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Background: Bacillus stearothermophilus glycerol dehydrogenase (GlyDH) (glycerol:NAD + 2-oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.6) catalyzes the oxidation of glycerol to dihydroxyacetone (1,3-dihydroxypropanone) with concomitant reduction of NAD + to NADH. Analysis of the sequence of this enzyme indicates that it is a member of the so-called iron-containing alcohol dehydrogenase family. Despite...
Background: Arrestins are responsible for the desensitization of many sequence-divergent G protein-coupled receptors. They compete with G proteins for binding to activated phosphorylated receptors, initiate receptor internalization, and activate additional signaling pathways.Results: In order to understand the structural basis for receptor binding and arrestin's function as an adaptor molecule, we...
Background: In Escherichia coli, the cell division site is determined by the cooperative activity of min operon products MinC, MinD, and MinE. MinC is a nonspecific inhibitor of the septum protein FtsZ, and MinE is the supressor of MinC. MinD plays a multifunctional role. It is a membrane-associated ATPase and is a septum site-determining factor through the activation and regulation of MinC and MinE...
Background: Cyanogenesis is a defense process of several thousand plant species. Hydroxynitrile lyase, a key enzyme of this process, cleaves a cyanohydrin into hydrocyanic acid and the corresponding aldehyde or ketone. The reverse reaction constitutes an important tool in biocatalysis. Different classes of hydroxynitrile lyases have convergently evolved from FAD-dependent oxidoreductases, α/β hydrolases,...
Background: Phytases hydrolyze phytic acid (myo-inositol-hexakisphosphate) to less-phosphorylated myo-inositol derivatives and inorganic phosphate. Phytases are used in animal feed to reduce phosphate pollution in the environment. Recently, a thermostable, calcium-dependent Bacillus phytase was identified that represents the first example of the β propeller fold exhibiting phosphatase activity. We...
Structures of catalytic fragments of two DNA lesion bypass DNA polymerases, yeast DNA polymerase η and an archeon DinB homolog, have recently been solved. These structures share several common architectural and structural features observed in other DNA polymerases, including a hand-like architecture with fingers, palm, and thumb subdomains. The new structures provide the first structural insights...
Background: Histamine plays important biological roles in cell-to-cell communication; it is a mediator in allergic responses, a regulator of gastric acid secretion, a messenger in bronchial asthma, and a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Histamine acts by binding to histamine receptors, and its local action is terminated primarily by methylation. Human histamine N-methyltransferase (HNMT)...
Background: The signal recognition particle (SRP) is a phylogenetically conserved ribonucleoprotein that mediates cotranslational targeting of secreted and membrane proteins to the membrane. Targeting is regulated by GTP binding and hydrolysis events that require direct interaction between structurally homologous ''NG'' GTPase domains of the SRP signal recognition subunit and its membrane-associated...
A map of how mRNA travels through the ribosome is critical for any detailed understanding of the process of translation. This feat has recently been achieved using X-ray crystallography. The structure reveals, for the first time, details of the interactions between the mRNA and the 30S subunit beyond those at the tRNA binding sites. Elements of both 16S rRNA and ribosomal proteins contribute to mRNA...
Background: In Aspergillus nidulans, the transcription activator AlcR mediates specific induction of a number of the genes of the alc cluster. This cluster includes genes involved in the oxidation of ethanol and other alcohols to acetate. The pattern of binding and of transactivation of AlcR is unique within the Zn 2 Cys 6 family. The structural bases for these specificities have not...
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