Enzymes show off new moves
Enzymes are responsible for the chemical reactions that enable all forms of life. Whether it’s the archaea living in hot springs, the bacteria deep in our soil, the plants harnessing energy from the sun or all animals, including us humans, we are all united in our reliance on enzymes.
Understanding enzymatic chemistry enables us to tackle critical health and environmental problems, such as designing new therapeutics for diseases or using unique enzymatic capabilities for bioremediation. However, we have only skimmed the surface of learning the full scope of chemical reactions that are enzymatically catalyzed, the mysterious and intricate mechanisms that can be performed, and the dynamic motions enzymes undergo to accomplish their chemical tasks.
The presentations in this session will cover many exciting developments in enzymology, including recently discovered enzymatic functions, evidence for trapping long-anticipated enzymatic intermediates, insight into how various cofactors can enable unique reactions, and cutting-edge experimental approaches enabling us to understand better how enzymes dynamically function. There’s still a whole lot to learn about how enzymes get their jobs done.
Keywords: enzymes, enzyme mechanisms, structural biology, biochemistry, radical SAM enzymes, metalloenzymes, natural product biosynthesis
Who should attend: all who are fascinated by how enzymes can use some newly discovered tricks, handy cofactors and dynamic movements to carry out their chemistry
Theme song: “This is How We Do It” by Montell Jordan
This session is powered proteins, cofactors and coffee.
Talks
- Repairing enzymes using spare parts — Cathy Drennan, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Machinery in motion: New insights into mitochondrial proteostasis — Gabriel Lander, Scripps Research
- Structural biology of natural product biosynthetic enzymes — Janet Smith, University of Michigan
- An aerobic strategy for C–H bond functionalization — Jennifer Bridwell–Rabb, University of Michigan
- Riboflavin catabolism: The destruction of an icon — Tadhg Begley, Texas A&M University
- Correlated motions in enzymes — Nozomi Ando, Cornell University
- Nickel pincer nucleotide: Biosynthesis and function — Robert Hausinger, Michigan State University
- Bacterial biosynthesis of natural products —Katherine Ryan, University of British Columbia
- Radical SAMs and the vast unexplored chemistry of RiPP natural products —Douglas Alan Mitchell, University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
- The biosynthesis of lipoic acid: A saga of death, destruction and rebirth — Squire Booker, Penn State University
- Unraveling the secrets of radical SAM mechanisms — Joan Broderick, Montana State University
- How do aerobic organisms solve the oxygen sensitivity problem of [4Fe–4S] in radical SAM enzymes? — Hening Lin, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Cornell University
Learn more
Check out all ten thematic symposia planned for the 2022 91亚色传媒 annual meeting:
Enjoy reading 91亚色传媒 Today?
Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition weekly.
Learn moreFeatured jobs
from the
Get the latest from 91亚色传媒 Today
Enter your email address, and we鈥檒l send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.
Latest in Science
Science highlights or most popular articles
From the journals: JBC
Huntington protein interactions affect aggregation. Intrinsically disordered protein forms a scaffold. From unknown protein to curbing cancer growth. Read about recent JBC papers on these topics.
An inclusive solar eclipse 鈥� with outreach
Traveling more than 150 miles with a group of neurodivergent students to have them witness a rare orbital alignment. and also teach the public about it, requires some strategic planning.
Predicting fatty liver disease from a tiny blood sample
Obesity and being overweight aren't the only factors that contribute to liver disease. New tests can help identify who is at risk or already has the disease, even in people who are lean or have a normal weight.
An ancient animal helps scientists improve modern technology
The same molecules that help tardigrades survive extreme weather can improve cryo-EM images of cellular structures and proteins, a team led by University of Wisconsin鈥揗adison researcher Ci Ji Lim reports.
New structure gives insight into mRNA export and cancers
Yi Ren鈥檚 lab at Vanderbilt has described the structure of a protein complex that sheds light on the underlying molecular mechanism of mRNA export.
Analyzing triglycerides in Americans of African ancestry
Using the All of Us database, researchers at Vanderbilt sought a genetic reason why some patients, often underrepresented in research, could have varying levels of fat in the bloodstream.