Conveners
Molecular biophysics
- Tjaart Krüger (University of Pretoria)
One of the main challenges in studying single biomolecules in a native or near-native environment is their constant diffusion. An approach to solving this problem is real-time single particle tracking (SPT). In this study, we used statistical calculations and dynamic simulations to compare the orbital, Knight’s Tour and MINFLUX localization methods, in the context of fluorescence-based and...
Sepia melanin isolated from the ink sacs of Sepia officinalis, is commonly used as standard in many research activities on melanin such as photobiology and photoreactivity of skin pigments. Melanins are difficult to characterize because of their intractable chemical properties and the heterogeneity in their structural features. Melanin pigments, in fact, are composed of many different types of...
Previously it was reported that cell-surface Glucose Regulated Protein 78 (CS-GRP78), also termed heat shock protein A5 (HSPA5), could be a possible route for SARS-CoV-2 internalization. The binding site on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, which can recognize CS-GRP78, was predicted in a previous study. The spike glycoprotein of the SARS-CoV-2 bear many conserved motifs to the previously...
Nicotinate mononucleotide adenylyltransferase (NaMNAT) is an indispensable enzyme in the biosynthesis of pyridine dinucleotides. Given the vital role of NAD+ in controlling key cellular processes, NaMNAT represents an attractive target for the design of novel broad-spectrum antibiotics to treat nosocomial infections associated with MDR Klebsiella Pneumonia. This study aims to characterize the...
With the glaring exception of highly conserved binding interfaces, protein surfaces tend to be regarded as variable regions of hydrophilic character, subjected only to soft evolutionary pressures. However, in crowded cellular conditions, electrostatic interactions between surfaces take on a critical role in modulating protein interactivity, with downstream consequences for protein stability,...
TBR1 is a neuron-specific transcription factor involved in multiple aspects of cortical development,and has recently emerged as a master regulator of genes implicated in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).It is thus possible that aberrant molecular interactions with TBR1 could underlie the altered neuro-molecular networks observed in Autism.
Currently there is no solved structure available of...
Surfactants carrying either fully or partially fluorinated alkyl chains are conventionally thought to be poor solubilisers of lipids and membrane proteins because of their lipophobicity. New fluorinated surfactants of different headgroups have been developed. We show that these compounds could substitute detergents' function without much interference with membrane proteins' functionality....
