Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jana Schmitzova, Constantin Cretu, Christian Dienemann, Henning Urlaub, Vladimir Pena
Summary: Pre-mRNA splicing follows a pathway driven by ATP-dependent RNA helicases. In this study, it is found that catalytic activation occurs in two ATP-dependent stages driven by two helicases, PRP2 and Aquarius. Aquarius plays a role in the splicing process that has been previously unknown. The findings provide insights into the catalytic activation in human splicing and shed light on how helicases coordinate their activities.
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Juanjuan Wang, Zebin Liu, Xiaowei Pan, Ning Wang, Legong Li, Yuguang Du, Jianjun Li, Mei Li
Summary: Fucoidans are polyanionic fucose-containing sulfated polysaccharides that can be cleaved by fucoidan-degrading enzymes to produce low-molecular-weight fucoidans suitable for pharmaceutical use. FdlA is an endo-type fucoidan-degrading enzyme that cleaves sulfated fuco-glucuronomannan through a lytic mechanism. The crystal structures of FdlA-NTD reveal a right-handed parallel beta-helix fold with unique substrate binding site and potentially representing a novel polysaccharide lyase family with different catalytic residues.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Kai Wang, Chen Han, Fuping Li, Yu Liu, Zongping Shao, Lihong Liu, Shaobin Wang, Shaomin Liu
Summary: A series of strontium cobaltite perovskite oxides with different dopants were designed and investigated for their catalytic activity in degrading aqueous organic pollutants. The study found that the crystalline structure and surface properties of the oxides are correlated with their catalytic activity, with the Co-O bond length being a key factor in peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. This study provides new insights for the design of efficient perovskite oxide catalysts.
APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Bibhuti Ranjan, Philip H. Choi, Santhosh Pillai, Kugenthiren Permaul, Liang Tong, Suren Singh
Summary: The cyanase from Thermomyces lanuginosus has the highest catalytic efficiency among these enzymes, and its crystal structure study provides insights into both catalytic mechanism and inhibition, with potential applications in biotechnological fields.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Rui Zhang, Xiangheng Du, Shanshan Li, Jibiao Guan, Yini Fang, Xiao Li, Yinchen Dai, Ming Zhang
Summary: The development of clean and renewable energy, particularly hydrogen energy, is crucial in solving the energy shortage and environmental pollution. The combination of electrolyzed water technology and renewable energy sources allows for complete recycling of hydrogen energy. Heteroatom-doped transition metal-based catalyst materials have shown promising electrocatalytic performance for water electrolysis, with potential to replace precious metal-based catalysts.
JOURNAL OF ELECTROANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Guolyu Xu, Huizhao Su, Lining Lu, Xiaomeng Liu, Liang Zhao, Bo Tang, Zhenhua Ming
Summary: This study reports the structural characteristics of ubiquitin-specific protease 34 (USP34) and the mechanism of ubiquitin recognition. The results show that upon binding with ubiquitin, the conformation of USP34 changes, and the catalytic triad is rearranged. This structural transition is closely related to the gripping of ubiquitin by the fingertips of USP34.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Julia Messenlehner, Michael Hetman, Adrian Tripp, Silvia Wallner, Peter Macheroux, Karl Gruber, Bastian Daniel
Summary: Monolignol oxidoreductases, members of the BBE-like protein family, are FAD-dependent enzymes that exhibit a refined reaction mechanism proposed through molecular dynamics simulations for a better understanding of their catalytic mechanism.
ARCHIVES OF BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOPHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nan Hao, Adrienne E. Sullivan, Keith E. Shearwin, Ian B. Dodd
Summary: The study developed a quantitative in vivo assay for DNA-looping proteins in Escherichia coli, using basic DNA cloning techniques and a LacZ assay. The assay is based on loop assistance, inserting two binding sites for the candidate looping protein into a pair of operators for the E. coli LacI repressor.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Chenhao Feng, Hao Fang, Fanghua Wang, Wen Chen, Li C. Xia, Dongming Lan, Yonghua Wang
Summary: This study presents the crystal structure of a fungal NPC derived from Rasamsonia emersonii, revealing its distinguishable features from other known phospholipase C. The structure of the fungal NPC lacks the C-terminal domain (CTD) found in plant NPCs, which is crucial for their activity. Through comparative analysis and mutation studies, a potential molecular mechanism underlying phospholipid hydrolysis in fungal NPCs is proposed. Furthermore, the study sheds light on the evolutionary trajectory of enzymes across diverse species.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Atsuhiro Shimada, Tomitake Tsukihara, Shinya Yoshikawa
Summary: Cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) reduces molecular oxygen to water and simultaneously pumps protons across the protein. The understanding of CcO's reaction mechanism has been hindered by the resolution of its X-ray crystallographic structure. Recent experimental findings have significantly improved our understanding of CcO, including the redox coupled structural changes, X-ray structures of intermediates, spectroscopic findings, time-resolved X-ray structural changes, and simulation analysis.
