus genus through rapid gene screening in a set of SL‐producing microbial consortia, and confirmed its unique catalytic activity (catalyzing multistep oxidation) through substrate feeding experiments and mutant analysis. We also reconstructed the biosynthetic pathway of strigol in Nicotiana benthamiana and reported the total biosynthesis of strigol in the Escherichia coli ‐yeast consortium, from the simple sugar xylose, which paves the way for large‐scale production of strigol. As proof of concept, strigol and orobanchol were detected in Prunus persica root extrudes. This demonstrated a successful prediction of metabolites produced in plants through gene function identification, highlighting the importance of deciphering the sequence–function correlation of plant biosynthetic enzymes to more accurately predicate plant metabolites without metabolic analysis. This finding revealed the evolutionary and functional diversity of CYP711A (MAX1) in SL biosynthesis, which can synthesize different stereo‐configurations of SLs (strigol‐ or orobanchol‐type). This work again emphasizes the importance of microbial bioproduction platform as an efficient and handy tool to functionally identify plant metabolism. 

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