MP
Transport of phenoxyacetic acid herbicides by PIN-FORMED auxin transporters.
Schulz L, Ung KL, Zuzic L, Koutnik-Abele S, Schiøtt B, Stokes DL, Pedersen BP, Hammes UZ.
Nat Plants. 2025 May;11(5):1049-1059.
doi: 10.1038/s41477-025-01984-0. Epub 2025 Apr 22.
PMID: 40263580.
Structural modeling, in vitro assays, and Arabidopsis mutants => authors show that specific PINs can mediate the export of herbicides.
Mutagenesis studies => identification of key residues in the transport pocket responsible for substrate specificity.
Structural basis of lipid transfer by a bridge-like lipid-transfer protein.
Kang Y, Lehmann KS, Long H, Jefferson A, Purice M, Freeman M, Clark S.
Nature. 2025 Apr 23.
doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-08918-y. Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 40269155.
CryoEM => structure of a bridge-like lipid transfer protein (BLTP) that spans between membranes to facilitate direct lipid transfer: tunnel-like architecture that accommodates various lipid species.
+ explains how conformational changes enable lipid movement while maintaining membrane contact.
Single-molecule visualization of ATP-induced dynamics of the subunit composition of an ECF transporter complex under turnover conditions.
Lefebvre SN, Nijland M, Maslov I, Slotboom DJ.
Nat Commun. 2025 May 13;16(1):4448.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-59674-6.
PMID: 40360487.
Single-molecule fluorescence microscopy => real-time insight into the modular operation of bacterial ECF transporters (visualization of ATP-dependent subunit rearrangements).
Authors show that the substrate-specific S-component dynamically associates and dissociates with the core ECF module during turnover.
Process tightly coupled to ATP hydrolysis, implying a reset mechanism after each transport cycle.
NMR Structural Characterization of SARS-CoV-2 ORF6 Reveals an N-Terminal Membrane Anchor.
Ninot-Pedrosa M, Pálfy G, Razmazma H, Crowley J, Fogeron ML, Bersch B, Barnes A, Brutscher B, Monticelli L, Böckmann A, Meier BH, Lecoq L.
J Am Chem Soc. 2025 May 15.
doi: 10.1021/jacs.4c17030. Online ahead of print.
PMID: 40372136.
NMR => SARS-CoV-2 ORF6 contains an N-terminal amphipathic helix that anchors the protein to membranes.
The C-terminal region remains flexible and is implicated in interactions with host nuclear transport machinery.
The membrane-anchored state is necessary for ORF6 to exert its antagonistic effect on host antiviral responses.
Characterization of the Structure and Function of the Photosynthetic RC-LH1 Core Supercomplex From Rhodospirillum rubrum.
Christianson B, Liu Z, Zhang Y, Wang C, Gardner AM, Zhang YZ, Wang P, Liu LN.
Physiol Plant. 2025 May-Jun;177(3):e70275.
doi: 10.1111/ppl.70275.
PMID: 40384483.
cryo-EM structure of the RC-LH1 photosynthetic core supercomplex from Rhodospirillum rubrum.
The complex exhibits a closed LH1 ring with an embedded reaction center and an unusual quinone channel.
Functional assays confirm that this arrangement supports efficient light harvesting and electron transport.
Structure of YbbAP-TesA: a Type VII ABC transporter lipid-hydrolase complex.
Martin BL McAndrew, Jonathan Cook, Amy Gill, Kavya Sahoo, Clare Thomas, Phillip J Stansfeld, Allister Crow.
bioRxiv 2025.05.16.654284;
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.16.654284.
cryo-EM structure of YbbAP-TesA, a Type VII ABC transporter-lipase complex involved in lipid hydrolysis.
The complex couples ATP hydrolysis with substrate translocation and enzymatic processing of lipids.
Structural data => interplay between transporter conformation and lipase activation.
Structural insights into peptidoglycan hydrolysis by the FtsEX system in Escherichia coli during cell division.
Jianwei Li, Yutong He, Xin Xu, Martin Alcorlo, Jian Shi, Souvik Naskar, Nicholas Briggs, David I Roper, Juan A. Hermoso, Lok-To Sham, and Min Luo.
bioRxiv posted 21 May 2025.
doi:10.1101/2024.01.16.575974.
