Amino and PEG-Amino Graphene Oxide Grids Enrich and Protect Samples for High-resolution Single Particle Cryo-electron Microscopy
Publication date: Available online 19 December 2019Source: Journal of Structural BiologyAuthor(s): Feng Wang, Zanlin Yu, Miguel Betegon, Melody G. Campbell, Tural Aksel, Jianhua Zhao, Sam Li, Shawn M. Douglas, Yifan Cheng, David A. AgardAbstractCryo-EM samples prepared using traditional methods often suffer from too few particles, poor particle distribution, strongly biased orientation, or damage from the air-water interface. Here we report that functionalization of graphene oxide (GO) coated grids with amino groups concentrates samples on the grid with improved distribution and orientation. By introducing a PEG spacer, pa...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - December 20, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Use of β3-methionine as an amino acid substrate of Escherichia coli Methionyl-tRNA synthetase
This study provides structural and biochemical bases for engineering MetRS with improved β3-Met aminoacylation capabilities. (Source: Journal of Structural Biology)
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - December 18, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Outside Front Cover
Publication date: 1 November 2019Source: Journal of Structural Biology, Volume 208, Issue 2Author(s): (Source: Journal of Structural Biology)
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - December 17, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Structure comparison of the chimeric AAV2.7m8 vector with parental AAV2
Publication date: Available online 16 December 2019Source: Journal of Structural BiologyAuthor(s): Antonette Bennett, Annahita Keravala, Victoria Makal, Justin Kurian, Brahim Belbellaa, Rangoli Aeran, Yu-Shan Tseng, Duncan Sousa, John Spear, Mehdi Gasmi, Mavis Agbandje-McKennaAbstractThe AAV2.7m8 vector is an engineered capsid with a 10-amino acid insertion in adeno-associated virus (AAV) surface variable region VIII (VR-VIII) resulting in the alteration of an antigenic region of AAV2 and the ability to efficiently transduce retina cells following intravitreal administration. Directed evolution and in vivo screening in the...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - December 17, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Structural and DNA Binding Properties of Mycobacterial Integration Host Factor mIHF
Publication date: Available online 14 December 2019Source: Journal of Structural BiologyAuthor(s): Nina T. Odermatt, Moreno Lelli, Torsten Herrmann, Luciano A. Abriata, Aleksandre Japaridze, Hubert Voilquin, Rajkumar Singh, Jérémie Piton, Lyndon Emsley, Giovanni Dietler, Stewart T. ColeAbstractIn bacteria, nucleoid associated proteins (NAPs) take part in active chromosome organization by supercoil management, three-dimensional DNA looping and direct transcriptional control. Mycobacterial integration host factor (mIHF, rv1388) is a NAP restricted to Actinobacteria and essential for survival of the human pathogen Mycobacte...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - December 14, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Quantification of sheet nacre morphogenesis using X-ray nanotomography and deep learning
Publication date: Available online 6 December 2019Source: Journal of Structural BiologyAuthor(s): Maksim Beliaev, Dana Zöllner, Alexandra Pacureanu, Paul Zaslansky, Luca Bertinetti, Igor ZlotnikovAbstractHigh-resolution three-dimensional imaging is key to our understanding of biological tissue formation and function. Recent developments in synchrotron-based X-Ray tomography techniques provide unprecedented morphological information on relatively large sample volumes with a spatial resolution better than 50 nm. However, the analysis of the generated data, in particular image segmentation – separation into structure and b...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - December 7, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Coral Acid Rich Protein Selects Vaterite Polymorph in vitro
Publication date: Available online 4 December 2019Source: Journal of Structural BiologyAuthor(s): Ra'anan Laipnik, Veronica Bissi, Chang-Yu Sun, Giuseppe Falini, P.U.P.A. Gilbert, Tali MassAbstractCorals and other biomineralizing organisms use proteins and other molecules to form different crystalline polymorphs and biomineral structures. In corals, it’s been suggested that proteins such as Coral Acid Rich Proteins (CARPs) play a major role in the polymorph selection of their calcium carbonate (CaCO3) aragonite exoskeleton. To date, four CARPs (1-4) have been characterized: each with a different amino acid composition an...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - December 5, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Higher order assembling of the mycobacterial polar growth factor DivIVA/Wag31
