Publications by authors named "Claus Schmitz"
Article Synopsis
- The type IX secretion system (T9SS) helps bacterial pathogens infect hosts, and its activation is regulated by a signaling cascade, with PorX being a key protein that could be targeted for drug development.
- Structural analysis shows that PorX has a unique enzyme domain similar to alkaline phosphatase, indicating its involvement in previously unlinked nucleotide and lipid signaling pathways.
- PorX acts as a zinc sensor and is crucial for the secretion of virulence factors in pathogenic bacteria, suggesting it could be an effective target for strategies to disrupt T9SS and reduce virulence.
Article Synopsis
- The Type-IX secretion system (T9SS) is a bacterial nanomachinery critical for the infection process, regulated by a signaling cascade led by the protein PorX, making it a potential target for drugs.
- Research on PorX revealed it has a unique enzymatic domain similar to alkaline phosphatases, indicating it plays a role in nucleotide and lipid signaling that was previously unrecognized in the context of T9SS.
- PorX exhibits zinc-dependent phosphodiesterase activity and can dimerize through a novel mechanism involving zinc, suggesting it's a cellular zinc sensor and further emphasizing its importance in virulence factor secretion in pathogenic bacteria.
The PglZ family of proteins belongs to the alkaline phosphatase superfamily, which consists of metallohydrolases with limited sequence identity but similar metal-coordination architectures in otherwise divergent active sites. Proteins with a well-defined PglZ domain are ubiquitous among prokaryotes as essential components of BREX phage defence systems and two-component systems (TCSs). Whereas other members of the alkaline phosphatase superfamily are well characterized, the activity, structure and biological function of PglZ family proteins remain unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aminoacylation of tRNAs by aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (ARSs) is a central reaction in biology. Multiple regulatory pathways use the aminoacylation status of cytosolic tRNAs to monitor and regulate metabolism. The existence of equivalent regulatory networks within the mitochondria is unknown.
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