Introducing Our Authors Cite This: ACS Chem. Biol. 2017, 12, 2475-2476
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DANIEL BAXTER
pubs.acs.org/acschemicalbiology
BOQUN LIU
Image courtesy of Liam Baxter.
Image courtesy of Yanglei Yi.
Education: University of Essex, U.K., School of Biological
Education: Jilin University, Department of Food Science and
Sciences, B.Sc. Molecular Medicine and Biochemistry, 2012,
Technology, B.S. Food Science and Engineering, 2010; Jilin
Advisor: Dr. Jody Mason Current Position: Ph.D. graduand, Department of Biology
University, Laboratory of Nutrition and Functional Food, M.S. Food Science, 2013, Supervisor: Prof. Jingbo Liu Current Position: Ph.D. student in Biophysics, Groningen
and Biochemistry at the University of Bath, U.K., Advisor: Dr. Jody Mason Nonscientific Interests: Traveling and experiencing nature
Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of
and people in different places, hiking and adventuring, and
Boersma Nonscientific interests: Photography, table tennis, and
Groningen, Supervisors: Prof. Bert Poolman and Dr. Arnold
generally enjoying life My research interests focus on the exploitation and development of library selection systems to isolate novel peptides
football My research focuses on the biophysical properties of the
that can modulate the activities of therapeutically interesting
cytoplasm, especially on the quantification of macromolecular
protein targets and chemical modification of these peptides
crowding as well as ionic strength in living cells with novel
toward valuable therapeutic applications. In our paper, we take
Fö rster resonance energy transfer (FRET) sensors. Ionic strength influences a wide array of electrostatic interactions
a peptide antagonist of oncogenic activator protein-1 (AP-1)
including protein activity, (macro)-molecule associations/
isolated by an in cellulo protein-fragment complementation
aggregations, and other processes. To detect the ionic strength,
assay (PCA) and successfully truncate it to a more attractive
we designed the first ionic strength sensors in living cells.
size while maintaining the majority of its binding affinity.
The sensors are based on FRET and contain a positively
This is achieved through the entropic preorganization effects of
and a negatively charged α-helix with electrostatic attraction
covalent lactam helix constraints. We further demonstrate
that will depend on the ionic strength. With these sensors,
that this peptide can be delivered to breast cancer cells
researchers will be able to track the intracellular ionic strength
where it effectively reduces proliferation. This strategy holds
on the single-cell level in changing environments or intra-
considerable promise for the future development of drugs against
cellular conditions. (Read Liu’s article DOI: 10.1021/acschem-
AP-1 and other transcription factors less amenable to small
bio.7b00348.)
molecule modulation. (Read Baxter’s article DOI: 10.1021/ acschembio.7b00693.)
Published: October 20, 2017 © 2017 American Chemical Society
2475
DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.7b00858 ACS Chem. Biol. 2017, 12, 2475−2476
ACS Chemical Biology
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Introducing Our Authors
WEI XU
Image courtesy of Yuhui Sun.
Education: Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, B.Sc. Pharmaceutical Science, 2011; Wuhan University, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ph.D. Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, 2017, Advisor: Prof. Yuhui Sun Current Position: Ph.D. School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Advisor: Prof. Yuhui Sun Nonscientific Interests: Cycling, photography, and computer programming My project is focused on the discovery of novel natural products with bioactivities and elucidation of their biosynthetic mechanism. During a bioassay-guided Streptomyces discovery, a brick-red color Streptomyces spectabilis CCTCC M2017417 showed significant antimethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) activity. To characterize the active compounds and their biosynthetic process, a detailed genome sequencing and assembly were performed. Then, I localized a gene cluster corresponding to the biosynthesis of streptovaricins, which are the main anti-MRSA activity contributors in this strain. A biosynthetic pathway was proposed, and P450 genes in this cluster were functionally analyzed. My scientific interests are mainly concentrated on rational utilization of polyketide synthases to build high-profit molecules in microbes and automatic regulation of the biosynthesis process in natural or heterologous hosts with the help of genetic circuits. (Read Xu’s article DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.7b00467.)
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DOI: 10.1021/acschembio.7b00858 ACS Chem. Biol. 2017, 12, 2475−2476
