| 1. |
- Alam, M. T., et al.
(author)
-
The self-inhibitory nature of metabolic networks and its alleviation through compartmentalization
- 2017
-
In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723 .- 2041-1723. ; 8, s. Article no 16018-
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Metabolites can inhibit the enzymes that generate them. To explore the general nature of metabolic self-inhibition, we surveyed enzymological data accrued from a century of experimentation and generated a genome-scale enzyme-inhibition network. Enzyme inhibition is often driven by essential metabolites, affects the majority of biochemical processes, and is executed by a structured network whose topological organization is reflecting chemical similarities that exist between metabolites. Most inhibitory interactions are competitive, emerge in the close neighbourhood of the inhibited enzymes, and result from structural similarities between substrate and inhibitors. Structural constraints also explain one-third of allosteric inhibitors, a finding rationalized by crystallographic analysis of allosterically inhibited L-lactate dehydrogenase. Our findings suggest that the primary cause of metabolic enzyme inhibition is not the evolution of regulatory metabolite-enzyme interactions, but a finite structural diversity prevalent within the metabolome. In eukaryotes, compartmentalization minimizes inevitable enzyme inhibition and alleviates constraints that self-inhibition places on metabolism.
|
|
| 2. |
- Sandin, Gustav A, 1983, et al.
(author)
-
Environmental evaluation of a clear coating for wood: toxicological testing and life cycle assessment
- 2012
-
In: PRA's 8th International Woodcoatings Congress (oral presentation and confereence proceeding paper).
-
Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- WoodLife is an on-going project under the EU Seventh Framework Programme aimed at developing a water-based clear coating for exterior wood products. Adding nanoparticles to a conventional coating could improve its UV-protecting properties, thus decreasing the need for maintenance of coated wood products. Wood products could thereby replace non-wood alternatives, which could result in lower environmental impacts.This paper describes an environmental evaluation carried out within the WoodLife project, in which we test whether the nanoparticles are toxic for the bacteria Vibrio fischeri, and use Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to map the environmental consequences of applying the coating on a wood product. This goes beyond the scope of most environmental evaluations of nanotechnologies, which tend to include either an assessment of the possible toxicity of the nanomaterial or an LCA.The toxicological testing indicates low ecotoxicity of the nanoparticles, but further development of suitable testing methods is warranted to enable a full ecotoxicological evaluation. The LCA shows that a wooden window frame with the new coating can be environmentally superior to plastic and aluminium window frames. However, the potential in part depends on variables such as recycling rates and disposal practices, which are highly uncertain for future products with long service lives.
|
|
