ALBERT

Description: Sex determination in the mosquito Aedes aegypti is governed by a dominant male-determining factor (M factor) located within a Y chromosome-like region called the M locus. Here, we show that an M-locus gene, Nix, functions as an M factor in A. aegypti. Nix exhibits persistent M linkage and early embryonic expression, two characteristics required of an M factor. Nix knockout with clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 resulted in largely feminized genetic males and the production of female isoforms of two key regulators of sexual differentiation: doublesex and fruitless. Ectopic expression of Nix resulted in genetic females with nearly complete male genitalia. Thus, Nix is both required and sufficient to initiate male development. This study provides a foundation for mosquito control strategies that convert female mosquitoes into harmless males.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Hall, Andrew Brantley -- Basu, Sanjay -- Jiang, Xiaofang -- Qi, Yumin -- Timoshevskiy, Vladimir A -- Biedler, James K -- Sharakhova, Maria V -- Elahi, Rubayet -- Anderson, Michelle A E -- Chen, Xiao-Guang -- Sharakhov, Igor V -- Adelman, Zach N -- Tu, Zhijian -- AI113643/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jun 12;348(6240):1268-70. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa2850. Epub 2015 May 21.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, USA. Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. ; Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. ; School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangdong, People's Republic of China. ; Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, USA. Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. ; Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, USA. Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. jaketu@vt.edu zachadel@vt.edu. ; Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA, USA. Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. Fralin Life Science Institute, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA. jaketu@vt.edu zachadel@vt.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25999371" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Insulin-induced gene 1 (Insig-1) and Insig-2 are endoplasmic reticulum membrane-embedded sterol sensors that regulate the cellular accumulation of sterols. Despite their physiological importance, the structural information on Insigs remains limited. Here we report the high-resolution structures of MvINS, an Insig homolog from Mycobacterium vanbaalenii. MvINS exists as a homotrimer. Each protomer comprises six transmembrane segments (TMs), with TM3 and TM4 contributing to homotrimerization. The six TMs enclose a V-shaped cavity that can accommodate a diacylglycerol molecule. A homology-based structural model of human Insig-2, together with biochemical characterizations, suggest that the central cavity of Insig-2 accommodates 25-hydroxycholesterol, whereas TM3 and TM4 engage in Scap binding. These analyses provide an important framework for further functional and mechanistic understanding of Insig proteins and the sterol regulatory element-binding protein pathway.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4704858/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4704858/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Ren, Ruobing -- Zhou, Xinhui -- He, Yuan -- Ke, Meng -- Wu, Jianping -- Liu, Xiaohui -- Yan, Chuangye -- Wu, Yixuan -- Gong, Xin -- Lei, Xiaoguang -- Yan, S Frank -- Radhakrishnan, Arun -- Yan, Nieng -- HL-20948/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- P01 HL020948/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 10;349(6244):187-91. doi: 10.1126/science.aab1091.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. ; National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing 102206, China. ; Molecular Design and Chemical Biology, Therapeutic Modalities, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Shanghai, Shanghai 201203, China. ; Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9046, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26160948" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Proton-pumping complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain is among the largest and most complicated membrane protein complexes. The enzyme contributes substantially to oxidative energy conversion in eukaryotic cells. Its malfunctions are implicated in many hereditary and degenerative disorders. We report the x-ray structure of mitochondrial complex I at a resolution of 3.6 to 3.9 angstroms, describing in detail the central subunits that execute the bioenergetic function. A continuous axis of basic and acidic residues running centrally through the membrane arm connects the ubiquinone reduction site in the hydrophilic arm to four putative proton-pumping units. The binding position for a substrate analogous inhibitor and blockage of the predicted ubiquinone binding site provide a model for the "deactive" form of the enzyme. The proposed transition into the active form is based on a concerted structural rearrangement at the ubiquinone reduction site, providing support for a two-state stabilization-change mechanism of proton pumping.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Zickermann, Volker -- Wirth, Christophe -- Nasiri, Hamid -- Siegmund, Karin -- Schwalbe, Harald -- Hunte, Carola -- Brandt, Ulrich -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jan 2;347(6217):44-9. doi: 10.1126/science.1259859.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Structural Bioenergetics Group, Institute of Biochemistry II, Medical School, Goethe-University, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Cluster of Excellence Frankfurt "Macromolecular Complexes," Goethe-University, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. zickermann@med.uni-frankfurt.de carola.hunte@biochemie.uni-freiburg.de ulrich.brandt@radboudumc.nl. ; Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, ZBMZ, BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany. ; Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK. Institute of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. ; Structural Bioenergetics Group, Institute of Biochemistry II, Medical School, Goethe-University, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. ; Cluster of Excellence Frankfurt "Macromolecular Complexes," Goethe-University, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Institute of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. ; Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, ZBMZ, BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany. zickermann@med.uni-frankfurt.de carola.hunte@biochemie.uni-freiburg.de ulrich.brandt@radboudumc.nl. ; Cluster of Excellence Frankfurt "Macromolecular Complexes," Goethe-University, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Nijmegen Center for Mitochondrial Disorders, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, Netherlands. zickermann@med.uni-frankfurt.de carola.hunte@biochemie.uni-freiburg.de ulrich.brandt@radboudumc.nl.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25554780" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Lactic acid racemization is involved in lactate metabolism and cell wall assembly of many microorganisms. Lactate racemase (Lar) requires nickel, but the nickel-binding site and the role of three accessory proteins required for its activation remain enigmatic. We combined mass spectrometry and x-ray crystallography to show that Lar from Lactobacillus plantarum possesses an organometallic nickel-containing prosthetic group. A nicotinic acid mononucleotide derivative is tethered to Lys(184) and forms a tridentate pincer complex that coordinates nickel through one metal-carbon and two metal-sulfur bonds, with His(200) as another ligand. Although similar complexes have been previously synthesized, there was no prior evidence for the existence of pincer cofactors in enzymes. The wide distribution of the accessory proteins without Lar suggests that it may play a role in other enzymes.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Desguin, Benoit -- Zhang, Tuo -- Soumillion, Patrice -- Hols, Pascal -- Hu, Jian -- Hausinger, Robert P -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 3;349(6243):66-9. doi: 10.1126/science.aab2272.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. ; Institute of Life Sciences, Universite Catholique de Louvain, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. hujian1@msu.edu hausinge@msu.edu. ; Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. hujian1@msu.edu hausinge@msu.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26138974" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Extremophiles, microorganisms thriving in extreme environmental conditions, must have proteins and nucleic acids that are stable at extremes of temperature and pH. The nonenveloped, rod-shaped virus SIRV2 (Sulfolobus islandicus rod-shaped virus 2) infects the hyperthermophilic acidophile Sulfolobus islandicus, which lives at 80 degrees C and pH 3. We have used cryo-electron microscopy to generate a three-dimensional reconstruction of the SIRV2 virion at ~4 angstrom resolution, which revealed a previously unknown form of virion organization. Although almost half of the capsid protein is unstructured in solution, this unstructured region folds in the virion into a single extended alpha helix that wraps around the DNA. The DNA is entirely in the A-form, which suggests a common mechanism with bacterial spores for protecting DNA in the most adverse environments.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉DiMaio, Frank -- Yu, Xiong -- Rensen, Elena -- Krupovic, Mart -- Prangishvili, David -- Egelman, Edward H -- GM035269/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 May 22;348(6237):914-7. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa4181.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA. ; Institut Pasteur, Department of Microbiology, 25 rue du Dr. Roux, Paris 75015, France. ; Institut Pasteur, Department of Microbiology, 25 rue du Dr. Roux, Paris 75015, France. egelman@virginia.edu david.prangishvili@pasteur.fr. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA. egelman@virginia.edu david.prangishvili@pasteur.fr.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25999507" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Strigolactones are naturally occurring signaling molecules that affect plant development, fungi-plant interactions, and parasitic plant infestations. We characterized the function of 11 strigolactone receptors from the parasitic plant Striga hermonthica using chemical and structural biology. We found a clade of polyspecific receptors, including one that is sensitive to picomolar concentrations of strigolactone. A crystal structure of a highly sensitive strigolactone receptor from Striga revealed a larger binding pocket than that of the Arabidopsis receptor, which could explain the increased range of strigolactone sensitivity. Thus, the sensitivity of Striga to strigolactones from host plants is driven by receptor sensitivity. By expressing strigolactone receptors in Arabidopsis, we developed a bioassay that can be used to identify chemicals and crops with altered strigolactone levels.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Toh, Shigeo -- Holbrook-Smith, Duncan -- Stogios, Peter J -- Onopriyenko, Olena -- Lumba, Shelley -- Tsuchiya, Yuichiro -- Savchenko, Alexei -- McCourt, Peter -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Oct 9;350(6257):203-7. doi: 10.1126/science.aac9476.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto M5S 3B2, Canada. ; Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto M5S 3E5, Canada. Center for Structural Genomics of Infectious Diseases, contracted by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. ; Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto M5S 3E5, Canada. ; Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules, Nagoya University, Japan, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8602, Japan. ; Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto M5S 3B2, Canada. peter.mccourt@utoronto.ca.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26450211" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: TREK-2 (KCNK10/K2P10), a two-pore domain potassium (K2P) channel, is gated by multiple stimuli such as stretch, fatty acids, and pH and by several drugs. However, the mechanisms that control channel gating are unclear. Here we present crystal structures of the human TREK-2 channel (up to 3.4 angstrom resolution) in two conformations and in complex with norfluoxetine, the active metabolite of fluoxetine (Prozac) and a state-dependent blocker of TREK channels. Norfluoxetine binds within intramembrane fenestrations found in only one of these two conformations. Channel activation by arachidonic acid and mechanical stretch involves conversion between these states through movement of the pore-lining helices. These results provide an explanation for TREK channel mechanosensitivity, regulation by diverse stimuli, and possible off-target effects of the serotonin reuptake inhibitor Prozac.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Dong, Yin Yao -- Pike, Ashley C W -- Mackenzie, Alexandra -- McClenaghan, Conor -- Aryal, Prafulla -- Dong, Liang -- Quigley, Andrew -- Grieben, Mariana -- Goubin, Solenne -- Mukhopadhyay, Shubhashish -- Ruda, Gian Filippo -- Clausen, Michael V -- Cao, Lishuang -- Brennan, Paul E -- Burgess-Brown, Nicola A -- Sansom, Mark S P -- Tucker, Stephen J -- Carpenter, Elisabeth P -- 084655/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 092809/Z/10/Z/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Mar 13;347(6227):1256-9. doi: 10.1126/science.1261512.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK. ; Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK. Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK. ; Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK. OXION Initiative in Ion Channels and Disease, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PN, UK. ; Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK. OXION Initiative in Ion Channels and Disease, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PN, UK. Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK. ; Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK. Target Discovery Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7FZ, UK. ; Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK. ; Pfizer Neusentis, Granta Park, Cambridge CB21 6GS, UK. ; OXION Initiative in Ion Channels and Disease, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PN, UK. Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK. ; Clarendon Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PU, UK. OXION Initiative in Ion Channels and Disease, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PN, UK. liz.carpenter@sgc.ox.ac.uk stephen.tucker@physics.ox.ac.uk. ; Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK. OXION Initiative in Ion Channels and Disease, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PN, UK. liz.carpenter@sgc.ox.ac.uk stephen.tucker@physics.ox.ac.uk.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25766236" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase Vps34 complexes regulate intracellular membrane trafficking in endocytic sorting, cytokinesis, and autophagy. We present the 4.4 angstrom crystal structure of the 385-kilodalton endosomal complex II (PIK3C3-CII), consisting of Vps34, Vps15 (p150), Vps30/Atg6 (Beclin 1), and Vps38 (UVRAG). The subunits form a Y-shaped complex, centered on the Vps34 C2 domain. Vps34 and Vps15 intertwine in one arm, where the Vps15 kinase domain engages the Vps34 activation loop to regulate its activity. Vps30 and Vps38 form the other arm that brackets the Vps15/Vps34 heterodimer, suggesting a path for complex assembly. We used hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) to reveal conformational changes accompanying membrane binding and identify a Vps30 loop that is critical for the ability of complex II to phosphorylate giant liposomes on which complex I is inactive.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4601532/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4601532/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Rostislavleva, Ksenia -- Soler, Nicolas -- Ohashi, Yohei -- Zhang, Lufei -- Pardon, Els -- Burke, John E -- Masson, Glenn R -- Johnson, Chris -- Steyaert, Jan -- Ktistakis, Nicholas T -- Williams, Roger L -- BB/K019155/1/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- MC_U105184308/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- PG11/109/29247/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- U105184308/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Oct 9;350(6257):aac7365. doi: 10.1126/science.aac7365.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK. ; Structural Biology Research Center, VIB, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium. Structural Biology Brussels, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium. ; The Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK. ; Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK. rlw@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26450213" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Understanding the evolution of sex determination in plants requires identifying the mechanisms underlying the transition from monoecious plants, where male and female flowers coexist, to unisexual individuals found in dioecious species. We show that in melon and cucumber, the androecy gene controls female flower development and encodes a limiting enzyme of ethylene biosynthesis, ACS11. ACS11 is expressed in phloem cells connected to flowers programmed to become female, and ACS11 loss-of-function mutants lead to male plants (androecy). CmACS11 represses the expression of the male promoting gene CmWIP1 to control the development and the coexistence of male and female flowers in monoecious species. Because monoecy can lead to dioecy, we show how a combination of alleles of CmACS11 and CmWIP1 can create artificial dioecy.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Boualem, Adnane -- Troadec, Christelle -- Camps, Celine -- Lemhemdi, Afef -- Morin, Halima -- Sari, Marie-Agnes -- Fraenkel-Zagouri, Rina -- Kovalski, Irina -- Dogimont, Catherine -- Perl-Treves, Rafael -- Bendahmane, Abdelhafid -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Nov 6;350(6261):688-91. doi: 10.1126/science.aac8370.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institute of Plant Sciences Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Universite Paris-Sud, Universite d'Evry, Universite Paris-Diderot, Batiment 630, 91405, Orsay, France. ; Laboratoire de Chimie et Biochimie Pharmacologiques et Toxicologiques, CNRS, UMR 8601, Universite Rene Descartes, Paris, France. ; The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. ; INRA, UR 1052, Unite de Genetique et d'Amelioration des Fruits et Legumes, BP 94, F-84143 Montfavet, France. ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Institute of Plant Sciences Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Universite Paris-Sud, Universite d'Evry, Universite Paris-Diderot, Batiment 630, 91405, Orsay, France. bendahm@evry.inra.fr.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26542573" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Elucidating the signaling mechanism of strigolactones has been the key to controlling the devastating problem caused by the parasitic plant Striga hermonthica. To overcome the genetic intractability that has previously interfered with identification of the strigolactone receptor, we developed a fluorescence turn-on probe, Yoshimulactone Green (YLG), which activates strigolactone signaling and illuminates signal perception by the strigolactone receptors. Here we describe how strigolactones bind to and act via ShHTLs, the diverged family of alpha/beta hydrolase-fold proteins in Striga. Live imaging using YLGs revealed that a dynamic wavelike propagation of strigolactone perception wakes up Striga seeds. We conclude that ShHTLs function as the strigolactone receptors mediating seed germination in Striga. Our findings enable access to strigolactone receptors and observation of the regulatory dynamics for strigolactone signal transduction in Striga.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Tsuchiya, Yuichiro -- Yoshimura, Masahiko -- Sato, Yoshikatsu -- Kuwata, Keiko -- Toh, Shigeo -- Holbrook-Smith, Duncan -- Zhang, Hua -- McCourt, Peter -- Itami, Kenichiro -- Kinoshita, Toshinori -- Hagihara, Shinya -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Aug 21;349(6250):864-8. doi: 10.1126/science.aab3831.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada. yuichiro@itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp hagi@itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp. ; Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. ; Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. ; Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada. ; Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. Japan Science and Technology Agency-Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology, Itami Molecular Nanocarbon Project, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. ; Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. yuichiro@itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp hagi@itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26293962" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: In eukaryotic cells, phosphatidylserine (PS) is synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) but is highly enriched in the plasma membrane (PM), where it contributes negative charge and to specific recruitment of signaling proteins. This distribution relies on transport mechanisms whose nature remains elusive. Here, we found that the PS transporter Osh6p extracted phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI4P) and exchanged PS for PI4P between two membranes. We solved the crystal structure of Osh6p:PI4P complex and demonstrated that the transport of PS by Osh6p depends on PI4P recognition in vivo. Finally, we showed that the PI4P-phosphatase Sac1p, by maintaining a PI4P gradient at the ER/PM interface, drove PS transport. Thus, PS transport by oxysterol-binding protein-related protein (ORP)/oxysterol-binding homology (Osh) proteins is fueled by PI4P metabolism through PS/PI4P exchange cycles.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Moser von Filseck, Joachim -- Copic, Alenka -- Delfosse, Vanessa -- Vanni, Stefano -- Jackson, Catherine L -- Bourguet, William -- Drin, Guillaume -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 24;349(6246):432-6. doi: 10.1126/science.aab1346. Epub 2015 Jul 23.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Institut de Pharmacologie Moleculaire et Cellulaire, Universite de Nice Sophia-Antipolis and CNRS, 660 route des lucioles, 06560 Valbonne, France. ; Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS, UMR 7592, Universite Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cite, F-75013 Paris, France. ; Inserm U1054, 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France. CNRS UMR5048, Centre de Biochimie Structurale, 29 rue de Navacelles, 34090 Montpellier, France. ; Institut de Pharmacologie Moleculaire et Cellulaire, Universite de Nice Sophia-Antipolis and CNRS, 660 route des lucioles, 06560 Valbonne, France. drin@ipmc.cnrs.fr.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26206936" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Cyclic guanosine monophosphate-adenosine monophosphate synthase (cGAS) detects intracellular DNA and signals through the adapter protein STING to initiate the antiviral response to DNA viruses. Whether DNA viruses can prevent activation of the cGAS-STING pathway remains largely unknown. Here, we identify the oncogenes of the DNA tumor viruses, including E7 from human papillomavirus (HPV) and E1A from adenovirus, as potent and specific inhibitors of the cGAS-STING pathway. We show that the LXCXE motif of these oncoproteins, which is essential for blockade of the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor, is also important for antagonizing DNA sensing. E1A and E7 bind to STING, and silencing of these oncogenes in human tumor cells restores the cGAS-STING pathway. Our findings reveal a host-virus conflict that may have shaped the evolution of viral oncogenes.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Lau, Laura -- Gray, Elizabeth E -- Brunette, Rebecca L -- Stetson, Daniel B -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Oct 30;350(6260):568-71. doi: 10.1126/science.aab3291. Epub 2015 Sep 24.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. ; Department of Immunology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. stetson@uw.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26405230" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Podophyllotoxin is the natural product precursor of the chemotherapeutic etoposide, yet only part of its biosynthetic pathway is known. We used transcriptome mining in Podophyllum hexandrum (mayapple) to identify biosynthetic genes in the podophyllotoxin pathway. We selected 29 candidate genes to combinatorially express in Nicotiana benthamiana (tobacco) and identified six pathway enzymes, including an oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase that closes the core cyclohexane ring of the aryltetralin scaffold. By coexpressing 10 genes in tobacco-these 6 plus 4 previously discovered-we reconstitute the pathway to (-)-4'-desmethylepipodophyllotoxin (the etoposide aglycone), a naturally occurring lignan that is the immediate precursor of etoposide and, unlike podophyllotoxin, a potent topoisomerase inhibitor. Our results enable production of the etoposide aglycone in tobacco and circumvent the need for cultivation of mayapple and semisynthetic epimerization and demethylation of podophyllotoxin.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Lau, Warren -- Sattely, Elizabeth S -- DP2 AT008321/AT/NCCIH NIH HHS/ -- R00 GM089985/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Sep 11;349(6253):1224-8. doi: 10.1126/science.aac7202.