Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Drug-induced domino effect. Using mass spectrometry, Kwon et al. (p 602) looked at the effects of the antibiotic trimethoprim on the intermediates in folate metabolism. Trimethoprim inhibition of the intended target, dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), resulted in the accumulation of the enzyme substrate, dihydrofolate, which had the unexpected effect of inhibiting folylpoly-γ-glutamate synthetase (FP-γ-GS), another enzyme in the folate pathway (see also News and Views by Brown on p 581). Trimethoprim, DHFR, dihydrofolate and FP-γ-GS are shown on dominoes. Cover art by Erin Boyle based on images provided by Yun Kyung Kwon and Eugene Melamud.
Undergraduate research experiences help retain students in science majors and prepare our workforce for increasingly competitive jobs. Course-based approaches to research and inquiry allow educators to reach larger numbers of students and provide an entry into further research experiences.
Metallothioneins sequester cadmium and surplus atoms of copper and zinc to prevent aberrant metal-catalyzed reactions. The identification of a 'cryptic' copper metallothionein in the bacterium that causes tuberculosis suggests that bacterial metallothioneins may be more widespread than previously suspected.
Adaptation of muscle to endurance exercise training involves the coordinated expression of genes involved in oxidative metabolism, resulting in increased endurance. A recent study shows that small-molecule activators of two pathways thought to transduce these effects can enhance the effects of training, or even substitute for it.
The strigolactones, a known class of plant metabolites, have now been shown to constitute the long-sought hormone that suppresses lateral branch formation. These hormones are synthesized from a carotenoid precursor in the roots and transported to the shoots.
Sugar binding by a variety of biomolecules is generally assumed to rely on hydrogen bonding and ionic interactions. A new study shows that arene-carbohydrate interactions are enthalpically driven through nontraditional C-H···π type hydrogen bonds.