We report biophysical characterizations of filaments formed by mycobacterial Wag31 using circular dichroism, atomic force microscopy and small angle solution X-ray scattering. Atomic force microscopic images of the wild-type, a phospho-mimetic (T73E) and a phospho-ablative (T73A) form of Wag31 show mostly linear filament formation with occasional curving, kinking and apparent branching. Solution X-ray scattering data indicates that the phospho-mimetic forms of the Wag31 polymers are on average more compact than their phospho-ablative counterparts, which is likely due to the extent of bending/branching. Observed structural ...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - November 26, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
The paradoxical effects of progesterone on the eggshell quality of laying hens
This study demonstrates the effects of progesterone on eggshell quality and ultrastructure by injecting progesterone into laying hens 2 and 5 h post-oviposition, respectively. Progesterone injected 2 h post-oviposition (P4-2 h) improved eggshell quality with a significant decrease (P < 0.01) in the thickness of the mammillary layer and a significant increase (P < 0.01) in the thickness of the effective layer in the eggshell ultrastructure compared to the control. Progesterone injected 5 h post-oviposition (P4-5 h) damaged the eggshell quality by significantly reducing (P < 0.01) the effective layer thickness. P...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - November 26, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Do sequence neighbours of intrinsically disordered regions promote structural flexibility in intrinsically disordered proteins?
Publication date: Available online 20 November 2019Source: Journal of Structural BiologyAuthor(s): Sushmita Basu, Ranjit Prasad BahadurAbstractIntrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are crucial players in various cellular activities. Several experimental and computational analyses have been conducted to study structural pliability and functional potential of IDPs. In spite of active research in past few decades, what induces structural disorder in IDPs and how is still elusive. Many studies testify that sequential and spatial neighbours often play important roles in determining structural and functional behaviour of prot...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - November 20, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Outside Front Cover
Publication date: 1 December 2019Source: Journal of Structural Biology, Volume 208, Issue 3Author(s): (Source: Journal of Structural Biology)
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - November 20, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Publisher's Note
Publication date: 1 December 2019Source: Journal of Structural Biology, Volume 208, Issue 3Author(s): (Source: Journal of Structural Biology)
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - November 20, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Editorial Board
Publication date: 1 December 2019Source: Journal of Structural Biology, Volume 208, Issue 3Author(s): (Source: Journal of Structural Biology)
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - November 20, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Structural features of split and unsplit βαβ-units
In this study, 1064 nonhomologous “unsplit”, “one-strand split” and “two-strand split” right-handed βαβ-units having standard α-helices and loops up to seven residues in length have been analyzed. It was found that the α-helices in these kinds of βαβ-units have different distributions of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acid residues along the chain. In the unsplit βαβ-units, most α-helices have hydrophobic residues in positions N4-N7-N8-N11 or N6-N7-N10, where N1 is the first N-terminal residue. In the one-strand split βαβ-units, most α-helices have hydrophobic residues in positions N4-N7-...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - November 19, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Crystal structure of TbEsa1 presumed Tudor domain from Trypanosoma brucei
Publication date: Available online 17 November 2019Source: Journal of Structural BiologyAuthor(s): Jie Gao, Kaiqin Ye, Yating Diwu, Chao Xu, Xuecheng Zhang, Shanhui Liao, Xiaoming TuAbstractThe essential SAS2-related acetyltransferase 1 (Esa1), as a acetyltransferase of MYST family, is indispensable for the cell cycle and transcriptional regulation. The Tudor domain consists of 60 amino acids and belongs to the Royal family, which serves as a module interacting with methylated histone and/or DNA. Although Tudor domain has been widely studied in higher eukaryotes, its structure and function remain unclear in Trypanosoma bru...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - November 18, 2019 Category: Biology Source Type: research
