W. Zuo

Degradation of indole-3-acetic acid by plant-associated microbes

This study identifies bacterial isolates capable of degrading indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) from Arabidopsis and rice roots, revealing their functional roles and association with IAA producers.

Density dependence shapes life-history trade-offs in a food limited ungulate population

This study shows density dependence shapes life-history trade-offs and reproductive success distribution in Soay sheep populations.

Transient dynamics and nonlinear fitness: a unified matrix approach to press and pulse perturbation

The paper develops a unified matrix framework to analyze both pulse and press disturbances in populations, showing how transient dynamics influence long-term fitness and demographic responses.

Genetically-encoded probes to determine nonspecific hydrophobic and electrostatic binding in cells

The paper develops genetically-encoded fluorescence probes to measure nonspecific hydrophobic and electrostatic binding in cells and shows how cellular conditions affect these interactions.

Data-driven prediction of colonization outcomes for complex microbial communities

The paper predicts colonization outcomes of exogenous microbes in complex communities using a data-driven approach, validated with synthetic data and experimental tests.

A transcriptional activator effector of Ustilago maydis regulates hyperplasia in maize during pathogen-induced tumor formation

This study identifies Sts2, an effector of Ustilago maydis, as a transcriptional activator that promotes tumor formation in maize by interacting with ZmNECAP1 and activating leaf developmental regulators.

Sensitivity and uncertainty in the Lee-Carter mortality model

This study analyzes the robustness of the Lee-Carter mortality model by examining sensitivity and uncertainty, finding it resilient to random perturbations and short-term changes.

Cell wall damage increases macromolecular crowding effects in the Escherichia coli cytoplasm

The paper shows that cell wall damage in E. coli increases macromolecular crowding effects through cytoplasmic mixing and nucleoid expansion, not via changes in crowder concentration.

Hypoxic conditions promote a proliferative, poorly differentiated, and pro-secretory phenotype in COPD lung tissue progenitor cells in vitro

This study shows hypoxia increases proliferation and secretory phenotype in COPD lung progenitor cells while reducing differentiation capacity.

Spatial profiling of microbial communities by sequential FISH with error-robust encoding

This paper introduces SEER-FISH, a method for spatially profiling microbial communities with high multiplexity and accuracy, demonstrating its ability to quantify taxon abundance and map microbial biogeography.

Life-history dynamics: damping time, demographic dispersion and generation time

The paper analyzes damping time across 600+ species and finds it scales with generation time, independent of demographic dispersion, suggesting slow life-history species are more vulnerable to disturbances.

Cross-species analysis between the maize smut fungi Ustilago maydis and Sporisorium reilianum highlights the role of transcriptional plasticity of effector orthologs for virulence and disease

This study compares effector gene regulation in two maize smut fungi, showing transcriptional plasticity and functional divergence contribute to disease symptom differences.

Distributions of LRS in varying environments

The paper examines how lifetime reproductive success (LRS) distributions vary in different environments using Roe deer data and stochastic models.

Isolation and long-term expansion of a single adult human renal epithelial cell with efficient kidney regeneration capacity

This study isolates and expands SOX9+ renal epithelial cells from adult humans, showing their ability to regenerate kidney tissue in mice.

Skewed distributions of LRS: beyond mean and variance

The paper develops tools to generate lifetime reproductive success (LRS) distributions from structured models and shows they align with observed data, explaining skewed LRS patterns and resolving a selection debate.