SmithLabUMBC
@smithlabumbc.bsky.social
We are a diverse group of chemists and biochemists studying the structure-function relationship of metalloproteins 🏳️🌈🧪🧬 Find us here: https://t.co/eHC3pQp4dz
An adaptor for feedback regulation of heme biosynthesis by a mitochondrial protease | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
An adaptor for feedback regulation of heme biosynthesis by a mitochondrial protease
Heme biosynthesis is tightly coordinated to support essential functions without accumulating toxic porphyrins and depleting cellular iron. Heme induces degradation of the heme biosynthetic enzyme, 5-a...
science.org
A multivalent RNA affinity tag enables selective purification of tagged RNAs and bound proteins doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
A multivalent RNA affinity tag enables selective purification of tagged RNAs and bound proteins
Abstract. Efficient purification of specific RNAs from lysates remains a major challenge. Existing methods, such as MS2 tagging or oligonucleotide hybridiz
doi.org
Anyone running Coot 1.2 on MacOS having an issue where symmetry mates won’t display…at all…? Even with the master switch toggled on? Anyone….? I miss my functioning Coot 0.9 and Xquartz😭😭😭
Alexander's paper out now Nature Communications revealing how the regulator BqsR controls Fe²⁺ acquisition in P. aeruginosa, including structural characterization of BqsR & the discovery that it directly binds Fe²⁺, a previously unknown mechanism for these bacterial regulators! tinyurl.com/233vyumr
The response regulator BqsR/CarR controls Fe2+ acquisition in Pseudomonas aeruginosa - Nature Communications
The BqsRS two-component system regulates biofilms in the infectious pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Here, the authors show that the global response regulator BqsR controls Fe2+ acquisition in PAO1 th...
nature.com
New preprint: In collaboration with @yorgsvicen.bsky.social we show metacaspase9 and ATE N-degron pathway-dependent proteoform stability act to diversify UBP6 function during plant immunity www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Functional diversification of UBP6 in plant immunity through N‑degron pathway regulation
Deubiquitylases are key proteolytic regulators of ubiquitin-dependent cellular processes, catalyzing the removal or remodelling of ubiquitin modifications on substrate proteins, including those target...
biorxiv.org
Kicking Arsenic to the Curb: a paper from the labs of Douglas Reese & Bill Clemons of @caltech.edu that describe cryo-EM structure of a bacterial metalloid pump & the mechanisms that could offer more insight into ridding environments of toxic metalloids. Read more here: buff.ly/dnyw7U1 #SBGrid
Kicking Arsenic to the Curb
This publication highlight is part of the SBGrid Communities Project focused on science education and demonstrating how structural biology…
buff.ly
1/ Happy to share our preprint! The Mtr complex catalyses the second-to-last step of the methanogenesis and is an essential bioenergetic machine in most methanogenic archaea. Anaerobic cryo-EM of Mtr reveals a nitrogenase-like metallocluster bound at its active site! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
New paper led by postdoc @yannikipouros.bsky.social is out today in Nature! We show how metal coordination mining of AlphaFold reveals dozens of new radical halogenase families, including the promiscuous biocatalyst BtnX. #enzymes #bioinformatics #biocatalysis #secmet www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Targeted enzyme discovery using metal-coordination mining - Nature
A methodology for mining protein structure databases on the basis of the distinct intrinsic structures of metal-binding active sites in enzymes enables the discovery of new families of radical halogen...
