A "grappling hook" interaction connects self-assembly and chaperone activity of Nucleophosmin 1.

How the self-assembly of partially disordered proteins generates functional compartments in the cytoplasm and particularly in the nucleus is poorly understood. Nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) is an abundant nucleolar protein that forms large oligomers and undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation by binding RNA or ribosomal proteins. It provides the scaffold for ribosome assembly but also prevents protein aggregation as part of the cellular stress response.

Draft Genome Sequence of Venenivibrio stagnispumantis CP.B2, Isolated from Champagne Pool, Waiotapu, Aotearoa-New Zealand.

Venenivibrio stagnispumantis strain CP.B2 is a thermophilic, chemolithoautotrophic bacterium from the family (phylum ), isolated from Champagne Pool in the Waiotapu geothermal field, Aotearoa-New Zealand. The genome consists of 1.

Allosteric inhibition of MenD by 1,4-dihydroxy naphthoic acid: a feedback inhibition mechanism of the menaquinone biosynthesis pathway.

Menaquinones (MKs) are electron carriers in bacterial respiratory chains. In (), MKs are essential for aerobic and anaerobic respiration. As MKs are redox-active, their biosynthesis likely requires tight regulation to prevent disruption of cellular redox balance.

Application of sequential cyclic compression on cancer cells in a flexible microdevice.

Mechanical forces shape physiological structure and function within cell and tissue microenvironments, during which cells strive to restore their shape or develop an adaptive mechanism to maintain cell integrity depending on strength and type of the mechanical loading. While some cells are shown to experience permanent plastic deformation after a repetitive mechanical tensile loading and unloading, the impact of such repetitive compression on deformation of cells is yet to be understood. As such, the ability to apply cyclic compression is crucial for any experimental setup aimed at the study of mechanical compression taking place in cell and tissue microenvironments.

Unlocking the bioactivity of meat proteins: Comparison of meat and meat hydrolysate via simulated gastrointestinal digestion.

Understanding the functional attributes of meat proteins is crucial for determining their nutritional benefits. Depending on the form in which meat proteins are available, the digestive process can release peptides which are valuable for nutrition and may also possess bioactive properties, affecting physiology. Liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was used to quantitatively compare the molecular peptide features (representing non-redundant peptides), during the different stages of a simulated gastrointestinal digestion process of a minimally processed powdered meat and its enzymatically produced hydrolysate.

On the utility of microfluidic systems to study protein interactions: advantages, challenges, and applications.

Within the complex milieu of a cell, which comprises a large number of different biomolecules, interactions are critical for function. In this post-reductionist era of biochemical research, the 'holy grail' for studying biomolecular interactions is to be able to characterize them in native environments. While there are a limited number of in situ experimental techniques currently available, there is a continuing need to develop new methods for the analysis of biomolecular complexes that can cope with the additional complexities introduced by native-like solutions.

The protein dynamics of bovine and caprine β-lactoglobulin differ as a function of pH.

The properties of milk proteins differ between mammalian species. β-Lactoglobulin (βlg) proteins from caprine and bovine milk are sequentially and structurally highly similar, yet their physicochemical properties differ, particularly in response to pH. To resolve this conundrum, we compared the dynamics of both the monomeric and dimeric states for each homologue at pH 6.

The structure of His-tagged Geobacillus stearothermophilus purine nucleoside phosphorylase reveals a `spanner in the works'.

The 1.72 Å resolution structure of purine nucleoside phosphorylase from Geobacillus stearothermophilus, a thermostable protein of potential interest for the biocatalytic synthesis of antiviral nucleoside compounds, is reported. The structure of the N-terminally His-tagged enzyme is a hexamer, as is typical of bacterial homologues, with a trimer-of-dimers arrangement.

Microdevice-based mechanical compression on living cells.

Compressive stress enables the investigation of a range of cellular processes in which forces play an important role, such as cell growth, differentiation, migration, and invasion. Such solid stress can be introduced externally to study cell response and to mechanically induce changes in cell morphology and behavior by static or dynamic compression. Microfluidics is a useful tool for this, allowing one to mimic microenvironments in on-chip culture systems where force application can be controlled spatially and temporally.

