Two genes equal one antibiotic.A ring of 18 amino acids amino acid (əmē`nō), any one of a class of simple organic compounds containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and in certain cases sulfur. These compounds are the building blocks of proteins. formed through the joint action of two genes represents the latest natural antibiotic discovered by investigators. Over the past few years, scientists found that many animals synthesize To create a whole or complete unit from parts or components. See synthesis. small proteins called defensins that destroy bacteria, fungi, and other harmful microbes. While investigating the defensins used by the immune cells of rhesus macaques For other uses, see Rhesus. The Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta), often called the Rhesus Monkey, is one of the best known species of Old World monkeys. Rhesus Macaques are sexually dimorphic. , Michael E. Selsted of the University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). , Irvine and his colleagues came across rhesus theta Theta A measure of the rate of decline in the value of an option due to the passage of time. Theta can also be referred to as the time decay on the value of an option. If everything is held constant, then the option will lose value as time moves closer to the maturity of the option. defensin-1 (RTD-1). Unlike other defensins, which are relatively short chains of amino acids, RTD-1 is circular. The structure seems to aid the molecule's ability to kill bacteria and fungi. A linear version of the defensin was much less potent, Selsted's group reports in the Oct. 15 SCIENCE. When the scientists tried to track down the gene for RTD-1, they got another surprise. Two different genes make precursor proteins for the antibiotic. A section of nine amino acids breaks off from each precursor, and the two pieces fuse to form the defensin. It's not yet completely clear how this unusual process occurs, but it doesn't appear to involve protein-splicing enzymes called inteins (SN: 10/2/99, p. 222), says Selsted. |
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