Legionella-pneumophilaWIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CDC (PHIL #1187)
1. 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
2. Legionnaire manipulation revealed
Researchers found a new way by which the intracellular bacterium Legionella pneumophila, responsible for Legionnaires' disease, modifies the proteins of the cells it infects in order to alter membrane transport and ensure its own replication.
S. Mukherjee et ...
