Search

The oxygen-evolving complex in Photosystem II (PSII) catalyzes the light-driven oxidation of water to oxygen and it is still under debate how the water reaches the active site. Here, the authors analyse time-resolved XFEL-based crystal structures of PSII that were determined at room temperature and report the structures of the waters in the putative channels surrounding the active site at various time-points during the reaction cycle and conclude that the O1 channel is the likely water intake pathway and the Cl1 channel the likely proton release pathway.

Using serial femtosecond X-ray cystallography, we provide structural insights into the final reaction step of Kok’s photosynthetic water oxidation cycle, specifically the S₃→[S₄]→S₀ transition where O₂ is formed.

The microbial metabolite trimethylamine (TMA), the precursor of TMAO, which is associated with adverse cardiometabolic outcomes, is shown to have beneficial metabolic and anti-inflammatory effects in the host in the context of obesity.

Using the Tara Oceans dataset, this study describes global patterns of diatom diversity, abundance and adaptation. The authors identify 25 distinct communities, with the Arctic as a hotspot, and highlight diatom transcriptional features. These insights aid understanding of the ecological roles of diatoms and their responses to global change.

Soil dissolved organic matter (DOM) is critical to ecosystem processes and humans. Here the authors reveal the spatial variations in grassland soil DOM in China, with different fractions playing varied roles in local carbon exchange and human health.

Nanoplastics (NPs) threaten water safety as conventional coagulants fail to remove them. Here, authors develop an in-situ Fe(III) method that forms encapsulating nanosheets, enabling efficient NP removal with stronger anti-interference in natural waters.

The importance of ensuring access to clean drinking water is manifested in UN Sustainable Development Goals. Here, a national-level assessment of tap-water safety shows spatial variations across China. The disparity is correlated with natural and anthropogenic factors and linked to public health-risk rates.

Carbon isotopic analysis reveals global biogeographic traits in shark trophic interactions, and sheds light on the diverse foraging behaviour of sharks.

The structures of three intermediate states of photosystem II, which is crucial for photosynthesis, have been solved at room temperature, shedding new light on this process.

Analysing >1,700 inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network, the authors show that the majority of Amazon tree species can occupy floodplains and that patterns of species turnover are closely linked to regional flood patterns.

Photoreceptor proteins utilise biological chromophores to regulate a large range of cellular processes in response to light. Here the authors identify and characterise a sub-family of multi-centre photoreceptors, termed photocobilins, that not only utilise B₁₂ but also contain biliverdin (BV) as an additional chromophore.

The development of direct-acting antivirals to combat COVID-19 remains an important goal. Here the authors design covalent inhibitors that target the papain-like protease from SARS-CoV-2. The most promising inhibitor blocks viral replication in mammalian cells.

Obesity is a global pandemic with limited treatment options. Here, the authors show evidence in mice that the mitochondrial uncoupler BAM15 effectively induces fat loss without affecting food intake or compromising lean body mass.

Shifting weather, changing settlement patterns and a lack of preparedness mean that dryland areas are most at risk from flooding. Researchers need to focus on data collection, early-warning systems, flood protection and more.

Here the authors combine a deep generative model with structure-based drug design and prospectively validate functionally active, nanomolar, A_2A adenosine receptor ligands and solve their crystal structures to close the Artificial Intelligence Structure-Based Drug Design loop.

The Ni(ii) affinity of Ni(ii) sensor InrS is attuned to buffered Ni(ii) concentrations, explaining why these two parameters co-vary for different metals over many orders of magnitude.

An analysis of 24,202 critical cases of COVID-19 identifies potentially druggable targets in inflammatory signalling (JAK1), monocyte–macrophage activation and endothelial permeability (PDE4A), immunometabolism (SLC2A5 and AK5), and host factors required for viral entry and replication (TMPRSS2 and RAB2A).

A synthetic hydrogel has been developed to mimic the physicochemical properties of pancreatic tissue and is shown to support the culture of pancreatic cancer organoids, revealing the role of laminin–integrin interactions in their growth.

The connection between metal binding to proteins and availabilities of different metals in cells has been unclear. Here, the authors report a metalation-calculator that takes into account competition between metals and their variable accessibility, and thereby elucidate in vivo metal occupancies of three different proteins, CobW, YeiR and YjiA.

Ozone depletion has altered conditions at the Earth’s surface and interacts with climate change. This Review assesses the effects on humans and ecosystems, including implications for food and water security, and the mitigating and ongoing influence of the Montreal Protocol.

The mechanism of CGRP-evoked peripheral pain is unclear. Here, the authors show that the CGRP-mediated neuronal/Schwann cell pathway mediates allodynia associated with neurogenic inflammation, contributing to the algesic action of CGRP in mice.

