Articles in 2019

Crystal structural and biochemical analysis of the chloroplast-localized Holliday junction (HJ) resolvase MOC1 in Zea mays reveals that ZmMOC1 uses a unique β-hairpin structure and a two-metal ion catalysis mechanism to recognize and cleave HJs.

Synthetic microbial consortia were applied to demonstrate that oscillatory gene expression in a bacterial population can be propagated over longer distances by activating a localized positive feedback loop.

A phenotypic screen led to the identification of potent inhibitors of mouse BAK-driven apoptosis. The compounds interact with VDAC2 and stabilize its interaction with BAK, blocking apoptosis at an early stage to preserve long-term cell survival.

Iron is transported from the ventral hippocampus to the medial prefrontal cortex unidirectionally in the brain via axonal projections. This transport is involved in mediating anxiety and the anxiolytic effects of diazepam.

A light-activated RNA labeling method was developed to determine spatial organization of a transcriptome and found that ribosomal proteins and oxidative phosphorylation pathway proteins are highly enriched at the outer mitochondrial membrane.

Zebrafish p63 isoforms were identified as thalidomide-dependent neosubstrates of the cereblon-containing E3 ligase complex. ∆Np63α and TAp63α are responsible for thalidomide-induced malformations of pectoral fins and otic vesicles, respectively.

A crystal structure of prokaryotic pentameric ligand-gated ion channel ELIC reveals a lipid-binding site at the interface between subunits that is shaped by a flexible helix important for channel desensitization upon lipid binding.

Cholesterol can function as both a substrate and an inhibitor of the Hedgehog receptor Patched. Structural analysis and molecular dynamics simulations reveal that cholesterol inhibits Patched by inserting into its extracellular domain

Structural characterization of the amino-acid-modifying radical halogenase BesD and identification of new members of this protein family provides insight into the enzymatic mechanism and enables biocatalytic production of halogenated amino acids.

A ²H and ¹³C tracing strategy was used for efficient determination of glycolytic thermodynamics, revealing near-equilibrium glycolytic steps enabling rapid flux adaptation and, in Clostridium cellulolyticum, enhanced ATP yield.

KAT2A acetylates histone variant H2A.Z to regulate transactivation of XPC and RAR positively regulated genes. The DNA repair complex XPC–RAD23–CEN2 interacts with H2A.Z and KAT2A to license the latter’s histone acetyltransferase activity.

This Perspective summarizes recent discoveries that have laid the foundation for targeted degradation therapeutics and discusses the current state of understanding and consideration involved in developing these protein degraders.

Encapsulation of engineered bacteria in environmentally responsive materials enables on-demand protein production coupled to downstream processes such as protein purification, on-chip enzyme kinetics and metabolic production of fatty acids.

Cytoplasmic dynein is a complex molecular motor that steps along microtubules. Advanced biophysical measurements reveal a surprising role for the dynein tail domain in the allosteric control of dynein’s mechanochemistry within assemblies composed of multiple dynein motors.

The topology of homodimeric membrane protein EmrE is dynamic and includes unassisted flipping of an N-terminal helix in and out of the membrane long after co-translational insertion. Dimerization locks the helix to limit topological dynamics.

Single-molecule analysis revealed that the velocity and force generation of the mammalian dynein–dynactin complex is regulated by activating adaptors and tail–tail interactions between two dyneins.