A numerical investigation of the hydrodynamic dispersion in triply periodic chromatographic stationary phases.

3D printed custom chromatographic stationary phases have recently been demonstrated. Using the Lattice Boltzmann Method, we compared the model-predicted chromatographic performance of random packing of monodisperse spheres, open tubular columns (OTC) and stationary phases based on three triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS): Schwarz Diamond (SD), Schoen Gyroid (SG) and Schwarz Primitive (SP). Three performance metrics were employed in this comparison: i) reduced plate height, ii) Darcy number, iii) kinetic performance factor.

Bacteriophage-encoded lethal membrane disruptors: Advances in understanding and potential applications.

Holins and spanins are bacteriophage-encoded membrane proteins that control bacterial cell lysis in the final stage of the bacteriophage reproductive cycle. Due to their efficient mechanisms for lethal membrane disruption, these proteins are gaining interest in many fields, including the medical, food, biotechnological, and pharmaceutical fields. However, investigating these lethal proteins is challenging due to their toxicity in bacterial expression systems and the resultant low protein yields have hindered their analysis compared to other cell lytic proteins.

The experiences of endometriosis patients with diagnosis and treatment in New Zealand.

Unlabelled: Endometriosis is a chronically painful, invasive, inflammatory disease, with limited treatment options and long delays to diagnosis, which impacts 10% of females in New Zealand.

Introduction: As part of a larger group discussion study, this paper covers three themes associated with endometriosis patient experiences: intensity of pain, diagnostic tool shortcomings and perspectives of treatment options.

Materials And Methods: The goal of this research was the inclusion of patient voices to guide research priorities.

Use of a Novel DNA-Loaded Alginate-Calcium Carbonate Biopolymer Surrogate to Study the Engulfment of Legionella pneumophila by Acanthamoeba polyphaga in Water Systems.

The engulfment of Legionella pneumophila by free-living amoebae (FLA) in engineered water systems (EWS) enhances L. pneumophila persistence and provides a vehicle for rapid replication and increased public health risk. Despite numerous legionellosis outbreaks worldwide, effective tools for studying interactions between L.

UV and visible light exposure to hair leads to widespread changes in the hair lipidome.

Objective: Scalp hair is among the most exposed parts of the human body, yet the impact of visible and UV light on hair lipids, an important structural component of hair, is poorly researched. We have used lipidomics, a broad-based approach to measure lipids in samples, which has hitherto not been applied to UV-exposed hair in the published literature, and could allow for a wider understanding of how UV light impacts on specific hair lipids.

Methods: Mixed blonde Caucasian hair switches were divided into two groups of five, with half of the hair switches exposed to UV and visible light mimicking normal daytime exposure and half left unexposed.

Evaluation of Biopolymer Materials and Synthesis Techniques to Develop a Rod-Shaped Biopolymer Surrogate for .

Biopolymer microparticles have been developed for applications that require biocompatibility and biodegradability, such as drug delivery. In this study, we assessed the production of microparticles using carnauba wax, κ-carrageenan, alginate, and poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) with the aim of developing a novel, DNA-tracer-loaded, biopolymer surrogate with a size, shape, surface charge, and relative hydrophobicity similar to stationary-phase to mimic the bacteria's mobility and persistence in engineered water systems. We found that the type and concentration of biopolymer, reaction conditions, and synthesis methods affected the morphology, surface charge, relative hydrophobicity, and DNA tracer loading efficiency of the biopolymer microparticles produced.

Sialic Acid Derivatives Inhibit SiaT Transporters and Delay Bacterial Growth.

Antibiotic resistance is a major worldwide concern, and new drugs with mechanistically novel modes of action are urgently needed. Here, we report the structure-based drug design, synthesis, and evaluation in vitro and in cellular systems of sialic acid derivatives able to inhibit the bacterial sialic acid symporter SiaT. We designed and synthesized 21 sialic acid derivatives and screened their affinity for SiaT by a thermal shift assay and elucidated the inhibitory mechanism through binding thermodynamics, computational methods, and inhibitory kinetic studies.

