Metals articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Iron is essential to cells, however without correct storage can lead to cell damage. Aghabi et al. show that the vacuolar iron transporter (VIT) is required for iron storage in the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. They find VIT protects against iron toxicity and has a role in parasite virulence.

    • Dana Aghabi
    • , Megan Sloan
    •  & Clare R. Harding

  • Article
    | Open Access

    MAM Ca2+ dynamics play an important role in diverse biological processes, but directly and specifically measuring Ca2+ concentrations in this region is technically challenging. Here the authors report a MAM-specific BRET-based Ca2+ indicator called MAM-Calflux, which works as both a Ca2+ indicator and a structural marker due to its ratiometric nature.

    • Eunbyul Cho
    • , Youngsik Woo
    •  & Sang Ki Park

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Selenium and copper are two essential trace elements whose homeostasis and distribution is regulated by hepatic release of selenoprotein P (SELENOP) and ceruloplasmin, respectively. Here, the authors show that excessive copper results in hepatic SELENOP accumulation in the trans Golgi which might limit the selenium transport to peripheral organs.

    • Maria Schwarz
    • , Caroline E. Meyer
    •  & Anna P. Kipp

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Iron deficiencies are a common non intestinal symptom seen in patients with irritable bowel disease. Here the authors show an associative link between microbiota assisted uptake of nutrients including iron and the promotion of immune tolerance in the intestine.

    • Lizhen Zhu
    • , Geng Li
    •  & Xing Chang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Microbes often produce molecules (termed siderophores) that bind iron and then are taken up using specific receptors for iron acquisition. Here, the authors show that a compound produced by Bacillus subtilis plays a more complex role, by modulating iron availability and conferring protection against oxidative stress during inter-species competition.

    • Vincent Charron-Lamoureux
    • , Lounès Haroune
    •  & Pascale B. Beauregard

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Iron metabolism dysregulation is associated with various diseases including cancer. Here, the authors show that one iron-triggered lncRNA LncRIM regulates cellular iron metabolism effectively by wiring up the Hippo-YAP  signaling pathway and promotes breast cancer development.

    • Xin-yu He
    • , Xiao Fan
    •  & Aifu Lin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is unclear why hemorrhagic myocardial infarctions (hMI) are destined for adverse outcomes. Here, the authors show that hMI drives fatty degeneration of infarct territories and contributes to adverse remodeling of the heart, which can be mitigated via timely depletion of iron within the hMI zone.

    • Ivan Cokic
    • , Shing Fai Chan
    •  & Rohan Dharmakumar

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Across phylae, excess manganese disrupts energy metabolism by unclear mechanisms. Here, Diessl et al. report that failure of mitochondrial bioenergetics upon manganese overload is due to mismetallation of a diiron enzyme crucial for CoQ biosynthesis

    • Jutta Diessl
    • , Jens Berndtsson
    •  & Sabrina Büttner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    P1B-type ATPases export excess transition metals from cells. Here, the authors report a molecular structure of CopA, a coppertransporting P1B-ATPase from A. fulgidus, in an inward-facing E1 conformation.

    • Nina Salustros
    • , Christina Grønberg
    •  & Pontus Gourdon

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase is a heme aa3-copper oxygen reductase. Here, authors report that metal center-specific metallochaperones form dynamic assemblies to control heme a biosynthesis and coordinate copper transfer to the copper sites.

    • Eva Nývltová
    • , Jonathan V. Dietz
    •  & Antoni Barrientos

  • Article
    | Open Access

    SxtT and GxtA are Rieske oxygenases that are involved in paralytic shellfish toxin biosynthesis and catalyze monohydroxylation reactions at different positions on the toxin scaffold. Here, the authors present crystal structures of SxtT and GxtA with the native substrates β-saxitoxinol and saxitoxin as well as a Xenon-pressurized structure of GxtA, which reveal a substrate access tunnel to the active site. Through structure-based mutagenesis studies the authors identify six residues in three different protein regions that determine the substrate specificity and site selectivity of SxtT and GxtA. These findings will aid the rational engineering of other Rieske oxygenases.

    • Jianxin Liu
    • , Jiayi Tian
    •  & Jennifer Bridwell-Rabb

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanisms involved in SLC4-mediated ion transport are still under debate. Here, the authors present a cryoEM structure of the Sodium-driven Chloride/Bicarbonate Exchanger NDCBE, which - together with computational modeling and mutagenesis - reveals molecular determinants of ion transport by SLC4.