FRONTIERS IN CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Junrui Wu, Chen Wu, Chunchi Rong, Jinlong Tian, Nan Jiang, Rina Wu, Xiqing Yue, Haisu Shi
Summary: This review summarizes the catalytic activities and substrate specificities of fungal fatty acid desaturases (F-FADS), highlighting the relationship between key domains and sites in F-FADS proteins and their catalytic activity. Phylogenetic analysis of the FADS cluster is also discussed, along with subcellular localization of F-FADS. Crystal structures of F-FADSs are provided as future prospects, which may aid in resolving the crystal structures of F-FADS proteins and increasing fungal PUFA production for human health.
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Mengrong Yan, Lin Cao, Li Zhao, Weihong Zhou, Xiang Liu, Wei Zhang, Zihe Rao
Summary: The crystal structures of FadD23 bound to ATP or hexadecanoyl adenylate were determined, and the role of FadD23 in the SL-1 synthesis pathway was investigated. The study revealed the impact of mutations in the active site of FadD23 on enzymatic activity, as well as the importance of the C-terminal domain in the catalytic mechanism.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Virology
Wenhua Kuang, Huanyu Zhang, Yan Cai, Guilin Zhang, Fei Deng, Hailong Li, Zhihong Hu, Yu Guo, Manli Wang, Yiwu Zhou, Peng Gong
Summary: This study reported the crystal structure and catalytic mechanism of the EN enzyme from Ebinur Lake virus (EBIV). Through structural comparison and mutant analysis, the structural characteristics of the active site and the two-metal-ion catalytic mechanism of EBIV EN were revealed.
JOURNAL OF VIROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Teng-teng Li, Cheng Peng, Ji-qiu Wang, Zhi-jian Xu, Ming-bo Su, Jia Li, Wei-liang Zhu, Jing-ya Li
Summary: The study revealed and confirmed that a mutation of DPP4, V486M, leads to loss of dimerization and enzymatic activity by inducing a local conformational collapse in a flap loop. The open/closed conformational transitions of the flap play a crucial role in the enzymatic activity of DPP4.
ACTA PHARMACOLOGICA SINICA
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Cristina Iancu, Giovanni Bocci, Mohd Ishtikhar, Moumita Khamrai, Mislav Oreb, Tudor Oprea, Jun-yong Choe
Summary: GLUT3, a glucose transporter protein, is responsible for glucose entry in neurons and is associated with neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Through screening and testing, researchers discovered six new GLUT3 inhibitors, with the most effective one selectively targeting GLUT3 and GLUT2.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Elisa Gayan, Nele Rutten, Jan Van Impe, Chris W. Michiels, Abram Aertsen
Article
Food Science & Technology
Katrien Begyn, Tom Dongmin Kim, Marc Heyndrickx, Chris Michiels, Abram Aertsen, Andreja Rajkovic, Frank Devlieghere
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD MICROBIOLOGY
(2020)
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Charlien Clauwers, Cedric Lood, Bram Van den Bergh, Vera van Noort, Chris W. Michiels
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2020)
Article
Microbiology
David Van der Veken, Rafik Benhachemi, Christina Charmpi, Lore Ockerman, Marijke Poortmans, Ernie Van Reckem, Chris Michiels, Frederic Leroy
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Elisa Gayan, Elise Geens, Daniel Berdejo, Diego Garcia-Gonzalo, Rafael Pagan, Abram Aertsen, Chris W. Michiels
Article
Food Science & Technology
Mario Gonzalez-Angulo, Charlien Clauwers, Rania Harastani, Carole Tonello, Isabel Jaime, Jordi Rovira, Chris W. Michiels
FOOD RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL
(2020)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Tom Dongmin Kim, Katrien Begyn, Sadhana Khanal, Fatima Taghlaoui, Marc Heyndrickx, Andreja Rajkovic, Frank Devlieghere, Chris Michiels, Abram Aertsen
Summary: Eliminating bacterial endospores in foods and food processing environment can be challenging due to their extreme resistance. Specific strains, such as non-emetic Bacillus weihenstephanensis, have the ability to evolve enhanced heat resistance in their endospores without compromising their growth capacities at different temperatures.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Lei Sun, Gil Rogiers, Chris W. Michiels
