BiotechMashup

(Elhuyar Fundazioa) Researchers from CIC bioGUNE's Structural Biology Unit and Columbia University have conducted a joint research project, published in the prestigious scientific journal Structure, to gain in-depth knowledge of the structure of pyruvate carboxylase when it is in solution (in the "natural" state).

Neutron scattering has revealed how massive enzyme complexes inside cells might determine whether sugar is burnt for energy or stored as fat. The findings promise to improve understanding of diabetes and a range of metabolic diseases. Scientists using neutron scattering have shown how pyruvate dehydrogenase complexes (PDCs) could control the rate of sugar metabolism by actively changing their own composition.

by Yu-Hsuan Tu, Yu-Hsuan Ho, Ying-Chih Chuang, Po-Chung Chen, Chien-Sheng Chen

The cause of tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), a slow-growing aerobic bacterium that divides every 16 to 20 hours. Scientists know that carbon metabolism plays a significant role in the ability of Mtb to replicate and persist in the body and that fatty acids are the major source of carbon and energy during infection. However, the specific enzymes required for the metabolism of fatty acids have not been completely defined. New research sheds light on a previously unrecognized aspect of fatty acid metabolism that could potentially lead to new targets for drug therapy.

by Christopher Auger, Joseph Lemire, Dominic Cecchini, Adam Bignucolo, Vasu D. Appanna

by Christopher Auger, Joseph Lemire, Dominic Cecchini, Adam Bignucolo, Vasu D. Appanna

by Eleanor W. Trotter, Matthew D. Rolfe, Andrea M. Hounslow, C. Jeremy Craven, Michael P. Williamson, Guido Sanguinetti, Robert K. Poole, Jeffrey Green
Background Many bacteria undergo transitions between environments with differing O2 availabilities as part of their natural lifestyles and during biotechnological processes. However, the dynamics of adaptation when bacteria experience changes in O2 availability are understudied. The model bacterium and facultative anaerobe Escherichia coli K-12 provides an ideal system for exploring this process.

by Eleanor W. Trotter, Matthew D. Rolfe, Andrea M. Hounslow, C. Jeremy Craven, Michael P. Williamson, Guido Sanguinetti, Robert K. Poole, Jeffrey Green
Background Many bacteria undergo transitions between environments with differing O2 availabilities as part of their natural lifestyles and during biotechnological processes. However, the dynamics of adaptation when bacteria experience changes in O2 availability are understudied. The model bacterium and facultative anaerobe Escherichia coli K-12 provides an ideal system for exploring this process.

by Eleanor W. Trotter, Matthew D. Rolfe, Andrea M. Hounslow, C. Jeremy Craven, Michael P. Williamson, Guido Sanguinetti, Robert K. Poole, Jeffrey Green
Background Many bacteria undergo transitions between environments with differing O2 availabilities as part of their natural lifestyles and during biotechnological processes. However, the dynamics of adaptation when bacteria experience changes in O2 availability are understudied. The model bacterium and facultative anaerobe Escherichia coli K-12 provides an ideal system for exploring this process.