New light on blocking Shiga and ricin toxins -- And on an iconic biological process

(Boston Children's Hospital) Min Dong, PhD, and his lab are world experts in toxins. Now, setting their sights on Shiga toxin (player in the current E. coli outbreak from romaine lettuce) and ricin (a bioterrorism agent), they identify potential protective strategies. Their study also sheds new light on glycosylation, the attachment of sugars to large molecules, key to cells' ability to create more diverse molecules beyond what's encoded in the genome.
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - Category: Biology Source Type: news