Study how the FtsEX complex activates the amidase AmiC to facilitate septal PG hydrolysis during E. coli division.
Structural and biochemical data identify specific interactions between the FtsX extracellular loop and AmiC that are required for activity.
=> shows how ATP binding to FtsE triggers conformational changes enabling enzyme activation.
The Role of Chloride Ions in Serotonin Transport.
Jiahui Huang, Annika Backer, Stacy Uchendu, Bethlehem Bekele, Qingyang Chen, Esam Orabi, Robyn Stix, Yuan-Wei Zhang, Gary Rudnick, Eva Hellsberg, and Lucy R Forrest.
bioRxiv posted 20 May 2025.
doi:10.1101/2025.05.20.654092.
Study showing how chloride ions modulate serotonin transport by the SERT transporter.
Simulations and mutagenesis => chloride stabilizes key conformations of the protein, impacting substrate binding and release. Alterations in chloride coordination disrupt transport efficiency.
Defined roles for the Staphylococcus aureus POT transporter DtpT in di/tripeptide uptake and glutathione utilisation inside human macrophages.
Imran Khan, Sandy J MacDonald, Sigurbjorn Markusson, Paige J Kies, Cristina Kraemer-Zimpel, Callum Robson, Joanne L Parker, Simon Newstead, Dave Boucher, Neal D Hammer, Marjan Van der Woude, and Gavin Hugh Thomas.
bioRxiv posted 20 May 2025.
doi:10.1101/2024.12.02.626324.
Study of the role of DtpT (POT-family peptide transporter in S. aureus) in importing di/tripeptides and glutathione within host macrophages.
Mutants ∆DtpT => impaired growth in macrophages and reduced peptide uptake.
The transporter contributes to nutrient acquisition and redox balance during intracellular infection.
Membranes
Dissecting bioelectrical networks in photosynthetic membranes with electrochemistry.
Joshua M. Lawrence, Rachel M. Egan, Laura T. Wey, Karan Bali, Xiaolong Chen, Darius Kosmützky, Mairi Eyres, Lan Nan, Mary H. Wood, Marc M. Nowaczyk, Christopher J. Howe, and Jenny Z. Zhang.
bioRxiv posted 20 May 2025.
doi:10.1101/2025.03.18.643929.
Electrochemical techniques to explore bioelectrical dynamics in photosynthetic membranes.
Measurement of the membrane potential responses and redox activity in Synechocystis membranes under different conditions => distinct electrochemical signatures linked to photosynthetic complexes and their energy conversion processes.
Methods
Triple Labeling Resolves a GPCR Intermediate State by Using Three-Color Single Molecule FRET.
Bonhomme L, Bilgen E, Clerté C, Pin JP, Rondard P, Margeat E, Lamb DC, Quast RB.
J Am Chem Soc. 2025 May 15.
doi: 10.1021/jacs.4c18364. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40373293.
2 distinct reactive noncanonical aa + SNAP tag => three-color single molecule FRET measurement to monitor venus flytrap domain closure and reorientation simultaneously.
=> revision of previous model of the activation of the metabotropic glutamate receptor 2 by its natural agonist L-glutamate (dynamic equilibrium between the active closed conformation and an intermediate in which the venus flytrap domains are only slightly closed).
Yeast Complementation Assays Demonstrating the Importance of the Affinity Tag Position in Membrane Protein Purification, as Exemplified by HpUreI, the pH-Gated Urea Channel of Helicobacter pylori.
Stoib A, Shojaei S, Siligan C, Horner A.
Small Sci. 2025 Jan 27;5(5):2400571.
doi: 10.1002/smsc.202400571. eCollection 2025 May.
PMID: 40395344.
Study how the position of an affinity tag influences the expression and function of HpUreI (a pH-gated urea channel from Helicobacter pylori).
Yeast complementation assays show that C-terminal tagging preserves activity, whereas N-terminal tags impair function.
Microbio
A global atlas and drivers of antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella during 1900-2023.
