Zika virus, chikungunya virus, and dengue virus result in similar clinical presentations, and coinfections may be relatively common. Accurate, multiplex diagnostics are necessary to detect and differentiate these arboviruses for patient care and epidemiologic surveillance.
Poly-gamma-glutamic acid (gamma-PGA) is a very promising biodegradable polymer that is produced by Bacillus subtilis. Gamma-PGA is water-soluble, anionic, biodegradable, and edible. This paper reviews the production of a strain of gamma-PGA and recent developments with respect to applications in terms of Ca absorption, moisturizing properties, gamma-PGA conjugation, super absorbent polymer, and so on. Our recent research shows that gamma-PGA can be used as an immune-stimulating and anti-tumor agent, especially at high molecular weight.
The three-dimensional structure of D-amino acid aminotransferase (D-AAT) in the pyridoxamine phosphate form has been determined crystallographically. The fold of this pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)-containing enzyme is completely different from those of any of the other enzymes that utilize PLP as part of their mechanism and whose structures are known. However, there are some striking similarities between the active sites of D-AAT and the corresponding enzyme that transaminates L-amino acids, L-aspartate aminotransferase. These similarities represent convergent evolution to a common solution of the problem of enforcing transamination chemistry on the PLP cofactor. Implications of these similarities are discussed in terms of their possible roles in the stabilization of intermediates of a transamination reaction. In addition, sequence similarity between D-AAT and branched chain L-amino acid aminotransferase suggests that this latter enzyme will also have a fold similar to that of D-AAT.
Selenocysteine lyase (EC 4.4.1.16) exclusively decomposes selenocysteine to alanine and elemental selenium, whereas cysteine desulfurase (NIFS protein) of Azotobacter vinelandii acts indiscriminately on both cysteine and selenocysteine to produce elemental sulfur and selenium respectively, and alanine. These proteins exhibit some sequence homology. The Escherichia coli genome contains three genes with sequence homology to nifS.
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