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. ; Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. sattely@stanford.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26359402" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Microbial sulfate reduction has governed Earth's biogeochemical sulfur cycle for at least 2.5 billion years. However, the enzymatic mechanisms behind this pathway are incompletely understood, particularly for the reduction of sulfite-a key intermediate in the pathway. This critical reaction is performed by DsrAB, a widespread enzyme also involved in other dissimilatory sulfur metabolisms. Using in vitro assays with an archaeal DsrAB, supported with genetic experiments in a bacterial system, we show that the product of sulfite reduction by DsrAB is a protein-based trisulfide, in which a sulfite-derived sulfur is bridging two conserved cysteines of DsrC. Physiological studies also reveal that sulfate reduction rates are determined by cellular levels of DsrC. Dissimilatory sulfate reduction couples the four-electron reduction of the DsrC trisulfide to energy conservation.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Santos, Andre A -- Venceslau, Sofia S -- Grein, Fabian -- Leavitt, William D -- Dahl, Christiane -- Johnston, David T -- Pereira, Ines A C -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Dec 18;350(6267):1541-5. doi: 10.1126/science.aad3558.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Instituto de Tecnologia Quimica e Biologica Antonio Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal. ; Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. ; Institut fur Mikrobiologie & Biotechnologie, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat Bonn, Germany. ; Instituto de Tecnologia Quimica e Biologica Antonio Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Oeiras, Portugal. ipereira@itqb.unl.pt.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26680199" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Chemokines are small proteins that function as immune modulators through activation of chemokine G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Several viruses also encode chemokines and chemokine receptors to subvert the host immune response. How protein ligands activate GPCRs remains unknown. We report the crystal structure at 2.9 angstrom resolution of the human cytomegalovirus GPCR US28 in complex with the chemokine domain of human CX3CL1 (fractalkine). The globular body of CX3CL1 is perched on top of the US28 extracellular vestibule, whereas its amino terminus projects into the central core of US28. The transmembrane helices of US28 adopt an active-state-like conformation. Atomic-level simulations suggest that the agonist-independent activity of US28 may be due to an amino acid network evolved in the viral GPCR to destabilize the receptor's inactive state.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4445376/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4445376/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Burg, John S -- Ingram, Jessica R -- Venkatakrishnan, A J -- Jude, Kevin M -- Dukkipati, Abhiram -- Feinberg, Evan N -- Angelini, Alessandro -- Waghray, Deepa -- Dror, Ron O -- Ploegh, Hidde L -- Garcia, K Christopher -- DP1 GM106409/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM097015/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Mar 6;347(6226):1113-7. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa5026.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. ; Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Institute for Computational and Mathematical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. ; Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. kcgarcia@stanford.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25745166" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The occurrence of Ebola virus (EBOV) in West Africa during 2013-2015 is unprecedented. Early reports suggested that in this outbreak EBOV is mutating twice as fast as previously observed, which indicates the potential for changes in transmissibility and virulence and could render current molecular diagnostics and countermeasures ineffective. We have determined additional full-length sequences from two clusters of imported EBOV infections into Mali, and we show that the nucleotide substitution rate (9.6 x 10(-4) substitutions per site per year) is consistent with rates observed in Central African outbreaks. In addition, overall variation among all genotypes observed remains low. Thus, our data indicate that EBOV is not undergoing rapid evolution in humans during the current outbreak. This finding has important implications for outbreak response and public health decisions and should alleviate several previously raised concerns.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Hoenen, T -- Safronetz, D -- Groseth, A -- Wollenberg, K R -- Koita, O A -- Diarra, B -- Fall, I S -- Haidara, F C -- Diallo, F -- Sanogo, M -- Sarro, Y S -- Kone, A -- Togo, A C G -- Traore, A -- Kodio, M -- Dosseh, A -- Rosenke, K -- de Wit, E -- Feldmann, F -- Ebihara, H -- Munster, V J -- Zoon, K C -- Feldmann, H -- Sow, S -- Intramural NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Apr 3;348(6230):117-9. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa5646. Epub 2015 Mar 26.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Hamilton, MT 59840, USA. ; Bioinformatics and Computational Biosciences Branch, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. ; Center of Research and Training for HIV and Tuberculosis, University of Science, Technique and Technologies of Bamako, Mali. ; World Health Organization Office, Bamako, Mali. ; Centre des Operations d'Urgence, Centre pour le Developpement des Vaccins (CVD-Mali), Centre National d'Appui a la lutte contre la Maladie, Ministere de la Sante et de l'Hygiene Publique, Bamako, Mali. ; World Health Organization Inter-Country Support Team, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. ; Rocky Mountain Veterinary Branch, Division of Intramural Research, NIAID, NIH, Hamilton, MT 59840, USA. ; Office of the Scientific Director, NIAID, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20895, USA. ; Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Hamilton, MT 59840, USA. feldmannh@niaid.nih.gov ssow@medicine.umaryland.edu. ; Centre des Operations d'Urgence, Centre pour le Developpement des Vaccins (CVD-Mali), Centre National d'Appui a la lutte contre la Maladie, Ministere de la Sante et de l'Hygiene Publique, Bamako, Mali. feldmannh@niaid.nih.gov ssow@medicine.umaryland.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25814067" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: DNA strand exchange plays a central role in genetic recombination across all kingdoms of life, but the physical basis for these reactions remains poorly defined. Using single-molecule imaging, we found that bacterial RecA and eukaryotic Rad51 and Dmc1 all stabilize strand exchange intermediates in precise three-nucleotide steps. Each step coincides with an energetic signature (0.3 kBT) that is conserved from bacteria to humans. Triplet recognition is strictly dependent on correct Watson-Crick pairing. Rad51, RecA, and Dmc1 can all step over mismatches, but only Dmc1 can stabilize mismatched triplets. This finding provides insight into why eukaryotes have evolved a meiosis-specific recombinase. We propose that canonical Watson-Crick base triplets serve as the fundamental unit of pairing interactions during DNA recombination.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4580133/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4580133/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Lee, Ja Yil -- Terakawa, Tsuyoshi -- Qi, Zhi -- Steinfeld, Justin B -- Redding, Sy -- Kwon, YoungHo -- Gaines, William A -- Zhao, Weixing -- Sung, Patrick -- Greene, Eric C -- CA146940/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- GM074739/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 CA146940/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01 ES015252/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM074739/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01ES015252/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM007367/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Aug 28;349(6251):977-81. doi: 10.1126/science.aab2666.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. Department of Biophysics, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto, Japan. ; Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. ; Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. ecg2108@cumc.columbia.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26315438" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Variation in vectorial capacity for human malaria among Anopheles mosquito species is determined by many factors, including behavior, immunity, and life history. To investigate the genomic basis of vectorial capacity and explore new avenues for vector control, we sequenced the genomes of 16 anopheline mosquito species from diverse locations spanning ~100 million years of evolution. Comparative analyses show faster rates of gene gain and loss, elevated gene shuffling on the X chromosome, and more intron losses, relative to Drosophila. Some determinants of vectorial capacity, such as chemosensory genes, do not show elevated turnover but instead diversify through protein-sequence changes. This dynamism of anopheline genes and genomes may contribute to their flexible capacity to take advantage of new ecological niches, including adapting to humans as primary hosts.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4380271/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4380271/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Neafsey, Daniel E -- Waterhouse, Robert M -- Abai, Mohammad R -- Aganezov, Sergey S -- Alekseyev, Max A -- Allen, James E -- Amon, James -- Arca, Bruno -- Arensburger, Peter -- Artemov, Gleb -- Assour, Lauren A -- Basseri, Hamidreza -- Berlin, Aaron -- Birren, Bruce W -- Blandin, Stephanie A -- Brockman, Andrew I -- Burkot, Thomas R -- Burt, Austin -- Chan, Clara S -- Chauve, Cedric -- Chiu, Joanna C -- Christensen, Mikkel -- Costantini, Carlo -- Davidson, Victoria L M -- Deligianni, Elena -- Dottorini, Tania -- Dritsou, Vicky -- Gabriel, Stacey B -- Guelbeogo, Wamdaogo M -- Hall, Andrew B -- Han, Mira V -- Hlaing, Thaung -- Hughes, Daniel S T -- Jenkins, Adam M -- Jiang, Xiaofang -- Jungreis, Irwin -- Kakani, Evdoxia G -- Kamali, Maryam -- Kemppainen, Petri -- Kennedy, Ryan C -- Kirmitzoglou, Ioannis K -- Koekemoer, Lizette L -- Laban, Njoroge -- Langridge, Nicholas -- Lawniczak, Mara K N -- Lirakis, Manolis -- Lobo, Neil F -- Lowy, Ernesto -- MacCallum, Robert M -- Mao, Chunhong -- Maslen, Gareth -- Mbogo, Charles -- McCarthy, Jenny -- Michel, Kristin -- Mitchell, Sara N -- Moore, Wendy -- Murphy, Katherine A -- Naumenko, Anastasia N -- Nolan, Tony -- Novoa, Eva M -- O'Loughlin, Samantha -- Oringanje, Chioma -- Oshaghi, Mohammad A -- Pakpour, Nazzy -- Papathanos, Philippos A -- Peery, Ashley N -- Povelones, Michael -- Prakash, Anil -- Price, David P -- Rajaraman, Ashok -- Reimer, Lisa J -- Rinker, David C -- Rokas, Antonis -- Russell, Tanya L -- Sagnon, N'Fale -- Sharakhova, Maria V -- Shea, Terrance -- Simao, Felipe A -- Simard, Frederic -- Slotman, Michel A -- Somboon, Pradya -- Stegniy, Vladimir -- Struchiner, Claudio J -- Thomas, Gregg W C -- Tojo, Marta -- Topalis, Pantelis -- Tubio, Jose M C -- Unger, Maria F -- Vontas, John -- Walton, Catherine -- Wilding, Craig S -- Willis, Judith H -- Wu, Yi-Chieh -- Yan, Guiyun -- Zdobnov, Evgeny M -- Zhou, Xiaofan -- Catteruccia, Flaminia -- Christophides, George K -- Collins, Frank H -- Cornman, Robert S -- Crisanti, Andrea -- Donnelly, Martin J -- Emrich, Scott J -- Fontaine, Michael C -- Gelbart, William -- Hahn, Matthew W -- Hansen, Immo A -- Howell, Paul I -- Kafatos, Fotis C -- Kellis, Manolis -- Lawson, Daniel -- Louis, Christos -- Luckhart, Shirley -- Muskavitch, Marc A T -- Ribeiro, Jose M -- Riehle, Michael A -- Sharakhov, Igor V -- Tu, Zhijian -- Zwiebel, Laurence J -- Besansky, Nora J -- 092654/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- R01 AI050243/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI063508/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI073745/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI076584/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI080799/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI104956/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R21 AI101459/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R56 AI107263/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- SC1 AI109055/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- U19 AI089686/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- U19 AI110818/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- U41 HG007234/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- U54 HG003067/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jan 2;347(6217):1258522. doi: 10.1126/science.1258522. Epub 2014 Nov 27.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program, Broad Institute, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. neafsey@broadinstitute.org nbesansk@nd.edu. ; Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland. Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland. ; Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health and Institute of Health Researches, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. ; George Washington University, Department of Mathematics and Computational Biology Institute, 45085 University Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA. ; European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, EMBL-EBI, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK. ; National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, Ministry of Health, Tafea Province, Vanuatu. ; Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Division of Parasitology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy. ; Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic-Pomona, 3801 West Temple Avenue, Pomona, CA 91768, USA. ; Tomsk State University, 36 Lenina Avenue, Tomsk, Russia. ; Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Eck Institute for Global Health, 211B Cushing Hall, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. ; Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program, Broad Institute, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Inserm, U963, F-67084 Strasbourg, France. CNRS, UPR9022, IBMC, F-67084 Strasbourg, France. ; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK. ; Faculty of Medicine, Health and Molecular Science, Australian Institute of Tropical Health Medicine, James Cook University, Cairns 4870, Australia. ; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK. ; Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Department of Mathematics, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada. ; Department of Entomology and Nematology, One Shields Avenue, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA. ; Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, Unites Mixtes de Recherche Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs Ecologie, Genetique, Evolution et Controle, 911, Avenue Agropolis, BP 64501 Montpellier, France. ; Division of Biology, Kansas State University, 271 Chalmers Hall, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. ; Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology, Hellas, Nikolaou Plastira 100 GR-70013, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. ; Centre of Functional Genomics, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy. ; Genomics Platform, Broad Institute, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Centre National de Recherche et de Formation sur le Paludisme, Ouagadougou 01 BP 2208, Burkina Faso. ; Program of Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. ; School of Life Sciences, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA. ; Department of Medical Research, No. 5 Ziwaka Road, Dagon Township, Yangon 11191, Myanmar. ; European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute, EMBL-EBI, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK. Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA. ; Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. Program of Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. ; Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale e Scienze Biochimiche, Universita degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy. ; Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. ; Computational Evolutionary Biology Group, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK. ; Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. ; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Bioinformatics Research Laboratory, Department of Biological Sciences, New Campus, University of Cyprus, CY 1678 Nicosia, Cyprus. ; Wits Research Institute for Malaria, Faculty of Health Sciences, and Vector Control Reference Unit, National Institute for Communicable Diseases of the National Health Laboratory Service, Sandringham 2131, Johannesburg, South Africa. ; National Museums of Kenya, P.O. Box 40658-00100, Nairobi, Kenya. ; Department of Biology, University of Crete, 700 13 Heraklion, Greece. ; Eck Institute for Global Health and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 317 Galvin Life Sciences Building, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. ; Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, 1015 Life Science Circle, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. ; Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Centre for Geographic Medicine Research - Coast, P.O. Box 230-80108, Kilifi, Kenya. ; Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Department of Entomology, 1140 East South Campus Drive, Forbes 410, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA. ; Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA. ; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Centre of Functional Genomics, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy. ; Department of Pathobiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, 3800 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. ; Regional Medical Research Centre NE, Indian Council of Medical Research, P.O. Box 105, Dibrugarh-786 001, Assam, India. ; Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA. Molecular Biology Program, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA. ; Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK. ; Center for Human Genetics Research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA. ; Center for Human Genetics Research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA. Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA. ; Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland. Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Rue Michel-Servet 1, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland. ; Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77807, USA. ; Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand. ; Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Avenida Brasil 4365, RJ Brazil. Instituto de Medicina Social, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. ; School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. ; Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases, Instituto de Investigaciones Sanitarias, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruna, Spain. ; Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridgeshire, CB10 1SA, UK. ; School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK. ; Department of Cellular Biology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. ; Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, 415 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Department of Computer Science, Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711, USA. ; Program in Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Hewitt Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, USA. ; Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA. ; Department of Vector Biology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool, L3 5QA, UK. Malaria Programme, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge CB10 1SJ, UK. ; Eck Institute for Global Health and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 317 Galvin Life Sciences Building, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. Centre of Evolutionary and Ecological Studies (Marine Evolution and Conservation group), University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 7, NL-9747 AG Groningen, Netherlands. ; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. ; Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. School of Informatics and Computing, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road NE MSG49, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA. ; Department of Biology, University of Crete, 700 13 Heraklion, Greece. Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology, Hellas, Nikolaou Plastira 100 GR-70013, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Centre of Functional Genomics, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy. ; Boston College, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA. Biogen Idec, 14 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 12735 Twinbrook Parkway, Rockville, MD 20852, USA. ; Department of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. Program of Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. ; Program of Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. Department of Biochemistry, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. ; Departments of Biological Sciences and Pharmacology, Institutes for Chemical Biology, Genetics and Global Health, Vanderbilt University and Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37235, USA. ; Eck Institute for Global Health and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, 317 Galvin Life Sciences Building, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA. neafsey@broadinstitute.org nbesansk@nd.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25554792" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Transcriptional enhancers direct precise on-off patterns of gene expression during development. To explore the basis for this precision, we conducted a high-throughput analysis of the Otx-a enhancer, which mediates expression in the neural plate of Ciona embryos in response to fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling and a localized GATA determinant. We provide evidence that enhancer specificity depends on submaximal recognition motifs having reduced binding affinities ("suboptimization"). Native GATA and ETS (FGF) binding sites contain imperfect matches to consensus motifs. Perfect matches mediate robust but ectopic patterns of gene expression. The native sites are not arranged at optimal intervals, and subtle changes in their spacing alter enhancer activity. Multiple tiers of enhancer suboptimization produce specific, but weak, patterns of expression, and we suggest that clusters of weak enhancers, including certain "superenhancers," circumvent this trade-off in specificity and activity.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Farley, Emma K -- Olson, Katrina M -- Zhang, Wei -- Brandt, Alexander J -- Rokhsar, Daniel S -- Levine, Michael S -- GM46638/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- NS076542/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Oct 16;350(6258):325-8. doi: 10.1126/science.aac6948.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Division of Genetics, Genomics and Development, Center for Integrative Genomics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3200, USA. Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. msl2@princeton.edu ekfarley@princeton.edu. ; Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Division of Genetics, Genomics and Development, Center for Integrative Genomics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3200, USA. Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. ; Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA 92093-0688, USA. ; Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3200, USA. ; Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Division of Genetics, Genomics and Development, Center for Integrative Genomics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3200, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26472909" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: NADPH/NADP(+) (the reduced form of NADP(+)/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) homeostasis is critical for countering oxidative stress in cells. Nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase (TH), a membrane enzyme present in both bacteria and mitochondria, couples the proton motive force to the generation of NADPH. We present the 2.8 A crystal structure of the transmembrane proton channel domain of TH from Thermus thermophilus and the 6.9 A crystal structure of the entire enzyme (holo-TH). The membrane domain crystallized as a symmetric dimer, with each protomer containing a putative proton channel. The holo-TH is a highly asymmetric dimer with the NADP(H)-binding domain (dIII) in two different orientations. This unusual arrangement suggests a catalytic mechanism in which the two copies of dIII alternatively function in proton translocation and hydride transfer.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4479213/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4479213/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Leung, Josephine H -- Schurig-Briccio, Lici A -- Yamaguchi, Mutsuo -- Moeller, Arne -- Speir, Jeffrey A -- Gennis, Robert B -- Stout, Charles D -- 1R01GM103838-01A1/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- 5R01GM061545/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM073197/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM095600/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- P41 GM103310/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- P41GM103310/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM061545/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM095600/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM103838/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jan 9;347(6218):178-81. doi: 10.1126/science.1260451.