Article
Biology
Amandeep S. Arora, Hsiang-Ling Huang, Ramanpreet Singh, Yoshie Narui, Andrejus Suchenko, Tomoyuki Hatano, Sarah M. Heissler, Mohan K. Balasubramanian, Krishna Chinthalapudi, Pekka Lappalainen
Summary: The structures of actin isoforms have been determined at high resolution, revealing their specific conformations and isoform-specific interfaces. These findings provide important insights into the function of actin isoforms and contribute to our overall understanding of cytoskeletal physiology.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shuichi Takeda, Ryotaro Koike, Ikuko Fujiwara, Akihiro Narita, Makoto Miyata, Motonori Ota, Yuichiro Maeda
Summary: Twinfilin interacts with actin capping protein (CP) in a unique way, regulating CP structure distinct from CARMIL. TWtail and CARMIL CPI restrict CP in different conformations, indicating their unique binding modes with CP.
JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Jianfei Liu, Kewei Qin, Chenglin Wu, Kaifei Fu, Xiaojie Yu, Lijun Zhou
Summary: The study found that the increased pathogenicity of environmental Vibrio parahaemolyticus is associated with genomic changes, where differences in pathogenicity among different strains are mainly due to variances in the distribution of key genetic elements and secretory system compositions. The hypothesis of unique pathogenic effects based on genomic analysis was validated by the survival rate of mouse models infected with different strains, and antibiotic resistance results demonstrated the multi-directional evolutionary potential in environmental Vibrio parahaemolyticus.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Yunfei Mao, Xueli Cui, Haiyan Wang, Xin Qin, Yangbo Liu, Yijun Yin, Xiafei Su, Juan Tang, Fengling Wang, Fengwang Ma, Naibin Duan, Donglin Zhang, Yanli Hu, Wenli Wang, Shaochong Wei, Xiaoliu Chen, Zhiquan Mao, Xuesen Chen, Xiang Shen
Summary: This study constructed the genome and transcriptome of Elaeagnus angustifolia and explored its adaptive evolution to environmental stress. The genome size of E. angustifolia was 526.80 Mb and the estimated divergence time was approximately 84.24 Mya. After exposure to salt stress, new genes related to ATP-binding, metal ion binding, and nucleic acid binding were identified from the transcriptome.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gaelle Lentini, Rouaa Ben Chaabene, Oscar Vadas, Chandra Ramakrishnan, Budhaditya Mukherjee, Ved Mehta, Matteo Lunghi, Jonas Grossmann, Bohumil Maco, Remy Visentin, Adrian B. Hehl, Volodymyr M. Korkhov, Dominique Soldati-Favre
Summary: The study identifies a rhoptry-resident kinase RON13 as a key virulence factor that controls host cell invasion by anchoring the moving junction at the parasite-host cell interface. It shows that RON13 phosphorylates the components of the RON complex, providing insights into the mechanism of Toxoplasma gondii invasion.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Baobao Wang, Mei Hou, Junpeng Shi, Lixia Ku, Wei Song, Chunhui Li, Qiang Ning, Xin Li, Changyu Li, Binbin Zhao, Ruyang Zhang, Hua Xu, Zhijing Bai, Zhanchao Xia, Hai Wang, Dexin Kong, Hongbin Wei, Yifeng Jing, Zhouyan Dai, Hu Hailing Wang, Xinyu Zhu, Xuan Sun, Shuaishuai Wang, Wen Yao, Gege Hou, Zhi Qi, He Dai, Xuming Li, Hongkun Zheng, Zhuxin Zhang, Yu Li, Tianyu Wang, Taijiao Jiang, Zhaoman Wan, Yanhui Chen, Jiuran Zhao, Jinsheng Lai, Haiyang Wang
Summary: Hybrid maize shows superior heterosis and contributes more than 30% of the total worldwide cereal production. The molecular mechanisms of heterosis have been found to be mainly related to the structural variants (SVs) between the parental lines.
Article
Polymer Science
Matthew F. I. Rix, Kyle Collins, Samuel J. Higgs, Eleanor M. Dodd, Simon J. Coles, Nathaniel M. Bingham, Peter J. Roth
Summary: This study demonstrates the various reactions of thionolactone DBT and its ability to introduce a degradable backbone. Additionally, through XRD structure analysis and DFT modeling, the higher reactivity of DBT is explained by its stabilization of the intermediate radical, increased ring strain, and better reinitiating efficiency.
