Biochemistry articles within Nature

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  • Article |

    Biochemical and structural analysis of intermediates during multipass membrane protein biogenesis showed how an intramembrane chaperone guides nascent membrane proteins to a semi-enclosed lipid-filled cavity where they are inserted and folded correctly.

    • Luka Smalinskaitė
    • , Min Kyung Kim
    •  & Ramanujan S. Hegde

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The cryogenic-electron microscopy structure of the D. thermocuniculi IsrB protein in complex with its cognate ωRNA and a target DNA shows that the RNA-dominant IsrB effector complex shares a common scaffold with the protein-dominant Cas9 effector complex.

    • Seiichi Hirano
    • , Kalli Kappel
    •  & Feng Zhang

  • Spotlight |

    Working at a research hospital allows Fridtjof Lund-Johansen to test the effectiveness of vaccines in people with compromised immune systems.

    • Helen Santoro

  • News & Views |

    The acidity of the Arctic Ocean currently peaks in winter. A modelling study suggests that this peak could shift to the summer in the future — this is bad news for ecosystem functions, food webs and Indigenous communities.

    • Victoria Qutuuq Buschman
    •  & Claudine Hauri

  • Article |

    NMR spectroscopy has been used to guide the directed evolution of myoglobin to a Kemp eliminase with high catalytic efficiency, outlining an approach that is likely to be generally applicable to other enzyme activities.

    • Sagar Bhattacharya
    • , Eleonora G. Margheritis
    •  & Ivan V. Korendovych

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cryo-electron tomography is used to reveal the structural dynamics and functional diversity of translating ribosomes in Mycoplasma pneumoniae, providing insight into the translation elongation cycle inside cells and how it is reshaped by antibiotics.

    • Liang Xue
    • , Swantje Lenz
    •  & Julia Mahamid

  • Article |

    A structural analysis focusing on plant immunity reveals how LRR-containing receptor-like proteins recognize pathogenic ligands and consequently become activated, with the data suggesting that these proteins target pathogens through two different mechanisms.

    • Yue Sun
    • , Yan Wang
    •  & Jijie Chai

  • Article |

    A genetically encoded triplet photosensitizer is used to develop an efficient photoenzyme that can promote enantioselective intramolecular and bimolecular [2+2] cycloadditions by means of triplet energy transfer.

    • Jonathan S. Trimble
    • , Rebecca Crawshaw
    •  & Anthony P. Green

  • Article |

    Cryo-electron microscopy studies of Escherichia coli complex I suggest a conserved mechanism of coupled proton transfers and electrostatic interactions that result in proton ejection from the complex exclusively at the distal NuoL subunit.

    • Vladyslav Kravchuk
    • , Olga Petrova
    •  & Leonid Sazanov

  • News & Views |

    The enzymatic pathway has been characterized for the production of ketocarotenoids: the red pigment in some birds’ feathers and in eye cells that detect red light.

    • Natasha Bray

  • News & Views |

    Variations in ocean oxygen levels during Earth’s history have been linked to evolution and mass extinctions. Simulations now suggest that the configuration of the continents has a substantial impact on ocean oxygenation.

    • Katrin J. Meissner
    •  & Andreas Oschlies

  • Nature Index |

    From nano-filters for tackling water pollution to protein fingerprinting that treats disease, these researchers are making their mark on the field.

    • Gemma Conroy
    •  & Benjamin Plackett

  • Article |

    A bacterial antiviral defence system generates a cyclic tri-adenylate that binds to a TIR–SAVED effector, inducing formation of a superhelical structure with adjacent TIR domains organizing into an active site, allowing NAD+ degradation.

    • Gaëlle Hogrel
    • , Abbie Guild
    •  & Malcolm F. White

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Reconstitution of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA 5′ cap reveals the unconventional mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 caps its RNA genome, providing a new target in the development of antiviral agents to treat COVID-19.

    • Gina J. Park
    • , Adam Osinski
    •  & Vincent S. Tagliabracci

  • Article |

    Thyroid-stimulating hormone and autoantibody M22 push the extracellular domain of the thyrotropin receptor into an upright active conformation, revealing a universal activation mechanism of glycoprotein hormone receptors and providing the molecular basis of Graves’ disease, hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s disease.

    • Jia Duan
    • , Peiyu Xu
    •  & H. Eric Xu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Biochemical and lipidomic analyses identify an anti-ferroptotic function of vitamin K and reveal ferroptosis suppressor protein 1 (FSP1) as the enzyme mediating warfarin-resistant vitamin K reduction in the canonical vitamin K cycle.

