After DNA replication, chromosomal processes including DNA repair and transcription take place in the context of sister chromatids. While cell cycle regulation can guide these processes globally, mechanisms to distinguish pre- and post-replicative states locally remain unknown. Here we reveal that new histones incorporated during DNA replication provide a signature of post-replicative chromatin, read by the human TONSL–MMS22L homologous recombination complex. We identify the TONSL...
Tag Archives: complex
Cryo-EM structure of a human cytoplasmic actomyosin complex at near-atomic resolution
The interaction of myosin with actin filaments is the central feature of muscle contraction and cargo movement along actin filaments of the cytoskeleton. The energy for these movements is generated during a complex mechanochemical reaction cycle. Crystal structures of myosin in different states have provided important structural insights into the myosin motor cycle when myosin is detached from F-actin. The difficulty of obtaining diffracting...
Structural basis of N6-adenosine methylation by the METTL3–METTL14 complex
Chemical modifications of RNA have essential roles in a vast range of cellular processes. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is an abundant internal modification in messenger RNA and long non-coding RNA that can be dynamically added and removed by RNA methyltransferases (MTases) and demethylases, respectively. An MTase complex comprising methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) and methyltransferase-like 14 (METTL14) efficiently catalyses methyl group transfer. In contrast to the well-studied DNA...
Transcription initiation complex structures elucidate DNA opening
Transcription of eukaryotic protein-coding genes begins with assembly of the RNA polymerase (Pol) II initiation complex and promoter DNA opening. Here we report cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structures of yeast initiation complexes containing closed and open DNA at resolutions of 8.8 Å and 3.6 Å, respectively. DNA is positioned and retained over the Pol II cleft by a network of interactions between the TATA-box-binding protein TBP and...
Continuous probing of cold complex molecules with infrared frequency comb spectroscopy
For more than half a century, high-resolution infrared spectroscopy has played a crucial role in probing molecular structure and dynamics. Such studies have so far been largely restricted to relatively small and simple systems, because at room temperature even molecules of modest size already occupy many millions of rotational/vibrational states, yielding highly congested spectra that are difficult to assign. Targeting more complex molecules requires...
Continuous probing of cold complex molecules with infrared frequency comb spectroscopy
For more than half a century, high-resolution infrared spectroscopy has played a crucial role in probing molecular structure and dynamics. Such studies have so far been largely restricted to relatively small and simple systems, because at room temperature even molecules of modest size already occupy many millions of rotational/vibrational states, yielding highly congested spectra that are difficult to assign. Targeting more complex molecules requires...
The crystal structure of Cpf1 in complex with CRISPR RNA
The CRISPR–Cas systems, as exemplified by CRISPR–Cas9, are RNA-guided adaptive immune systems used by bacteria and archaea to defend against viral infection. The CRISPR–Cpf1 system, a new class 2 CRISPR–Cas system, mediates robust DNA interference in human cells. Although functionally conserved, Cpf1 and Cas9 differ in many aspects including their guide RNAs and substrate specificity. Here we report the 2.38 Å crystal structure of the...
Revealed: Filings provide inside look at Google’s planned Seattle complex near Amazon’s HQ
Amazon will soon have a new neighbor in the form of a fellow tech giant.
As GeekWire reported on Thursday, Google plans to move...
Structural basis of outer membrane protein insertion by the BAM complex
All Gram-negative bacteria, mitochondria and chloroplasts have outer membrane proteins (OMPs) that perform many fundamental biological processes. The OMPs in Gram-negative bacteria are inserted and folded into the outer membrane by the β-barrel assembly machinery (BAM). The mechanism involved is poorly understood, owing to the absence of a structure of the entire BAM complex. Here we report two crystal structures of the Escherichia coli...
Universal resilience patterns in complex networks
Resilience, a system’s ability to adjust its activity to retain its basic functionality when errors, failures and environmental changes occur, is a defining property of many complex systems. Despite widespread consequences for human health, the economy and the environment, events leading to loss of resilience—from cascading failures in technological systems to mass extinctions in ecological networks—are rarely predictable and are often irreversible. These limitations...
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