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| Open AccessMyriad Mapping of nanoscale minerals reveals calcium carbonate hemihydrate in forming nacre and coral biominerals
A new carbonate phase calcium carbonate hemihydrate was recently discovered and characterized, but exclusively as a synthetic material. Here the authors find that it exists in nature, albeit transiently, on the surface of growing nacre and coral skeletons, and show that 2 amorphous and 2 metastable crystalline nano-minerals form before biominerals settle into their stable crystals.
- Connor A. Schmidt
- , Eric Tambutté
- & Pupa U.P.A. Gilbert
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| Open AccessMeasuring sub-nanometer undulations at microsecond temporal resolution with metal- and graphene-induced energy transfer spectroscopy
Studying the fluctuations of biological membranes with high resolution is challenging. Here, the authors combine metal- and graphene-induced energy transfer (MIET/GIET) with fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) to monitor such fluctuations with nanometer and microsecond resolution.
- Tao Chen
- , Narain Karedla
- & Jörg Enderlein
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| Open AccessA release of local subunit conformational heterogeneity underlies gating in a muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor
Authors show that agonist binding to the muscle acetylcholine receptor releases local conformational heterogeneity transitioning all subunits into a symmetric open state. A release of conformational heterogeneity underlies allosteric communication.
- Mackenzie J. Thompson
- , Farid Mansoub Bekarkhanechi
- & John E. Baenziger
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Article
| Open AccessMonitoring the mass, eigenfrequency, and quality factor of mammalian cells
There is increasing interest in measuring the mechanical properties of living cells. Here, the authors develop a method to simultaneously measure the cell mass and two parameters related to its natural oscillation or resonance frequencies.
- Sophie Herzog
- , Gotthold Fläschner
- & Daniel J. Müller
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Article
| Open AccessSEMORE: SEgmentation and MORphological fingErprinting by machine learning automates super-resolution data analysis
There is a lack of universal tools to analyse protein assemblies and quantify underlying structures in single-molecule localization microscopy. Here, the authors present SEMORE, a semi-automatic machine learning framework for system- and input-dependent analysis of super-resolution data.
- Steen W. B. Bender
- , Marcus W. Dreisler
- & Nikos S. Hatzakis
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Article
| Open AccessMotility of an autonomous protein-based artificial motor that operates via a burnt-bridge principle
Inspired by biology, great progress has been made in creating artificial molecular motors. Here the authors report the synthesis and characterization of the Lawnmower, an autonomous, protein-based artificial molecular motor and show their design is capable of track-guided motion.
- Chapin S. Korosec
- , Ivan N. Unksov
- & Nancy R. Forde
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Article
| Open AccessEuglena’s atypical respiratory chain adapts to the discoidal cristae and flexible metabolism
Euglena gracilis is a model organism of the eukaryotic supergroup Discoba, single-celled organisms containing mitochondria with discoid cristae. Here, the authors report structures of Euglena’s transport chain supercomplex to reveal their distinctive architecture and working mechanisms.
- Zhaoxiang He
- , Mengchen Wu
- & Long Zhou
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Article
| Open AccessEmergence of slip-ideal-slip behavior in tip-links serve as force filters of sound in hearing
In this work, the authors report that tetrameric tip-link complex, pivotal for force transmission, forms slip-ideal-slip bonds under tension, serving as efficient force-filters in the auditory process.
- Nisha Arora
- , Jagadish P. Hazra
- & Sabyasachi Rakshit
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Article
| Open AccessAccurate global and local 3D alignment of cryo-EM density maps using local spatial structural features
Density map alignment is a fundamental step in Cryo-EM data postprocessing. Here, authors propose an accurate global and local density map alignment method using local density features.
- Bintao He
- , Fa Zhang
- & Renmin Han
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Article
| Open AccessAn alpha-helical lid guides the target DNA toward catalysis in CRISPR-Cas12a
CRISPR-Cas12a is a powerful RNA-guided genome-editing system. Saha et al. show that an alpha-helical lid plays the central role in guiding the target DNA toward the single RuvC nuclease domain, resulting in a double-stranded DNA break.