    • Eikan Mishima
    • , Junya Ito
    •  & Marcus Conrad

  • Article |

    Inhibiting the asialoglycoprotein receptor ASGR1 increases cholesterol excretion to the bile and then faeces, providing a unique way to lower cholesterol, and therefore providing a safe and effective way to treat cardiovascular disease.

    • Ju-Qiong Wang
    • , Liang-Liang Li
    •  & Bao-Liang Song

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Systematic measurements of the interactions between proteins found on the surfaces of human leukocytes provides a global view of the way that immune cells are dynamically connected by receptors.

    • Jarrod Shilts
    • , Yannik Severin
    •  & Gavin J. Wright

  • News & Views |

    A metallochaperone protein that ensures that zinc ions are delivered to a crucial cellular enzyme has now been discovered. The finding underscores the subtleties of controlling cellular zinc allocation when the metal is scarce.

    • Wolfgang Maret

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Structures of the Arabidopsis thaliana auxin exporter PIN1 in the apo state, bound to the natural auxin or bound to an inhibitor provide insights into the polar auxin transport mechanisms mediated by PIN family transporters.

    • Zhisen Yang
    • , Jing Xia
    •  & Linfeng Sun

  • News & Views |

    Mutated forms of the protein Akt can be central drivers of cancer metabolism. A mechanism by which Akt promotes synthesis of the metabolic molecule coenzyme A broadens our understanding of the protein’s activity.

    • Philipp Poeller
    •  & Almut Schulze

  • Article |

    Cryo-electron microscopy structures of the bacterial protein machinery that is involved in the production and function of nitrous oxide provide insight into the assembly pathway of this enzyme and the mechanisms of copper transport.

    • Christoph Müller
    • , Lin Zhang
    •  & Oliver Einsle

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The PI3K–PANK4 axis regulates coenzyme A synthesis, the abundance of acetyl-CoA, and CoA-dependent processes such as lipid metabolism, and these regulatory mechanisms coordinate cellular CoA supplies with the demands of hormone and growth-factor-driven or oncogene-driven metabolism and growth.

    • Christian C. Dibble
    • , Samuel A. Barritt
    •  & Alex Toker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Overall, this study describes the molecular mechanism of a druggable pathway that recapitulates in cellular assays the immunomodulatory effects associated with Akkermansia muciniphila, a prominent member of the gut microbiota.

    • Munhyung Bae
    • , Chelsi D. Cassilly
    •  & Jon Clardy

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cryo-electron microscopy structures of IL-25–IL-17RB–IL-17RA and IL-17A–IL-17RC–IL-17RA complexes show a tip-to-tip architecture, which is a key organizing principle of the IL-17 receptor family.

    • Steven C. Wilson
    • , Nathanael A. Caveney
    •  & K. Christopher Garcia

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Through structural analysis of the activation of bacterial STING, the molecular basis of STING filament formation and TIR effector domain activation in antiphage signalling is defined.

    • Benjamin R. Morehouse
    • , Matthew C. J. Yip
    •  & Philip J. Kranzusch

  • Article |

    Fruitflies require Sestrin to regulate mTORC1 signalling in response to dietary leucine, survive a diet low in leucine, and control leucine-sensitive physiological characteristics, which establishes Sestrin as a physiologically relevant leucine sensor.

    • Xin Gu
    • , Patrick Jouandin
    •  & David M. Sabatini

  • Article |

    The cryo-electron microscopy structure of the filamentous hydrogen-dependent CO2 reductase (HDCR) enzyme from Thermoanaerobacter kivui, together with enzymatic analysis and in situ cryo-electron tomography, provides insight into the high catalytic activity of HDCR.

    • Helge M. Dietrich
    • , Ricardo D. Righetto
    •  & Jan M. Schuller

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A structure of the MRAS–SHOC2–PP1C complex supports a RAS-driven and multi-molecular model for RAF activation in which individual RAS–GTP molecules recruit RAF–14-3-3 and SHOC2–PP1C to activate the downstream pathway.

    • Zachary J. Hauseman
    • , Michelle Fodor
    •  & Daniel A. King

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The Polα–primase-associated CST complex organizes telomeric C-strand DNA synthesis, and, in combination with telomerase, it carries out complete replication of the single-stranded DNA overhang found at human telomeres.

    • Arthur J. Zaug
    • , Karen J. Goodrich
    •  & Thomas R. Cech

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The biosynthetic pathway of strychnine, brucine and diaboline is described, and the biosynthesis of these complex, pharmacologically active compounds has been successfully recapitulated in Nicotiana benthamiana from an upstream intermediate.

    • Benke Hong
    • , Dagny Grzech
    •  & Sarah E. O’Connor

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