New Cell Machinery Unveiled (IMAGE)
Caption
A Princeton-led team has discovered new mechanisms at work in protein production. Here, a folded protein (the ribbon-like object) jams a translocator (purple cylinder on left). Once jammed, translocators emit a molecular signal that attracts a destructive enzyme, the protease FtsH (red sphere), which then starts shredding the translocator (chopped up bits at bottom). Similarly, when certain antibiotics are added to a bacterium's cytoplasm, the ribosome -- the cell's protein-producing machine (yellow area) -- stops midway through its process, causing partially constructed proteins to stick to the ribosome and jam the translocator. When scientists increase the amount of YccA (green ellipse), a protective protein, in the cell, the protein protects the translocator from the FtsH attacker.
Credit
Courtesy of Princeton University/Silhavy Laboratory
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