Structural biology articles within Nature

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  • Article |

    We propose a model for a sequential, multistep activation mechanism of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5, including a series of structures in lipid nanodiscs, from inactive to fully active, with agonist-bound intermediate states.

    • Kaavya Krishna Kumar
    • , Haoqing Wang
    •  & Brian K. Kobilka

  • News & Views |

    The sensing of bitter taste results from the complex interplay of many chemical cues and a range of receptors. It emerges that this complexity might be built-in even at the level of individual receptors.

    • Antonella Di Pizio

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Citrate synthase from the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus is shown to self-assemble into Sierpiński triangles, a finding that opens up the possibility that other naturally occurring molecular-scale fractals exist.

    • Franziska L. Sendker
    • , Yat Kei Lo
    •  & Georg K. A. Hochberg

  • Article |

    The molecular basis of OSCA/TMEM63 channel mechanosensitivity was investigated by determining 44 cryogenic electron microscopy structures of channels in different environments, expanding understanding of channel-mediated mechanotransduction and pore formation, with implications for two protein families.

    • Yaoyao Han
    • , Zijing Zhou
    •  & Yixiao Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cryo-electron microscopy structures of the human Integrator complex in three different functional states shed light on how Integrator terminates RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription by disengaging Pol II from the DNA template.

    • Isaac Fianu
    • , Moritz Ochmann
    •  & Patrick Cramer

  • Article |

    Cryo-electron microscopy and molecular dynamics studies of a Vitiosangium gasdermin pore reveal insights into the assembly of this large and diverse family of membrane pore-forming proteins.

    • Alex G. Johnson
    • , Megan L. Mayer
    •  & Philip J. Kranzusch

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cryo-electron microscopy structures of human RAD51 in complex with the nucleosome show that RAD51 can adopt two conformations—rings and filaments—and reveal how RAD51 binds to the nucleosome through its N-terminal lobe domain.

    • Takuro Shioi
    • , Suguru Hatazawa
    •  & Hitoshi Kurumizaka

  • Article |

    Time-resolved cryo-EM is used to capture structural transitions during G-protein activation stimulated by a G-protein-coupled receptor.

    • Makaía M. Papasergi-Scott
    • , Guillermo Pérez-Hernández
    •  & Georgios Skiniotis

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A study reports structures of an insect taste receptor in the absence and presence of different sugars, providing details on the molecular basis of sugar detection and selectivity in insects.

    • João Victor Gomes
    • , Shivinder Singh-Bhagania
    •  & Joel A. Butterwick

  • Article |

    Structures of the yeast replisome associated with the FACT complex and an evicted histone hexamer offer insights into the mechanism of replication-coupled histone recycling for maintaining epigenetic inheritance.

    • Ningning Li
    • , Yuan Gao
    •  & Yuanliang Zhai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Studies using genetic screening, biophysical characterization and structural reconstitution elucidate the mechanism of action and enable rational design of a new class of functional compounds that glue target proteins to E3 ligases via intramolecularly bridging two domains to enhance intrinsic protein–protein interactions and promote target ubiquitination and degradation.

    • Oliver Hsia
    • , Matthias Hinterndorfer
    •  & Alessio Ciulli

  • News & Views Forum |

    Cutting-edge X-ray sources have enabled the structural dynamics of proteins to be tracked during biochemical processes, but the findings have been questioned. Two experts discuss the implications of a study that digs into this issue.

    • Richard Neutze
    •  & R. J. Dwayne Miller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A study identifies a new bacterial ribosome hibernation factor, Balon, and describes its association with EF-Tu and its initiation of mRNA-independent hibernation during protein synthesis.

    • Karla Helena-Bueno
    • , Mariia Yu. Rybak
    •  & Sergey V. Melnikov

  • Article |

    The cryo-electron microscopy structure of the human phagocyte NADPH oxidase in the activated state provides insight into how cytosolic factors bind to and promote the activating conformational changes of NOX2, facilitating its efficient electron transfer.

    • Xiaoyu Liu
    • , Yiting Shi
    •  & Lei Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ultrafast time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography is used to investigate a photodissociation reaction in a protein, revealing the strong impact of the pump laser fluence on the structural changes  and the reaction mechanism.

    • Thomas R. M. Barends
    • , Alexander Gorel
    •  & Ilme Schlichting

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cryo-electron microscopy structures of intermediates formed during the degradation of the 30S ribosomal unit shed light on how the 3′ to 5′ exonuclease ribonuclease R controls the ribosomal degradation process.

    • Lyudmila Dimitrova-Paternoga
    • , Sergo Kasvandik
    •  & Helge Paternoga

  • Article |

    A computational model generates conformational ensembles of 28,058 intrinsically disordered proteins and regions (IDRs) in the human proteome and sheds light on the relationship between sequence, conformational properties and functions of IDRs.

    • Giulio Tesei
    • , Anna Ida Trolle
    •  & Kresten Lindorff-Larsen

  • Technology Feature |

    Advances in artificial intelligence are at the heart of many of this year’s most exciting areas of technological innovation

    • Michael Eisenstein

  • News & Views |

    LINE-1 DNA elements self-duplicate, inserting the copy into new regions of the genome — a key process in chromosome evolution. Structures of the machinery that performs this process in humans are now reported.

    • Gael Cristofari

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The prokaryotic non-enzymatic effector protein Cam1 mediates CRISPR immunity by binding tetra-adenylate second messengers and forming a pore in the membrane that induces membrane depolarization and growth arrest.

    • Christian F. Baca
    • , You Yu
    •  & Luciano A. Marraffini

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A mechanism of lipid transport inhibition has been identified for a class of peptide antibiotics effective against resistant Acinetobacter strains, which may have applications in the inhibition of other Gram-negative pathogens.

    • Karanbir S. Pahil
    • , Morgan S. A. Gilman
    •  & Daniel Kahne

  • Article |

    We report the oldest direct evidence of thylakoid membranes in a parallel-to-contorted arrangement within the enigmatic cylindrical microfossils Navifusa majensis from the McDermott Formation, Tawallah Group, Australia (1.78–1.73 Ga).

    • Catherine F. Demoulin
    • , Yannick J. Lara
    •  & Emmanuelle J. Javaux

  • Research Briefing |

    Progression into the final phase of the cell cycle is driven mainly by protein phosphorylation, although it also requires the inhibition of phosphatase proteins, such as the PP2A:B55 complex. The structures reveal how PP2A:B55 binds to two of its inhibitors.

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Structural studies show how the PfRCR complex of Plasmodium falciparum forms a bridge between erythrocyte and parasite membranes, and how PfCyRPA-binding antibodies neutralize invasion through a steric mechanism, opening the way to new approaches in rational vaccine design.

    • Brendan Farrell
    • , Nawsad Alam
    •  & Matthew K. Higgins

  • Article
    | Open Access

    X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy, structural modelling, biochemistry, cell biology, and evolutionary analysis enable characterization of ORF2p, the reverse transcriptase of the ancient ‘parasitic’ LINE-1 retrotransposon that has written around one-third of the human genome.

    • Eric T. Baldwin
    • , Trevor van Eeuwen
    •  & Martin S. Taylor

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Human LINE-1 ORF2p relies on upstream single-stranded target DNA to position the adjacent duplex in the endonuclease active site for nicking of the longer DNA strand, with a single nick generating a staggered DNA break.

    • Akanksha Thawani
    • , Alfredo Jose Florez Ariza
    •  & Kathleen Collins

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