Summary: This study investigated the antimicrobial mechanisms of trans-cinnamaldehyde (t-CIN) in Listeria monocytogenes, revealing that the YvcK protein plays a crucial role in diverting substrates to UDP-GlcNAc biosynthesis, and t-CIN interferes with this pathway, leading to a peptidoglycan synthesis defect. Complementation with wild-type yvcK gene restored tolerance to t-CIN, and evolutionary experiments identified suppression mutations related to UDP-GlcNAc biosynthesis that partially reversed t-CIN sensitivity. Feeding N-acetylglucosamine or increasing UDP-GlcNAc synthetic enzymes restored t-CIN tolerance in the yvcK mutant.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
David Van der Veken, Charlie Hollanders, Marko Verce, Chris Michiels, Steven Ballet, Stefan Weckx, Frederic Leroy
Summary: The analysis of the genome of Mammaliicoccus sciuri IMDO-S72 has revealed the genetic mechanisms behind its antibacterial phenotype and provided insights into the potential virulence factors of this species. The presence of a plasmid-encoded gene cluster responsible for antimicrobial activity, as well as the identification of micrococcin P1 as the compound produced, were significant findings. The genome also showed the presence of innate virulence factors and antibiotic resistance genes, although their consistent link to a resistance phenotype was not observed. Importantly, this study highlights the commensal lifestyle of M. sciuri and the role of mobile genetic elements in conferring antibiotic resistance.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Lei Sun, Gil Rogiers, Pascal Courtin, Marie-Pierre Chapot-Chartier, Helene Bierne, Chris W. Michiels
Summary: AsnB of L. monocytogenes plays a role in mediating the amidation of mDAP residues in peptidoglycan, affecting various cell wall and cell surface-related properties as well as bacterial virulence. This study highlights the importance of amidation of peptidoglycan mDAP residues in cell wall anchoring of invasion proteins and its implications for virulence.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Food Science & Technology
Marijke Poortmans, Kristof Vanoirbeek, Martin B. Dorner, Chris W. Michiels
Summary: Challenge studies with Clostridium botulinum are important for ensuring food safety, but are complicated by a lack of effective counting medium. This study developed selectable nontoxic surrogate strains for C. botulinum to facilitate food challenge studies and provide a safe alternative for research. The strains were successfully equipped with an erythromycin resistance marker and a selective medium was developed to inhibit background microbiota but support growth of the surrogate strains.
Article
Ecology
Jose R. Morales-Poole, Clara de Vega, Kaoru Tsuji, Hans Jacquemyn, Robert R. Junker, Carlos M. Herrera, Chris Michiels, Bart Lievens, Sergio Alvarez-Perez
Summary: The growth performance of Acinetobacter spp. and Rosenbergiella spp. in floral nectar is largely influenced by the nectar chemistry and bacterial phylogeny.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Lowieze Lenaerts, Tathiane Ferroni Passos, Elisa Gayan, Chris W. Michiels, Marcia Nitschke
Summary: This study evaluates the combination of mild heat with a natural surfactant for the inactivation of L. monocytogenes Scott A in low-water-activity model systems. The results show that the combination of both hurdles reached around 5.0 log reduction in glycerol medium and >6.0 log reduction in NaCl medium. The growth inhibition activity of RL was enhanced by the presence of monovalent salts, reducing MIC values significantly.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lise Vanderkelen, Joris M. Van Herreweghe, Chris W. Michiels
Summary: This study developed a novel tool for detecting and differentiating lysozymes in animal fluids using affinity chromatography with inhibitors. Validation on blue mussels revealed the important role of g-type lysozyme in innate immunity, while the i-type lysozyme showed no contribution.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Elisa Gayan, Bram Van den Bergh, Jan Michiels, Chris W. Michiels, Abram Aertsen
METABOLIC ENGINEERING
(2020)
