HIV budding from cell membrane.WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, NIH1. Lighting up RNA
A novel technique for tagging and following RNA processes in live cells promises to illuminate RNA biology the way green fluorescent protein (GFP) did for the study of proteins. The tagging method consists of short RNA sequences that bind to GFP-like fluorophores and produce a wide range of colors. These RNA-fluorophore complexes can then be fused to RNAs in the cell.
J.S. Paige et al., “RNA mimics of green fluorescent protein,” Science, 333:642-46, 2011. Free F1000 Evaluation
2. I Spy
Researchers testing the ability of engineered E. coli cells to stabilize unstable proteins in vivo, stumbled upon a new protein chaperone, called Spy, that suppresses protein aggregation and aids protein refolding. Spy is shaped unlike any other previously studied chaperone and can increase the steady-state levels of a set of unstable protein mutants up to 700-fold.
S. Quan et al., “Genetic selection designed to stabilize proteins uncovers a chaperone called Spy,” Nat Struct Mol Biol, 18:262-69, 2011. Free F1000 Evaluation
3. Gene expression goes global Protein levels are regulated by the interplay not merely of protein translation and degradation, but mRNA transcription and destruction. In this ...
