Systematic Comparison of Beetle Luciferase-Luciferin Pairs as Sources of Near-Infrared Light for In Vitro and In Vivo Applications.

Luciferases catalyze light-emitting reactions that produce a rainbow of colors from their substrates (luciferins), molecular oxygen, and often additional cofactors. These bioluminescence (BL) systems have afforded an incredible variety of basic research and medical applications. Driven by the importance of BL-based non-invasive animal imaging (BLI) applications, especially in support of cancer research, new BL systems have been developed by engineering beetle luciferase (Luc) variants and synthetic substrate combinations to produce red to near-infrared (nIR) light to improve imaging sensitivity and resolution.

Mutagenesis and Structural Studies Reveal the Basis for the Activity and Stability Properties That Distinguish the Luciferases and .

The dazzling yellow-green light emission of the common North American firefly and other bioluminescent organisms has provided a wide variety of prominent research applications like reporter gene assays and in vivo imaging methods. While the enzyme has been extensively studied, only recently has a second luciferase been cloned from the species . Even though the enzymes share very high sequence identity (89.

Metal-citrate complex transport in Kineococcus radiotolerans.

The growth of an organism is highly dependent on the acquisition of carbon and metals, and availability of these nutrients in the environment affects its survival. Organisms can obtain both nutrients simultaneously through proteins of the CitMHS superfamily. Bioinformatic studies suggested a CitMHS gene (Accession number ABS03965.

The Lysosomal Protein Saposin B Binds Chloroquine.

Chloroquine (CQ) has been widely used in the treatment of malaria since the 1950s, though toxicity and resistance is increasingly limiting its use in the clinic. More recently, CQ is also becoming recognized as an important therapeutic compound for the treatment of autoimmune disorders and has shown activity as an anticancer agent. However, the full extent of CQ pharmacology in humans is still unclear.