    • Weiguang Wang
    • , Kirill Tsirulnikov
    •  & Ira Kurtz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    CNNM/CorB proteins are a conserved family of membrane proteins associated with Mg2+ transport. Here, structures of an archaeal CorB protein in apo state and with Mg2+-ATP bound and accompanying biophysical experiments suggest direct Mg2+ transport by CorB proteins.

    • Yu Seby Chen
    • , Guennadi Kozlov
    •  & Kalle Gehring

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Filamentous cable bacteria conduct electrical currents over centimeter distances through fibers embedded in their cell envelope. Here, Boschker et al. show that the fibers consist of a conductive core containing nickel proteins that is surrounded by an insulating protein shell.

    • Henricus T. S. Boschker
    • , Perran L. M. Cook
    •  & Filip J. R. Meysman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Silver (Ag) has been used as an antimicrobial agent since a long time, but its molecular mechanism of action was not elucidated due to technical challenges. Here, the authors develop a mass spectrometric approach to identify the Ag-proteome in Staphylococcus aureus, and capture a molecular snapshot of the dynamic bactericidal mode of action of Ag through targeting multiple biological pathways.

    • Haibo Wang
    • , Minji Wang
    •  & Hongzhe Sun

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Iron is an essential plant nutrient that is poorly bioavailable in alkaline soils, resulting in reduced agricultural productivity. Here, the authors report the synthesis of stable and cheap iron-chelator, proline-2’-deoxymugineic acid (PDMA), and demonstrate its utility as potential fertilizer.

    • Motofumi Suzuki
    • , Atsumi Urabe
    •  & Kosuke Namba

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The connection between metal binding to proteins and availabilities of different metals in cells has been unclear. Here, the authors report a metalation-calculator that takes into account competition between metals and their variable accessibility, and thereby elucidate in vivo metal occupancies of three different proteins, CobW, YeiR and YjiA.

    • Tessa R. Young
    • , Maria Alessandra Martini
    •  & Nigel J. Robinson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The human AAA+protein p97 plays an important role in cellular protein homeostasis. Here, the authors use cryo-EM to obtain further insights into how p97 interacts with its co-factor Npl4 and they observe three distinct conformational states of Npl4 in complex with human p97, which suggests that a seesaw motion is essential for the unfolding activity of the p97 complex.

    • Man Pan
    • , Qingyun Zheng
    •  & Minglei Zhao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Heme biosynthesis depends on iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster biogenesis but the molecular connection between these pathways is not fully understood. Here, the authors show that the heme biosynthesis enzyme ALAD contains an Fe-S cluster, disruption of which reduces ALAD activity and heme production in human cells.

    • Gang Liu
    • , Debangsu Sil
    •  & Tracey Ann Rouault

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Photosynthetic formation of manganese (Mn) oxides from dissolved Mn ions was proposed to occur in ancestral photosystems before oxygenic photosynthesis evolved. Here, the authors provide evidence for this hypothesis by showing that photosystem II devoid of the Mn cluster oxidises Mn ions leading to formation of Mn-oxide nanoparticles.

    • Petko Chernev
    • , Sophie Fischer
    •  & Holger Dau

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Glutaredoxins are a family of essential enzymes divided into two major classes with either a CGFS or a CxxC active site, of which only the latter exhibits oxidoreductase activity. Here the authors address the structural basis for the functional difference between the two classes of glutaredoxins.

    • Daniel Trnka
    • , Anna D. Engelke
    •  & Christopher Horst Lillig

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many metalloenzymes are highly specific for their cognate metal ion but the molecular principles underlying this specificity often remain unclear. Here, the authors characterize the structural and biochemical basis for the different metal specificity of two evolutionarily related superoxide dismutases.

    • Anna Barwinska-Sendra
    • , Yuritzi M. Garcia
    •  & Kevin J. Waldron

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mobile group II introns function as ribozymes to splice and reinsert themselves into DNA, thereby colonizing new genomic regions. Here the authors use single-molecule FRET and molecular dynamics simulations to reveal a structural link between metal ion induced kinetic heterogeneity and the sugar puckers at the exon-intron binding interface.

    • Fabio D. Steffen
    • , Mokrane Khier
    •  & Roland K. O. Sigel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanism of iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster biosynthesis is not fully understood. Here, the authors develop a physiologically relevant in vitro model of Fe-S cluster assembly, allowing them to elucidate the sequence of Fe-S cluster synthesis along with the respective roles of ferredoxin-2 and frataxin.