- Aakash Saha
- , Mohd Ahsan
- & Giulia Palermo
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Article
| Open AccessDNA binding redistributes activation domain ensemble and accessibility in pioneer factor Sox2
The function of transcription factors is conveyed through intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) containing activation or repression domains, but the lack of quantitative structural ensemble models prevents their mechanistic decoding. Here, the authors use several methods to demonstrate that DNA binding can lead to complex changes in the IDR ensemble and accessibility on the example of the C-terminal IDR of pioneer factor Sox2.
- Sveinn Bjarnason
- , Jordan A. P. McIvor
- & Pétur O. Heidarsson
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Article
| Open AccessDynamics of activation in the voltage-sensing domain of Ciona intestinalis phosphatase Ci-VSP
Understanding the molecular basis of voltage-sensing is of great importance in biology. Here, the authors use computational analysis and simulations to reveal atomic level insights into the mechanism of an isolated voltage-sensing domain.
- Spencer C. Guo
- , Rong Shen
- & Aaron R. Dinner
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Article
| Open AccessDirect observation of autoubiquitination for an integral membrane ubiquitin ligase in ERAD
The stoichiometry of Hrd1, an integral membrane E3 ubiquitin ligase is critical to maintaining proteostasis in the endoplasmic reticulum. Here, the authors establish a single-molecule counting approach coupled with a single-molecule in vitro ubiquitination system to determine the functional stoichiometry of Hrd1.
- Basila Moochickal Assainar
- , Kaushik Ragunathan
- & Ryan D. Baldridge
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Article
| Open AccessBinding kinetics drive G protein subtype selectivity at the β1-adrenergic receptor
The authors show G protein subtype selectivity at the β1-adrenergic receptor is driven by the binding kinetics of ternary complex formation. Bound to G protein, the receptor adopts conformations that differ from its agonist-bound solution states.
- Andrew J. Y. Jones
- , Thomas H. Harman
- & Daniel Nietlispach
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Article
| Open AccessLiquid crystalline inverted lipid phases encapsulating siRNA enhance lipid nanoparticle mediated transfection
The authors display the bottom-up design, assembly, and in-depth characterization of defined lipid-RNA structures in the core of lipid nanoparticles. The inverted structures are thermostable and provide better transfection over lamellar structures.
- Roy Pattipeiluhu
- , Ye Zeng
- & Thomas H. Sharp
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Article
| Open AccessDisordered regions in proteusin peptides guide post-translational modification by a flavin-dependent RiPP brominase
Here the authors use NMR, SAXS and MD simulations to characterise the structure of proteusin peptides, which are atypically long RiPP substrates. They show a small, unstructured region in the proteusin leader is sufficient for its interaction with a halogenase that brominates the terminal tryptophan residue.
- Nguyet A. Nguyen
- , F. N. U. Vidya
- & Vinayak Agarwal
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Article
| Open AccessStructural role for DNA Ligase IV in promoting the fidelity of non-homologous end joining
Nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ), the primary pathway of vertebrate DNA double strand-break (DSB) repair, directly re-ligates broken DNA ends with minimal errors. In this study, the authors identify structural interactions of the NHEJ-specific DNA Ligase IV (Lig4) that prioritize ligation and promote NHEJ fidelity.
- Benjamin M. Stinson
- , Sean M. Carney
- & Joseph J. Loparo
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| Open AccessPredicting DNA structure using a deep learning method
In this work, the authors report a deep learning method, Deep DNAshape, to predict the influence of flanking regions on three-dimensional DNA structure and in structural readout mechanisms of protein-DNA binding.
- Jinsen Li
- , Tsu-Pei Chiu
- & Remo Rohs
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Article
| Open AccessThe acidic intrinsically disordered region of the inflammatory mediator HMGB1 mediates fuzzy interactions with CXCL12
Here, the authors utilise an integrative approach to characterise the fuzzy heterocomplex between CXCL12 and the fully reduced alarmin HMGB1, highlighting the importance of HMGB1’s acidic IDR to the interaction and with cell surface CXCR4.
