Chemoenzymatic synthesis of fluorinated polyketides.

Modification of polyketides with fluorine offers a promising approach to develop new pharmaceuticals. While synthetic chemical methods for site-selective incorporation of fluorine in complex molecules have improved in recent years, approaches for the biosynthetic incorporation of fluorine in natural compounds are still rare. Here, we report a strategy to introduce fluorine into complex polyketides during biosynthesis.

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The Corona pandemic has painfully taught us the threat of new pathogens in a globalized world and how vital modern vaccines are. Platform technologies play an important role in the discovery of new vaccines as reducing the time for the development dramatically - time that saves lives. Here, we present the protein Dodecin and how it may be utilized as a versatile platform technology to produce cheap and robust new vaccines for everyone in all parts of the world.

Smart Molecular Nanosheets for Advanced Preparation of Biological Samples in Electron Cryo-Microscopy.

Transmission electron cryo-microscopy (cryoEM) of vitrified biological specimens is a powerful tool for structural biology. Current preparation of vitrified biological samples starts off with sample isolation and purification, followed by the fixation in a freestanding layer of amorphous ice. Here, we demonstrate that ultrathin (∼10 nm) smart molecular nanosheets having specific biorecognition sites embedded in a biorepulsive layer covalently bound to a mechanically stable carbon nanomembrane allow for a much simpler isolation and structural analysis.

Type I fatty acid synthase trapped in the octanoyl-bound state.

De novo fatty acid biosynthesis in humans is accomplished by a multidomain protein, the Type I fatty acid synthase (FAS). Although ubiquitously expressed in all tissues, fatty acid synthesis is not essential in normal healthy cells due to sufficient supply with fatty acids by the diet. However, FAS is overexpressed in cancer cells and correlates with tumor malignancy, which makes FAS an attractive selective therapeutic target in tumorigenesis.

Structure of the archaeal chemotaxis protein CheY in a domain-swapped dimeric conformation.

Archaea are motile by the rotation of the archaellum. The archaellum switches between clockwise and counterclockwise rotation, and movement along a chemical gradient is possible by modulation of the switching frequency. This modulation involves the response regulator CheY and the archaellum adaptor protein CheF.