Screening, Synthesis and Biochemical Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 Protease Inhibitors.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome-causing coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) papain-like protease (PL) and main protease (M) play an important role in viral replication events and are important targets for anti-coronavirus drug discovery. In search of these protease inhibitors, we screened a library of 1300 compounds using a fluorescence thermal shift assay (FTSA) and identified 53 hits that thermally stabilized or destabilized PL. The hit compounds structurally belonged to two classes of small molecules: thiazole derivatives and symmetrical disulfide compounds.

Collagen-like sequences encoded by extremophilic and extremotolerant bacteria.

Collagens and collagen-like proteins are found in a wide range of organisms. The common feature of these proteins is a triple helix fold, requiring a characteristic pattern of amino acid sequences, composed of Gly-X-Y tripeptide repeats. Collagen-like proteins from bacteria are heterogeneous in terms of length and amino acid composition of their collagenous sequences.

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Assisted in vitro Electroporation: A Pilot Study.

Electroporation is a phenomenon occurring due to exposure of cells to Pulsed Electric Fields (PEF) which leads to increase of membrane permeability. Electroporation is used in medicine, biotechnology, and food processing. Recently, as an alternative to electroporation by PEF, Pulsed ElectroMagnetic Fields (PEMF) application causing similar biological effects was suggested.

Genetic engineering of Geobacillus spp.

Members of the genus Geobacillus are thermophiles that are of great biotechnological importance, since they are sources of many thermostable enzymes. Because of their metabolic versatility, geobacilli can be used as whole-cell catalysts in processes such as bioconversion and bioremediation. The effective employment of Geobacillus spp.

Characterization of two novel plasmids from Geobacillus sp. 610 and 1121 strains.

We describe two cryptic low molecular weight plasmids, pGTD7 (3279bp) and pGTG5 (1540bp), isolated from Geobacillus sp. 610 and 1121 strains, respectively. Homology analysis of the replication protein (Rep) sequences and detection of ssDNA indicate that both of them replicate via rolling circle mechanism.