- Malisa Vittoria Mantonico
- , Federica De Leo
- & Giovanna Musco
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Article
| Open AccessHeterotypic interactions can drive selective co-condensation of prion-like low-complexity domains of FET proteins and mammalian SWI/SNF complex
Prion-like domains are intrinsically disordered regions found in many RNA- and DNA-binding proteins. Here, the authors show that these domains can drive sequence-specific co-phase separation of chromatin remodeling complex with FET oncofusion proteins.
- Richoo B. Davis
- , Anushka Supakar
- & Priya R. Banerjee
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Article
| Open AccessCryo-EM structure of the extracellular domain of murine Thrombopoietin Receptor in complex with Thrombopoietin
The haematopoietic cytokine thrombopoietin (Tpo) is the primary regulator of megakaryocyte and platelet numbers. Here authors present a structural and biochemical characterization of how Tpo binds to its receptor to induce signaling.
- Kaiseal T. G. Sarson-Lawrence
- , Joshua M. Hardy
- & Nadia J. Kershaw
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| Open AccessPhotolipid excitation triggers depolarizing optocapacitive currents and action potentials
Inspired by thermal optocapacitive approaches at regulating neuronal activity, the authors explore a photolipid-based non-thermal optocapacitive method that allows for regulating voltage-gated and mechanosensitive ion channels using light.
- Carlos A. Z. Bassetto Jr
- , Juergen Pfeffermann
- & Peter Pohl
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Article
| Open AccessOverlay databank unlocks data-driven analyses of biomolecules for all
In this work, the authors report NMR lipids Databank to promote decentralised sharing of biomolecular molecular dynamics (MD) simulation data with an overlay design. Programmatic access enables analyses of rare phenomena and advances the training of machine learning models.
- Anne M. Kiirikki
- , Hanne S. Antila
- & O. H. Samuli Ollila
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Article
| Open AccessProtein structure generation via folding diffusion
The ability to engineer novel protein structures has tremendous scientific and therapeutic impact. Here, authors develop a generative model acting upon an angular representation of protein structures to create high quality protein backbones.
- Kevin E. Wu
- , Kevin K. Yang
- & Ava P. Amini
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Article
| Open AccessG-quadruplexes promote the motility in MAZ phase-separated condensates to activate CCND1 expression and contribute to hepatocarcinogenesis
G-quadruplexes (G4s) can recruit transcription factors to activate genes. Here, the authors revealed that G4s drive molecular motility in phase-separated condensates of MAZ and coactivators, leading to activated CCND1 expression in liver cancer.
- Wenmeng Wang
- , Dangdang Li
- & Guangchao Sui
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Article
| Open AccessTransport mechanism of human bilirubin transporter ABCC2 tuned by the inter-module regulatory domain
Human ABC transporter ABCC2 transports conjugated bilirubin from hepatocyte to bile duct, dysfunction of which causes Dubin-Johnson syndrome. Here, the authors provide structural insights into the substrate specificity of ABCC2 and the transport mechanism regulated by the R domain.
- Yao-Xu Mao
- , Zhi-Peng Chen
- & Yuxing Chen
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Article
| Open AccessLocal structural preferences in shaping tau amyloid polymorphism
In this work, using a combination of Cryo-EM, in-cell experiments and biophysical analysis, the authors decoded the aggregation propensity of tau, revealing 5 central hot spots in its primary sequence and identify PAM4 as short segment that determines both the structure, as well as the cellular propagation of tau aggregates extracted from Alzheimer’s disease, corticobasal degeneration, and progressive supranuclear palsy patients.
- Nikolaos Louros
- , Martin Wilkinson
- & Joost Schymkowitz
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Article
| Open AccessAsymmetric nucleosome PARylation at DNA breaks mediates directional nucleosome sliding by ALC1
Bacic et al. demonstrate that PARP1/HPF1 preferentially modify histone tails closest to the DNA break, directing ALC1-catalyzed nucleosome sliding. These findings suggest a mechanism for rendering DNA breaks more accessible to repair factors.
