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施臥虎老師實驗室的研究發現將IMA1 和 IMA2 胜肽透過異位表現的方式能增加轉錄因子MYB72和東莨菪鹼 8-羥化酶（SCOPOLETIN 8-HYDROXYLASE, S8H）之基因表現可以誘導兒茶酚香豆素（fraxetin）的生合成和分泌兒茶酚香豆素（7,8-dihydroxy-6-methoxycoumarin），促進植物在鈣質土壤下的環境生長，此反應機制與環境的pH值息息相關（Gautam et al., 2021） |
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U. maydis 憑著釋放大量的效應蛋白使玉米引起黑穗病。對於大部分效應蛋白的分子機制並不清楚，因此阻礙了我們對真菌毒力機制的理解。其中一個新穎的效應蛋白，Vp1，透過序列切割獲得專門的功能，以促進真菌對寄主的寄生能力及致病力。目前對於此效應蛋白為何需要在質外體進行處理並不了解。然而，處理後的效應蛋白會決定其致病力功能，且對Vp1定位至植物細胞核是必要的。 |
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Prion protein is composed of a structure-unsolved N-terminal domain and a globular C-terminal domain. Under limited trypsin digestion, mouse recombinant prion protein can be cleaved into two parts at residue Lys105. Here, we termed these two fragments as the N-domain (sequence 23-105) and the C-domain (sequence 106-230). In this study, the structural properties of the N-domain, the C-domain, and the full-length protein were explored using small-angle X-ray scattering, analytical ultracentrifugation, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and the 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid binding assay. The conformation and size of the prion protein were found to change sensitively under the solvent conditions. |
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Avocado consumption is associated with numerous health benefits. Avocadyne is a terminally unsaturated, 17-carbon long acetogenin found almost exclusively in avocados with noted anti-leukemia and anti-viral properties. In this study, specific structural features such as the terminal triple bond, odd number of carbons, and stereochemistry are shown to be critical to its ability to suppress mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and impart selective activity in vitro and in vivo. Together, this is the first study to conduct a structure-activity analysis on avocadyne and outline the chemical moieties critical to fatty acid oxidation suppression. |
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The sample grids for cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) experiments are usually prepared at a temperature optimal for the storage of biological samples, mostly at 4 °C and occasionally at room temperature. Recently, we discovered that the protein structure solved at low temperature may not be functionally relevant, particularly for proteins from thermophilic archaea. A procedure was developed to prepare protein samples at higher temperatures (up to 70 °C) for cryo-EM analysis. |
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The semi-fossil and pit-less Azemiops feae is possibly the most primitive crotalid species. Here, we have cloned and sequenced cDNAs encoding four serine proteases (vSPs) from the venom glands of Chinese A. feae. Full amino-acid sequences of the major vSP (designated as AzKNa) and three minor vSPs (designated as AzKNb, AzKNc and Az-PA) were deduced. Using Protein-BLAST search, the ten most-similar vSPs for each Azemiops vSP have been selected for multiple sequence alignment, and all the homologs are crotalid vSPs. |
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目前已知人類會感染新冠病毒，但其他靈長類呢? 新冠病毒是透過其 S-蛋白（spike protein, 刺突蛋白）與人類 ACE2（血管收縮素轉化酶2）的結合而感染人類。ACE2在與 S-蛋白結合的介面上有 27 個胺基酸，如果在這些位點上產生突變則很可能影響ACE2與S-蛋白結合的親和力，進而影響感染效率。從人類基因序列數據庫中，我們在這27個位點上找到了 9 個突變。 |
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