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A more discerning zinc exporter

An emerging view is that high-fidelity metal selection by the proteins involved in metal homeostasis is pivotal to ensure that the correct metals bind to nascent metalloproteins. A new study demonstrates that the AztA zinc exporter performs this function by using tandem metal-binding domains to entrap some of the wrong metals in nonproductive complexes.

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Figure 1: Partitioning of zinc and cadmium by AztA.

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Robinson, N. A more discerning zinc exporter. Nat Chem Biol 3, 692–693 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio1107-692

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