Biochemistry

Cellular Activities of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Inhibitors Reveal Their Unique Characteristics

1. Wenyue Cao
2. Chia-Chuan Dean Cho
3. Zhi Zachary Geng
4. Xinyu R. Ma
5. Robert Allen
6. Namir Shaabani
7. Erol C. Vatansever
8. Yugendar R. Alugubelli
9. Yuying Ma
10. William H. Ellenburg
11. Kai S. Yang
12. Yuchen Qiao
13. Henry Ji
14. Shiqing Xu
15. Wenshe Ray Liu

Reviewed by ScreenIT

The fatty acid site is coupled to functional motifs in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and modulates spike allosteric behaviour

1. A. Sofia F. Oliveira
2. Deborah K. Shoemark
3. Amaurys Avila Ibarra
4. Andrew D. Davidson
5. Imre Berger
6. Christiane Schaffitzel
7. Adrian J. Mulholland

Reviewed by ScreenIT

Structure and mechanistic features of the prokaryotic minimal RNase P

1. Rebecca Feyh
2. Nadine B Waeber
3. Simone Prinz
4. Pietro Ivan Giammarinaro
5. Gert Bange
6. Georg Hochberg
7. Roland K Hartmann
8. Florian Altegoer

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This manuscript provides the first 3D structure of a novel type of RNA processing enzyme recently identified in bacteria. It convincingly uses cryoEM and biochemistry to describe how this small enzyme makes a new type of homo polymeric complex as required for its activity. The manuscript provides important conceptual novelties that will be of interest for a broad readership of biologists interested in gene expression processes.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #2 agreed to share their name with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Drug Repurposing for the SARS‐CoV‐2 Papain‐Like Protease

1. Chia‐Chuan Cho
2. Shuhua G. Li
3. Tyler J. Lalonde
4. Kai S. Yang
5. Ge Yu
6. Yuchen Qiao
7. Shiqing Xu
8. Wenshe Ray Liu

Reviewed by ScreenIT

Characterization of SARS2 Nsp15 nuclease activity reveals it's mad about U

1. Meredith N Frazier
2. Lucas B Dillard
3. Juno M Krahn
4. Lalith Perera
5. Jason G Williams
6. Isha M Wilson
7. Zachary D Stewart
8. Monica C Pillon
9. Leesa J Deterding
10. Mario J Borgnia
11. Robin E Stanley

Reviewed by ScreenIT

Endomembrane systems are reorganized by ORF3a and Membrane (M) of SARS-CoV-2

1. Yun-Bin Lee
2. Minkyo Jung
3. Jeesoo Kim
4. Myeong-Gyun Kang
5. Chulhwan Kwak
6. Jong-Seo Kim
7. Ji-Young Mun
8. Hyun-Woo Rhee

Reviewed by ScreenIT

Analysis of the PcrA-RNA polymerase complex reveals a helicase interaction motif and a role for PcrA/UvrD helicase in the suppression of R-loops

1. Inigo Urrutia-Irazabal
2. James R Ault
3. Frank Sobott
4. Nigel J Savery
5. Mark S Dillingham

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:
  The resolution of R-loops that form during collisions between replication and transcription machineries is crucial for cell survival. This is exemplified by the lethality of deletion of PcrA, a helicase that appears to be involved in the resolution of such collisions. Here, the authors aim to characterize the critical regions of PcrA/RNAP interactions and determine the function of such interactions. The manuscript's structural work is refined, elegant and leaves little room for doubt concerning the importance of the CTD PcrA-RNAP molecular interactions. This work moves the field forward in a meaningful way and unravels key aspects of PcrA/UvrD function with regards to interaction and function on RNAP. It will be of interest across the wide field of protein-DNA interactions, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

MBNL1 and RBFOX1 co-regulate alternative splicing events transcriptome-wide through a conserved buffering mechanism

1. Melissa Hale
2. Joseph Ellis
3. Ryan Meng
4. Sunny McDaniel
5. Amy Mahady
6. Stacey Wagner
7. Jared Richardson
8. Ona McConnell
9. Eric Wang
10. J. Andrew Berglund

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  A major question in the field of alternative splicing regulation is how information from multiple, independently-acting splicing factors is integrated into a single signal that informs the spliceosome to include or skip an exon. This study addresses the extent of co-regulation of alternative splicing events by the two RNA binding proteins RBFOX1 and MBNL1. The work has implications for how the effects of perturbing one splicing factor can be buffered by the action of a second RNA binding protein, with broad relevance in development and disease. Additional work would provide more support for a generalized mechanism underlying regulation alternative splicing events.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. The reviewers remained anonymous to the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Cooperation among c-subunits of FoF1-ATP synthase in rotation-coupled proton translocation

1. Noriyo Mitome
2. Shintaroh Kubo
3. Sumie Ohta
4. Hikaru Takashima
5. Yuto Shigefuji
6. Toru Niina
7. Shoji Takada

• Curated by eLife

  Evaluation Summary:

  This is an interesting manuscript describing for the first time experimentally the cooperative effects of mutations to individual key Glu residues in the c-ring of ATP synthase. The main result is that mutations in nearby c subunits are less inhibitory than those in subunits further apart in the ring. This is explained on the basis of MD/MC simulations as a shared waiting time for delayed proton uptake in case of neighboring subunits, which appears logical. Overall the manuscript is well presented, but with some caveats. The works will be of interest to specialists in bioenergetics, and to a wider biochemical, biophysical and structural biology audience.

  (This preprint has been reviewed by eLife. We include the public reviews from the reviewers here; the authors also receive private feedback with suggested changes to the manuscript. Reviewer #1 and Reviewer #2 agreed to share their names with the authors.)

Reviewed by eLife

Modeling SARS-CoV-2 spike/ACE2 protein–protein interactions for predicting the binding affinity of new spike variants for ACE2, and novel ACE2 structurally related human protein targets, for COVID-19 handling in the 3PM context

1. Vincenzo Tragni
2. Francesca Preziusi
3. Luna Laera
4. Angelo Onofrio
5. Ivan Mercurio
6. Simona Todisco
7. Mariateresa Volpicella
8. Anna De Grassi
9. Ciro Leonardo Pierri

Reviewed by ScreenIT