Cryo-EM analysis reveals structure of structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) complex, and shows for the first time how the protein machinery entraps two DNA helices simultaneously in order to individualise chromosomes.
Atomic structure of chromosomal complex responsible for organising DNA determined
Scaling-up grid manufacture to solve bottleneck in cryo-EM
Electron cryo-microscopy continues to be a pivotal method for structural biology. Chris Russo’s group, in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division, share an optimisation process to meet increasing demand for cryo-EM grids.
Regulating the disassembly of the eukaryotic DNA replication machinery
Disassembly of the DNA replication machinery, known as the replisome, is the final step of eukaryotic chromosome replication. A collaboration between Joe Yeeles’ group at the LMB and the Deegan lab in Edinburgh shows how replisome disassembly is regulated through ubiquitin ligase activity and stearic hindrance from the DNA itself.
How cellular clocks within heart cells coordinate daily cardiac rhythms
Alessandra Stangherlin (O’Neill group) found a cellular mechanism that facilitates daily changes in heart rate. ~24h rhythms in Na/K/Cl levels osmotically compensate for daily changes in macromolecular crowding to modulate cardiac electrical activity, in vitro and in vivo.
Classification of human tauopathies based on tau filament folds
Tau structures from range of neurological diseases revealed through cryo-EM analysis suggests a new way to characterise tauopathies on the basis of filament folds.
Tail of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein is optimised to reach the cell surface causing infection to spread to neighbouring cells
Sean Munro’s group, in collaboration with Leo James’ group, have determined how the tail of the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 allows the virus to travel beyond the Golgi in order to reach the cell surface and direct fusion to neighbouring cells to form syncytia.