Staphylococcus aureusα-Toxin: Characterization of Protein/Lipid Interactions, 2D Crystallization on Lipid Monolayers, and 3D Structure

1997 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 178-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Ellis ◽  
Hans Hebert ◽  
Monica Thelestam
2014 ◽  
Vol 207 (4) ◽  
pp. 463-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Bizarro ◽  
Christophe Charron ◽  
Séverine Boulon ◽  
Belinda Westman ◽  
Bérengère Pradet-Balade ◽  
...  

In vitro, assembly of box C/D small nucleolar ribonucleoproteins (snoRNPs) involves the sequential recruitment of core proteins to snoRNAs. In vivo, however, assembly factors are required (NUFIP, BCD1, and the HSP90–R2TP complex), and it is unknown whether a similar sequential scheme applies. In this paper, we describe systematic quantitative stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture proteomic experiments and the crystal structure of the core protein Snu13p/15.5K bound to a fragment of the assembly factor Rsa1p/NUFIP. This revealed several unexpected features: (a) the existence of a protein-only pre-snoRNP complex containing five assembly factors and two core proteins, 15.5K and Nop58; (b) the characterization of ZNHIT3, which is present in the protein-only complex but gets released upon binding to C/D snoRNAs; (c) the dynamics of the R2TP complex, which appears to load/unload RuvBL AAA+ adenosine triphosphatase from pre-snoRNPs; and (d) a potential mechanism for preventing premature activation of snoRNP catalytic activity. These data provide a framework for understanding the assembly of box C/D snoRNPs.


Microbiology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 157 (10) ◽  
pp. 2818-2830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iamara da Silva Andrade ◽  
João Lídio Vianez-Júnior ◽  
Carolina Lage Goulart ◽  
Fabrice Homblé ◽  
Jean-Marie Ruysschaert ◽  
...  

Crithidia deanei is a trypanosomatid protozoan that harbours a symbiotic bacterium. The partners maintain a mutualistic relationship, thus constituting an excellent model for studying metabolic exchanges between the host and the symbiont, the origin of organelles and cellular evolution. According to molecular analysis, symbionts of different trypanosomatid species share high identity and descend from a common ancestor, a β-proteobacterium of the genus Bordetella. The endosymbiont is surrounded by two membranes, like Gram-negative bacteria, but its envelope presents special features, since phosphatidylcholine is a major membrane component and the peptidoglycan layer is highly reduced, as described in other obligate intracellular bacteria. Like the process that generated mitochondria and plastids, the endosymbiosis in trypanosomatids depends on pathways that facilitate the intensive metabolic exchanges between the bacterium and the host protozoan. A search of the annotated symbiont genome database identified one sequence with identity to porin-encoding genes of the genus Bordetella. Considering that the symbiont outer membrane has a great accessibility to cytoplasm host factors, it was important to characterize this single porin-like protein using biochemical, molecular, computational and ultrastructural approaches. Antiserum against the recombinant porin-like molecule revealed that it is mainly located in the symbiont envelope. Secondary structure analysis and comparative modelling predicted the protein 3D structure as an 18-domain β-barrel, which is consistent with porin channels. Electrophysiological measurements showed that the porin displays a slight preference for cations over anions. Taken together, the data presented herein suggest that the C. deanei endosymbiont porin is phylogenetically and structurally similar to those described in Gram-negative bacteria, representing a diffusion channel that might contribute to the exchange of nutrients and metabolic precursors between the symbiont and its host cell.


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1287
Author(s):  
Zhiwei Yi ◽  
Zhengwen Cai ◽  
Bo Zeng ◽  
Runying Zeng ◽  
Guangya Zhang

β-1,3 xylanase is an important enzyme in the biorefinery process for some algae. The discovery and characterization of new β-1,3 xylanase is a hot research topic. In this paper, a novel β-1,3 xylanase (Xyl88) is revealed from the annotated genome of Flammeovirga pacifica strain WPAGA1. Bioinformatic analysis shows that Xyl88 belongs to the glycoside hydrolase 26 (GH26) with a suspected CBM (carbohydrate-binding module) sequence. The activity of rXyl88 is 75% of the highest enzyme activity (1.5 mol/L NaCl) in 3 mol/L NaCl buffer, which suggests good salt tolerance of rXy188. The optimum reaction temperature in the buffer without NaCl and with 1.5 mol/L NaCl is 45 °C and 55 °C, respectively. Notably, the catalytic efficiency of rXyl88 (kcat/Km) is approximately 20 higher than that of the thermophilic β-1,3 xylanase that has the highest catalytic efficiency. Xyl88 in this study becomes the most efficient enzyme ever found, and it is also the first reported moderately thermophilic and salt-tolerant β-1,3 xylanase. Results of molecular dynamics simulation further prove the excellent thermal stability of Xyl88. Moreover, according to the predicted 3D structure of the Xyl88, the surface of the enzyme is distributed with more negative charges, which is related to its salt tolerance, and significantly more hydrogen bonds and Van der Waals force between the intramolecular residues, which is related to its thermal stability.


Biosensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 93 ◽  
Author(s):  
István Rigó ◽  
Miklós Veres ◽  
Tamás Váczi ◽  
Eszter Holczer ◽  
Orsolya Hakkel ◽  
...  

A gold-coated array of flow-through inverse pyramids applicable as substrate for entrapment and immobilization of micro-objects and for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopic measurements was fabricated using bulk micromachining techniques from silicon. Surface morphology, optical reflectance, immobilization properties, and surface enhanced Raman amplification of the array were modelled and characterized. It was found that the special perforated periodic 3D structure can be used for parallel particle and cell trapping and highly sensitive molecular analysis of the immobilized objects.


Author(s):  
Anatoly Frenkel

We discuss methods of Extended X-ray Absorption Fine-Structure (EXAFS) analysis that provide three-dimensional structural characterization of metal nanoparticles, both mono- and bi-metallic. For the bimetallic alloys, we use short range order measurements to discriminate between random and non-random inter-particle distributions of atoms. We also discuss the application of EXAFS to heterogeneous nanoparticle systems.


1984 ◽  
Vol 33 (20) ◽  
pp. 3257-3262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara M. Wang ◽  
Norman D. Weiner ◽  
Akira Takada ◽  
Jochen Schacht

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanling Song ◽  
Robin A. Corey ◽  
Bertie Ansell ◽  
Keith Cassidy ◽  
Michael Horrell ◽  
...  

Lipids play important modulatory and structural roles for membrane proteins. Molecular dynamics simulations are frequently used to provide insights into the nature of these protein-lipid interactions. Systematic comparative analysis requires tools that provide algorithms for objective assessment of such interactions. We introduce PyLipID, a python package for the identification and characterization of specific lipid interactions and binding sites on membrane proteins from molecular dynamics simulations. PyLipID uses a community analysis approach for binding site detection, calculating lipid residence times for both the individual protein residues and the detected binding sites. To assist structural analysis, PyLipID produces representative bound lipid poses from simulation data, using a density-based scoring function. To estimate residue contacts robustly, PyLipID uses a dual-cutoff scheme to differentiate between lipid conformational rearrangements whilst bound from full dissociation events. In addition to the characterization of protein-lipid interactions, PyLipID is applicable to analysis of the interactions of membrane proteins with other ligands. By combining automated analysis, efficient algorithms, and open-source distribution, PyLipID facilitates the systematic analysis of lipid interactions from large simulation datasets of multiple species of membrane proteins.


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