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. ; National Resource for Automated Molecular Microscopy, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. dave@scripps.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25574024" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Pigment-protein and pigment-pigment interactions are of fundamental importance to the light-harvesting and photoprotective functions essential to oxygenic photosynthesis. The orange carotenoid protein (OCP) functions as both a sensor of light and effector of photoprotective energy dissipation in cyanobacteria. We report the atomic-resolution structure of an active form of the OCP consisting of the N-terminal domain and a single noncovalently bound carotenoid pigment. The crystal structure, combined with additional solution-state structural data, reveals that OCP photoactivation is accompanied by a 12 angstrom translocation of the pigment within the protein and a reconfiguration of carotenoid-protein interactions. Our results identify the origin of the photochromic changes in the OCP triggered by light and reveal the structural determinants required for interaction with the light-harvesting antenna during photoprotection.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Leverenz, Ryan L -- Sutter, Markus -- Wilson, Adjele -- Gupta, Sayan -- Thurotte, Adrien -- Bourcier de Carbon, Celine -- Petzold, Christopher J -- Ralston, Corie -- Perreau, Francois -- Kirilovsky, Diana -- Kerfeld, Cheryl A -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jun 26;348(6242):1463-6. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa7234.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. ; MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. ; Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique (CEA), Institut de Biologie et Technologies de Saclay (iBiTec-S), 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France. Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), I2BC, UMR 9198, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France. ; Berkeley Center for Structural Biology, Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. ; Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. ; INRA, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, UMR 1318, ERL CNRS 3559, Saclay Plant Sciences, RD10, F-78026 Versailles, France. ; MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. ckerfeld@lbl.gov.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26113721" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The carnivoran giant panda has a specialized bamboo diet, to which its alimentary tract is poorly adapted. Measurements of daily energy expenditure across five captive and three wild pandas averaged 5.2 megajoules (MJ)/day, only 37.7% of the predicted value (13.8 MJ/day). For the wild pandas, the mean was 6.2 MJ/day, or 45% of the mammalian expectation. Pandas achieve this exceptionally low expenditure in part by reduced sizes of several vital organs and low physical activity. In addition, circulating levels of thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) averaged 46.9 and 64%, respectively, of the levels expected for a eutherian mammal of comparable size. A giant panda-unique mutation in the DUOX2 gene, critical for thyroid hormone synthesis, might explain these low thyroid hormone levels. A combination of morphological, behavioral, physiological, and genetic adaptations, leading to low energy expenditure, likely enables giant pandas to survive on a bamboo diet.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Nie, Yonggang -- Speakman, John R -- Wu, Qi -- Zhang, Chenglin -- Hu, Yibo -- Xia, Maohua -- Yan, Li -- Hambly, Catherine -- Wang, Lu -- Wei, Wei -- Zhang, Jinguo -- Wei, Fuwen -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 10;349(6244):171-4. doi: 10.1126/science.aab2413.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. ; State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK. ; Beijing Key Laboratory of Captive Wildlife Technologies, Beijing Zoo, Beijing, China. ; Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK. ; State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. ; Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. weifw@ioz.ac.cn.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26160943" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The 18-kilodalton translocator protein (TSPO), proposed to be a key player in cholesterol transport into mitochondria, is highly expressed in steroidogenic tissues, metastatic cancer, and inflammatory and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. TSPO ligands, including benzodiazepine drugs, are implicated in regulating apoptosis and are extensively used in diagnostic imaging. We report crystal structures (at 1.8, 2.4, and 2.5 angstrom resolution) of TSPO from Rhodobacter sphaeroides and a mutant that mimics the human Ala(147)--〉Thr(147) polymorphism associated with psychiatric disorders and reduced pregnenolone production. Crystals obtained in the lipidic cubic phase reveal the binding site of an endogenous porphyrin ligand and conformational effects of the mutation. The three crystal structures show the same tightly interacting dimer and provide insights into the controversial physiological role of TSPO and how the mutation affects cholesterol binding.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Li, Fei -- Liu, Jian -- Zheng, Yi -- Garavito, R Michael -- Ferguson-Miller, Shelagh -- ACB-12002/PHS HHS/ -- AGM-12006/PHS HHS/ -- GM094625/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM26916/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jan 30;347(6221):555-8. doi: 10.1126/science.1260590.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. fergus20@msu.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25635101" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Retroviruses depend on self-assembly of their capsid proteins (core particle) to yield infectious mature virions. Despite the essential role of the retroviral core, its high polymorphism has hindered high-resolution structural analyses. Here, we report the x-ray structure of the native capsid (CA) protein from bovine leukemia virus. CA is organized as hexamers that deviate substantially from sixfold symmetry, yet adjust to make two-dimensional pseudohexagonal arrays that mimic mature retroviral cores. Intra- and interhexameric quasi-equivalent contacts are uncovered, with flexible trimeric lateral contacts among hexamers, yet preserving very similar dimeric interfaces making the lattice. The conformation of each capsid subunit in the hexamer is therefore dictated by long-range interactions, revealing how the hexamers can also assemble into closed core particles, a relevant feature of retrovirus biology.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Obal, G -- Trajtenberg, F -- Carrion, F -- Tome, L -- Larrieux, N -- Zhang, X -- Pritsch, O -- Buschiazzo, A -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 3;349(6243):95-8. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa5182. Epub 2015 Jun 4.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Unit of Protein Biophysics, Mataojo 2020, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay. Departamento de Inmunobiologia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la Republica, Avenida General Flores 2125, 11800, Montevideo, Uruguay. ; Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Unit of Protein Crystallography, Mataojo 2020, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay. ; Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Unit of Protein Biophysics, Mataojo 2020, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay. ; Institut Pasteur, Unite de Virologie Structurale, Departement de Virologie and CNRS Unite Mixte de Recherche 3569, 28, Rue du Docteur Roux, 75015, Paris, France. ; Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Unit of Protein Biophysics, Mataojo 2020, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay. Departamento de Inmunobiologia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de la Republica, Avenida General Flores 2125, 11800, Montevideo, Uruguay. pritsch@pasteur.edu.uy alebus@pasteur.edu.uy. ; Institut Pasteur de Montevideo, Unit of Protein Crystallography, Mataojo 2020, 11400, Montevideo, Uruguay. Institut Pasteur, Department of Structural Biology and Chemistry, 25, Rue du Dr Roux, 75015, Paris, France. pritsch@pasteur.edu.uy alebus@pasteur.edu.uy.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26044299" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: XRCC4 and XLF are two structurally related proteins that function in DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair. Here, we identify human PAXX (PAralog of XRCC4 and XLF, also called C9orf142) as a new XRCC4 superfamily member and show that its crystal structure resembles that of XRCC4. PAXX interacts directly with the DSB-repair protein Ku and is recruited to DNA-damage sites in cells. Using RNA interference and CRISPR-Cas9 to generate PAXX(-/-) cells, we demonstrate that PAXX functions with XRCC4 and XLF to mediate DSB repair and cell survival in response to DSB-inducing agents. Finally, we reveal that PAXX promotes Ku-dependent DNA ligation in vitro and assembly of core nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) factors on damaged chromatin in cells. These findings identify PAXX as a new component of the NHEJ machinery.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4338599/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4338599/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Ochi, Takashi -- Blackford, Andrew N -- Coates, Julia -- Jhujh, Satpal -- Mehmood, Shahid -- Tamura, Naoka -- Travers, Jon -- Wu, Qian -- Draviam, Viji M -- Robinson, Carol V -- Blundell, Tom L -- Jackson, Stephen P -- 11224/Cancer Research UK/United Kingdom -- 268536/European Research Council/International -- A11224/Cancer Research UK/United Kingdom -- C28598/A9787/Cancer Research UK/United Kingdom -- C6/A11224/Cancer Research UK/United Kingdom -- C6946/A14492/Cancer Research UK/United Kingdom -- WT092096/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- WT093167/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jan 9;347(6218):185-8. doi: 10.1126/science.1261971.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK. ; Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QN, UK. ; Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QZ, UK. ; Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EH, UK. ; Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK. s.jackson@gurdon.cam.ac.uk tlb20@cam.ac.uk. ; Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK. Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QN, UK. Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK. s.jackson@gurdon.cam.ac.uk tlb20@cam.ac.uk.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25574025" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Cytoplasmic aggregation of TDP-43, accompanied by its nuclear clearance, is a key common pathological hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (ALS-FTD). However, a limited understanding of this RNA-binding protein (RBP) impedes the clarification of pathogenic mechanisms underlying TDP-43 proteinopathy. In contrast to RBPs that regulate splicing of conserved exons, we found that TDP-43 repressed the splicing of nonconserved cryptic exons, maintaining intron integrity. When TDP-43 was depleted from mouse embryonic stem cells, these cryptic exons were spliced into messenger RNAs, often disrupting their translation and promoting nonsense-mediated decay. Moreover, enforced repression of cryptic exons prevented cell death in TDP-43-deficient cells. Furthermore, repression of cryptic exons was impaired in ALS-FTD cases, suggesting that this splicing defect could potentially underlie TDP-43 proteinopathy.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Ling, Jonathan P -- Pletnikova, Olga -- Troncoso, Juan C -- Wong, Philip C -- P50AG05146/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Aug 7;349(6248):650-5. doi: 10.1126/science.aab0983.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205-2196, USA. ; Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205-2196, USA. Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205-2196, USA. ; Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205-2196, USA. Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205-2196, USA. wong@jhmi.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26250685" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Protective CD8(+) T cell-mediated immunity requires a massive expansion in cell number and the development of long-lived memory cells. Using forward genetics in mice, we identified an orphan protein named lymphocyte expansion molecule (LEM) that promoted antigen-dependent CD8(+) T cell proliferation, effector function, and memory cell generation in response to infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. Generation of LEM-deficient mice confirmed these results. Through interaction with CR6 interacting factor (CRIF1), LEM controlled the levels of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) complexes and respiration, resulting in the production of pro-proliferative mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS). LEM provides a link between immune activation and the expansion of protective CD8(+) T cells driven by OXPHOS and represents a pathway for the restoration of long-term protective immunity based on metabolically modified cytotoxic CD8(+) T cells.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Okoye, Isobel -- Wang, Lihui -- Pallmer, Katharina -- Richter, Kirsten -- Ichimura, Takahuru -- Haas, Robert -- Crouse, Josh -- Choi, Onjee -- Heathcote, Dean -- Lovo, Elena -- Mauro, Claudio -- Abdi, Reza -- Oxenius, Annette -- Rutschmann, Sophie -- Ashton-Rickardt, Philip G -- A9995/Cancer Research UK/United Kingdom -- AI091930/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- AI45108/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- FS/12/38/29640/British Heart Foundation/United Kingdom -- G0700795/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 May 29;348(6238):995-1001. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa7516. Epub 2015 Apr 16.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Section of Immunobiology, Division of Inflammation and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK. ; Institute of Microbiology, Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule Zurich (ETHZ), Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1-5/10, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland. ; Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA. ; William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 6BQ, UK. ; Section of Immunobiology, Division of Inflammation and Immunology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Transplantation Research Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 221 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA. p.ashton-rickardt@imperial.ac.uk.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25883318" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Circadian clocks generate slow and ordered cellular dynamics but consist of fast-moving bio-macromolecules; consequently, the origins of the overall slowness remain unclear. We identified the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) catalytic region [adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase)] in the amino-terminal half of the clock protein KaiC as the minimal pacemaker that controls the in vivo frequency of the cyanobacterial clock. Crystal structures of the ATPase revealed that the slowness of this ATPase arises from sequestration of a lytic water molecule in an unfavorable position and coupling of ATP hydrolysis to a peptide isomerization with high activation energy. The slow ATPase is coupled with another ATPase catalyzing autodephosphorylation in the carboxyl-terminal half of KaiC, yielding the circadian response frequency of intermolecular interactions with other clock-related proteins that influences the transcription and translation cycle.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Abe, Jun -- Hiyama, Takuya B -- Mukaiyama, Atsushi -- Son, Seyoung -- Mori, Toshifumi -- Saito, Shinji -- Osako, Masato -- Wolanin, Julie -- Yamashita, Eiki -- Kondo, Takao -- Akiyama, Shuji -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 17;349(6245):312-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1261040. Epub 2015 Jun 25.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Research Center of Integrative Molecular Systems (CIMoS), Institute for Molecular Science, 38 Nishigo-Naka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan. ; Research Center of Integrative Molecular Systems (CIMoS), Institute for Molecular Science, 38 Nishigo-Naka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan. Department of Functional Molecular Science, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), 38 Nishigo-Naka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan. ; Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. ; Department of Functional Molecular Science, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), 38 Nishigo-Naka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan. Department of Theoretical and Computational Molecular Science, Institute for Molecular Science, 38 Nishigo-Naka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan. ; Research Center of Integrative Molecular Systems (CIMoS), Institute for Molecular Science, 38 Nishigo-Naka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan. Department of Functional Molecular Science, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), 38 Nishigo-Naka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan. Department of Theoretical and Computational Molecular Science, Institute for Molecular Science, 38 Nishigo-Naka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan. ; Research Center of Integrative Molecular Systems (CIMoS), Institute for Molecular Science, 38 Nishigo-Naka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan. PSL Research University, Chimie ParisTech, 75005 Paris, France. ; Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, 3-2 Yamada-oka, Suita 565-0871, Japan. ; Research Center of Integrative Molecular Systems (CIMoS), Institute for Molecular Science, 38 Nishigo-Naka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan. Department of Functional Molecular Science, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), 38 Nishigo-Naka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan. akiyamas@ims.ac.jp.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26113637" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Cardiac progenitor cells are multipotent and give rise to cardiac endothelium, smooth muscle, and cardiomyocytes. Here, we define and characterize the cardiomyoblast intermediate that is committed to the cardiomyocyte fate, and we characterize the niche signals that regulate commitment. Cardiomyoblasts express Hopx, which functions to coordinate local Bmp signals to inhibit the Wnt pathway, thus promoting cardiomyogenesis. Hopx integrates Bmp and Wnt signaling by physically interacting with activated Smads and repressing Wnt genes. The identification of the committed cardiomyoblast that retains proliferative potential will inform cardiac regenerative therapeutics. In addition, Bmp signals characterize adult stem cell niches in other tissues where Hopx-mediated inhibition of Wnt is likely to contribute to stem cell quiescence and to explain the role of Hopx as a tumor suppressor.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Jain, Rajan -- Li, Deqiang -- Gupta, Mudit -- Manderfield, Lauren J -- Ifkovits, Jamie L -- Wang, Qiaohong -- Liu, Feiyan -- Liu, Ying -- Poleshko, Andrey -- Padmanabhan, Arun -- Raum, Jeffrey C -- Li, Li -- Morrisey, Edward E -- Lu, Min Min -- Won, Kyoung-Jae -- Epstein, Jonathan A -- 5-T32-GM-007170/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- K08 HL119553/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- K08 HL119553-02/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HL071546/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- U01 HL100405/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jun 26;348(6242):aaa6071. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa6071.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Penn Cardiovascular Institute, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. ; Department of Genetics, Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. ; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Penn Cardiovascular Institute, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. epsteinj@upenn.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26113728" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) protein kinase is a master growth regulator that responds to multiple environmental cues. Amino acids stimulate, in a Rag-, Ragulator-, and vacuolar adenosine triphosphatase-dependent fashion, the translocation of mTORC1 to the lysosomal surface, where it interacts with its activator Rheb. Here, we identify SLC38A9, an uncharacterized protein with sequence similarity to amino acid transporters, as a lysosomal transmembrane protein that interacts with the Rag guanosine triphosphatases (GTPases) and Ragulator in an amino acid-sensitive fashion. SLC38A9 transports arginine with a high Michaelis constant, and loss of SLC38A9 represses mTORC1 activation by amino acids, particularly arginine. Overexpression of SLC38A9 or just its Ragulator-binding domain makes mTORC1 signaling insensitive to amino acid starvation but not to Rag activity. Thus, SLC38A9 functions upstream of the Rag GTPases and is an excellent candidate for being an arginine sensor for the mTORC1 pathway.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4295826/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4295826/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Wang, Shuyu -- Tsun, Zhi-Yang -- Wolfson, Rachel L -- Shen, Kuang -- Wyant, Gregory A -- Plovanich, Molly E -- Yuan, Elizabeth D -- Jones, Tony D -- Chantranupong, Lynne -- Comb, William -- Wang, Tim -- Bar-Peled, Liron -- Zoncu, Roberto -- Straub, Christoph -- Kim, Choah -- Park, Jiwon -- Sabatini, Bernardo L -- Sabatini, David M -- AI47389/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- F30 CA180754/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- F31 AG044064/AG/NIA NIH HHS/ -- F31 CA180271/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01 CA103866/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R37 AI047389/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM007287/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM007753/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jan 9;347(6218):188-94. doi: 10.1126/science.1257132. Epub 2015 Jan 7.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biology, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Broad Institute of Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Harvard Medical School, 260 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Department of Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biology, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Broad Institute of Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. sabatini@wi.mit.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25567906" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: During virus infection, the adaptor proteins MAVS and STING transduce signals from the cytosolic nucleic acid sensors RIG-I and cGAS, respectively, to induce type I interferons (IFNs) and other antiviral molecules. Here we show that MAVS and STING harbor two conserved serine and threonine clusters that are phosphorylated by the kinases IKK and/or TBK1 in response to stimulation. Phosphorylated MAVS and STING then bind to a positively charged surface of interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) and thereby recruit IRF3 for its phosphorylation and activation by TBK1. We further show that TRIF, an adaptor protein in Toll-like receptor signaling, activates IRF3 through a similar phosphorylation-dependent mechanism. These results reveal that phosphorylation of innate adaptor proteins is an essential and conserved mechanism that selectively recruits IRF3 to activate the type I IFN pathway.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Liu, Siqi -- Cai, Xin -- Wu, Jiaxi -- Cong, Qian -- Chen, Xiang -- Li, Tuo -- Du, Fenghe -- Ren, Junyao -- Wu, You-Tong -- Grishin, Nick V -- Chen, Zhijian J -- AI-93967/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- GM-094575/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM-63692/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Mar 13;347(6227):aaa2630. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa2630. Epub 2015 Jan 29.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. ; Departments of Biophysics and Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. ; Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. ; Departments of Biophysics and Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. ; Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-9148, USA. zhijian.chen@utsouthwestern.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25636800" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) is a member of Picornaviridae and is a causative agent of recent outbreaks of respiratory illness in children in the United States. We report here the crystal structures of EV-D68 and its complex with pleconaril, a capsid-binding compound that had been developed as an anti-rhinovirus drug. The hydrophobic drug-binding pocket in viral protein 1 contained density that is consistent with a fatty acid of about 10 carbon atoms. This density could be displaced by pleconaril. We also showed that pleconaril inhibits EV-D68 at a half-maximal effective concentration of 430 nanomolar and might, therefore, be a possible drug candidate to alleviate EV-D68 outbreaks.