Magnesium articles from across Nature Portfolio

Cas9 is a powerful genome-manipulation enzyme, although how its catalytic activity is controlled is not completely solved. Now, cryo-electron microscopy structures of Acidothermus cellulolyticus Cas9 provide atomic-level insights into its activation involving DNA binding, conformational changes and the formation of its two active sites.

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.

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.

DNAzymes are attractive catalysts for biomedical and biotechnological applications, but their catalytic mechanism remained obscure. This work investigates the detailed reaction mechanism of RNA ligation catalysed by the 9DB1 DNAzyme, revealing that it resembles those of natural protein enzymes.

A synthetic DNA enzyme catalyses the formation of a native phosphodiester bond between two RNA fragments, but the molecular details of the mechanism remained elusive. Research using computational and biochemical approaches now suggests that the DNA enzyme recruits two magnesium ions to assist in the catalysis of RNA ligation.

Circadian rhythms in the level of intracellular Mg²⁺ appear to be widely conserved phylogenetically, and have the potential to impact nearly all aspects of metabolism. Moreover, the clock regulates the ion channels that generate the rhythm, demonstrating that the whole cell operates as a circadian system.

Magnesium binds to enzymes and nucleic acids and is essential for their activity. It emerges that this ion can also function as a signalling molecule with a crucial role in the immune system. See Article p.471