Latest Bacterial microcompartment Stories

UCLA biochemists and colleagues have answered an important question about the structure of microcompartments "” the mysterious molecular machines that seem to be present in a wide variety of pathogens and other bacteria. In the Feb. 22 issue of the journal Science, the biochemists report how the microcompartment structure closes in three dimensions, forming a shell around the enzymes encased inside. If scientists could prevent or disrupt the formation of these microcompartments, they could...

UCLA biochemists reveal the first structural details of a family of mysterious objects called microcompartments that seem to be present in a variety of bacteria. The discovery was published Aug. 5 in the journal Science. "This is the first look at how microcompartments are built, and what the pieces look like," said Todd O. Yeates, UCLA professor of chemistry and biochemistry, and a member of the UCLA-DOE Institute of Genomics and Proteomics. "These microcompartments appear to...