- Luka Bacic
- , Guillaume Gaullier
- & Sebastian Deindl
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Matters Arising
| Open AccessAssessing the precision of morphogen gradients in neural tube development
- Marcin Zagorski
- , Nathalie Brandenberg
- & Anna Kicheva
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Article
| Open AccessA high affinity switch for cAMP in the HCN pacemaker channels
Cyclic AMP modulation of HCN channels underlies beta adrenergic stimulation of heart rate. Here, authors describe an intramolecular mechanism that controls cAMP affinity of the cyclic nucleotide binding domain of these channels.
- Alessandro Porro
- , Andrea Saponaro
- & Anna Moroni
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Article
| Open AccessA genetic circuit on a single DNA molecule as an autonomous dissipative nanodevice
Achieving genetic circuits on single DNA molecules could have varied applications. Here, authors observed proteins emerging from single DNA molecules through coupled transcription-translation complexes, and show that nascent proteins lingered on DNA, regulating cascaded reactions on the same DNA and allowing the design of a pulsatile genetic circuit.
- Ferdinand Greiss
- , Nicolas Lardon
- & Roy Bar-Ziv
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Article
| Open AccessStructural and functional insights into the lipid regulation of human anion exchanger 2
Anion exchanger 2 (AE2), a widely expressed Cl- /HCO3 - exchanger, participates in the regulation of intracellular pH. Here, the authors present the structures of AE2 and uncover the regulatory mechanism of PIP2.
- Weiqi Zhang
- , Dian Ding
- & Yuxin Yin
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Article
| Open AccessAn extensive disulfide bond network prevents tail contraction in Agrobacterium tumefaciens phage Milano
Sonani et al. report the cryo-EM structures of the Milano phage tail, unraveling the mechanism of its flexible-to-rigid transformation, the inter-chain disulfide network hindering tail contraction and the structural organization of receptor binding proteins.
- Ravi R. Sonani
- , Lee K. Palmer
- & Edward H. Egelman
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Article
| Open AccessFolding pathway of a discontinuous two-domain protein
Here, using single molecule FRET, the unfolding and folding of a discontinuous two-domain protein was studied. The authors find that a dynamic, intermediate population entropically limits the rate of folding while the order of domain folding is kept in a slow-folding mutant.
- Ganesh Agam
- , Anders Barth
- & Don C. Lamb
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| Open AccessOrigin of the multi-phasic quenching dynamics in the BLUF domains across the species
Here the authors combine 19 F NMR and femtosecond transient absorption to characterise the structural origin of the multiphasic quenching dynamics in various species of BLUF domains, highlighting the importance of the heterogeneous active-site H-bond network.
- Yalin Zhou
- , Siwei Tang
- & Dongping Zhong
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Article
| Open AccessEndothelial leakiness elicited by amyloid protein aggregation
This study reports endothelial leakiness in vitro, in silico and in vivo, where adherens junctions are disrupted by their exposure to the anionic oligomers and seeds of Alzheimer’s amyloid beta, preceding proinflammatory and pro-oxidative events.
- Yuhuan Li
- , Nengyi Ni
- & Pu Chun Ke
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Article
| Open AccessMolecular switching in transcription through splicing and proline-isomerization regulates stress responses in plants
Transcription factor DREB2A interacts with Med25 to regulate stress responses. Here, the authors show that DREB2A uses splicing and proline-isomerization for this regulation and that proline cis-trans switching introduces structural frustration facilitating regulator exchange.
- Frederik Friis Theisen
- , Andreas Prestel
- & Karen Skriver
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Article
| Open AccessCochaperones convey the energy of ATP hydrolysis for directional action of Hsp90
The precise role of cochaperones and ATP hydrolysis in driving Hsp90’s chaperone cycle is largely unclear. Here, the authors use single-molecule FRET to show that several cochaperones are necessary to establish directionality in Hsp90’s conformational cycle.
- Leonie Vollmar
- , Julia Schimpf
- & Thorsten Hugel
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Article
| Open AccessMesoscale simulation of biomembranes with FreeDTS
In this work, the authors report the FreeDTS software to simulate biomembranes at the mesoscale. The software provides various membrane simulations, focusing on protein organization and shape remodeling. A versatile tool propelling realistic membrane studies and diverse applications.