nature.com
I have been ignoring reality recently due to a much-needed vacation (I swear--see the pictures!), but lots to catch up on, and lots of exciting and positive announcements coming soon! Perhaps the first to say I'm no longer "assisting" and also no longer "associating" but now just "professing"? 😁
A [Cu-4Fe-4S] cluster? Yep, you read that right! We report a new bioinorganic motif in an acetol dehydrogenase and characterized it with our wonderful collaborators from @ribesresearch.bsky.social @lmu.de @cutsail-lab.bsky.social @ksgchem.bsky.social @mpi-mr.bsky.social @hhu.de 🧪 #chemsky
bioRxiv Biochemistry@biorxiv-biochem.bsky.social · 2mo agoAn Unprecedented [Cu 4Fe 4S] Cluster in a Methanotroph Acetol Dehydrogenase https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.11.731722v1
An Unprecedented [Cu 4Fe 4S] Cluster in a Methanotroph Acetol Dehydrogenase https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.11.731722v1
Structure of the E3 ligase CRL2ZYG11B with substrates reveals the molecular basis for N-degron recognition and ubiquitination. @ispt-proteinterm.bsky.social @cp-cellreports.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Structure of the E3 ligase CRL2ZYG11B with substrates reveals the molecular basis for N-degron recognition and ubiquitination
Liu et al. define how the CRL2ZYG11B ubiquitin ligase assembles and recognizes Gly/N-degron substrates by cryo-EM. Structures with an NLRP1 Gly/N-degron and SARS-CoV-2 ORF10 reveal extended substrate-...
cell.com
The White House today announced it plans to make major changes in how the U.S. government manages research funding. https://scim.ag/43HgW4s
White House seeks to tighten political oversight of grantmaking
Sweeping proposed rule, now open for comments, would also restrict foreign collaborations and remove federal funding for open-access fees
scim.ag
Attention Advanced Light Source Users - Are you prepared for the upcoming 6 month shutdown period? We can help you find alternative beamlines for your research and equip you with the tools you need for their use - Learn more zurl.co/ChPy9 #beamline
Applications for grad student and postdoc travel awards to #ACSFall2026 due tomorrow! tiny.cc/BIOLTravelFa... More info: www.divbiolchem.org/awards/stude...
The Cimini lab is hiring for both postdocs and interns! The postdoc role will cover bioimage analysis projects and educational material creation; the intern will be working on our Bilayers project for helping distribute and access deep learning tools for bioimage analysis. Click below to learn more!
Postdoctoral Associate and Data Science Intern roles - Broad Institute, Cambridge MA USA
The Broad Institute Imaging Platform (the team behind CellProfiler, Piximi, and Bilayers) is currently hiring for postdoctoral and intern roles! Postdoc role: we are looking for 1-2 candidates who ha...
forum.image.sc
Happy #StarWarsDay to all who celebrate! Check out this 1970s CDC poster that’s just as relevant today! If your kids aren’t up to date on vaccines, call their doctor or call us at 919-560-7608 to get them scheduled today.
POV: Your Sanger read is giving you confidence. Meanwhile the rest of the plasmid: "we need to talk" 😅
Red blood cells don't always make their own heme - under stress, they scavange it from neighbors. Our new paper in @ScienceMagazine reveals a cell-nonautonomous heme acquisition pathway essential for erythroid hemoglobinization. #heme #erythropoiesis #anemia www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A cell-nonautonomous heme acquisition pathway enables erythroid hemoglobinization under stress
Heme, an iron-containing cofactor, is synthesized in mitochondria by an eight-enzyme pathway. Although cells were thought to manage heme autonomously, more than 1000 proteins contribute to its product...
science.org
Doing the periodic cleaning of used plasmid miniprep columns and realized in honor of Earth Day it may be worth reminding you molecular biologists: Plasmid miniprep columns can be cleaned and reused essentially indefinitely! Just add 1 M HCl, soak overnight and wash 3x w/ water. Save $ and plastic
N-terminal cysteine dependent proteolysis of RGS4/5 is not sensitive to physiological oxidative stress | Preprint by Ya-Min Tian, Haeun Kim, Peter Ratcliffe & Thomas Keeley @ox.ac.uk @ispt-proteinterm.bsky.social #N-degron #cysteine www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
A C-degron regulates Chk1 kinase by allowing stability of inactive Chk1 and by making it short- lived upon activation www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
A C-degron regulates Chk1 kinase by allowing stability of inactive Chk1 and by making it short- lived upon activation | PNAS
The Arg/N-degron pathway of Saccharomyces cerevisiae is mediated by two interacting E3 ubiquitin ligases, Ubr1 and Ufd4. We show here that the mito...
pnas.org
1/ How does the cytosolic iron–sulfur cluster assembly (CIA) system identify its dozens of clients? Like any good CIA agent, it uses a secret code🕵️ … and we think we’ve found the decoder. New Perlstein Lab preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
