| 1. |
- Feng, Boya, et al.
(författare)
-
Structural and Functional Insights into the Mode of Action of a Universally Conserved Obg GTPase
- 2014
-
Ingår i: PLoS biology. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1544-9173 .- 1545-7885. ; 12:5, s. e1001866-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Obg proteins are a family of P-loop GTPases, conserved from bacteria to human. The Obg protein in Escherichia coli (ObgE) has been implicated in many diverse cellular functions, with proposed molecular roles in two global processes, ribosome assembly and stringent response. Here, using pre-steady state fast kinetics we demonstrate that ObgE is an anti-association factor, which prevents ribosomal subunit association and downstream steps in translation by binding to the 50S subunit. ObgE is a ribosome dependent GTPase; however, upon binding to guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp), the global regulator of stringent response, ObgE exhibits an enhanced interaction with the 50S subunit, resulting in increased equilibrium dissociation of the 70S ribosome into subunits. Furthermore, our cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the 50S? ObgE? GMPPNP complex indicates that the evolutionarily conserved N-terminal domain (NTD) of ObgE is a tRNA structural mimic, with specific interactions with peptidyl-transferase center, displaying a marked resemblance to Class I release factors. These structural data might define ObgE as a specialized translation factor related to stress responses, and provide a framework towards future elucidation of functional interplay between ObgE and ribosome-associated (p) ppGpp regulators. Together with published data, our results suggest that ObgE might act as a checkpoint in final stages of the 50S subunit assembly under normal growth conditions. And more importantly, ObgE, as a (p) ppGpp effector, might also have a regulatory role in the production of the 50S subunit and its participation in translation under certain stressed conditions. Thus, our findings might have uncovered an under-recognized mechanism of translation control by environmental cues.
|
|
| 2. |
- Liang, Lijun, et al.
(författare)
-
Theoretical studies on the dynamics of DNA fragment translocation through multilayer graphene nanopores
- 2014
-
Ingår i: RSC Advances. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2046-2069. ; 4:92, s. 50494-50502
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Motivated by several potential advantages over common sequencing technologies, solid-state nanopores, in particular graphene nanopores, have recently been extensively explored as biosensor materials for DNA sequencing. Studies carried out on monolayer graphene nanopores aiming at single-base resolution have recently been extended to multilayer graphene (MLG) films, indicating that MLG nanopores are superior to their monolayer counterparts for DNA sequencing. However, the underlying dynamics and current change in the DNA translocation to thread MLG nanopores remain poorly understood. In this paper, we report a molecular dynamics study of DNA passing through graphene nanopores of different layers. We show that the DNA translocation time could be extended by increasing the graphene layers up to a moderate number (7) under a high electric field and that the current in DNA translocation undergoes a stepwise change upon DNA going through an MLG nanopore. A model is built to account for the relationship between the current change and the unoccupied volume of the MLG nanopore. We demonstrate that the dynamics of DNA translocation depends specifically on the interaction of nucleotides with the graphene sheet. Thus, our study indicates that the resolution of DNA detection could be improved by increasing the number of graphene layers in a certain range and by modifying the surface of the graphene nanopores.
|
|
