research advances

Synopses of important developments in the field of structural biology and structural genomics, including advances from the Protein Structure Initiative. The featured articles and technical highlights are specially written for the Structural Biology Knowledgebase, while the research highlights are taken from NPG publications.

August 2009

featured articles
- Antibiotic target
  An unusual reaction in the production of thymine offers hope for anti-tuberculosis drugs.
  Nature 458, 919-923 (2009)
- Surviving in an acid environment
  The Escherichia coli O157:H7 amino acid antiporter structure reveals clues to how this bacterium survives in the harsh stomach environment.
  Science 324, 1565-1568 (2009)
research highlights
- NMR screening goes cellular
  Recent advances in in-cell NMR structure determination allow cellular screening of peptides with molecular resolution.
  J. Med. Chem. 52, 3516–3522 (2009)
- Ancient polymerase
  A recent crystal structure of the 13-subunit RNA polymerase from Sulfolobus shibatae reveals two new subunits: Rpo8 and Rpo13.
  PLoS Biol. 7, e1000102 (2009)

technical highlights
- GPCR modeling: any good?
  Results from a competition that invited groups to predict the structure of a GPCR show some promise, but accurate modeling of these receptors remains a challenge.
  Nature Rev. Drug Discov. 8, 455-463 (2009)
- Crystals from recalcitrant proteins
  Adding small quantities of protease is the most effective rescue strategy for those proteins that just won't form well-diffracting crystals.
  PLoS ONE 4, e5094 (2009)