Biochemistry

DBF4, not DRF1, is the crucial regulator of CDC7 kinase at replication forks

1. Anja Göder
2. Chrystelle Antoinat Maric
3. Michael D. Rainey
4. Aisling O’Connor
5. Chiara Cazzaniga
6. Daniel Shamavu
7. Jean-Charles Cadoret
8. Corrado Santocanale

Reviewed by Review Commons

Structural basis of closed groove scrambling by a TMEM16 protein

1. Zhang Feng
2. Omar E. Alvarenga
3. Alessio Accardi

• Curated by Biophysics Colab

  Evaluation statement (17 January 2024; revised 31 January 2024)

  Feng and colleagues investigate the molecular basis of lipid scrambling in a fungal member of the TMEM16 family of Ca²⁺-dependent lipid scramblases. These proteins possess a groove in their 3D structure that has been implicated in lipid scrambling, which the authors investigate in the absence and presence of Ca²⁺ using a combination of cryo-EM structure determination, mutagenesis and functional assays. Their closed-groove structure reveals a continuous file of lipid molecules around the catalytic groove region, providing a structural basis for lipid interaction with the protein. Additionally, the authors capture three novel states of TMEM16, completing the picture of conformational transitions that this protein undergoes. Strikingly, the authors show that both structure and distribution of the protein’s conformations depend on lipid composition and nanodisc scaffold protein.

  Biophysics Colab considers this to be exceptional work and recommends it to scientists interested in plasma membrane lipid homeostasis and cryoEM.

  (This evaluation by Biophysics Colab refers to version 2 of this preprint, which has been revised in response to peer review of version 1.)

Reviewed by Biophysics Colab

Remote loop evolution reveals a complex biological function for chitinase enzymes beyond the active site

1. Dan Kozome
2. Adnan Sljoka
3. Paola Laurino

Reviewed by Arcadia Science