Complementing machine learning-based structure predictions with native mass spectrometry.

The advent of machine learning-based structure prediction algorithms such as AlphaFold2 (AF2) and RoseTTa Fold have moved the generation of accurate structural models for the entire cellular protein machinery into the reach of the scientific community. However, structure predictions of protein complexes are based on user-provided input and may require experimental validation. Mass spectrometry (MS) is a versatile, time-effective tool that provides information on post-translational modifications, ligand interactions, conformational changes, and higher-order oligomerization.

Protecting group free glycosylation: one-pot stereocontrolled access to 1,2- glycosides and (1→6)-linked disaccharides of 2-acetamido sugars.

Unprotected 2-acetamido sugars may be directly converted into their oxazolines using 2-chloro-1,3-dimethylimidazolinium chloride (DMC), and a suitable base, in aqueous solution. Freeze drying and acid catalysed reaction with an alcohol as solvent produces the corresponding 1,2--glycosides in good yield. Alternatively, dissolution in an aprotic solvent system and acidic activation in the presence of an excess of an unprotected glycoside as a glycosyl acceptor, results in the stereoselective formation of the corresponding 1,2- linked disaccharides without any protecting group manipulations.

Electrospray ionization of native membrane proteins proceeds a charge equilibration step.

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry is increasingly applied to study the structures and interactions of membrane protein complexes. However, the charging mechanism is complicated by the presence of detergent micelles during ionization. Here, we show that the final charge of membrane proteins can be predicted by their molecular weight when released from the non-charge reducing saccharide detergents.

Fermentation of plant-based dairy alternatives by lactic acid bacteria.

Ethical, environmental and health concerns around dairy products are driving a fast-growing industry for plant-based dairy alternatives, but undesirable flavours and textures in available products are limiting their uptake into the mainstream. The molecular processes initiated during fermentation by lactic acid bacteria in dairy products is well understood, such as proteolysis of caseins into peptides and amino acids, and the utilisation of carbohydrates to form lactic acid and exopolysaccharides. These processes are fundamental to developing the flavour and texture of fermented dairy products like cheese and yoghurt, yet how these processes work in plant-based alternatives is poorly understood.

Capillaric field effect transistors.

Controlling fluid flow in capillaric circuits is a key requirement to increase their uptake for assay applications. Capillary action off-valves provide such functionality by pushing an occluding bubble into the channel using a difference in capillary pressure. Previously, we utilized the binary switching mode of this structure to develop a powerful set of fundamental fluidic valving operations.

Insights in Human Hair Curvature by Proteome Analysis of Two Distinct Hair Shapes.

Scalp hair is a universal human characteristic, and a wide range of hair shape and color variations exists. Although differences in human scalp hair shape are visually apparent, the underpinning molecular insights are yet to be fully explored. This work reports the determination of differences at the protein level between two distinct groups of hair shape: very straight samples versus very curly hair samples.

How plants solubilise seed fats: revisiting oleosin structure and function to inform commercial applications.

Plants store triacylglycerides in organelles called oil bodies, which are important fuel sources for germination. Oil bodies consist of a lipid core surrounded by an interfacial single layer membrane of phospholipids and proteins. Oleosins are highly conserved plant proteins that are important for oil body formation, solubilising the triacylglycerides, stabilising oil bodies, and playing a role in mobilising the fuel during the germination process.

Predictive Potential of MALDI-TOF Analyses for Wine and Brewing Yeast.

The potential of MALDI-TOF profiling for predicting potential applications of yeast strains in the beverage sector was assessed. A panel of 59 commercial yeasts (47 wine and 12 brewing yeasts) was used to validate the concept whereby 2 culture media (YPD agar and YPD broth), as well as two mass ranges / 500-4000 and / 2000-20,000, were evaluated for the best fit. Three machine learning-based algorithms, PCA, MDS, and UMAP, in addition to a hierarchical clustering method, were employed.