Article
Plant Sciences
Lijuan Zou, Taotao Li, Bingbing Li, Jing He, Chunli Liao, Lianzhe Wang, Shouyu Xue, Tao Sun, Xuan Ma, Qinggui Wu
Summary: The study revealed that salt stress significantly affected the photosynthetic system and antioxidant enzyme activity in Podocarpus macrophyllus, leading to changes in gene expression involved in various metabolic and regulatory processes. Additionally, genes related to plant hormone transport, ion transport, and transcription factor regulation showed altered transcription levels under salt stress.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sreya Malayam Parambath, Ashley E. Williams, Leigh Anna Hunt, Dhanashree Selvan, Nathan Hammer, Saumen Chakraborty
Summary: This study reports the construction of a de novo-designed artificial hydrogenase (ArH) inspired by [NiFe] hydrogenases, which produces H-2 gas photocatalytically and shows bell-shaped pH-dependence on activity. Spectroscopic studies elucidate the reaction mechanism and a fine balance is found between solution acidity and electron transfer steps for maximizing H-2 production.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Dmitri Tolkatchev, Balaganesh Kuruba, Garry E. Smith, Kyle D. Swain, Kaitlin A. Smith, Natalia Moroz, Trenton J. Williams, Alla S. Kostyukova
Summary: In this study, the interactions between tropomyosin residues and two tropomyosin-binding sites of tropomodulin were mapped, and three-dimensional models of the tropomodulin/tropomyosin complex for each site were generated. The models were refined through molecular dynamics simulations and validated by constructing a self-consistent three-dimensional model of tropomodulin assembly at the pointed end. The pointed-end Tmod assembly model provides new insights into how Tmod binding tightly controls the dynamics at the pointed end.
Review
Biology
Malgorzata Kloc, Priyanka Chanana, Nicole Vaughn, Ahmed Uosef, Jacek Z. Kubiak, Rafik M. Ghobrial
Summary: Actin plays crucial roles in the nucleus, including maintenance of nuclear structure, chromatin remodeling, DNA repair, and transcriptional regulation. Its multifaceted functions are essential for individual cell function, cell fate determination, tissue differentiation, and disease establishment.
Article
Plant Sciences
Paromik Bhattacharyya, Tanvi Sharma, Abhinandan Yadav, Lucy Lalthafamkimi, Mohit Kumar Ritu, Mohit Kumar Swarnkar, Robin Joshi, Ravi Shankar, Sanjay Kumar
Summary: This study reveals the transcriptome of M. acuminata for the first time, and provides important information on the synthesis of secondary metabolites in this plant. The results show that the leaf contains higher amounts of beta-sitosterol and eugenol compared to the pseudobulb, and both tissues are involved in different metabolic pathways. The study also suggests that the leaf can be used as an alternative source, reducing the need for harvesting the pseudobulb, thereby facilitating the conservation and sustainable utilization of this endangered medicinal orchid.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Stacey R. McGee, Shivakumar Rajamanickam, Sandeep Adhikari, Oluwatosin C. Falayi, Theresa A. Wilson, Brian J. Shayota, Jessica A. Cooley Coleman, Cindy Skinner, Raymond C. Caylor, Roger E. Stevenson, Caio Robledo D' Angioli Costa Quaio, Berenice Cunha Wilke, Jennifer M. Bain, Kwame Anyane-Yeboa, Kaitlyn Brown, John M. Greally, Emilia K. Bijlsma, Claudia A. L. Ruivenkamp, Keren Politi, Lydia A. Arbogast, Michael W. Collard, Jodi Huggenvik, Sarah H. Elsea, Philip J. Jensik
Summary: De novo deleterious and heritable biallelic mutations in the DNA binding domain of DEAF1 result in a phenotypic spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders, affecting genes involved in neuronal function and dendritic spine maintenance. This study expands the clinical spectrum of individuals with DEAF1-associated neurodevelopmental disorders, enhances our understanding of DEAF1's potential roles in neuronal function, and demonstrates the dominant negative activity of de novo variants.
HUMAN MOLECULAR GENETICS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Wentong Jiang, Sanduo Zheng
Summary: This study reports the cryoelectron microscopy structures of the GALR1-G(o) and GALR2-G(q) complexes bound to the endogenous ligand galanin or spexin, revealing the structural determinants of GALRs and highlighting the potential role of zinc ion as a modulator of GALR1.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sang A. Mun, Jongseo Park, Jung Youn Kang, Taein Park, Minwoo Jin, Jihyeong Yang, Soo Hyun Eom
Summary: EF-hand proteins containing a Ca2+-binding motif are involved in cellular regulation. In addition to Ca2+, these proteins can also interact with other metals such as Mg2+, Pb2+, and Zn2+. EFhd1 and EFhd2 are actin-binding proteins that modulate actin rearrangement through Ca2+-dependent and Ca2+-independent mechanisms. This study shows that the actin-related activities of EFhd1 and EFhd2 may also be regulated by Zn2+ through coordination within their EF-hands.