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4307789/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4307789/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Liu, Yue -- Sheng, Ju -- Fokine, Andrei -- Meng, Geng -- Shin, Woong-Hee -- Long, Feng -- Kuhn, Richard J -- Kihara, Daisuke -- Rossmann, Michael G -- AI11219/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R24 GM111072/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R37 AI011219/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- RR007707/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jan 2;347(6217):71-4. doi: 10.1126/science.1261962.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biological Sciences, Hockmeyer Hall of Structural Biology, 240 South Martin Jischke Drive, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. ; Department of Biological Sciences, Hockmeyer Hall of Structural Biology, 240 South Martin Jischke Drive, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. Department of Computer Science, 305 North University Street, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. ; Department of Biological Sciences, Hockmeyer Hall of Structural Biology, 240 South Martin Jischke Drive, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. mr@purdue.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25554786" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) conduct nucleocytoplasmic transport and gain transport selectivity through nucleoporin FG domains. Here, we report a structural analysis of the FG Nup62*58*54 complex, which is a crucial component of the transport system. It comprises a approximately 13 nanometer-long trimerization interface with an unusual 2W3F coil, a canonical heterotrimeric coiled coil, and a kink that enforces a compact six-helix bundle. Nup54 also contains a ferredoxin-like domain. We further identified a heterotrimeric Nup93-binding module for NPC anchorage. The quaternary structure alternations in the Nup62 complex, which were previously proposed to trigger a general gating of the NPC, are incompatible with the trimer structure. We suggest that the highly elongated Nup62 complex projects barrier-forming FG repeats far into the central NPC channel, supporting a barrier that guards the entire cross section.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Chug, Hema -- Trakhanov, Sergei -- Hulsmann, Bastian B -- Pleiner, Tino -- Gorlich, Dirk -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Oct 2;350(6256):106-10. doi: 10.1126/science.aac7420. Epub 2015 Aug 20.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Cellular Logistics, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Gottingen, Germany. ; Department of Cellular Logistics, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Gottingen, Germany. goerlich@mpibpc.mpg.de.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26292704" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Voltage-gated sodium (Nav) channels propagate action potentials in excitable cells. Accordingly, Nav channels are therapeutic targets for many cardiovascular and neurological disorders. Selective inhibitors have been challenging to design because the nine mammalian Nav channel isoforms share high sequence identity and remain recalcitrant to high-resolution structural studies. Targeting the human Nav1.7 channel involved in pain perception, we present a protein-engineering strategy that has allowed us to determine crystal structures of a novel receptor site in complex with isoform-selective antagonists. GX-936 and related inhibitors bind to the activated state of voltage-sensor domain IV (VSD4), where their anionic aryl sulfonamide warhead engages the fourth arginine gating charge on the S4 helix. By opposing VSD4 deactivation, these compounds inhibit Nav1.7 through a voltage-sensor trapping mechanism, likely by stabilizing inactivated states of the channel. Residues from the S2 and S3 helices are key determinants of isoform selectivity, and bound phospholipids implicate the membrane as a modulator of channel function and pharmacology. Our results help to elucidate the molecular basis of voltage sensing and establish structural blueprints to design selective Nav channel antagonists.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Ahuja, Shivani -- Mukund, Susmith -- Deng, Lunbin -- Khakh, Kuldip -- Chang, Elaine -- Ho, Hoangdung -- Shriver, Stephanie -- Young, Clint -- Lin, Sophia -- Johnson, J P Jr -- Wu, Ping -- Li, Jun -- Coons, Mary -- Tam, Christine -- Brillantes, Bobby -- Sampang, Honorio -- Mortara, Kyle -- Bowman, Krista K -- Clark, Kevin R -- Estevez, Alberto -- Xie, Zhiwei -- Verschoof, Henry -- Grimwood, Michael -- Dehnhardt, Christoph -- Andrez, Jean-Christophe -- Focken, Thilo -- Sutherlin, Daniel P -- Safina, Brian S -- Starovasnik, Melissa A -- Ortwine, Daniel F -- Franke, Yvonne -- Cohen, Charles J -- Hackos, David H -- Koth, Christopher M -- Payandeh, Jian -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Dec 18;350(6267):aac5464. doi: 10.1126/science.aac5464.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Structural Biology, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. ; Department of Neuroscience, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. ; Department of Biology, Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Burnaby, British Columbia, V5G 4W8, Canada. ; Department of Discovery Chemistry, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. ; Department of Biochemical and Cellular Pharmacology, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. ; Department of Chemistry, Xenon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Burnaby, British Columbia, V5G 4W8, Canada. ; Department of Neuroscience, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. hackos.david@gene.com koth.christopher@gene.com payandeh.jian@gene.com. ; Department of Structural Biology, Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA. hackos.david@gene.com koth.christopher@gene.com payandeh.jian@gene.com.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26680203" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The spindle checkpoint of the cell division cycle senses kinetochores that are not attached to microtubules and prevents precocious onset of anaphase, which can lead to aneuploidy. The nuclear division cycle 80 complex (Ndc80C) is a major microtubule receptor at the kinetochore. Ndc80C also mediates the kinetochore recruitment of checkpoint proteins. We found that the checkpoint protein kinase monopolar spindle 1 (Mps1) directly bound to Ndc80C through two independent interactions. Both interactions involved the microtubule-binding surfaces of Ndc80C and were directly inhibited in the presence of microtubules. Elimination of one such interaction in human cells caused checkpoint defects expected from a failure to detect unattached kinetochores. Competition between Mps1 and microtubules for Ndc80C binding thus constitutes a direct mechanism for the detection of unattached kinetochores.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Ji, Zhejian -- Gao, Haishan -- Yu, Hongtao -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jun 12;348(6240):1260-4. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa4029.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6001 Forest Park Road, Dallas, TX 74390, USA. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6001 Forest Park Road, Dallas, TX 74390, USA. hongtao.yu@utsouthwestern.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26068854" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Lipid transfer between cell membrane bilayers at contacts between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and other membranes help to maintain membrane lipid homeostasis. We found that two similar ER integral membrane proteins, oxysterol-binding protein (OSBP)-related protein 5 (ORP5) and ORP8, tethered the ER to the plasma membrane (PM) via the interaction of their pleckstrin homology domains with phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI4P) in this membrane. Their OSBP-related domains (ORDs) harbored either PI4P or phosphatidylserine (PS) and exchanged these lipids between bilayers. Gain- and loss-of-function experiments showed that ORP5 and ORP8 could mediate PI4P/PS countertransport between the ER and the PM, thus delivering PI4P to the ER-localized PI4P phosphatase Sac1 for degradation and PS from the ER to the PM. This exchange helps to control plasma membrane PI4P levels and selectively enrich PS in the PM.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4638224/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4638224/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Chung, Jeeyun -- Torta, Federico -- Masai, Kaori -- Lucast, Louise -- Czapla, Heather -- Tanner, Lukas B -- Narayanaswamy, Pradeep -- Wenk, Markus R -- Nakatsu, Fubito -- De Camilli, Pietro -- DA018343/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/ -- DK082700/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- DK45735/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- P30 DA018343/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/ -- P30 DK045735/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- R01 DK082700/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- R37 NS036251/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- R37NS036251/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM007223/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 24;349(6246):428-32. doi: 10.1126/science.aab1370.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, and Program for Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, and Repair, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 117456 Singapore. ; Department of Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, and Program for Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, and Repair, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. pietro.decamilli@yale.edu nakatsu@med.niigata-u.ac.jp.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26206935" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Telomerase helps maintain telomeres by processive synthesis of telomere repeat DNA at their 3'-ends, using an integral telomerase RNA (TER) and telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT). We report the cryo-electron microscopy structure of Tetrahymena telomerase at ~9 angstrom resolution. In addition to seven known holoenzyme proteins, we identify two additional proteins that form a complex (TEB) with single-stranded telomere DNA-binding protein Teb1, paralogous to heterotrimeric replication protein A (RPA). The p75-p45-p19 subcomplex is identified as another RPA-related complex, CST (CTC1-STN1-TEN1). This study reveals the paths of TER in the TERT-TER-p65 catalytic core and single-stranded DNA exit; extensive subunit interactions of the TERT essential N-terminal domain, p50, and TEB; and other subunit identities and structures, including p19 and p45C crystal structures. Our findings provide structural and mechanistic insights into telomerase holoenzyme function.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4687456/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4687456/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Jiang, Jiansen -- Chan, Henry -- Cash, Darian D -- Miracco, Edward J -- Ogorzalek Loo, Rachel R -- Upton, Heather E -- Cascio, Duilio -- O'Brien Johnson, Reid -- Collins, Kathleen -- Loo, Joseph A -- Zhou, Z Hong -- Feigon, Juli -- GM007185/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM048123/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM071940/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM101874/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM103479/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- P41 GM103403/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- P41 RR015301/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM048123/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM054198/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM071940/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM103479/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01GM054198/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- S10OD018111/OD/NIH HHS/ -- S10RR23057/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- UL1TR000124/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Oct 30;350(6260):aab4070. doi: 10.1126/science.aab4070. Epub 2015 Oct 15.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. California Nanosystems Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. ; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. ; Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. ; Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. ; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. UCLA-U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Institute of Genomics and Proteomics, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. ; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. UCLA-U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Institute of Genomics and Proteomics, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. ; Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. California Nanosystems Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. ; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. California Nanosystems Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. UCLA-U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Institute of Genomics and Proteomics, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. feigon@mbi.ucla.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26472759" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Bacterial adaptive immunity uses CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-associated (Cas) proteins together with CRISPR transcripts for foreign DNA degradation. In type II CRISPR-Cas systems, activation of Cas9 endonuclease for DNA recognition upon guide RNA binding occurs by an unknown mechanism. Crystal structures of Cas9 bound to single-guide RNA reveal a conformation distinct from both the apo and DNA-bound states, in which the 10-nucleotide RNA "seed" sequence required for initial DNA interrogation is preordered in an A-form conformation. This segment of the guide RNA is essential for Cas9 to form a DNA recognition-competent structure that is poised to engage double-stranded DNA target sequences. We construe this as convergent evolution of a "seed" mechanism reminiscent of that used by Argonaute proteins during RNA interference in eukaryotes.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Jiang, Fuguo -- Zhou, Kaihong -- Ma, Linlin -- Gressel, Saskia -- Doudna, Jennifer A -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jun 26;348(6242):1477-81. doi: 10.1126/science.aab1452.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. ; Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, 37077 Gottingen, Germany. ; Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Physical Biosciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. Innovative Genomics Initiative, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. doudna@berkeley.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26113724" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) catalyzes histone H3K27 trimethylation (H3K27me3), a hallmark of gene silencing. Here we report the crystal structures of an active PRC2 complex of 170 kilodaltons from the yeast Chaetomium thermophilum in both basal and stimulated states, which contain Ezh2, Eed, and the VEFS domain of Suz12 and are bound to a cancer-associated inhibiting H3K27M peptide and a S-adenosyl-l-homocysteine cofactor. The stimulated complex also contains an additional stimulating H3K27me3 peptide. Eed is engulfed by a belt-like structure of Ezh2, and Suz12(VEFS) contacts both of these two subunits to confer an unusual split active SET domain for catalysis. Comparison of PRC2 in the basal and stimulated states reveals a mobile Ezh2 motif that responds to stimulation to allosterically regulate the active site.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Jiao, Lianying -- Liu, Xin -- GM114576/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Oct 16;350(6258):aac4383. doi: 10.1126/science.aac4383. Epub 2015 Oct 15.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences and Division of Basic Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Department of Biophysics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA. ; Cecil H. and Ida Green Center for Reproductive Biology Sciences and Division of Basic Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Department of Biophysics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA. xin.liu@utsouthwestern.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26472914" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Algal blooms produce large amounts of dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a volatile with a diverse signaling role in marine food webs that is emitted to the atmosphere, where it can affect cloud formation. The algal enzymes responsible for forming DMS from dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) remain unidentified despite their critical role in the global sulfur cycle. We identified and characterized Alma1, a DMSP lyase from the bloom-forming algae Emiliania huxleyi. Alma1 is a tetrameric, redox-sensitive enzyme of the aspartate racemase superfamily. Recombinant Alma1 exhibits biochemical features identical to the DMSP lyase in E. huxleyi, and DMS released by various E. huxleyi isolates correlates with their Alma1 levels. Sequence homology searches suggest that Alma1 represents a gene family present in major, globally distributed phytoplankton taxa and in other marine organisms.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Alcolombri, Uria -- Ben-Dor, Shifra -- Feldmesser, Ester -- Levin, Yishai -- Tawfik, Dan S -- Vardi, Assaf -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jun 26;348(6242):1466-9. doi: 10.1126/science.aab1586.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. ; Bioinformatics and Biological Computing Unit, Biological Services, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. ; Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. ; Department of Biological Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. assaf.vardi@weizmann.ac.il dan.tawfik@weizmann.ac.il. ; Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. assaf.vardi@weizmann.ac.il dan.tawfik@weizmann.ac.il.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26113722" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Mitochondria fulfill central functions in cellular energetics, metabolism, and signaling. The outer membrane translocator complex (the TOM complex) imports most mitochondrial proteins, but its architecture is unknown. Using a cross-linking approach, we mapped the active translocator down to single amino acid residues, revealing different transport paths for preproteins through the Tom40 channel. An N-terminal segment of Tom40 passes from the cytosol through the channel to recruit chaperones from the intermembrane space that guide the transfer of hydrophobic preproteins. The translocator contains three Tom40 beta-barrel channels sandwiched between a central alpha-helical Tom22 receptor cluster and external regulatory Tom proteins. The preprotein-translocating trimeric complex exchanges with a dimeric isoform to assemble new TOM complexes. Dynamic coupling of alpha-helical receptors, beta-barrel channels, and chaperones generates a versatile machinery that transports about 1000 different proteins.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Shiota, Takuya -- Imai, Kenichiro -- Qiu, Jian -- Hewitt, Victoria L -- Tan, Khershing -- Shen, Hsin-Hui -- Sakiyama, Noriyuki -- Fukasawa, Yoshinori -- Hayat, Sikander -- Kamiya, Megumi -- Elofsson, Arne -- Tomii, Kentaro -- Horton, Paul -- Wiedemann, Nils -- Pfanner, Nikolaus -- Lithgow, Trevor -- Endo, Toshiya -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Sep 25;349(6255):1544-8. doi: 10.1126/science.aac6428.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia. Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. ; Biotechnology Research Institute for Drug Discovery, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 2-4-7 Aomi, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-0064, Japan. ; Institut fur Biochemie und Molekularbiologie, Universitat Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany. ; Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia. ; Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and Science for Life Laboratory, Stockholm University, Box 1031, 17121 Solna, Sweden. ; Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. ; Institut fur Biochemie und Molekularbiologie, Universitat Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany. Centre for Biological Signalling Studies, Universitat Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany. ; Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan. Faculty of Life Sciences, Kyoto Sangyo University, Kamigamo-motoyama, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8555, Japan.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26404837" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The fleeting lifetimes of the transition states (TSs) of chemical reactions make determination of their three-dimensional structures by diffraction methods a challenge. Here, we used packing interactions within the core of a protein to stabilize the planar TS conformation for rotation around the central carbon-carbon bond of biphenyl so that it could be directly observed by x-ray crystallography. The computational protein design software Rosetta was used to design a pocket within threonyl-transfer RNA synthetase from the thermophile Pyrococcus abyssi that forms complementary van der Waals interactions with a planar biphenyl. This latter moiety was introduced biosynthetically as the side chain of the noncanonical amino acid p-biphenylalanine. Through iterative rounds of computational design and structural analysis, we identified a protein in which the side chain of p-biphenylalanine is trapped in the energetically disfavored, coplanar conformation of the TS of the bond rotation reaction.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4581533/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4581533/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Pearson, Aaron D -- Mills, Jeremy H -- Song, Yifan -- Nasertorabi, Fariborz -- Han, Gye Won -- Baker, David -- Stevens, Raymond C -- Schultz, Peter G -- 2 R01 GM097206-05/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- F32 GM099210/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- F32GM099210/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM097206/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Feb 20;347(6224):863-7. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa2424.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Chemistry and Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. ; Department of Biological Sciences, Bridge Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. ; Department of Chemistry and Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. schultz@scripps.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25700516" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Notch receptors guide mammalian cell fate decisions by engaging the proteins Jagged and Delta-like (DLL). The 2.3 angstrom resolution crystal structure of the interacting regions of the Notch1-DLL4 complex reveals a two-site, antiparallel binding orientation assisted by Notch1 O-linked glycosylation. Notch1 epidermal growth factor-like repeats 11 and 12 interact with the DLL4 Delta/Serrate/Lag-2 (DSL) domain and module at the N-terminus of Notch ligands (MNNL) domains, respectively. Threonine and serine residues on Notch1 are functionalized with O-fucose and O-glucose, which act as surrogate amino acids by making specific, and essential, contacts to residues on DLL4. The elucidation of a direct chemical role for O-glycans in Notch1 ligand engagement demonstrates how, by relying on posttranslational modifications of their ligand binding sites, Notch proteins have linked their functional capacity to developmentally regulated biosynthetic pathways.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4445638/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4445638/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Luca, Vincent C -- Jude, Kevin M -- Pierce, Nathan W -- Nachury, Maxence V -- Fischer, Suzanne -- Garcia, K Christopher -- 1R01-GM097015/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM097015/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Feb 20;347(6224):847-53. doi: 10.1126/science.1261093.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. ; Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. kcgarcia@stanford.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25700513" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The highly divergent ribosomes of human mitochondria (mitoribosomes) synthesize 13 essential proteins of oxidative phosphorylation complexes. We have determined the structure of the intact mitoribosome to 3.5 angstrom resolution by means of single-particle electron cryogenic microscopy. It reveals 80 extensively interconnected proteins, 36 of which are specific to mitochondria, and three ribosomal RNA molecules. The head domain of the small subunit, particularly the messenger (mRNA) channel, is highly remodeled. Many intersubunit bridges are specific to the mitoribosome, which adopts conformations involving ratcheting or rolling of the small subunit that are distinct from those seen in bacteria or eukaryotes. An intrinsic guanosine triphosphatase mediates a contact between the head and central protuberance. The structure provides a reference for analysis of mutations that cause severe pathologies and for future drug design.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4501431/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4501431/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Amunts, Alexey -- Brown, Alan -- Toots, Jaan -- Scheres, Sjors H W -- Ramakrishnan, V -- 096570/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- MC_U105184332/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- MC_UP_A025_1013/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- WT096570/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Apr 3;348(6230):95-8. