Structural analysis of the outer surface proteins from Borrelia burgdorferi paralogous gene family 54 that are thought to be the key players in the pathogenesis of Lyme disease
Publication date: Available online 2 March 2020Source: Journal of Structural BiologyAuthor(s): Kalvis Brangulis, Inara Akopjana, Ivars Petrovskis, Andris Kazaks, Kaspars Tars (Source: Journal of Structural Biology)
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - March 2, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Automated cryo-lamella preparation for high-throughput in-situ structural biology
Publication date: Available online 29 February 2020Source: Journal of Structural BiologyAuthor(s): Genevieve Buckley, Gediminas Gervinskas, Cyntia Taveneau, Hariprasad Venugopal, James C. Whisstock, Alex de Marco (Source: Journal of Structural Biology)
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - March 1, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Outside Front Cover
Publication date: 1 February 2020Source: Journal of Structural Biology, Volume 209, Issue 2Author(s): (Source: Journal of Structural Biology)
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - February 26, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Editorial Board
Publication date: 1 February 2020Source: Journal of Structural Biology, Volume 209, Issue 2Author(s): (Source: Journal of Structural Biology)
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - February 26, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
The structural origins of brittle star arm kinematics: An integrated tomographic, additive manufacturing, and parametric modeling-based approach
Publication date: Available online 20 February 2020Source: Journal of Structural BiologyAuthor(s): Lara Tomholt, Larry J. Friesen, Daniel Berdichevsky, Matheus C. Fernandes, Christoph Pierre, Robert J. Wood, James C. WeaverAbstractBrittle stars are known for the high flexibility of their arms, a characteristic required for locomotion, food grasping, and for holding onto a great diversity of substrates. Their high agility is facilitated by the numerous discrete skeletal elements (ossicles) running through the center of each arm and embedded in the skin. While much has been learned regarding the structural diversity of these...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - February 21, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Editorial Board
Publication date: 1 March 2020Source: Journal of Structural Biology, Volume 209, Issue 3Author(s): (Source: Journal of Structural Biology)
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - February 21, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Outside Front Cover
Publication date: 1 March 2020Source: Journal of Structural Biology, Volume 209, Issue 3Author(s): (Source: Journal of Structural Biology)
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - February 21, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Remote oxidative modifications induced by oxygen free radicals modify T/R allosteric equilibrium of a hyperthermophilic lactate dehydrogenase
In this study, we test the hypothesis of a link between thermal stability of LDHs and their capacity against unfolding induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by γ-rays irradiation. By using circular dichroism spectroscopy, we analysed that high thermal stability of a thermophilic LDH favours strong resistance against ROS-induced unfolding, in contrast to its psychrophilic and mesophilic counterparts that are less resistant. We suggest that a protein’s phenotype linking strong thermal stability and resistance against ROS damages would have been a selective evolutionary advantage. We also find that the enzymat...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - February 19, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
PredictSuperFam-PSS-3D1D: A server for predicting superfamily for the annotation of twilight zone protein sequences
In this study, we have analysed the application of the same method to predict superfamilies. Here, in this method, the twilight zone protein sequence is threaded with the 3D1D profiles of the known protein superfamilies library. In addition, weightage for the predicted secondary structure (PSS) is also employed. The performance of the method is benchmarked with twilight zone sequences. In the benchmarks, 62 and 65 percentages of superfamily predictions are obtained with GOR IV and NPS@ predicted secondary structures, respectively. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves indicate that the method is sensitive in predi...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - February 18, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Expanding Crystallization Tools for Nucleic Acid Complexes Using U1A Protein Variants
Publication date: Available online 15 February 2020Source: Journal of Structural BiologyAuthor(s): Hannah Rosenbach, Julian Victor, Jan Borggräfe, Ralf Biehl, Gerhard Steger, Manuel Etzkorn, Ingrid SpanAbstractThe major bottlenecks in structure elucidation of nucleic acids are crystallization and phasing. Co-crystallization with proteins is a straight forward approach to overcome these challenges. The human RNA-binding protein U1A has previously been established as crystallization module, however, the absence of UV-active residues and the predetermined architecture in the asymmetric unit constitute clear limitations of th...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - February 17, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Morphological development of Pleurochrysis carterae coccoliths examined by cryo-electron tomography
Publication date: Available online 1 February 2020Source: Journal of Structural BiologyAuthor(s): J.M. Walker, B. Marzec, N. Ozaki, D. Clare, F. NudelmanAbstractCoccolithophores are single-celled marine algae that produce calcified scales called coccoliths. Each scale is composed of anvil-shaped single crystals of calcite that are mechanically interlocked, constituting a remarkable example of the multi-level construction of mineralized structures. Coccolith formation starts with the nucleation of rhombohedral crystals on an organic substrate called base plate. The crystals then grow preferentially along specific directions...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - February 8, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
KLT picker: Particle picking using data-driven optimal templates
We present the KLT (Karhunen Loeve Transform) picker, which is fully automatic and requires as an input only the approximated particle size. In particular, it does not require any manual picking. Our method is designed especially to handle low SNR micrographs. It is based on learning a set of optimal templates through the use of multi-variate statistical analysis via the Karhunen Loeve Transform. We evaluate the KLT picker on publicly available data sets and present high-quality results with minimal manual effort. (Source: Journal of Structural Biology)
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - February 7, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
The challenge of RNA branching prediction: a parametric analysis of multiloop initiation under thermodynamic optimization
Publication date: Available online 4 February 2020Source: Journal of Structural BiologyAuthor(s): Svetlana Poznanović, Fidel Barrera-Cruz, Anna Kirkpatrick, Matthew Ielusic, Christine HeitschAbstractPrediction of RNA base pairings yields insight into molecular structure, and therefore function. The most common methods predict an optimal structure under the standard thermodynamic model. One component of this model is the equation which governs the cost of branching, where three or more helical “arms” radiate out from a multiloop (also known as a junction). The multiloop initiation equation has three parameters; changin...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - February 5, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Direct Comparison of Optical and Electron Microscopy Methods for Structural Characterization of Extracellular Vesicles
In this study, we evaluate scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cryo-SEM for characterizing the formation and shedding of vesicles from human breast cell lines, parental and hyaluronan synthase 3-(HAS3)-overexpressing MCF10A cells grown directly on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids. While cells imaged with conventional- and cryo-SEM exhibit distinct morphologies due to the sample preparation process for each technique, tubular structures protruding from the cell surfaces were observed with both approaches. For HAS3-MCF10A cells, vesicles were present along the length of membrane protrusions. Once completely sh...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - February 5, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
Structural Basis for Disulphide-CoA Inhibition of a Butyryl-CoA Hexameric Thioesterase
Publication date: Available online 4 February 2020Source: Journal of Structural BiologyAuthor(s): Yogesh Khandokar, Parul Srivastava, Shane Raidal, Subir Sarker, Jade K. ForwoodAbstractAcyl-coenzyme A thioesterases (ACTs) catalyse the hydrolysis of thioester bonds between fatty-acyl chains and coenzyme A (CoA), producing a free fatty-acyl chain and CoA. These enzymes are expressed ubiquitously across prokaryotes and eukaryotes, and play important roles in lipid metabolism. There are 25 thioesterase families, subdivided based on their active site configuration, protein oligomerization, and substrate specificity. Understandi...
Source: Journal of Structural Biology - February 5, 2020 Category: Biology Source Type: research
