September 2022 - Test-spotlight

Latest Protein Spotlight issue: the colour red
by Protein Spotlight 26 Sep '22

26 Sep '22

((( Latest Protein Spotlight issue: the colour red ))) September 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Plants cannot walk. Unable to drift down to the local café, attend this evening's book launch or gate-crash a party, flowers have had to resort to other ways of connecting. True, their roots may wander and branches may wave, but really what appears above ground level is pretty moored. Yet that is where their reproductive organs are, which need to meet so that the plant's pollen can be fertilized. This is achieved indirectly by using animal pollinators - whose attention, however, needs to be grabbed. Nectar fulfils this role wonderfully. A sweet liquid secreted by flowers, nectar is concocted to tempt insects or vertebrates whose bodies, as they feed off it, may inadvertently pick up pollen in one flower and deposit it, in all innocence, on another flower's stigma. So as not to be missed, a little like waving a flag, a flower's nectar may occasionally be brightly coloured: yellow, deep purple, blue, green, red or even black. In this light, the striking red nectar of Nesocodon mauritianus, a blue flower endemic to the island of Mauritius, seems to have evolved to attract a day gecko and is synthesized thanks to the close collaboration of three enzymes: Nec1, Nec2 and Nec3. Read more: http://www.proteinspotlight.org If you would like to make a direct link to this issue, please use the following link: http://www.proteinspotlight.org/back_issues/250/ If you wish to unsubscribe, you may do so here: http://www.proteinspotlight.org/unsubscribe/

1 0

Latest Protein Spotlight issue: the colour red
by Protein Spotlight 23 Sep '22

23 Sep '22

((( Latest Protein Spotlight issue: the colour red ))) September 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Plants cannot walk. Unable to drift down to the local café, attend this evening's book launch or gate-crash a party, flowers have had to resort to other ways of connecting. True, their roots may wander and branches may wave, but really what appears above ground level is pretty moored. Yet that is where their reproductive organs are, which need to meet so that the plant's pollen can be fertilized. This is achieved indirectly by using animal pollinators - whose attention, however, needs to be grabbed. Nectar fulfils this role wonderfully. A sweet liquid secreted by flowers, nectar is concocted to tempt insects or vertebrates whose bodies, as they feed off it, may inadvertently pick up pollen in one flower and deposit it, in all innocence, on another flower's stigma. So as not to be missed, a little like waving a flag, a flower's nectar may occasionally be brightly coloured: yellow, deep purple, blue, green, red or even black. In this light, the striking red nectar of Nesocodon mauritianus, a blue flower endemic to the island of Mauritius, seems to have evolved to attract a day gecko and is synthesized thanks to the close collaboration of three enzymes: Nec1, Nec2 and Nec3. Read more: http://www.proteinspotlight.org If you would like to make a direct link to this issue, please use the following link: http://www.proteinspotlight.org/back_issues/250/ If you wish to unsubscribe, you may do so here: http://www.proteinspotlight.org/unsubscribe/

1 0

Latest Protein Spotlight issue: unnatural stuff
by Protein Spotlight 23 Sep '22

23 Sep '22

((( Latest Protein Spotlight issue: unnatural stuff ))) September 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ever had to deal with tiny polystyrene balls clinging to your carpet? Or admired the neat narrow grooves stamped onto a vinyl record? Perhaps you have just acquired a sleek viscose shirt. Polystyrene, PVC, vinyl, acrylic, rayon, viscose, nylon, PET, polyester - these are words we never think twice about as they slip into a conversation. Epoxy resin and polyurethane are another two, although perhaps less well known. Others are hidden behind more descriptive names such as the popular cling film we wrap around food, which is made out of polyethylene. And there are many more. Their common denominator? Each of these materials are manmade polymers. In other words, they are artificial; Nature does not provide them. However, she can come up with some of the building blocks. Itaconic acid is one, and was first discovered in the fungus Aspergillus itaconicus which was named after it. Today, widely used in the synthesis of polymers to make lubricants, thickeners, rubber or resins for example, itaconic acid is provided in quantity by Aspergillus terreus - with the help of an enzyme known as CAD, or cis-aconitic acid decarboxylase. Read more: http://www.proteinspotlight.org If you would like to make a direct link to this issue, please use the following link: http://www.proteinspotlight.org/back_issues/249/ If you wish to unsubscribe, you may do so here: http://www.proteinspotlight.org/unsubscribe/

1 0

Latest Protein Spotlight issue: unnatural stuff
by Protein Spotlight 23 Sep '22

23 Sep '22

((( Latest Protein Spotlight issue: unnatural stuff ))) September 2022 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ever had to deal with tiny polystyrene balls clinging to your carpet? Or admired the neat narrow grooves stamped onto a vinyl record? Perhaps you have just acquired a sleek viscose shirt. Polystyrene, PVC, vinyl, acrylic, rayon, viscose, nylon, PET, polyester - these are words we never think twice about as they slip into a conversation. Epoxy resin and polyurethane are another two, although perhaps less well known. Others are hidden behind more descriptive names such as the popular cling film we wrap around food, which is made out of polyethylene. And there are many more. Their common denominator? Each of these materials are manmade polymers. In other words, they are artificial; Nature does not provide them. However, she can come up with some of the building blocks. Itaconic acid is one, and was first discovered in the fungus Aspergillus itaconicus which was named after it. Today, widely used in the synthesis of polymers to make lubricants, thickeners, rubber or resins for example, itaconic acid is provided in quantity by Aspergillus terreus - with the help of an enzyme known as CAD, or cis-aconitic acid decarboxylase. Read more: http://www.proteinspotlight.org If you would like to make a direct link to this issue, please use the following link: http://www.proteinspotlight.org/back_issues/249/ If you wish to unsubscribe, you may do so here: http://www.proteinspotlight.org/unsubscribe/

1 0