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa1193. Epub 2015 Apr 2.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK. ; Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK. ramak@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25838379" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The development of effective pharmacological inhibitors of multidomain scaffold proteins, notably transcription factors, is a particularly challenging problem. In part, this is because many small-molecule antagonists disrupt the activity of only one domain in the target protein. We devised a chemical strategy that promotes ligand-dependent target protein degradation using as an example the transcriptional coactivator BRD4, a protein critical for cancer cell growth and survival. We appended a competitive antagonist of BET bromodomains to a phthalimide moiety to hijack the cereblon E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. The resultant compound, dBET1, induced highly selective cereblon-dependent BET protein degradation in vitro and in vivo and delayed leukemia progression in mice. A second series of probes resulted in selective degradation of the cytosolic protein FKBP12. This chemical strategy for controlling target protein stability may have implications for therapeutically targeting previously intractable proteins.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Winter, Georg E -- Buckley, Dennis L -- Paulk, Joshiawa -- Roberts, Justin M -- Souza, Amanda -- Dhe-Paganon, Sirano -- Bradner, James E -- P01 CA066996/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- P01-CA066996/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01-CA176745/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jun 19;348(6241):1376-81. doi: 10.1126/science.aab1433. Epub 2015 May 21.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Department of Cancer Biology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. james_bradner@dfci.harvard.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25999370" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Morphinan alkaloids from the opium poppy are used for pain relief. The direction of metabolites to morphinan biosynthesis requires isomerization of (S)- to (R)-reticuline. Characterization of high-reticuline poppy mutants revealed a genetic locus, designated STORR [(S)- to (R)-reticuline] that encodes both cytochrome P450 and oxidoreductase modules, the latter belonging to the aldo-keto reductase family. Metabolite analysis of mutant alleles and heterologous expression demonstrate that the P450 module is responsible for the conversion of (S)-reticuline to 1,2-dehydroreticuline, whereas the oxidoreductase module converts 1,2-dehydroreticuline to (R)-reticuline rather than functioning as a P450 redox partner. Proteomic analysis confirmed that these two modules are contained on a single polypeptide in vivo. This modular assembly implies a selection pressure favoring substrate channeling. The fusion protein STORR may enable microbial-based morphinan production.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Winzer, Thilo -- Kern, Marcelo -- King, Andrew J -- Larson, Tony R -- Teodor, Roxana I -- Donninger, Samantha L -- Li, Yi -- Dowle, Adam A -- Cartwright, Jared -- Bates, Rachel -- Ashford, David -- Thomas, Jerry -- Walker, Carol -- Bowser, Tim A -- Graham, Ian A -- BB/K018809/1/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 17;349(6245):309-12. doi: 10.1126/science.aab1852. Epub 2015 Jun 25.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK. ; Bioscience Technology Facility, Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK. ; GlaxoSmithKline, 1061 Mountain Highway, Post Office Box 168, Boronia, Victoria 3155, Australia.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26113639" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Nucleotide analog inhibitors have shown clinical success in the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, despite an incomplete mechanistic understanding of NS5B, the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase. Here we study the details of HCV RNA replication by determining crystal structures of stalled polymerase ternary complexes with enzymes, RNA templates, RNA primers, incoming nucleotides, and catalytic metal ions during both primed initiation and elongation of RNA synthesis. Our analysis revealed that highly conserved active-site residues in NS5B position the primer for in-line attack on the incoming nucleotide. A beta loop and a C-terminal membrane-anchoring linker occlude the active-site cavity in the apo state, retract in the primed initiation assembly to enforce replication of the HCV genome from the 3' terminus, and vacate the active-site cavity during elongation. We investigated the incorporation of nucleotide analog inhibitors, including the clinically active metabolite formed by sofosbuvir, to elucidate key molecular interactions in the active site.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Appleby, Todd C -- Perry, Jason K -- Murakami, Eisuke -- Barauskas, Ona -- Feng, Joy -- Cho, Aesop -- Fox, David 3rd -- Wetmore, Diana R -- McGrath, Mary E -- Ray, Adrian S -- Sofia, Michael J -- Swaminathan, S -- Edwards, Thomas E -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Feb 13;347(6223):771-5. doi: 10.1126/science.1259210.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Gilead Sciences, 333 Lakeside Drive, Foster City, CA 94404, USA. todd.appleby@gilead.com tedwards@be4.com. ; Gilead Sciences, 333 Lakeside Drive, Foster City, CA 94404, USA. ; Beryllium, 7869 NE Day Road West, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110, USA. ; Beryllium, 7869 NE Day Road West, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110, USA. todd.appleby@gilead.com tedwards@be4.com.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25678663" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Anion exchanger 1 (AE1), also known as band 3 or SLC4A1, plays a key role in the removal of carbon dioxide from tissues by facilitating the exchange of chloride and bicarbonate across the plasma membrane of erythrocytes. An isoform of AE1 is also present in the kidney. Specific mutations in human AE1 cause several types of hereditary hemolytic anemias and/or distal renal tubular acidosis. Here we report the crystal structure of the band 3 anion exchanger domain (AE1(CTD)) at 3.5 angstroms. The structure is locked in an outward-facing open conformation by an inhibitor. Comparing this structure with a substrate-bound structure of the uracil transporter UraA in an inward-facing conformation allowed us to identify the anion-binding position in the AE1(CTD), and to propose a possible transport mechanism that could explain why selected mutations lead to disease.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Arakawa, Takatoshi -- Kobayashi-Yurugi, Takami -- Alguel, Yilmaz -- Iwanari, Hiroko -- Hatae, Hinako -- Iwata, Momi -- Abe, Yoshito -- Hino, Tomoya -- Ikeda-Suno, Chiyo -- Kuma, Hiroyuki -- Kang, Dongchon -- Murata, Takeshi -- Hamakubo, Takao -- Cameron, Alexander D -- Kobayashi, Takuya -- Hamasaki, Naotaka -- Iwata, So -- BB/D019516/1/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- BB/G023425/1/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- WT089809/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Nov 6;350(6261):680-4. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa4335.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) Human Receptor Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. JST, Research Acceleration Program, Membrane Protein Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Department of Cell Biology, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. ; Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) Human Receptor Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Department of Cell Biology, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. ; Division of Molecular Biosciences, Membrane Protein Crystallography group, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Membrane Protein Laboratory, Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Chilton, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK. Research Complex at Harwell Rutherford, Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0FA, UK. ; Department of Quantitative Biology and Medicine, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8904, Japan. ; Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagasaki International University, 2825-7 Huis Ten Bosch-cho, Sasebo, Nagasaki 859-3298, Japan. ; Division of Molecular Biosciences, Membrane Protein Crystallography group, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Membrane Protein Laboratory, Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Chilton, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK. ; Department of Protein Structure, Function and Design, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. ; Department of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan. ; Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) Human Receptor Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Department of Cell Biology, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage, Chiba 263-8522, Japan. ; Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) Human Receptor Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Division of Molecular Biosciences, Membrane Protein Crystallography group, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Membrane Protein Laboratory, Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Chilton, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK. Research Complex at Harwell Rutherford, Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0FA, UK. School of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK. ; Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) Human Receptor Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. JST, Research Acceleration Program, Membrane Protein Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Department of Cell Biology, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Platform for Drug Discovery, Informatics, and Structural Life Science, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. ; Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology (ERATO) Human Receptor Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. JST, Research Acceleration Program, Membrane Protein Crystallography Project, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Department of Cell Biology, Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. Division of Molecular Biosciences, Membrane Protein Crystallography group, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK. Membrane Protein Laboratory, Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Chilton, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK. Research Complex at Harwell Rutherford, Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Oxford, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0FA, UK. Platform for Drug Discovery, Informatics, and Structural Life Science, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26542571" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The scent of roses (Rosa x hybrida) is composed of hundreds of volatile molecules. Monoterpenes represent up to 70% percent of the scent content in some cultivars, such as the Papa Meilland rose. Monoterpene biosynthesis in plants relies on plastid-localized terpene synthases. Combining transcriptomic and genetic approaches, we show that the Nudix hydrolase RhNUDX1, localized in the cytoplasm, is part of a pathway for the biosynthesis of free monoterpene alcohols that contribute to fragrance in roses. The RhNUDX1 protein shows geranyl diphosphate diphosphohydrolase activity in vitro and supports geraniol biosynthesis in planta.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Magnard, Jean-Louis -- Roccia, Aymeric -- Caissard, Jean-Claude -- Vergne, Philippe -- Sun, Pulu -- Hecquet, Romain -- Dubois, Annick -- Hibrand-Saint Oyant, Laurence -- Jullien, Frederic -- Nicole, Florence -- Raymond, Olivier -- Huguet, Stephanie -- Baltenweck, Raymonde -- Meyer, Sophie -- Claudel, Patricia -- Jeauffre, Julien -- Rohmer, Michel -- Foucher, Fabrice -- Hugueney, Philippe -- Bendahmane, Mohammed -- Baudino, Sylvie -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 3;349(6243):81-3. doi: 10.1126/science.aab0696.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Laboratoire BVpam, EA3061, Universite de Lyon/Saint-Etienne, 23 Rue du Dr Michelon, F-42000, Saint-Etienne, France. ; Laboratoire BVpam, EA3061, Universite de Lyon/Saint-Etienne, 23 Rue du Dr Michelon, F-42000, Saint-Etienne, France. Laboratoire Reproduction et Developpement des Plantes UMR Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-CNRS, Universite Lyon 1-ENSL, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, 46 Allee d'Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France. ; Laboratoire Reproduction et Developpement des Plantes UMR Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-CNRS, Universite Lyon 1-ENSL, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, 46 Allee d'Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France. ; INRA, Institut de Recherche en Horticulture et Semences (INRA, AGROCAMPUS-OUEST, Universite d'Angers), SFR 4207 QUASAV, BP 60057, 49071 Beaucouze Cedex, France. ; Genomiques Fonctionnelles d'Arabidopsis, Unite de Recherche en Genomique Vegetale, UMR INRA 1165-Universite d'Evry Val d'Essonne-ERL CNRS 8196, Evry, France. ; INRA, Universite de Strasbourg, UMR 1131 Sante de la Vigne et Qualite du Vin, 28 Rue de Herrlisheim, F-68000 Colmar, France. ; Universite de Strasbourg-CNRS, UMR 7177, Institut Le Bel, 4 Rue Blaise Pascal, 67070 Strasbourg Cedex, France. ; INRA, Universite de Strasbourg, UMR 1131 Sante de la Vigne et Qualite du Vin, 28 Rue de Herrlisheim, F-68000 Colmar, France. sylvie.baudino@univ-st-etienne.fr philippe.hugueney@colmar.inra.fr mohammed.bendahmane@ens-lyon.fr. ; Laboratoire Reproduction et Developpement des Plantes UMR Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-CNRS, Universite Lyon 1-ENSL, Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, 46 Allee d'Italie, 69364 Lyon Cedex 07, France. sylvie.baudino@univ-st-etienne.fr philippe.hugueney@colmar.inra.fr mohammed.bendahmane@ens-lyon.fr. ; Laboratoire BVpam, EA3061, Universite de Lyon/Saint-Etienne, 23 Rue du Dr Michelon, F-42000, Saint-Etienne, France. sylvie.baudino@univ-st-etienne.fr philippe.hugueney@colmar.inra.fr mohammed.bendahmane@ens-lyon.fr.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26138978" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Conformational control of biomolecular activities can reveal functional insights and enable the engineering of novel activities. Here we show that conformational control through intramolecular cross-linking of a helicase monomer with undetectable unwinding activity converts it into a superhelicase that can unwind thousands of base pairs processively, even against a large opposing force. A natural partner that enhances the helicase activity is shown to achieve its stimulating role also by selectively stabilizing the active conformation. Our work provides insight into the regulation of nucleic acid unwinding activity and introduces a monomeric superhelicase without nuclease activities, which may be useful for biotechnological applications.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4417355/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4417355/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Arslan, Sinan -- Khafizov, Rustem -- Thomas, Christopher D -- Chemla, Yann R -- Ha, Taekjip -- GM065367/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM065367/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Apr 17;348(6232):344-7. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa0445.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Physics Department and Center for the Physics of Living Cells, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. ; Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK. ; Physics Department and Center for the Physics of Living Cells, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA. tjha@illinois.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25883358" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The voltage-gated calcium channel Ca(v)1.1 is engaged in the excitation-contraction coupling of skeletal muscles. The Ca(v)1.1 complex consists of the pore-forming subunit alpha1 and auxiliary subunits alpha2delta, beta, and gamma. We report the structure of the rabbit Ca(v)1.1 complex determined by single-particle cryo-electron microscopy. The four homologous repeats of the alpha1 subunit are arranged clockwise in the extracellular view. The gamma subunit, whose structure resembles claudins, interacts with the voltage-sensing domain of repeat IV (VSD(IV)), whereas the cytosolic beta subunit is located adjacent to VSD(II) of alpha1. The alpha2 subunit interacts with the extracellular loops of repeats I to III through its VWA and Cache1 domains. The structure reveals the architecture of a prototypical eukaryotic Ca(v) channel and provides a framework for understanding the function and disease mechanisms of Ca(v) and Na(v) channels.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Wu, Jianping -- Yan, Zhen -- Li, Zhangqiang -- Yan, Chuangye -- Lu, Shan -- Dong, Mengqiu -- Yan, Nieng -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Dec 18;350(6267):aad2395. doi: 10.1126/science.aad2395.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences and School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. ; National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing 102206, China. ; State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences and School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. nyan@tsinghua.edu.cn.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26680202" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Speciation, the process by which new biological species arise, involves the evolution of reproductive barriers, such as hybrid sterility or inviability between populations. However, identifying hybrid incompatibility genes remains a key obstacle in understanding the molecular basis of reproductive isolation. We devised a genomic screen, which identified a cell cycle-regulation gene as the cause of male inviability in hybrids resulting from a cross between Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans. Ablation of the D. simulans allele of this gene is sufficient to rescue the adult viability of hybrid males. This dominantly acting cell cycle regulator causes mitotic arrest and, thereby, inviability of male hybrid larvae. Our genomic method provides a facile means to accelerate the identification of hybrid incompatibility genes in other model and nonmodel systems.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4703311/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4703311/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Phadnis, Nitin -- Baker, EmilyClare P -- Cooper, Jacob C -- Frizzell, Kimberly A -- Hsieh, Emily -- de la Cruz, Aida Flor A -- Shendure, Jay -- Kitzman, Jacob O -- Malik, Harmit S -- 5T32 HD0741/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/ -- HG006283/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM074108/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM115914/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Dec 18;350(6267):1552-5. doi: 10.1126/science.aac7504.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. nitin.phadnis@utah.edu hsmalik@fhcrc.org. ; Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. ; Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA. ; Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. ; Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. ; Basic Sciences Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA. nitin.phadnis@utah.edu hsmalik@fhcrc.org.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26680200" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Many transcriptional activators act at a distance from core promoter elements and work by recruiting RNA polymerase through protein-protein interactions. We show here how the prokaryotic regulatory protein CueR both represses and activates transcription by differentially modulating local DNA structure within the promoter. Structural studies reveal that the repressor state slightly bends the promoter DNA, precluding optimal RNA polymerase-promoter recognition. Upon binding a metal ion in the allosteric site, CueR switches into an activator conformation. It maintains all protein-DNA contacts but introduces torsional stresses that kink and undertwist the promoter, stabilizing an A-form DNA-like conformation. These factors switch on and off transcription by exerting dynamic control of DNA stereochemistry, reshaping the core promoter and making it a better or worse substrate for polymerase.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4617686/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4617686/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Philips, Steven J -- Canalizo-Hernandez, Monica -- Yildirim, Ilyas -- Schatz, George C -- Mondragon, Alfonso -- O'Halloran, Thomas V -- R01 GM038784/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01GM038784/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- U54 CA143869/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- U54 CA193419/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- U54CA143869/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Aug 21;349(6250):877-81. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa9809.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. ; Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. ; Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. t-ohalloran@northwestern.edu a-mondragon@northwestern.edu. ; Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. The Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. t-ohalloran@northwestern.edu a-mondragon@northwestern.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26293965" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Mapping protein sequence space is a difficult problem that necessitates the analysis of 20(N) combinations for sequences of length N. We systematically mapped the sequence space of four key residues in the Escherichia coli protein kinase PhoQ that drive recognition of its substrate PhoP. We generated a library containing all 160,000 variants of PhoQ at these positions and used a two-step selection coupled to next-generation sequencing to identify 1659 functional variants. Our results reveal extensive degeneracy in the PhoQ-PhoP interface and epistasis, with the effect of individual substitutions often highly dependent on context. Together, epistasis and the genetic code create a pattern of connectivity of functional variants in sequence space that likely constrains PhoQ evolution. Consequently, the diversity of PhoQ orthologs is substantially lower than that of functional PhoQ variants.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Podgornaia, Anna I -- Laub, Michael T -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Feb 6;347(6222):673-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1257360.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Computational & Systems Biology Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. ; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. laub@mit.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25657251" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Fusion of intracellular transport vesicles requires soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptors (SNAREs) and Sec1/Munc18-family (SM) proteins. Membrane-bridging SNARE complexes are critical for fusion, but their spontaneous assembly is inefficient and may require SM proteins in vivo. We report x-ray structures of Vps33, the SM subunit of the yeast homotypic fusion and vacuole protein-sorting (HOPS) complex, bound to two individual SNAREs. The two SNAREs, one from each membrane, are held in the correct orientation and register for subsequent complex assembly. Vps33 and potentially other SM proteins could thus act as templates for generating partially zipped SNARE assembly intermediates. HOPS was essential to mediate SNARE complex assembly at physiological SNARE concentrations. Thus, Vps33 appears to catalyze SNARE complex assembly through specific SNARE motif recognition.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4727825/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4727825/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Baker, Richard W -- Jeffrey, Philip D -- Zick, Michael -- Phillips, Ben P -- Wickner, William T -- Hughson, Frederick M -- GM071574/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM23377/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM071574/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM007388/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Sep 4;349(6252):1111-4. doi: 10.1126/science.aac7906.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH 03755, USA. ; Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. hughson@princeton.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26339030" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The 5' leader of the HIV-1 genome contains conserved elements that direct selective packaging of the unspliced, dimeric viral RNA into assembling particles. By using a (2)H-edited nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) approach, we determined the structure of a 155-nucleotide region of the leader that is independently capable of directing packaging (core encapsidation signal; Psi(CES)). The RNA adopts an unexpected tandem three-way junction structure, in which residues of the major splice donor and translation initiation sites are sequestered by long-range base pairing and guanosines essential for both packaging and high-affinity binding to the cognate Gag protein are exposed in helical junctions. The structure reveals how translation is attenuated, Gag binding promoted, and unspliced dimeric genomes selected, by the RNA conformer that directs packaging.