crystal structure of UV protector in plants

Dear All
This paper reports the crystal structure of a protein, UVR8, involved in UV protection in Arabidopsis thaliana. Not only the beta-propellor fold is interesting, there is a quarternary switch from homodimer to monomer upon UV exposure. Also, the chemical groups that act as chromophores are two Trp residues.
http://links.ealert.nature.com/ctt?kn=124&ms=Mzg4ODc3MDUS1&r=MjA1NzU2OTA0MAS2&b=2&j=MTMxNjc5OTQ2S0&mt=1&rt=0
Sowdhamini

Sony's Birthday

Dear ALL,

Please find the photos for Sony's birthday celebration.

The following is the link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/108149987886665872224/SonySBirthday02?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNSm6I3ntrWyqgE&feat=directlink

Thank you all for the great celebration.

Thanks and Regards,
Sony M

Aurore's Birthday

Dear ALL,

Please find the link for photos for Aurore's birthday celebration.

https://picasaweb.google.com/108149987886665872224/AuroreSBirthday?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNa7zZuht5S6eg&feat=directlink

Enjoyyy..

Thanks and Regards,
Sony M

how the deadly toxin is shielded by another protein

Dear All
This article and accompanying paper (by Gu and coworkers) talk about how the deadly botolium neurotoxin is kept protected in the host gastrointestinal tract by another structurally similar protein. All three domains of the two proteins are remarkably similar and they dimerise in a pH dependent manner. Gu and coworkers demonstrate that the mutations of residues at the interchain interface, that form four crucial salt bridges, render them incapable of dimerisation.
URL to the article:
Botulinum neurotoxin must form a complex with a structurally similar protein tosurvive in the gastrointestinal tract. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/335/6071/928<http://app.aaas-science.org/e/er?s=1906&lid=12360&elq=3b1e5847af4a4432beae97e9ea14fe05>

Sowdhamini

Ancient Genome Sequenced at High-Resolution

Using DNA extracted from a finger bone found in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia, David Reich group have sequenced the genome of an archaic hominin to about 1.9-fold coverage. This individual is from a group that shares a common origin with Neanderthals. This population was not involved in the putative gene flow from Neanderthals into Eurasians; however, the data suggest that it contributed 4–6% of its genetic material to the genomes of present-day Melanesians. They designate this hominin population ‘Denisovans’ and suggest that it may have been widespread in Asia during the Late Pleistocene epoch. A tooth found in Denisova Cave carries a mitochondrial genome highly similar to that of the finger bone. This tooth shares no derived morphological features with Neanderthals or modern humans, further indicating that Denisovans have an evolutionary history distinct from Neanderthals and modern humans.

To know more about this please check the link below

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v468/n7327/full/nature09710.html

Thanks & regards,

Mahantesha

Why Bad Immunity Genes Survive

Biologists have found new evidence of why mice, people and other vertebrate animals carry thousands of varieties of genes to make immune-system proteins named MHCs--even though some of those genes make vertebrate animals susceptible to infections and to autoimmune diseases.

 Fig.Friend mouse leukemia virus (yellow) budding from infected T-lymphocyte (blue).

To know more about this interesting article please see the link below

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=123040&WT.mc_id=USNSF_51&WT.mc_ev=click

Thanks & regards,

Mahantesha 

Anu Nair's Birthday

Dear ALL,

Please find the link for Anu's birthday photos..

They are very nice, dont forget note the difference between before and after photos of Anu. [Before and after FACIAL, I guess Just bake cream works.... ;)]

https://picasaweb.google.com/108149987886665872224/AnuNairSBirthday?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPWKqMiB3tXXLA&feat=directlink

Thanks and Regards,
Sony M

dodging the toxic world

Dear All
Although C. elegans is one of the favourite model organisms in the lab, in its real world, it needs to encounter various microbial threats in the soil. One of the threats is a bacterial toxin which some of the strains of this worm learnt to become resistant. Pl. see this commentary and an accompanying paper where Gupta and coworkers have nailed the reason for resistance to few amino acid deletions in a glutamate-gated ion channel. The crystal structure of this protein is also available, but alas we don't know it all - since the crucial deletion region is in the N-terminus and was not included in the crystallisation! But, one could speculate these residues might participate in the ligand-binding pocket.
Surviving in a Toxic World
Adrian J. Wolstenholme Natural variations in a single gene of wild C. elegans populations confer resistanceto the bacterial toxin avermectin. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/335/6068/545<http://app.aaas-science.org/e/er?s=1906&lid=11674&elq=696c02feff474b108d09a9df581f3761>
has News-and-Views of the same.

Sowdhamini

toxic truth about sugar

Dear All
Sugar is cheap, sugar tastes good, sugar sells, and what is more sugar kills ...
It is found to be as bad as alcohol. Do see this commentary in this week's Science :
** Public health: The toxic truth about sugarAdded sweeteners pose dangers to health that justify controlling them like alcohol, argue Robert H. Lustig, Laura A. Schmidt and Claire D. Brindis. http://links.ealert.nature.com/ctt?kn=102&ms=Mzg3NzcyNTcS1&r=MjA1NzU2OTA0MAS2&b=2&j=MTI4OTczNzM1S0&mt=1&rt=0

Sowdhamini