Several years of extensive research using the new powerful techniques of molecular biology have enabled the direct comparison of functionally or evolutionarily related genes and their products at the nucleotide and amino acid sequence levels. Two types of synthase with similar functions are discussed as an interesting example. Stilbene synthases, e.g. resveratrol synthase, produce the stilbene ...

Mycolic acids are hallmark features of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis cell wall. They are synthesized by the condensation of two fatty acids, a C56-64-meromycolyl chain and a C24-26-fatty acyl chain. Meromycolates are produced via the combination of type I and type II fatty acid synthases (FAS-I and FAS-II). The beta-ketoacyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) synthase III (mtFabH) links FAS-I and FAS-...

A 30-kD coenzyme A (CoA)-binding protein was isolated from spinach (Spinacea oleracea) chloroplast soluble extracts using affinity chromatography under conditions in which 95% of the total protein was excluded. The 30-kD protein contains an eight-amino-acid sequence, DVRLYYGA, that is identical to a region in a 36-kD protein of unknown function that is encoded by a kiwifruit (Actinidia delicios...

The first-line specific antituberculous drug isoniazid inhibits the fatty acid elongation system (FAS) FAS-II involved in the biosynthesis of mycolic acids, which are major lipids of the mycobacterial envelope. The MabA protein that catalyzes the second step of the FAS-II elongation cycle is structurally and functionally related to the in vivo target of isoniazid, InhA, an NADH-dependent enoyl-...

The dimeric, peroxisomal 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase catalyses the conversion of 3-ketoacyl-CoA into acyl-CoA, which is shorter by two carbon atoms. This reaction is the last step of the beta-oxidation pathway. The crystal structure of unliganded peroxisomal thiolase of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been refined at 1.8 A resolution. An unusual feature of this structure is the presence of t...

Cell size varies greatly among different types of cells, but the range in size that a specific cell type can reach is limited. A long-standing question in biology is how cells control their size. Escherichia coli adjusts size and growth rate according to the availability of nutrients so that it grows larger and faster in nutrient-rich media than in nutrient-poor media. Here, we describe how, us...