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4492308/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4492308/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Keane, Sarah C -- Heng, Xiao -- Lu, Kun -- Kharytonchyk, Siarhei -- Ramakrishnan, Venkateswaran -- Carter, Gregory -- Barton, Shawn -- Hosic, Azra -- Florwick, Alyssa -- Santos, Justin -- Bolden, Nicholas C -- McCowin, Sayo -- Case, David A -- Johnson, Bruce A -- Salemi, Marco -- Telesnitsky, Alice -- Summers, Michael F -- 2T34 GM008663/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- P50 GM 103297/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- P50 GM103297/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM042561/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM42561/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 May 22;348(6237):917-21. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa9266.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA. ; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5620, USA. ; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. ; One Moon Scientific, Incorporated, 839 Grant Avenue, Westfield, NJ 07090, USA, and City University of New York (CUNY) Advanced Science Research Center, 85 St. Nicholas Terrace, New York, NY 10031, USA. ; Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, and Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA. ; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5620, USA. summers@hhmi.umbc.edu ateles@umich.edu. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA. summers@hhmi.umbc.edu ateles@umich.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25999508" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Light-gated rhodopsin cation channels from chlorophyte algae have transformed neuroscience research through their use as membrane-depolarizing optogenetic tools for targeted photoactivation of neuron firing. Photosuppression of neuronal action potentials has been limited by the lack of equally efficient tools for membrane hyperpolarization. We describe anion channel rhodopsins (ACRs), a family of light-gated anion channels from cryptophyte algae that provide highly sensitive and efficient membrane hyperpolarization and neuronal silencing through light-gated chloride conduction. ACRs strictly conducted anions, completely excluding protons and larger cations, and hyperpolarized the membrane of cultured animal cells with much faster kinetics at less than one-thousandth of the light intensity required by the most efficient currently available optogenetic proteins. Natural ACRs provide optogenetic inhibition tools with unprecedented light sensitivity and temporal precision.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4764398/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4764398/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Govorunova, Elena G -- Sineshchekov, Oleg A -- Janz, Roger -- Liu, Xiaoqin -- Spudich, John L -- R01 GM027750/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01GM027750/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R21MH098288/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ -- S10RR022531/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Aug 7;349(6248):647-50. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa7484. Epub 2015 Jun 25.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Center for Membrane Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX 77030, USA. ; Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX 77030, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26113638" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Tail-anchored (TA) proteins are a physiologically important class of membrane proteins targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum by the conserved guided-entry of TA proteins (GET) pathway. During transit, their hydrophobic transmembrane domains (TMDs) are chaperoned by the cytosolic targeting factor Get3, but the molecular nature of the functional Get3-TA protein targeting complex remains unknown. We reconstituted the physiologic assembly pathway for a functional targeting complex and showed that it comprises a TA protein bound to a Get3 homodimer. Crystal structures of Get3 bound to different TA proteins showed an alpha-helical TMD occupying a hydrophobic groove that spans the Get3 homodimer. Our data elucidate the mechanism of TA protein recognition and shielding by Get3 and suggest general principles of hydrophobic domain chaperoning by cellular targeting factors.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4413028/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4413028/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Mateja, Agnieszka -- Paduch, Marcin -- Chang, Hsin-Yang -- Szydlowska, Anna -- Kossiakoff, Anthony A -- Hegde, Ramanujan S -- Keenan, Robert J -- MC_UP_A022_1007/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- P41 GM103403/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM086487/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- U01 GM094588/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- U54 GM087519/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Mar 6;347(6226):1152-5. doi: 10.1126/science.1261671.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, 929 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. ; MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK. rhegde@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk bkeenan@uchicago.edu. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, 929 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. rhegde@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk bkeenan@uchicago.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25745174" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The shortage of organs for transplantation is a major barrier to the treatment of organ failure. Although porcine organs are considered promising, their use has been checked by concerns about the transmission of porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) to humans. Here we describe the eradication of all PERVs in a porcine kidney epithelial cell line (PK15). We first determined the PK15 PERV copy number to be 62. Using CRISPR-Cas9, we disrupted all copies of the PERV pol gene and demonstrated a 〉1000-fold reduction in PERV transmission to human cells, using our engineered cells. Our study shows that CRISPR-Cas9 multiplexability can be as high as 62 and demonstrates the possibility that PERVs can be inactivated for clinical application of porcine-to-human xenotransplantation.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Yang, Luhan -- Guell, Marc -- Niu, Dong -- George, Haydy -- Lesha, Emal -- Grishin, Dennis -- Aach, John -- Shrock, Ellen -- Xu, Weihong -- Poci, Jurgen -- Cortazio, Rebeca -- Wilkinson, Robert A -- Fishman, Jay A -- Church, George -- P50 HG005550/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Nov 27;350(6264):1101-4. doi: 10.1126/science.aad1191. Epub 2015 Oct 11.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. eGenesis Biosciences, Boston, MA 02115, USA. gchurch@genetics.med.harvard.edu luhan.yang@egenesisbio.com. ; Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. eGenesis Biosciences, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. ; Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. ; Department of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. ; Transplant Infectious Disease and Compromised Host Program, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26456528" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Most spontaneous DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) result from replication-fork breakage. Break-induced replication (BIR), a genome rearrangement-prone repair mechanism that requires the Pol32/POLD3 subunit of eukaryotic DNA Poldelta, was proposed to repair broken forks, but how genome destabilization is avoided was unknown. We show that broken fork repair initially uses error-prone Pol32-dependent synthesis, but that mutagenic synthesis is limited to within a few kilobases from the break by Mus81 endonuclease and a converging fork. Mus81 suppresses template switches between both homologous sequences and diverged human Alu repetitive elements, highlighting its importance for stability of highly repetitive genomes. We propose that lack of a timely converging fork or Mus81 may propel genome instability observed in cancer.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Mayle, Ryan -- Campbell, Ian M -- Beck, Christine R -- Yu, Yang -- Wilson, Marenda -- Shaw, Chad A -- Bjergbaek, Lotte -- Lupski, James R -- Ira, Grzegorz -- F31 NS083159/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- GM080600/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- HG006542/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- NS058529/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- NS083159/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM080600/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 NS058529/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- U54 HG006542/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Aug 14;349(6249):742-7. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa8391.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA. ; Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, University of Aarhus, Aarhus 8000, Denmark. ; Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Department of Pediatrics, and Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA. ; Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA. gira@bcm.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26273056" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Transcription by RNA polymerase (RNAP) in bacteria requires specific promoter recognition by sigma factors. The major variant sigma factor (sigma(54)) initially forms a transcriptionally silent complex requiring specialized adenosine triphosphate-dependent activators for initiation. Our crystal structure of the 450-kilodalton RNAP-sigma(54) holoenzyme at 3.8 angstroms reveals molecular details of sigma(54) and its interactions with RNAP. The structure explains how sigma(54) targets different regions in RNAP to exert its inhibitory function. Although sigma(54) and the major sigma factor, sigma(70), have similar functional domains and contact similar regions of RNAP, unanticipated differences are observed in their domain arrangement and interactions with RNAP, explaining their distinct properties. Furthermore, we observe evolutionarily conserved regulatory hotspots in RNAPs that can be targeted by a diverse range of mechanisms to fine tune transcription.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4681505/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4681505/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Yang, Yun -- Darbari, Vidya C -- Zhang, Nan -- Lu, Duo -- Glyde, Robert -- Wang, Yi-Ping -- Winkelman, Jared T -- Gourse, Richard L -- Murakami, Katsuhiko S -- Buck, Martin -- Zhang, Xiaodong -- 098412/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- BB/C504700/1/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- GM087350/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM087350/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R37 GM37048/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Aug 21;349(6250):882-5. doi: 10.1126/science.aab1478.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Centre for Structural Biology, Imperial College London, South Kensington SW7 2AZ, UK. State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, China. ; Centre for Structural Biology, Imperial College London, South Kensington SW7 2AZ, UK. Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, South Kensington SW7 2AZ, UK. ; Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, South Kensington SW7 2AZ, UK. ; Centre for Structural Biology, Imperial College London, South Kensington SW7 2AZ, UK. ; State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, College of Life Sciences, Peking University, China. ; Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for RNA Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. ; Centre for Structural Biology, Imperial College London, South Kensington SW7 2AZ, UK. Department of Medicine, Imperial College London, South Kensington SW7 2AZ, UK. xiaodong.zhang@imperial.ac.uk.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26293966" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The detailed molecular interactions between native HIV-1 capsid protein (CA) hexamers that shield the viral genome and proteins have been elusive. We report crystal structures describing interactions between CA monomers related by sixfold symmetry within hexamers (intrahexamer) and threefold and twofold symmetry between neighboring hexamers (interhexamer). The structures describe how CA builds hexagonal lattices, the foundation of mature capsids. Lattice structure depends on an adaptable hydration layer modulating interactions among CA molecules. Disruption of this layer alters interhexamer interfaces, highlighting an inherent structural variability. A CA-targeting antiviral affects capsid stability by binding across CA molecules and subtly altering interhexamer interfaces remote to the ligand-binding site. Inherent structural plasticity, hydration layer rearrangement, and effector binding affect capsid stability and have functional implications for the retroviral life cycle.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4584149/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4584149/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Gres, Anna T -- Kirby, Karen A -- KewalRamani, Vineet N -- Tanner, John J -- Pornillos, Owen -- Sarafianos, Stefan G -- AI076119/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- AI099284/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- AI100890/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- AI112417/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- AI120860/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- GM066087/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM103368/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- P50 GM103368/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI076119/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI099284/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI100890/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI120860/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM066087/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R21 AI112417/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 3;349(6243):99-103. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa5936. Epub 2015 Jun 4.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. ; Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. ; Basic Research Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702, USA. ; Department of Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. ; Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA. ; Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA. sarafianoss@missouri.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26044298" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is rapidly emerging as a powerful tool for protein structure determination at high resolution. Here we report the structure of a complex between Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase and the cell-permeant inhibitor phenylethyl beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (PETG), determined by cryo-EM at an average resolution of ~2.2 angstroms (A). Besides the PETG ligand, we identified densities in the map for ~800 water molecules and for magnesium and sodium ions. Although it is likely that continued advances in detector technology may further enhance resolution, our findings demonstrate that preparation of specimens of adequate quality and intrinsic protein flexibility, rather than imaging or image-processing technologies, now represent the major bottlenecks to routinely achieving resolutions close to 2 A using single-particle cryo-EM.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Bartesaghi, Alberto -- Merk, Alan -- Banerjee, Soojay -- Matthies, Doreen -- Wu, Xiongwu -- Milne, Jacqueline L S -- Subramaniam, Sriram -- Intramural NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jun 5;348(6239):1147-51. doi: 10.1126/science.aab1576. Epub 2015 May 7.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Laboratory of Cell Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. ; Laboratory of Computational Biology, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. ; Laboratory of Cell Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. ss1@nih.gov.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25953817" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: In cells, biosynthetic machinery coordinates protein synthesis and folding to optimize efficiency and minimize off-pathway outcomes. However, it has been difficult to delineate experimentally the mechanisms responsible. Using fluorescence resonance energy transfer, we studied cotranslational folding of the first nucleotide-binding domain from the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator. During synthesis, folding occurred discretely via sequential compaction of N-terminal, alpha-helical, and alpha/beta-core subdomains. Moreover, the timing of these events was critical; premature alpha-subdomain folding prevented subsequent core formation. This process was facilitated by modulating intrinsic folding propensity in three distinct ways: delaying alpha-subdomain compaction, facilitating beta-strand intercalation, and optimizing translation kinetics via codon usage. Thus, de novo folding is translationally tuned by an integrated cellular response that shapes the cotranslational folding landscape at critical stages of synthesis.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Kim, Soo Jung -- Yoon, Jae Seok -- Shishido, Hideki -- Yang, Zhongying -- Rooney, LeeAnn A -- Barral, Jose M -- Skach, William R -- P30CA069533/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- P30EYE010572/PHS HHS/ -- R01DK51818/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- R01GM53457/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- S10OD012246/OD/NIH HHS/ -- S10RR025571/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Apr 24;348(6233):444-8. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa3974.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), Portland, OR 97239, USA. ; Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77550-0620, USA. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77550-0620, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), Portland, OR 97239, USA. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA. skachw@ohsu.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25908822" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Chemokines and their receptors control cell migration during development, immune system responses, and in numerous diseases, including inflammation and cancer. The structural basis of receptor:chemokine recognition has been a long-standing unanswered question due to the challenges of structure determination for membrane protein complexes. Here, we report the crystal structure of the chemokine receptor CXCR4 in complex with the viral chemokine antagonist vMIP-II at 3.1 angstrom resolution. The structure revealed a 1:1 stoichiometry and a more extensive binding interface than anticipated from the paradigmatic two-site model. The structure helped rationalize a large body of mutagenesis data and together with modeling provided insights into CXCR4 interactions with its endogenous ligand CXCL12, its ability to recognize diverse ligands, and the specificity of CC and CXC receptors for their respective chemokines.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4362693/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4362693/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Qin, Ling -- Kufareva, Irina -- Holden, Lauren G -- Wang, Chong -- Zheng, Yi -- Zhao, Chunxia -- Fenalti, Gustavo -- Wu, Huixian -- Han, Gye Won -- Cherezov, Vadim -- Abagyan, Ruben -- Stevens, Raymond C -- Handel, Tracy M -- ACB-12002/PHS HHS/ -- AGM-12006/PHS HHS/ -- R01 GM071872/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM081763/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R21 AI101687/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- U01 GM094612/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- U54 GM094618/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Mar 6;347(6226):1117-22. doi: 10.1126/science.1261064. Epub 2015 Jan 22.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉University of California, San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. ; University of California, San Diego, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. thandel@ucsd.edu stevens@usc.edu ikufareva@ucsd.edu. ; Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. ; Department of Chemistry, Bridge Institute. Department of Biological Sciences, Bridge Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. ; Department of Chemistry, Bridge Institute. ; Department of Chemistry, Bridge Institute. Department of Biological Sciences, Bridge Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. thandel@ucsd.edu stevens@usc.edu ikufareva@ucsd.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25612609" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Photosynthesis converts solar energy to chemical energy by means of two large pigment-protein complexes: photosystem I (PSI) and photosystem II (PSII). In higher plants, the PSI core is surrounded by a large light-harvesting complex I (LHCI) that captures sunlight and transfers the excitation energy to the core with extremely high efficiency. We report the structure of PSI-LHCI, a 600-kilodalton membrane protein supercomplex, from Pisum sativum (pea) at a resolution of 2.8 angstroms. The structure reveals the detailed arrangement of pigments and other cofactors-especially within LHCI-as well as numerous specific interactions between the PSI core and LHCI. These results provide a firm structural basis for our understanding on the energy transfer and photoprotection mechanisms within the PSI-LHCI supercomplex.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Qin, Xiaochun -- Suga, Michihiro -- Kuang, Tingyun -- Shen, Jian-Ren -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 May 29;348(6238):989-95. doi: 10.1126/science.aab0214.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Photosynthesis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Photobiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China. Photosynthesis Research Center, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Tsushima Naka 3-1-1, Okayama 700-8530, Japan. ; Photosynthesis Research Center, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Tsushima Naka 3-1-1, Okayama 700-8530, Japan. ; Photosynthesis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Photobiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China. kuangty@ibcas.ac.cn shen@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp. ; Photosynthesis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Photobiology, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China. Photosynthesis Research Center, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Tsushima Naka 3-1-1, Okayama 700-8530, Japan. kuangty@ibcas.ac.cn shen@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26023133" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The inefficient clearance of dying cells can lead to abnormal immune responses, such as unresolved inflammation and autoimmune conditions. We show that tumor suppressor p53 controls signaling-mediated phagocytosis of apoptotic cells through its target, Death Domain1alpha (DD1alpha), which suggests that p53 promotes both the proapoptotic pathway and postapoptotic events. DD1alpha appears to function as an engulfment ligand or receptor that engages in homophilic intermolecular interaction at intercellular junctions of apoptotic cells and macrophages, unlike other typical scavenger receptors that recognize phosphatidylserine on the surface of dead cells. DD1alpha-deficient mice showed in vivo defects in clearing dying cells, which led to multiple organ damage indicative of immune dysfunction. p53-induced expression of DD1alpha thus prevents persistence of cell corpses and ensures efficient generation of precise immune responses.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Yoon, Kyoung Wan -- Byun, Sanguine -- Kwon, Eunjeong -- Hwang, So-Young -- Chu, Kiki -- Hiraki, Masatsugu -- Jo, Seung-Hee -- Weins, Astrid -- Hakroush, Samy -- Cebulla, Angelika -- Sykes, David B -- Greka, Anna -- Mundel, Peter -- Fisher, David E -- Mandinova, Anna -- Lee, Sam W -- CA142805/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- CA149477/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- CA80058/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- DK062472/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- DK091218/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- DK093378/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- DK57683/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/ -- S10RR027673/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jul 31;349(6247):1261669. doi: 10.1126/science.1261669.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Building 149, 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. ; Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA. ; Center for Regenerative Medicine and Technology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. ; Department of Medicine, Glom-NExT Center for Glomerular Kidney Disease and Novel Experimental Therapeutics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. ; Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Building 149, 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Building 149, 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. swlee@mgh.harvard.