When Neurospora crassa is grown in the presence of Cu(II) ions, it accumulates the metal with the concomitant synthesis of a low molecular weight copper-binding protein. The molecule binds 6 g-atom of copper per mole protein (Mr = 2200) and shows a striking sequence homology to the zinc- and cadmium-binding vertebrate metallothioneins. Absorption, circular dichroism, and electron paramagnetic r...

Metal ions are essential for the folding of RNA into stable tertiary structures and for the catalytic activity of some RNA enzymes. To aid in the study of the roles of metal ions in RNA structural biology, we have created MeRNA (Metals in RNA), a comprehensive compilation of all metal binding sites identified in RNA 3D structures available from the PDB and Nucleic Acid Database. Currently, our ...

Metal ions can bind to DNA directly or indirectly through hydrogen bonding of the coordinating water molecules surrounding the metal ions. Metal binding to the bases usually disrupts base pair hydrogen bonding and destabilizes the double helix. Spectroscopic and X-ray data shows that the N7 atom of the purine or N3 of pyrimidine residues as well as exocyclic O atoms and the phosphate oxygen ato...

The mechanism of plasmid mediated silver (Ag) resistance was investigated in Acinetobacter baumanniiBL54. The intracellular accumulation of Ag in both original strain BL54 and Escherichia coli K12transconjugant containing plasmid pUPI276 began immediately and reached a maximum within 60 minutes.This initial accumulation was followed by net loss of Ag which reached a maximum wi...

Phage-display technology was used to evolve peptides that selectively bind to the metal-oxide hematite (Fe2O3) from a library of approximately 3 billion different polypeptides. The sequences of these peptides contained the highly conserved amino acid motif, Ser/Thr-hydrophobic/aromatic-Ser/Thr-Pro-Ser/Thr. To better understand the nature of the peptide-metal oxide binding demonstrated by these ...

Six transition metal-salen complexes (metal = Fe, Mn and Cr) 1-6 have been synthesized and characterized using different spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques. The binding studies of natural antioxidant, curcumin with the complexes (1-6) have been carried out by electronic absorption spectroscopic technique. The substantial shift in the absorption maximum of complexes (1-6) when they bin...

Nucleic acid quadruplexes are composed of guanine quartets stabilized by specific metal ions. X-ray diffraction can provide high-resolution information on the structure and metal binding properties of quadruplexes, but only if they can be crystallized. NMR can provide detailed information on the solution structure of such quadruplexes but little quantitative data concerning the metal binding si...

As a result of rapid advances in genome sequencing, the pace of discovery of new protein sequences has surpassed that of structure and function determination by orders of magnitude. This is also true for metal-binding proteins, that is, proteins that bind one or more metal atoms necessary for their biological function. While metal binding site geometry and composition have been extensively stud...

Protein misfolding and conformational changes are common hallmarks in many neurodegenerative diseases involving formation and deposition of toxic protein aggregates. Although many players are involved in the in vivo protein aggregation, physiological factors such as labile metal ions within the cellular environment are likely to play a key role. In this review, we elucidate the role of metal bi...

The wild-type metallothionein (MT) of the freshwater snail Biomphalaria glabrata and a natural allelic mutant of it in which a lysine residue was replaced by an asparagine residue, were recombinantly expressed and analyzed for their metal-binding features with respect to Cd2+, Zn2+ and Cu⁺, applying spectroscopic and mass-spectrometric methods. In addition, the upregulation of the Biomphalaria ...