Blog Post

Formylation of Met-tRNAi in Prokaryotes, Understanding Evolution of Unnecessary

Microbiology /

BACKGROUND: Nascent polypeptides bear the N-terminal Met residue, encoded by the AUG initiation codon. In bacteria and in eukaryotic organelles mitochondria and chloroplasts (remote descendants of bacteria), this Met is Nα-terminally formylated (N-formylated) through a “pretranslational” mechanism. Formyltransferase (FMT) uses 10‑formyltetrahydrofolate to formylate the α-amino group of the Met moiety in the initiator tRNAiMet. This […]

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Antibiotic Producing Bacteria; Self-resistance

Microbiology /

The ultimate source of many of these genes is almost certainly the actinomycetes that make the antibiotics and therefore need self‐protective mechanisms to avoid suicide. How do they ensure that they are resistant at the time when intracellular antibiotic concentrations reach potentially lethal levels?   Antibiotics, as typical secondary metabolites, are usually not produced during

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mRNA Vaccines; Protein Replacement Therapy

Immunology /

Nucleic acid therapeutics have emerged as promis­ing alternatives to conventional vaccine approaches. The first report of the successful use of in vitro transcribed (IVT) mRNA in animals was published in 1990, when reporter gene mRNAs were injected into mice and pro­tein production was detected. However, their application has until recently been restricted by the inefficient

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