    • Sylvain Gervason
    • , Djabir Larkem
    •  & Benoit D’Autréaux

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Altered iron homeostasis resulting in excessive oxidative stress has been implicated in smoke-induced lung diseases. Here the authors show that ferroptosis of lung epithelial cells, potentially resulting from excessive ferritinophagy, is involved in the pathogenesis of COPD.

    • Masahiro Yoshida
    • , Shunsuke Minagawa
    •  & Kazuyoshi Kuwano

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Metal ions play essential roles in myriads of biological processes, from catalytic co-factors to supporting protein and nucleic acid structures. Here the authors use long-wavelength X-ray diffraction to locate hundreds of potassium ions taking part in the formation of rRNA tertiary structure, mediating rRNA–protein interactions and supporting ribosomal protein structures and function.

    • Alexey Rozov
    • , Iskander Khusainov
    •  & Gulnara Yusupova

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In many AMPylating FIC proteins a structurally conserved glutamate represses AMPylation. Here, the authors show that this glutamate supports deAMPylation in Enterococcus faecalis FIC (EfFIC), and that EfFIC switches from AMPylation to deAMPylation by binding Ca2+ at distinct sites.

    • Simon Veyron
    • , Giulia Oliva
    •  & Jacqueline Cherfils

  • Article
    | Open Access

    There are only few MRI-compatible calcium reporters and they are limited to measuring extracellular calcium levels. Here the authors develop and validate a cell-permeable, manganese-based paramagnetic MRI contrast agent that enables monitoring intracellular calcium signals in vivo in the rat brain.

    • Ali Barandov
    • , Benjamin B. Bartelle
    •  & Alan Jasanoff

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ferroportin (Fpn) is essential for mammalian iron homeostasis as it exports iron from cells into blood circulation, but the molecular mechanisms of Fpn-mediated iron transport remain obscure. Here the authors use biophysical approaches to reveal that Ca2+ is a required cofactor for Fpn transport activity.

    • Chandrika N. Deshpande
    • , T. Alex Ruwe
    •  & Mika Jormakka

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fe/S clusters are synthesized by the mitochondrial iron-sulfur cluster assembly (ISC) machinery. Here the authors combine crystallography and small angle X-ray scattering measurements to structurally characterize the core ISC complex and give functional insights into eukaryotic Fe/S cluster synthesis.

    • Michal T. Boniecki
    • , Sven A. Freibert
    •  & Miroslaw Cygler

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hepcidin controls systemic iron levels by inhibiting intestinal iron absorption and iron recycling. Here, Pasricha et al. demonstrate that the hepcidin-chromatin locus displays HDAC3-mediated reversible epigenetic modifications during both erythropoiesis and iron deficiency.

    • Sant-Rayn Pasricha
    • , Pei Jin Lim
    •  & Hal Drakesmith

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The biosynthesis of iron-sulfur clusters in anaerobic organisms has not been extensively investigated. Here, the authors identify and characterize a multi-subunit protein that stores iron and sulfur in thioferrate for the assembly of the clusters inPyrococcus furiosus.

    • Brian J. Vaccaro
    • , Sonya M. Clarkson
    •  & Michael W. W. Adams

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mitochondrial proteins ISCA1 and ISCA2 form a complex that is involved in the biogenesis of Fe–S clusters. Here the authors report that ISCA1 and ISCA2 interact differently with proteins of the Fe–S machinery and that under certain conditions, ISCA2 seems dispensable for Fe–S biogenesis.

    • Lena Kristina Beilschmidt
    • , Sandrine Ollagnier de Choudens
    •  & Alain Martelli

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Iron overload can be either hereditary or acquired via transfusions, and current treatments include the use of iron chelators that have adverse effects in some patients. Here the authors modify siderocalin to enhance iron excretion in urine, and demonstrate therapeutic efficacy in iron overload mouse models.

    • Jonathan Barasch
    • , Maria Hollmen
    •  & Andong Qiu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The calcium-regulated gelsolin family of actin-binding proteins includes adseverin. Here, the authors report the X-ray crystal structure of the N-terminal portion of adseverin and use small-angle scattering and molecular dynamics simulations to examine the calcium-dependent function of this protein.

    • Sakesit Chumnarnsilpa
    • , Robert C. Robinson
    •  & Cedric Leyrat

Browse broader subjects

Browse narrower subjects

Browse Metals across other nature.com journals