Wang Y, Xu X, Jia S, Qu M, Pei Y, Qiu S, Zhang J, Liu Y, Ma S, Lyu N, Hu Y, Li J, Zhang E, Wan B, Zhu B, Gao GF.
Nat Commun. 2025 May 17;16(1):4611.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-59758-3.
PMID: 40382325.
Comprehensive study compiling global data on AMR in Salmonella from over a century.
Key resistance trends correlate with antibiotic usage and agricultural practices.
Genomic analyses: emergence and spread of major resistance determinants.
Effect of host microenvironment and bacterial lifestyles on antimicrobial sensitivity and implications for susceptibility testing.
Garcia-Maset R, Chu V, Yuen N, Blumgart D, Yoon J, Murray BO, Joseph AA, Rohn JL.
NPJ Antimicrob Resist. 2025 May 21;3(1):42.
doi: 10.1038/s44259-025-00113-3.
PMID: 40399473.
Environmental factors and bacterial growth modes strongly influence antibiotic sensitivity.
Conventional susceptibility testing often fails to replicate these conditions
=> inaccurate predictions of treatment outcomes.
The study calls for integrating physiological relevance into antimicrobial testing frameworks.
Heterogeneous efflux pump expression underpins phenotypic resistance to antimicrobial peptides.
Ka Kiu Lee, Urszula Lapinska, Giulia Tolle, Maureen Micaletto, Bing Zhang, Wanida Phetsang, Anthony Verderosa, Brandon M. Invergo, Joseph Westley, Attila Bebes, Raif Yuecel, Paul A. ONeill, Audrey Farbos, Aaron R. Jeffries, Stineke van Houte, Pierluigi Caboni, Mark Blaskovich, Benjamin Housden, Krasimira Tsaneva-Atanasova, and Stefano Pagliara.
bioRxiv posted 21 May 2025.
doi:10.1101/2024.04.22.590445.
Bacterial populations express efflux pumps in a heterogeneous manner, leading to subpopulations with variable resistance to antimicrobial peptides.
Single-cell analyses reveal that this diversity allows a fraction of cells to survive peptide exposure: importance of non-genetic variability in microbial survival strategies.
A periplasmic metallochaperone of the Cation Diffusion Facilitator YiiP is required for Zn2+ sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Paula Mihelj, Tomás Enrique Moreyra, María Elena Carrizo, and Daniel César Raimunda.
bioRxiv posted 20 May 2025.
doi:10.1101/2025.05.19.654957.
Identification of a periplasmic metallochaperone essential for zinc sensing by the YiiP CDF transporter in P. aeruginosa.
This chaperone facilitates Zn²⁺ binding and transfer to YiiP, modulating its activity.
Loss of the chaperone impairs bacterial zinc homeostasis and virulence traits.
Miscellaneous
Programmable gene insertion in human cells with a laboratory-evolved CRISPR-associated transposase.
Witte IP, Lampe GD, Eitzinger S, Miller SM, Berríos KN, McElroy AN, King RT, Stringham OG, Gelsinger DR, Vo PLH, Chen AT, Tolar J, Osborn MJ, Sternberg SH, Liu DR.
Science. 2025 May 15;388(6748):eadt5199.
doi: 10.1126/science.adt5199. Epub 2025 May 15.
PMID: 40373119.
A new genome-editing tool promises to insert entire genes, precisely and efficiently, into human DNA. The method uses a bacterial enzyme complex called a CRISPR-associated transposase (CAST), which can introduce full-length genes at targeted sites in a single step, without creating double-stranded breaks in DNA.
directed evolution => optimized version of the enzyme complex, called evoCAST
< 400-fold improvement in efficiency over the non-evolved original.
World’s first personalized CRISPR therapy given to baby with genetic disease.
Ledford H.
Nature. 2025 May 15.
doi: 10.1038/d41586-025-01496-z. Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 40374912.
A baby with a rare genetic disorder became the first recipient of a personalized CRISPR-based therapy tailored to his unique mutation.
=> ”genetic medicine”.
The treatment, designed specifically corrected a defect in protein processing that would otherwise be fatal. The child is now healthy, although long-term efficacy remains to be evaluated.
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