A global dataset of the satellite-tracked movements of pelagic sharks and fishing fleets show that sharks—and, in particular, commercially important species—have limited spatial refuge from fishing effort.

The EMDataResource Ligand Model Challenge aimed at assessing the reliability and reproducibility of modeling ligands bound to protein and protein–nucleic acid complexes in cryo-EM maps determined at near-atomic resolution. This analysis presents the results and recommends best practices for assessing cryo-EM structures of liganded macromolecules.

Tackling the loss of expensive cofactors is a key challenge in continuous-flow biocatalysis. This work reports immobilized enzymes with a tethered cofactor that is channelled between a recycling and a catalysis module facilitating total turnover numbers of NAD⁺ and ATP exceeding 10,000 in biocatalytic flow systems.

Using intensive eDNA sampling in space and time across five rivers in Europe and North America, this study shows that eDNA gives relevant information on freshwater diversity and ecology across broad taxonomic groups, and with limited downstream transport. The findings demonstrate that eDNA is vital for freshwater biodiversity monitoring in a time of anthropogenic change.

Koch and Brown et al. led a collaborative and comprehensive synthesis that shows the transfer of ice algal carbon is widespread throughout the Arctic marine food web and contributes to supporting organisms throughout the dark winter months

PrimPol is a multifunctional replicative enzyme that can bypass DNA damage, as well as reprime replication restart. Here, the authors have elucidated how PrimPol is recruited to stalled replication forks via specific interactions with RPA, which stimulates its primase activity.

Ceramides are signalling molecules that regulate several physiological functions including insulin sensitivity. Here the authors report a selective ceramide synthase 1 inhibitor that counteracts lipid accumulation within the muscle and adiposity by increasing fatty acid oxidation but without affecting insulin sensitivity in mice fed with an obesogenic diet.

Species richness patterns are driven by biotic and abiotic factors, the relative strengths of which are unclear. Here, the authors test how species interactions or environmental traits influence fish richness across over 700 Canadian lakes, showing a surprisingly small role of negative interactions.

Several neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the aggregation of cytoplasmic proteins. Here, the authors demonstrate that the small molecule SMER28 activates VCP, which enhances both autophagic and proteasomal clearance of aggregate-prone proteins.

Reengineering polyketide synthase encoding genes to produce analogues of natural products can be slow and low-yielding. Here the authors use accelerated evolution to recombine the gene cluster for rapid production of rapamycin-related products.

Evolutionarily conserved gene modules mediate neurodegenerative dementia in a variety of mouse models and in postmortem brain tissue from patients.

Coenzyme B12 traditionally acts as cofactor to light-independent metabolic enzymes in bacteria and humans. Here, Kutta et al.present a time-resolved photochemical description of a B12-dependent photoreceptor protein, which represents a mechanistic foundation for B12 photobiology.

Crystallography and spectroscopy are used to solve high-resolution structures of the intermediates of Kok’s S-state clock in photosystem II.

Coagulation plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety of drinking water by removing natural organic matter. A comprehensive investigation of existing coagulation theories at the molecular functional group scale highlights the importance of the properties of natural organic matter on coagulation efficiency and provides valuable insights for predicting and achieving the efficient removal of pollutants by coagulation.

Ligase D is a conserved DNA repair protein complex that repairs double-strand breaks in stationary phase prokaryotes. Here the authors show that orthologous Ligase C has a role in base excision repair during stationary phase.

The biology of many marine protists, such as stramenopiles, remains obscure. Here, the authors exploit single-cell genomics and metagenomics to analyze the genome content and apparent oceanic distribution of seven prevalent lineages of uncultured heterotrophic stramenopiles.

Chassis-independent recombinase-assisted genome engineering (CRAGE) enables the integration of plasmids encoding biosynthetic gene clusters into the chromosomes of diverse bacteria to optimize production of natural products in non-native strains.

Global conceptions of Antarctica are dominated by colonial narratives despite an ostensibly collaborative paradigm. We argue that an Indigenous Māori framework centring relational thinking and connectedness, humans and non-human kin, and drawing on concepts of both reciprocity and responsibility, offers transformational insight into true collective management and conservation of Antarctica.

Pablo Carbonell et al. present an automated pipeline for the discovery and optimization of biosynthetic pathways for microbial production of fine chemicals. They apply their pipeline to the production of the flavonoid (2S)-pinocembrin in Escherichia coli and show improvement of the pathway by 500-fold.

Pathological TDP-43 protein aggregates are a hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. TDP-43 pathology alters the morphology of nuclear pore complexes and cause deficits in nucleocytoplasmic transport.