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The tetronate ring appears in several natural products, but the biosynthetic path to this structure has proven elusive. Reconstitution of a polyketide assembly line and in vitro assays with a chemically synthesized intermediate now point to a single enzyme as catalyzing ring formation.
Compounds targeting the ERK/MAPK pathway in C. elegans could influence germ cell fate, inducing oocyte differentiation of stem cells in worms that only make sperm. The oocytes generated were functional, as they were able to generate embryos and produce viable offspring.
Successive rounds of selection of an RNA library in a mouse cancer model resulted in the identification of an aptamer that specifically bound a cancer-associated protein, providing an in vivo approach for identifying RNA motifs that can reveal and potentially inhibit tumor-specific targets.
Allantoin catabolism provides nitrogen, carbon and energy for several species, but the biochemical route to these resources in some species was unclear. A multidimensional bioinformatic search across organisms has now led to the identification of two enzymes that complete the degradation pathway.