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26228159" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The Protoaurignacian culture is pivotal to the debate about the timing of the arrival of modern humans in western Europe and the demise of Neandertals. However, which group is responsible for this culture remains uncertain. We investigated dental remains associated with the Protoaurignacian. The lower deciduous incisor from Riparo Bombrini is modern human, based on its morphology. The upper deciduous incisor from Grotta di Fumane contains ancient mitochondrial DNA of a modern human type. These teeth are the oldest human remains in an Aurignacian-related archaeological context, confirming that by 41,000 calendar years before the present, modern humans bearing Protoaurignacian culture spread into southern Europe. Because the last Neandertals date to 41,030 to 39,260 calendar years before the present, we suggest that the Protoaurignacian triggered the demise of Neandertals in this area.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Benazzi, S -- Slon, V -- Talamo, S -- Negrino, F -- Peresani, M -- Bailey, S E -- Sawyer, S -- Panetta, D -- Vicino, G -- Starnini, E -- Mannino, M A -- Salvadori, P A -- Meyer, M -- Paabo, S -- Hublin, J-J -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 May 15;348(6236):793-6. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa2773. Epub 2015 Apr 23.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, 48121 Ravenna, Italy. Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. stefano.benazzi@unibo.it. ; Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. ; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. ; Dipartimento di Antichita, Filosofia, Storia e Geografia, Universita di Genova, Via Balbi 2, 16126 Genova, Italy. ; Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Corso Ercole I d'Este 32, Universita di Ferrara, 44100 Ferrara, Italy. ; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany. Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA. ; CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy. ; Museo Archeologico del Finale, Chiostri di Santa Caterina, 17024 Finale Ligure Borgo, Italy. ; Scuola di Scienze Umanistiche, Dipartimento di Studi Storici, Universita di Torino, via S. Ottavio 20, 10124 Torino, Italy. Museo Preistorico Nazionale dei Balzi Rossi, Via Balzi Rossi 9, 18039 Ventimiglia, Italy.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25908660" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The nuclear pore complex (NPC) constitutes the sole gateway for bidirectional nucleocytoplasmic transport. We present the reconstitution and interdisciplinary analyses of the ~425-kilodalton inner ring complex (IRC), which forms the central transport channel and diffusion barrier of the NPC, revealing its interaction network and equimolar stoichiometry. The Nsp1*Nup49*Nup57 channel nucleoporin heterotrimer (CNT) attaches to the IRC solely through the adaptor nucleoporin Nic96. The CNT*Nic96 structure reveals that Nic96 functions as an assembly sensor that recognizes the three-dimensional architecture of the CNT, thereby mediating the incorporation of a defined CNT state into the NPC. We propose that the IRC adopts a relatively rigid scaffold that recruits the CNT to primarily form the diffusion barrier of the NPC, rather than enabling channel dilation.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Stuwe, Tobias -- Bley, Christopher J -- Thierbach, Karsten -- Petrovic, Stefan -- Schilbach, Sandra -- Mayo, Daniel J -- Perriches, Thibaud -- Rundlet, Emily J -- Jeon, Young E -- Collins, Leslie N -- Huber, Ferdinand M -- Lin, Daniel H -- Paduch, Marcin -- Koide, Akiko -- Lu, Vincent -- Fischer, Jessica -- Hurt, Ed -- Koide, Shohei -- Kossiakoff, Anthony A -- Hoelz, Andre -- ACB-12002/PHS HHS/ -- AGM-12006/PHS HHS/ -- P30-CA014599/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01-GM090324/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01-GM111461/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- U01-GM094588/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- U54-GM087519/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Oct 2;350(6256):56-64. doi: 10.1126/science.aac9176. Epub 2015 Aug 27.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉California Institute of Technology, Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. ; Biochemistry Center of Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. ; California Institute of Technology, Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. hoelz@caltech.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26316600" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: A wide variety of RNAs encode small open-reading-frame (smORF/sORF) peptides, but their functions are largely unknown. Here, we show that Drosophila polished-rice (pri) sORF peptides trigger proteasome-mediated protein processing, converting the Shavenbaby (Svb) transcription repressor into a shorter activator. A genome-wide RNA interference screen identifies an E2-E3 ubiquitin-conjugating complex, UbcD6-Ubr3, which targets Svb to the proteasome in a pri-dependent manner. Upon interaction with Ubr3, Pri peptides promote the binding of Ubr3 to Svb. Ubr3 can then ubiquitinate the Svb N terminus, which is degraded by the proteasome. The C-terminal domains protect Svb from complete degradation and ensure appropriate processing. Our data show that Pri peptides control selectivity of Ubr3 binding, which suggests that the family of sORF peptides may contain an extended repertoire of protein regulators.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Zanet, J -- Benrabah, E -- Li, T -- Pelissier-Monier, A -- Chanut-Delalande, H -- Ronsin, B -- Bellen, H J -- Payre, F -- Plaza, S -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Sep 18;349(6254):1356-8. doi: 10.1126/science.aac5677.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Centre de Biologie du Developpement, Universite de Toulouse III-Paul Sabatier, Batiment 4R3, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France. CNRS, UMR5547, Centre de Biologie du Developpement, F-31062 Toulouse, France. ; Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. ; Program in Developmental Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Neurological Research Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. ; Centre de Biologie du Developpement, Universite de Toulouse III-Paul Sabatier, Batiment 4R3, 118 route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse, France. CNRS, UMR5547, Centre de Biologie du Developpement, F-31062 Toulouse, France. francois.payre@univ-tlse3.fr serge.plaza@univ-tlse3.f.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26383956" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Translocator proteins (TSPOs) bind steroids and porphyrins, and they are implicated in many human diseases, for which they serve as biomarkers and therapeutic targets. TSPOs have tryptophan-rich sequences that are highly conserved from bacteria to mammals. Here we report crystal structures for Bacillus cereus TSPO (BcTSPO) down to 1.7 A resolution, including a complex with the benzodiazepine-like inhibitor PK11195. We also describe BcTSPO-mediated protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) reactions, including catalytic degradation to a previously undescribed heme derivative. We used structure-inspired mutations to investigate reaction mechanisms, and we showed that TSPOs from Xenopus and man have similar PpIX-directed activities. Although TSPOs have been regarded as transporters, the catalytic activity in PpIX degradation suggests physiological importance for TSPOs in protection against oxidative stress.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4341906/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4341906/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Guo, Youzhong -- Kalathur, Ravi C -- Liu, Qun -- Kloss, Brian -- Bruni, Renato -- Ginter, Christopher -- Kloppmann, Edda -- Rost, Burkhard -- Hendrickson, Wayne A -- GM095315/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM107462/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM107462/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- U54 GM075026/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jan 30;347(6221):551-5. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa1534.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. ; The New York Consortium on Membrane Protein Structure (NYCOMPS), New York Structural Biology Center, 89 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10027, USA. ; The New York Consortium on Membrane Protein Structure (NYCOMPS), New York Structural Biology Center, 89 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10027, USA. New York Structural Biology Center, Synchrotron Beamlines, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA. ; The New York Consortium on Membrane Protein Structure (NYCOMPS), New York Structural Biology Center, 89 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10027, USA. Department of Informatics, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Technische Universitat Munchen, Garching 85748, Germany. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. The New York Consortium on Membrane Protein Structure (NYCOMPS), New York Structural Biology Center, 89 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10027, USA. New York Structural Biology Center, Synchrotron Beamlines, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973, USA. Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. wayne@xtl.cumc.columbia.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25635100" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The nuclear pore complex (NPC) constitutes the sole gateway for bidirectional nucleocytoplasmic transport. Despite half a century of structural characterization, the architecture of the NPC remains unknown. Here we present the crystal structure of a reconstituted ~400-kilodalton coat nucleoporin complex (CNC) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae at a 7.4 angstrom resolution. The crystal structure revealed a curved Y-shaped architecture and the molecular details of the coat nucleoporin interactions forming the central "triskelion" of the Y. A structural comparison of the yeast CNC with an electron microscopy reconstruction of its human counterpart suggested the evolutionary conservation of the elucidated architecture. Moreover, 32 copies of the CNC crystal structure docked readily into a cryoelectron tomographic reconstruction of the fully assembled human NPC, thereby accounting for ~16 megadalton of its mass.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Stuwe, Tobias -- Correia, Ana R -- Lin, Daniel H -- Paduch, Marcin -- Lu, Vincent T -- Kossiakoff, Anthony A -- Hoelz, Andre -- 5 T32 GM07616/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- ACB-12002/PHS HHS/ -- AGM-12006/PHS HHS/ -- U01 GM094588/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- U54 GM087519/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Mar 6;347(6226):1148-52. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa4136. Epub 2015 Feb 12.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. These authors contributed equally to this work. ; Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. ; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. ; Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. hoelz@caltech.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25745173" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: In the fruit fly Drosophila, head formation is driven by a single gene, bicoid, which generates head-to-tail polarity of the main embryonic axis. Bicoid deficiency results in embryos with tail-to-tail polarity and no head. However, most insects lack bicoid, and the molecular mechanism for establishing head-to-tail polarity is poorly understood. We have identified a gene that establishes head-to-tail polarity of the mosquito-like midge, Chironomus riparius. This gene, named panish, encodes a cysteine-clamp DNA binding domain and operates through a different mechanism than bicoid. This finding, combined with the observation that the phylogenetic distributions of panish and bicoid are limited to specific families of flies, reveals frequent evolutionary changes of body axis determinants and a remarkable opportunity to study gene regulatory network evolution.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4449817/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4449817/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Klomp, Jeff -- Athy, Derek -- Kwan, Chun Wai -- Bloch, Natasha I -- Sandmann, Thomas -- Lemke, Steffen -- Schmidt-Ott, Urs -- 1R03HD67700-01A1/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/ -- R03 HD067700/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 May 29;348(6238):1040-2. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa7105. Epub 2015 May 7.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. ; Division of Signaling and Functional Genomics, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. ; Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. uschmid@uchicago.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25953821" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Measles is a highly contagious human disease. We used cryo-electron microscopy and single particle-based helical image analysis to determine the structure of the helical nucleocapsid formed by the folded domain of the measles virus nucleoprotein encapsidating an RNA at a resolution of 4.3 angstroms. The resulting pseudoatomic model of the measles virus nucleocapsid offers important insights into the mechanism of the helical polymerization of nucleocapsids of negative-strand RNA viruses, in particular via the exchange subdomains of the nucleoprotein. The structure reveals the mode of the nucleoprotein-RNA interaction and explains why each nucleoprotein of measles virus binds six nucleotides, whereas the respiratory syncytial virus nucleoprotein binds seven. It provides a rational basis for further analysis of measles virus replication and transcription, and reveals potential targets for drug design.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Gutsche, Irina -- Desfosses, Ambroise -- Effantin, Gregory -- Ling, Wai Li -- Haupt, Melina -- Ruigrok, Rob W H -- Sachse, Carsten -- Schoehn, Guy -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 May 8;348(6235):704-7. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa5137. Epub 2015 Apr 16.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉CNRS, Unit for Virus Host-Cell Interactions, 38042 Grenoble, France. Universite Grenoble Alpes, Unit for Virus Host-Cell Interactions, 38042 Grenoble, France. gutsche@embl.fr. ; Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, 69917 Heidelberg, Germany. ; CNRS, Unit for Virus Host-Cell Interactions, 38042 Grenoble, France. Universite Grenoble Alpes, Unit for Virus Host-Cell Interactions, 38042 Grenoble, France. ; Universite Grenoble Alpes, IBS, 38044 Grenoble, France. CNRS, IBS, 38044 Grenoble, France. CEA, IBS, 38044 Grenoble, France. ; Institut Laue-Langevin, 38000 Grenoble, France. ; CNRS, Unit for Virus Host-Cell Interactions, 38042 Grenoble, France. Universite Grenoble Alpes, Unit for Virus Host-Cell Interactions, 38042 Grenoble, France. Universite Grenoble Alpes, IBS, 38044 Grenoble, France. CNRS, IBS, 38044 Grenoble, France. CEA, IBS, 38044 Grenoble, France.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25883315" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The discovery of Streptomyces-produced streptomycin founded the age of tuberculosis therapy. Despite the subsequent development of a curative regimen for this disease, tuberculosis remains a worldwide problem, and the emergence of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis has prioritized the need for new drugs. Here we show that new optimized derivatives from Streptomyces-derived griselimycin are highly active against M. tuberculosis, both in vitro and in vivo, by inhibiting the DNA polymerase sliding clamp DnaN. We discovered that resistance to griselimycins, occurring at very low frequency, is associated with amplification of a chromosomal segment containing dnaN, as well as the ori site. Our results demonstrate that griselimycins have high translational potential for tuberculosis treatment, validate DnaN as an antimicrobial target, and capture the process of antibiotic pressure-induced gene amplification.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Kling, Angela -- Lukat, Peer -- Almeida, Deepak V -- Bauer, Armin -- Fontaine, Evelyne -- Sordello, Sylvie -- Zaburannyi, Nestor -- Herrmann, Jennifer -- Wenzel, Silke C -- Konig, Claudia -- Ammerman, Nicole C -- Barrio, Maria Belen -- Borchers, Kai -- Bordon-Pallier, Florence -- Bronstrup, Mark -- Courtemanche, Gilles -- Gerlitz, Martin -- Geslin, Michel -- Hammann, Peter -- Heinz, Dirk W -- Hoffmann, Holger -- Klieber, Sylvie -- Kohlmann, Markus -- Kurz, Michael -- Lair, Christine -- Matter, Hans -- Nuermberger, Eric -- Tyagi, Sandeep -- Fraisse, Laurent -- Grosset, Jacques H -- Lagrange, Sophie -- Muller, Rolf -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jun 5;348(6239):1106-12. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa4690.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Microbial Natural Products, Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrucken, Germany. German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hannover-Braunschweig, Hannover, Germany. ; Department of Microbial Natural Products, Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrucken, Germany. German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hannover-Braunschweig, Hannover, Germany. Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), 38124 Braunschweig, Germany. ; Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA. KwaZulu-Natal Research Institute for Tuberculosis and HIV (K-RITH), Durban 4001, South Africa. ; Sanofi-Aventis R&D, LGCR/Chemistry, Industriepark Hochst, 65926 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. ; Sanofi-Aventis R&D, Infectious Diseases Therapeutic Strategic Unit, 31036 Toulouse, France. ; Sanofi-Aventis R&D, Strategy, Science Policy & External Innovation (S&I), 75008 Paris, France. ; Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), 38124 Braunschweig, Germany. Sanofi-Aventis R&D, LGCR/Chemistry, Industriepark Hochst, 65926 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. ; Sanofi-Aventis R&D, Infectious Diseases Therapeutic Strategic Unit, 65926 Frankfurt, Germany. ; German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hannover-Braunschweig, Hannover, Germany. Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), 38124 Braunschweig, Germany. ; Sanofi-Aventis R&D, Disposition Safety and Animal Research, 34184 Montpellier, France. ; Center for Tuberculosis Research, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA. ; Department of Microbial Natural Products, Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbrucken, Germany. German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), Partner Site Hannover-Braunschweig, Hannover, Germany. rolf.mueller@helmholtz-hzi.de.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26045430" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Outbreaks of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) raise questions about the prevalence and evolution of the MERS coronavirus (CoV) in its animal reservoir. Our surveillance in Saudi Arabia in 2014 and 2015 showed that viruses of the MERS-CoV species and a human CoV 229E-related lineage co-circulated at high prevalence, with frequent co-infections in the upper respiratory tract of dromedary camels. viruses of the betacoronavirus 1 species, we found that dromedary camels share three CoV species with humans. Several MERS-CoV lineages were present in camels, including a recombinant lineage that has been dominant since December 2014 and that subsequently led to the human outbreaks in 2015. Camels therefore serve as an important reservoir for the maintenance and diversification of the MERS-CoVs and are the source of human infections with this virus.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Sabir, Jamal S M -- Lam, Tommy T-Y -- Ahmed, Mohamed M M -- Li, Lifeng -- Shen, Yongyi -- Abo-Aba, Salah E M -- Qureshi, Muhammd I -- Abu-Zeid, Mohamed -- Zhang, Yu -- Khiyami, Mohammad A -- Alharbi, Njud S -- Hajrah, Nahid H -- Sabir, Meshaal J -- Mutwakil, Mohammed H Z -- Kabli, Saleh A -- Alsulaimany, Faten A S -- Obaid, Abdullah Y -- Zhou, Boping -- Smith, David K -- Holmes, Edward C -- Zhu, Huachen -- Guan, Yi -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Jan 1;351(6268):81-4. doi: 10.1126/science.aac8608. Epub 2015 Dec 17.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. ; State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases (The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Branch), Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China. Shantou University-The University of Hong Kong Joint Institute of Virology, Shantou University, Shantou, China. Centre of Influenza Research and State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. ; Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. Department of Nucleic Acids Research, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute, City for Scientific Research and Technology Applications, Borg El-Arab, Post Office Box 21934, Alexandria, Egypt. ; Shantou University-The University of Hong Kong Joint Institute of Virology, Shantou University, Shantou, China. Centre of Influenza Research and State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. ; Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. Microbial Genetics Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Division, National Research Center, Dokki, Giza, Egypt. ; King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia. ; Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. ; State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases (The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Branch), Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China. ; Centre of Influenza Research and State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. ; Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, Charles Perkins Centre, School of Biological Sciences and Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia. ; State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases (The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Branch), Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China. Shantou University-The University of Hong Kong Joint Institute of Virology, Shantou University, Shantou, China. Centre of Influenza Research and State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. zhuhch@hku.hk yguan@hku.hk. ; Biotechnology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases (The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Branch), Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China. Shantou University-The University of Hong Kong Joint Institute of Virology, Shantou University, Shantou, China. Centre of Influenza Research and State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. zhuhch@hku.hk yguan@hku.hk.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26678874" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Eukaryotic cells coordinate growth with the availability of nutrients through the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), a master growth regulator. Leucine is of particular importance and activates mTORC1 via the Rag guanosine triphosphatases and their regulators GATOR1 and GATOR2. Sestrin2 interacts with GATOR2 and is a leucine sensor. Here we present the 2.7 angstrom crystal structure of Sestrin2 in complex with leucine. Leucine binds through a single pocket that coordinates its charged functional groups and confers specificity for the hydrophobic side chain. A loop encloses leucine and forms a lid-latch mechanism required for binding. A structure-guided mutation in Sestrin2 that decreases its affinity for leucine leads to a concomitant increase in the leucine concentration required for mTORC1 activation in cells. These results provide a structural mechanism of amino acid sensing by the mTORC1 pathway.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4698039/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4698039/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Saxton, Robert A -- Knockenhauer, Kevin E -- Wolfson, Rachel L -- Chantranupong, Lynne -- Pacold, Michael E -- Wang, Tim -- Schwartz, Thomas U -- Sabatini, David M -- AI47389/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- F30 CA189333/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- F31 CA180271/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- F31 CA189437/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- P41 GM103403/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI047389/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 CA103866/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01CA103866/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- S10 RR029205/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/ -- T32 GM007753/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- T32GM007287/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2016 Jan 1;351(6268):53-8. doi: 10.1126/science.aad2087. Epub 2015 Nov 19.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. ; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. ; Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biology, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA. sabatini@wi.mit.edu.