Atg3 is an E2-like enzyme that catalyzes the conjugation of Atg8 and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). The Atg8-PE conjugate is essential for autophagy, which is the bulk degradation process of cytoplasmic components by the vacuolar/lysosomal system. We report here the crystal structure of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Atg3 at 2.5-Å resolution. Atg3 has an ␣/␤-fold, and its core region is topologically similar to canonical E2 enzymes. Atg3 has two regions inserted in the core region, one of which consists of ϳ80 residues and has a random coil structure in solution and another with a long ␣-helical structure that protrudes from the core region as far as 30 Å . In vivo and in vitro analyses suggested that the former region is responsible for binding Atg7, an E1-like enzyme, and that the latter is responsible for binding Atg8. A sulfate ion was bound near the catalytic cysteine of Atg3, suggesting a possible binding site for the phosphate moiety of PE. The structure of Atg3 provides a molecular basis for understanding the unique lipidation reaction that Atg3 carries out.

Unique self‐assembled macrocyclic multinuclear ZnII and NiII complexes with binaphthyl‐bipyridyl ligands (L) were synthesized. X‐ray analysis revealed that these complexes consisted of an outer ring (Zn3L3 or Ni3L3) and an inner core (Zn2 or Ni). In the ZnII complex, the inner Zn2 part rotated rapidly inside the outer ring in solution on an NMR timescale. These complexes exhibited dual catalytic activities for CO2 fixations: synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and CO2 and temperature‐switched N‐formylation/N‐methylation of amines with CO2 and hydrosilane.

RutheniumII complexes bearing three axially chiral bipyridyl ligands were synthesized as a new family of chiral complex dyes, and Δ‐(S)‐ and Λ‐(S)‐diastereomers were obtained. The X‐ray crystal structure analyses, spectroscopy, and DFT calculations suggested that all the bipyridyls maintained chirality in both the ground and excited states, and the Δ‐(S)‐ and Λ‐(S)‐isomers are the matched (more relaxed) and mismatched (more constrained) pairs, respectively. The mismatched Λ‐(S)‐isomer exhibited red circularly polarized phosphorescence (CPP) both in solution and in the solid state. The solution state CPP is the most intense of ruthenium complexes, while the solid state CPP is the first example of them. It is supposed that, for the Λ‐(S)‐isomer, the six cumulative CH/π interactions suppress further distortion in the T1 state.

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The one-step C-methylenation of anilines and indoles with CO2 and phenylsilane was catalyzed by a pentanuclear ZnII complex to give diarylmethanes via geminal C−H and C−C bond formation. It is...

Atg3 is an E2‐like enzyme that catalyzes the conjugation reaction between Atg8 and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). The Atg8–PE conjugate is essential for autophagy, the bulk degradation process of cytoplasmic components by the vacuolar/lysosomal system. Crystals of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Atg3 have been obtained by the sitting‐drop vapour‐diffusion method using ammonium sulfate and lithium sulfate as precipitants. A native data set was collected from a single crystal to 2.5 Å resolution. The crystals belong to space group P41 or P43, with unit‐cell parameters a = 59.33, c = 115.22 Å, and are expected to contain one protein molecule per asymmetric unit.