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.
MCM2, a component of the replicative helicase, can bind histones H3–H4 in both tetrameric and dimeric form, depending on the presence of the histone chaperone ASF1. A structural analysis of the complexes now sheds light on key domains in the MCM2 protein that prove important for cell proliferation.
Plasmepsin V is an aspartyl protease essential for export of effector proteins to Plasmodium-infected erythrocytes. A new inhibitor blocks plasmepsin V and inhibits parasite growth; it has also allowed solving the structure of P. vivax plasmepsin V.
Structural analyses capture RING E3 ligase RNF4 bound to Ube2V2–Ubc13 E2 complex charged with ubiquitin and, along with functional assays, reveal the basis for synthesis of K63-linked chains.
Extensive glycan microarray and structural analyses reveal that human intelectin-1 interacts selectively with microbial glycan epitopes through recognition of a terminal 1,2-diol group, an interaction that would be blocked in human glycans such as α-Neu5Ac.
Chemical genetics, proteomics and biochemistry are used to probe the functions of SR protein kinases. An identified target of Dsk1 is spliceosomal protein Bpb1 (SF1), whose phosphorylation increased its binding to introns with nonconsensus splice sites.
Chromatin reassembly after replication requires recycling of old and deposition of new histones. Structural insights into how MCM2, part of the replicative helicase, interacts with H3–H4 suggest a function in histone recycling at replication forks.
Structural studies of human polysialyltransferase ST8SialII in apo form and in complex with donor sugar and sulfated glycan acceptor shed light on the substrate binding and specificity as well as the catalytic activity of this class of polysialyltransferases.
NMR relaxation dispersion measurements reveal the conformational dynamics of the mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier and show that the ADP substrate facilitates interconversion between the predominant cytosol-facing state and a sparsely populated excited state.
Flexible filamentous plant viruses, which cause substantial crop damage worldwide, have eluded structural characterization so far. The cryo-EM structure of BaMV now reveals the virus architecture and the structural basis of its flexibility.