Protein kinases have evolved diverse specificities to enable cellular information processing. To gain insight into the mechanisms underlying kinase diversification, we studied the CMGC protein kinases using ancestral reconstruction. Within this group, the cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs) and mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) require proline at the +1 position of their substrates, while I...

Anthocyanins are colorful plant pigments with promising applications as pharmaceuticals and colorants. In order to engineer efficient pigment biosynthesis in Escherichia coli, the activities of various dihydroflavonol 4-reductases (DFRs) were characterized for the three primary dihydroflavonol substrates. The biochemical assays demonstrated variable DFR activities for dihydroflavonol with one B...

During somatic hypermutation (SHM), activation-induced deaminase (AID) mutates deoxycytidine on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) generated by the transcription machinery, but the detailed mechanism remains unclear. Here we report a higher abundance of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) at the immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable (Igh-V) region compared with the constant region and partially transcribed Igh R...

We report a novel approach for fabricating gold nanostar-functionalized substrates for highly sensitive surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-based chemical sensing. Gold nanostars immobilized on a gold substrate via a Raman silent organic tether serve as the SERS substrate, and facilitate the chemical sensing of analytes that can either be chemisorbed or physisorbed on the nanostars. Our ...

The essential process of protein secretion is achieved by the ubiquitous Sec machinery. In prokaryotes, the drive for translocation comes from ATP hydrolysis by the cytosolic motor-protein SecA, in concert with the proton motive force (PMF). However, the mechanism through which ATP hydrolysis by SecA is coupled to directional movement through SecYEG is unclear. Here, we combine all-atom molecul...

Suspension culture of single adult rat flexor digitorum brevis (FDB) muscle fibres in Vitrogen, a purified collagen, on tissue culture plastic or glass with mesh ring supports is superior to culture upon other substrates including collagen-, laminin-, or Vitrogen-coated tissue culture plastic. The Vitrogen gel-fibre mixture which attaches to glass or plastic provides at least 10 times more fibr...

Of 44 fluorogenic substrates tested for their ability to differentiate species of fecal streptococci, four yielded species-differentiating reactions. The remaining substrates either yielded uniformly positive, negative, or variable strain-dependent reactions. One substrate, 4-methylumbelliferone-alpha-D-galactoside, was hydrolyzed by Streptococcus bovis and S. faecium and its biotypes. 4-Methyl...

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is a keystone component of coastal ecosystems. However, anthropogenic pressures have caused community decline worldwide. Delineation and continuous monitoring of eelgrass distribution is an integral part of understanding these pressures and effectively managing them. A proposed tool for monitoring is remote imagery. However, to apply this technology, an understanding i...

Pyrimidine and quinazoline structural motifs are abundantly found in naturally occurring compounds, with uracil, thymine, and cytosine being the most prominent representatives. Furthermore, the pyrimidine core constitutes a subunit of many compounds rendering substantial medicinal or economic benefits. This review focuses on lithiations and Grignard reactions as tools for selective yet variable...

We identify and control the photoreaction paths of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of thiolate-linked anthracene phenylethynyl molecules on Au substrate surfaces, and study the effects of nanoscale morphology of substrates on regioselective photoreactions. Two types of morphologies, atomically flat and curved, are produced on Au surfaces by controlling substrate structure and metal deposition....