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26586190" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Interactions between primary producers and bacteria impact the physiology of both partners, alter the chemistry of their environment, and shape ecosystem diversity. In marine ecosystems, these interactions are difficult to study partly because the major photosynthetic organisms are microscopic, unicellular phytoplankton. Coastal phytoplankton communities are dominated by diatoms, which generate approximately 40% of marine primary production and form the base of many marine food webs. Diatoms co-occur with specific bacterial taxa, but the mechanisms of potential interactions are mostly unknown. Here we tease apart a bacterial consortium associated with a globally distributed diatom and find that a Sulfitobacter species promotes diatom cell division via secretion of the hormone indole-3-acetic acid, synthesized by the bacterium using both diatom-secreted and endogenous tryptophan. Indole-3-acetic acid and tryptophan serve as signalling molecules that are part of a complex exchange of nutrients, including diatom-excreted organosulfur molecules and bacterial-excreted ammonia. The potential prevalence of this mode of signalling in the oceans is corroborated by metabolite and metatranscriptome analyses that show widespread indole-3-acetic acid production by Sulfitobacter-related bacteria, particularly in coastal environments. Our study expands on the emerging recognition that marine microbial communities are part of tightly connected networks by providing evidence that these interactions are mediated through production and exchange of infochemicals.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Amin, S A -- Hmelo, L R -- van Tol, H M -- Durham, B P -- Carlson, L T -- Heal, K R -- Morales, R L -- Berthiaume, C T -- Parker, M S -- Djunaedi, B -- Ingalls, A E -- Parsek, M R -- Moran, M A -- Armbrust, E V -- England -- Nature. 2015 Jun 4;522(7554):98-101. doi: 10.1038/nature14488. Epub 2015 May 27.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉1] School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA [2] Chemistry Faculty, New York University Abu Dhabi, PO Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ; Department of Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA. ; School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA. ; Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA. ; Department of Marine Science, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26017307" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Disruption of epithelial polarity is a key event in the acquisition of neoplastic growth. JNK signalling is known to play an important part in driving the malignant progression of many epithelial tumours, although the link between loss of polarity and JNK signalling remains elusive. In a Drosophila genome-wide genetic screen designed to identify molecules implicated in neoplastic growth, we identified grindelwald (grnd), a gene encoding a transmembrane protein with homology to members of the tumour necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) superfamily. Here we show that Grnd mediates the pro-apoptotic functions of Eiger (Egr), the unique Drosophila TNF, and that overexpression of an active form of Grnd lacking the extracellular domain is sufficient to activate JNK signalling in vivo. Grnd also promotes the invasiveness of Ras(V12)/scrib(-/-) tumours through Egr-dependent Matrix metalloprotease-1 (Mmp1) expression. Grnd localizes to the subapical membrane domain with the cell polarity determinant Crumbs (Crb) and couples Crb-induced loss of polarity with JNK activation and neoplastic growth through physical interaction with Veli (also known as Lin-7). Therefore, Grnd represents the first example of a TNFR that integrates signals from both Egr and apical polarity determinants to induce JNK-dependent cell death or tumour growth.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Andersen, Ditte S -- Colombani, Julien -- Palmerini, Valentina -- Chakrabandhu, Krittalak -- Boone, Emilie -- Rothlisberger, Michael -- Toggweiler, Janine -- Basler, Konrad -- Mapelli, Marina -- Hueber, Anne-Odile -- Leopold, Pierre -- England -- Nature. 2015 Jun 25;522(7557):482-6. doi: 10.1038/nature14298. Epub 2015 Apr 15.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉1] University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Institute of Biology Valrose, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice, France [2] CNRS, Institute of Biology Valrose, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice, France [3] INSERM, Institute of Biology Valrose, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice, France [4] Genetics and Physiology of Growth laboratory, Institute of Biology Valrose, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice, France. ; Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Via Adamello 16, 20139 Milan, Italy. ; 1] University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Institute of Biology Valrose, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice, France [2] CNRS, Institute of Biology Valrose, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice, France [3] INSERM, Institute of Biology Valrose, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice, France [4] Death receptors Signalling and Cancer Therapy laboratory, Institute of Biology Valrose, Parc Valrose, 06108 Nice, France. ; Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25874673" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Phytosulfokine (PSK) is a disulfated pentapeptide that has a ubiquitous role in plant growth and development. PSK is perceived by its receptor PSKR, a leucine-rich repeat receptor kinase (LRR-RK). The mechanisms underlying the recognition of PSK, the activation of PSKR and the identity of the components downstream of the initial binding remain elusive. Here we report the crystal structures of the extracellular LRR domain of PSKR in free, PSK- and co-receptor-bound forms. The structures reveal that PSK interacts mainly with a beta-strand from the island domain of PSKR, forming an anti-beta-sheet. The two sulfate moieties of PSK interact directly with PSKR, sensitizing PSKR recognition of PSK. Supported by biochemical, structural and genetic evidence, PSK binding enhances PSKR heterodimerization with the somatic embryogenesis receptor-like kinases (SERKs). However, PSK is not directly involved in PSKR-SERK interaction but stabilizes PSKR island domain for recruitment of a SERK. Our data reveal the structural basis for PSKR recognition of PSK and allosteric activation of PSKR by PSK, opening up new avenues for the design of PSKR-specific small molecules.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Wang, Jizong -- Li, Hongju -- Han, Zhifu -- Zhang, Heqiao -- Wang, Tong -- Lin, Guangzhong -- Chang, Junbiao -- Yang, Weicai -- Chai, Jijie -- England -- Nature. 2015 Sep 10;525(7568):265-8. doi: 10.1038/nature14858. Epub 2015 Aug 26.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Protein Science, Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. ; State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. ; School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26308901" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Since 2013 the occurrence of human infections by a novel avian H7N9 influenza virus in China has demonstrated the continuing threat posed by zoonotic pathogens. Although the first outbreak wave that was centred on eastern China was seemingly averted, human infections recurred in October 2013 (refs 3-7). It is unclear how the H7N9 virus re-emerged and how it will develop further; potentially it may become a long-term threat to public health. Here we show that H7N9 viruses have spread from eastern to southern China and become persistent in chickens, which has led to the establishment of multiple regionally distinct lineages with different reassortant genotypes. Repeated introductions of viruses from Zhejiang to other provinces and the presence of H7N9 viruses at live poultry markets have fuelled the recurrence of human infections. This rapid expansion of the geographical distribution and genetic diversity of the H7N9 viruses poses a direct challenge to current disease control systems. Our results also suggest that H7N9 viruses have become enzootic in China and may spread beyond the region, following the pattern previously observed with H5N1 and H9N2 influenza viruses.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Lam, Tommy Tsan-Yuk -- Zhou, Boping -- Wang, Jia -- Chai, Yujuan -- Shen, Yongyi -- Chen, Xinchun -- Ma, Chi -- Hong, Wenshan -- Chen, Yin -- Zhang, Yanjun -- Duan, Lian -- Chen, Peiwen -- Jiang, Junfei -- Zhang, Yu -- Li, Lifeng -- Poon, Leo Lit Man -- Webby, Richard J -- Smith, David K -- Leung, Gabriel M -- Peiris, Joseph S M -- Holmes, Edward C -- Guan, Yi -- Zhu, Huachen -- HHSN272201400006C/PHS HHS/ -- England -- Nature. 2015 Jun 4;522(7554):102-5. doi: 10.1038/nature14348. Epub 2015 Mar 11.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉1] State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases (HKU-Shenzhen Branch), Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen 518112, China [2] Joint Influenza Research Centre (SUMC/HKU), Shantou University Medical College (SUMC), Shantou 515041, China [3] Centre of Influenza Research, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), Hong Kong, China. ; State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases (HKU-Shenzhen Branch), Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen 518112, China. ; 1] Joint Influenza Research Centre (SUMC/HKU), Shantou University Medical College (SUMC), Shantou 515041, China [2] Centre of Influenza Research, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), Hong Kong, China. ; Joint Influenza Research Centre (SUMC/HKU), Shantou University Medical College (SUMC), Shantou 515041, China. ; Key Laboratory of Emergency Detection for Public Health of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310051, China. ; 1] State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases (HKU-Shenzhen Branch), Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen 518112, China [2] Joint Influenza Research Centre (SUMC/HKU), Shantou University Medical College (SUMC), Shantou 515041, China. ; 1] State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases (HKU-Shenzhen Branch), Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen 518112, China [2] Centre of Influenza Research, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), Hong Kong, China. ; Division of Virology, Department of Infectious Diseases, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, USA. ; Centre of Influenza Research, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong (HKU), Hong Kong, China. ; Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, Charles Perkins Centre, School of Biological Sciences and Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25762140" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: DNA methylation at selective cytosine residues (5-methylcytosine (5mC)) and their removal by TET-mediated DNA demethylation are critical for setting up pluripotent states in early embryonic development. TET enzymes successively convert 5mC to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine (5fC), and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC), with 5fC and 5caC subject to removal by thymine DNA glycosylase (TDG) in conjunction with base excision repair. Early reports indicate that 5fC and 5caC could be stably detected on enhancers, promoters and gene bodies, with distinct effects on gene expression, but the mechanisms have remained elusive. Here we determined the X-ray crystal structure of yeast elongating RNA polymerase II (Pol II) in complex with a DNA template containing oxidized 5mCs, revealing specific hydrogen bonds between the 5-carboxyl group of 5caC and the conserved epi-DNA recognition loop in the polymerase. This causes a positional shift for incoming nucleoside 5'-triphosphate (NTP), thus compromising nucleotide addition. To test the implication of this structural insight in vivo, we determined the global effect of increased 5fC/5caC levels on transcription, finding that such DNA modifications indeed retarded Pol II elongation on gene bodies. These results demonstrate the functional impact of oxidized 5mCs on gene expression and suggest a novel role for Pol II as a specific and direct epigenetic sensor during transcription elongation.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4521995/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4521995/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Wang, Lanfeng -- Zhou, Yu -- Xu, Liang -- Xiao, Rui -- Lu, Xingyu -- Chen, Liang -- Chong, Jenny -- Li, Hairi -- He, Chuan -- Fu, Xiang-Dong -- Wang, Dong -- GM052872/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- GM102362/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- HG004659/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- HG006827/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM052872/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM102362/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- R01 HG004659/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- R01 HG006827/HG/NHGRI NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- England -- Nature. 2015 Jul 30;523(7562):621-5. doi: 10.1038/nature14482. Epub 2015 Jun 29.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. ; Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, The University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093, USA. ; Department of Chemistry, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26123024" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Darwin's finches, inhabiting the Galapagos archipelago and Cocos Island, constitute an iconic model for studies of speciation and adaptive evolution. Here we report the results of whole-genome re-sequencing of 120 individuals representing all of the Darwin's finch species and two close relatives. Phylogenetic analysis reveals important discrepancies with the phenotype-based taxonomy. We find extensive evidence for interspecific gene flow throughout the radiation. Hybridization has given rise to species of mixed ancestry. A 240 kilobase haplotype encompassing the ALX1 gene that encodes a transcription factor affecting craniofacial development is strongly associated with beak shape diversity across Darwin's finch species as well as within the medium ground finch (Geospiza fortis), a species that has undergone rapid evolution of beak shape in response to environmental changes. The ALX1 haplotype has contributed to diversification of beak shapes among the Darwin's finches and, thereby, to an expanded utilization of food resources.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Lamichhaney, Sangeet -- Berglund, Jonas -- Almen, Markus Sallman -- Maqbool, Khurram -- Grabherr, Manfred -- Martinez-Barrio, Alvaro -- Promerova, Marta -- Rubin, Carl-Johan -- Wang, Chao -- Zamani, Neda -- Grant, B Rosemary -- Grant, Peter R -- Webster, Matthew T -- Andersson, Leif -- England -- Nature. 2015 Feb 19;518(7539):371-5. doi: 10.1038/nature14181. Epub 2015 Feb 11.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden. ; Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden. ; 1] Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden [2] Department of Plant Physiology, Umea University, SE-901 87 Umea, Sweden. ; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA. ; 1] Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, SE-751 23 Uppsala, Sweden [2] Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden [3] Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas 77843-4458, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25686609" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: In all domains of life, DNA synthesis occurs bidirectionally from replication origins. Despite variable rates of replication fork progression, fork convergence often occurs at specific sites. Escherichia coli sets a 'replication fork trap' that allows the first arriving fork to enter but not to leave the terminus region. The trap is set by oppositely oriented Tus-bound Ter sites that block forks on approach from only one direction. However, the efficiency of fork blockage by Tus-Ter does not exceed 50% in vivo despite its apparent ability to almost permanently arrest replication forks in vitro. Here we use data from single-molecule DNA replication assays and structural studies to show that both polarity and fork-arrest efficiency are determined by a competition between rates of Tus displacement and rearrangement of Tus-Ter interactions that leads to blockage of slower moving replisomes by two distinct mechanisms. To our knowledge this is the first example where intrinsic differences in rates of individual replisomes have different biological outcomes.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Elshenawy, Mohamed M -- Jergic, Slobodan -- Xu, Zhi-Qiang -- Sobhy, Mohamed A -- Takahashi, Masateru -- Oakley, Aaron J -- Dixon, Nicholas E -- Hamdan, Samir M -- England -- Nature. 2015 Sep 17;525(7569):394-8. doi: 10.1038/nature14866. Epub 2015 Aug 31.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Division of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955, Saudi Arabia. ; Centre for Medical &Molecular Bioscience, Illawarra Health &Medical Research Institute and University of Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26322585" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Tropical mountains are hot spots of biodiversity and endemism, but the evolutionary origins of their unique biotas are poorly understood. In varying degrees, local and regional extinction, long-distance colonization, and local recruitment may all contribute to the exceptional character of these communities. Also, it is debated whether mountain endemics mostly originate from local lowland taxa, or from lineages that reach the mountain by long-range dispersal from cool localities elsewhere. Here we investigate the evolutionary routes to endemism by sampling an entire tropical mountain biota on the 4,095-metre-high Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, East Malaysia. We discover that most of its unique biodiversity is younger than the mountain itself (6 million years), and comprises a mix of immigrant pre-adapted lineages and descendants from local lowland ancestors, although substantial shifts from lower to higher vegetation zones in this latter group were rare. These insights could improve forecasts of the likelihood of extinction and 'evolutionary rescue' in montane biodiversity hot spots under climate change scenarios.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Merckx, Vincent S F T -- Hendriks, Kasper P -- Beentjes, Kevin K -- Mennes, Constantijn B -- Becking, Leontine E -- Peijnenburg, Katja T C A -- Afendy, Aqilah -- Arumugam, Nivaarani -- de Boer, Hugo -- Biun, Alim -- Buang, Matsain M -- Chen, Ping-Ping -- Chung, Arthur Y C -- Dow, Rory -- Feijen, Frida A A -- Feijen, Hans -- Feijen-van Soest, Cobi -- Geml, Jozsef -- Geurts, Rene -- Gravendeel, Barbara -- Hovenkamp, Peter -- Imbun, Paul -- Ipor, Isa -- Janssens, Steven B -- Jocque, Merlijn -- Kappes, Heike -- Khoo, Eyen -- Koomen, Peter -- Lens, Frederic -- Majapun, Richard J -- Morgado, Luis N -- Neupane, Suman -- Nieser, Nico -- Pereira, Joan T -- Rahman, Homathevi -- Sabran, Suzana -- Sawang, Anati -- Schwallier, Rachel M -- Shim, Phyau-Soon -- Smit, Harry -- Sol, Nicolien -- Spait, Maipul -- Stech, Michael -- Stokvis, Frank -- Sugau, John B -- Suleiman, Monica -- Sumail, Sukaibin -- Thomas, Daniel C -- van Tol, Jan -- Tuh, Fred Y Y -- Yahya, Bakhtiar E -- Nais, Jamili -- Repin, Rimi -- Lakim, Maklarin -- Schilthuizen, Menno -- England -- Nature. 2015 Aug 20;524(7565):347-50. doi: 10.1038/nature14949. Epub 2015 Aug 12.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Darwinweg 2, 2333 CR Leiden, The Netherlands. ; Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Sylviusweg 72, 2333 BE Leiden, The Netherlands. ; Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Nijenborg 7, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands. ; Wageningen University &Research centre, Marine Animal Ecology Group, PO Box 338, 6700 AH Wageningen, The Netherlands. ; Department of Environmental Science, Policy, &Management, University of California Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall #3114, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. ; Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands. ; Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. ; Faculty of Earth Science, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Jeli Campus, Locked bag No.100, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan Darul Naim, Malaysia. ; Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, Norbyvagen 18D, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden. ; Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172 Blindern, NO-0318 Oslo, Norway. ; Sabah Parks, Lot 45 &46, Level 1-5, Blok H, KK Times Square, 88806 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. ; Forest Research Centre, Sabah Forestry Department, P.O. Box 1407, 90175 Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia. ; Wageningen University, Department of Plant Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Biology, 6700AP Wageningen, The Netherlands. ; University of Applied Sciences Leiden, Zernikedreef 11, 2333 CK Leiden, The Netherlands. ; Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia. ; Botanic Garden Meise, Nieuwelaan 38, 1860 Meise, Belgium. ; Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecology, Vautierstraat 29, 1000 Brussels, Belgium. ; Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Department of Biological Sciences, 195 University Avenue, Boyden Hall, Newark, New Jersey 07102, USA. ; Zoological Institute, University of Cologne, Zulpicher Strasse 47b, D-50674 Cologne, Germany. ; Natuurmuseum Fryslan, Schoenmakersperk 2, 8911 EM Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. ; EEB Department, University of Connecticut, 75 N. Eagleville Road, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3043, USA. ; School of Biological Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong, China. ; Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 Cluny Road, 259569 Singapore, Republic of Singapore.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26266979" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Two-pore channels (TPCs) contain two copies of a Shaker-like six-transmembrane (6-TM) domain in each subunit and are ubiquitously expressed in both animals and plants as organellar cation channels. Here we present the crystal structure of a vacuolar two-pore channel from Arabidopsis thaliana, AtTPC1, which functions as a homodimer. AtTPC1 activation requires both voltage and cytosolic Ca(2+). Ca(2+) binding to the cytosolic EF-hand domain triggers conformational changes coupled to the pair of pore-lining inner helices from the first 6-TM domains, whereas membrane potential only activates the second voltage-sensing domain, the conformational changes of which are coupled to the pair of inner helices from the second 6-TM domains. Luminal Ca(2+) or Ba(2+) can modulate voltage activation by stabilizing the second voltage-sensing domain in the resting state and shift voltage activation towards more positive potentials. Our Ba(2+)-bound AtTPC1 structure reveals a voltage sensor in the resting state, providing hitherto unseen structural insight into the general voltage-gating mechanism among voltage-gated channels.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4841471/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4841471/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Guo, Jiangtao -- Zeng, Weizhong -- Chen, Qingfeng -- Lee, Changkeun -- Chen, Liping -- Yang, Yi -- Cang, Chunlei -- Ren, Dejian -- Jiang, Youxing -- GM079179/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- NS055293/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- NS074257/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ -- R01 GM079179/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- England -- Nature. 2016 Mar 10;531(7593):196-201. doi: 10.1038/nature16446. Epub 2015 Dec 21.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Physiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-9040, USA. ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390-9040, USA. ; Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26689363" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: Active segregation of Escherichia coli low-copy-number plasmid R1 involves formation of a bipolar spindle made of left-handed double-helical actin-like ParM filaments. ParR links the filaments with centromeric parC plasmid DNA, while facilitating the addition of subunits to ParM filaments. Growing ParMRC spindles push sister plasmids to the cell poles. Here, using modern electron cryomicroscopy methods, we investigate the structures and arrangements of ParM filaments in vitro and in cells, revealing at near-atomic resolution how subunits and filaments come together to produce the simplest known mitotic machinery. To understand the mechanism of dynamic instability, we determine structures of ParM filaments in different nucleotide states. The structure of filaments bound to the ATP analogue AMPPNP is determined at 4.3 A resolution and refined. The ParM filament structure shows strong longitudinal interfaces and weaker lateral interactions. Also using electron cryomicroscopy, we reconstruct ParM doublets forming antiparallel spindles. Finally, with whole-cell electron cryotomography, we show that doublets are abundant in bacterial cells containing low-copy-number plasmids with the ParMRC locus, leading to an asynchronous model of R1 plasmid segregation.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4493928/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4493928/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Bharat, Tanmay A M -- Murshudov, Garib N -- Sachse, Carsten -- Lowe, Jan -- 095514/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 095514/Z/11/Z/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- MC-UP-A025-1012/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- MC_U105184326/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- U105184326/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom -- England -- Nature. 2015 Jul 2;523(7558):106-10. doi: 10.1038/nature14356. Epub 2015 Apr 27.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Structural Studies Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge CB2 0QH, UK. ; Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Meyerhofstrasse 1, Heidelberg 69117, Germany.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25915019" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