- Weria Pezeshkian
- & John H. Ipsen
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Article
| Open AccessDisordered-to-ordered transitions in assembly factors allow the complex II catalytic subunit to switch binding partners
Here, the authors investigate the maturation of human respiratory Complex II, uncovering two metastable intermediates of maturation which suggest changes in intrinsic disorder ensure that the assembly steps occur in the correct sequence.
- Pankaj Sharma
- , Elena Maklashina
- & T. M. Iverson
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Article
| Open AccessLigand coupling mechanism of the human serotonin transporter differentiates substrates from inhibitors
The serotonin transporter, targeted by several medications, terminates neurotransmission by clearing serotonin from the synaptic cleft. Combining biochemical results with in silico data, the authors show the key interactions that initiate substrate transport.
- Ralph Gradisch
- , Katharina Schlögl
- & Thomas Stockner
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Article
| Open AccessCryo-EM structure and B-factor refinement with ensemble representation
Cryo-EM is the go-to method for visualizing large, flexible biomolecules. Here, authors introduce a new Gaussian mixture modelling method for cryo-EM modelling tasks, including refinement, composite map generation and ensemble representation.
- Joseph G. Beton
- , Thomas Mulvaney
- & Maya Topf
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Article
| Open AccessConformational coupling of the sialic acid TRAP transporter HiSiaQM with its substrate binding protein HiSiaP
Tripartite ATP-independent periplasmic (TRAP) transporters use an extra substrate binding protein to transport a variety of substrates in bacteria and archaea. Here the authors use a disulfide engineering approach to lock the TRAP transporter HiSiaPQM from H. influenzae in different conformational states for characterisation.
- Martin F. Peter
- , Jan A. Ruland
- & Gregor Hagelueken
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Article
| Open AccessMechanism of anion exchange and small-molecule inhibition of pendrin
Here the authors report structures of pendrin, an anion exchanger, in complex with its substrate Cl−, I−, or HCO3−, which reveal two anion binding sites in each protomer. The authors also identify binding sites of a pendrin inhibitor, niflumic acid.
- Lie Wang
- , Anthony Hoang
- & Ming Zhou
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Article
| Open AccessPIEZO1 loss-of-function compound heterozygous mutations in the rare congenital human disorder Prune Belly Syndrome
PIEZO1 is a mechanosensitive ion channel. Here, authors identify PIEZO1 human mutations in Prune Belly Syndrome. At a single molecule level these mutations exhibit loss-of-function characteristics.
- Nathalia G. Amado
- , Elena D. Nosyreva
- & Ruhma Syeda
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Article
| Open AccessTon motor conformational switch and peptidoglycan role in bacterial nutrient uptake
Gram-negative bacteria rely on the Ton system for nutrient uptake. Here, authors uncover how the ExbD protein acts as a conformational switch and the function of peptidoglycan in order to energize this transport process across the outer membrane.
- Maximilian Zinke
- , Maylis Lejeune
- & Nadia Izadi-Pruneyre
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Article
| Open AccessDCAF1-based PROTACs with activity against clinically validated targets overcoming intrinsic- and acquired-degrader resistance
Targeted protein degradation (TPD) is a key modality for drug discovery. Here the authors present the discovery and analysis of reversible DCAF1-PROTACs, which show efficacy in cellular environments resistant to VHL-PROTACs or with acquired resistance to CRBN-PROTACs.
- Martin Schröder
- , Martin Renatus
- & Claudio R. Thoma
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Article
| Open AccessThe juxtamembrane linker of synaptotagmin 1 regulates Ca2+ binding via liquid-liquid phase separation
Synaptotagmin (syt) 1 is a calcium sensor for neuronal exocytosis. Here, the authors show that the juxtamembrane linker of this integral membrane protein negatively regulates its calcium sensing activity by mediating self-association via liquid-liquid phase separation.
- Nikunj Mehta
- , Sayantan Mondal
- & Edwin R. Chapman
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Article
| Open AccessExperimental determination and mathematical modeling of standard shapes of forming autophagosomes
Autophagosome formation involves membrane morphological changes. Here, authors statistically determined average shapes of forming autophagosomes from 3D electron micrographs and established a theoretical model that quantitatively reproduces them.
- Yuji Sakai
- , Satoru Takahashi
- & Noboru Mizushima