Abstract Glycoside hydrolases (GHs) play fundamental roles in the decomposition of lignocellulosic biomaterials. Here, we report the full-length structure of a cellulase from Bacillus licheniformis (BlCel5B), a member of the GH5 subfamily 4 that is entirely dependent on its two ancillary modules (Ig-like module and CBM46) for catalytic activity. Using X-ray crystallography, small-angle X-ray scattering […]
Trichoderma filamentous fungi have been investigated due to their ability to secrete cellulases which find various biotechnological applications such as biomass hydrolysis and cellulosic ethanol production. Previous studies demonstrated that Trichoderma harzianum IOC-3844 has a high degree of cellulolytic activity and potential for biomass hydrolysis. However, enzymatic, biochemical, and structural studies of cellulases from T. […]
Following burgeoning genomic and transcriptomic sequencing data, biochemical and molecular biology groups worldwide are implementing high-throughput cloning and mutagenesis facilities in order to obtain a large number of soluble proteins for structural and functional characterization. Since manual primer design can be a time-consuming and error-generating step, particularly when working with hundreds of targets, the automation […]
The crystal structures of three nuclear receptor (NR) complexes have emerged to reveal their multidomain architectures on DNA. These pictures provide unprecedented views of interfacial couplings between the DNA-binding domains (DBDs) and ligand-binding domains (LBDs). The detailed pictures contrast with previous interpretations of low-resolution electron microscopy (EM) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data, which […]
Transcriptional regulation controlled by thyroid hormone receptor (TR) drives events such as development, differentiation and metabolism. TRs may act either as homodimers, or as heterodimers with retinoid X receptor (RXR). Thyroid hormone T3 (3, 3`,5 triiodo-L-thyronine) preferentially binds TR:RXR heterodimers, which activate transcription through coactivator recruitment. However, it is unclear if TR:RXR heterodimers may also […]
15/05/2012 Por Fábio de Castro Agência FAPESP – Novos avanços científicos tornaram a produção de etanol celulósico realidade, mas ainda é preciso um esforço concentrado de pesquisa para torná-la economicamente viável em escala industrial. O caminho mais curto para cumprir esse objetivo é a intensificação dos estudos que visam aperfeiçoar e otimizar os coquetéis de enzimas […]
Old age tends to make us forgetful, and elderly people often have trouble sleeping too. Now a new study suggests that these two annoyances may be connected: age-related shrinking of a specific part of the cortex causes sleep disturbances, which in turn interfere with memory formation. http://www.nature.com/news/why-poor-sleep-and-forgetfulness-plague-the-ageing-brain-1.12303
Notable advances 2012 From the microbiome to the microenvironment, certain areas of biomedicine saw fast-paced discovery this year. Here’s a rundown of the papers that helped these fields advance quickly in 2012. http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v18/n12/full/nm1212-1732.html