Nature Chemical Biology - Current Issue : July 2009 - Vol 5 No 7
Latest Highlights
Advance online publication
Monitoring metabolism
Article by BennettA quantitative and comprehensive measurement of more than 100 metabolite concentrations, compared with known Km values for substrate-enzyme pairs, demonstrates that some enzymes are likely saturated with substrate whereas other intermediates seem finely tuned to facilitate reversibility.
Primer
PRIMER
RetrosynthesisFree!
Organic synthesis relies on a variety of tricks and tools, but retrosynthetic analysis—a formalized approach to generate synthetic plans—is a necessary technique for any chemist. In this Primer, we describe the unique thinking and nomenclature that define this concept.
Advance online publication
Chemical space is commonly navigated by determining structural relationships between complex molecules. New research demonstrates that simultaneous classification by biological activities, as well as formalization of these strategies as a freely available software program, can identify unexpected protein inhibitors.
Advance online publication
GGP1 fills the gap
Brief Communication by Geu-FloresGlucosinolates are used in plant defense and cancer prevention, but their biosynthetic pathway was not fully understood. Metabolic engineering to produce benzylglucosinolate in tobacco identified GGP1 as the missing step and the first member of a new class of plant enzymes.
Advance online publication
A sweetened CLV3 peptide
Brief Communication by OhyamaThe CLAVATA3 peptide regulates the fate of stem cells in the apical meristem of Arabidopsis thaliana by binding to the CLV1 receptor. New chemical data show that this peptide is modified with three L-arabinose sugars, which are required for full biological activity.
Current issue
Inhibitor turned activator
Article by OkuzumiAn ATP-competitive Akt inhibitor has unexpectedly been found to cause hyperphosphorylation of Akt regulatory sites. A chemical genetic approach now demonstrates that inhibitor binding directly induces this target kinase hyperphosphorylation.
Lipidomics Gateway
Introducing the Lipidomics Gateway. Explore the properties and roles of lipids across biology, and discover powerful new techniques for their production and study. All for free!
