Publications database

Minor nucleosides found in several eukaryotic initiator tRNAsi Met, O-β-D-ribofuranosyl(1″→2′)adenosine and -guanosine (Ar and Gr), as well as their pyrimidine analogues, were obtained from N-protected 3′,5′-O-(1,1,3,3-tetraisopropyldisiloxane-1,3-diyl)ribonucleosides and 1-O-acetyl-2,3,5-tri-O-benzoyl-β-D-ribofuranose in the presence of tin tetrachloride in 1,2-dichloroethane. A crystal structure has been solved for 2′-O-ribosyluridine. [...]

Cellulose is the major polysaccharide component of the plant cell wall and the most abundant naturally produced macromolecule on Earth. The enzymic degradation of cellulose, by cellulases, is therefore of great environmental and commercial significance. [...]

Chorismate synthase (EC 4.6.1.4) catalyses the conversion of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate 3-phosphate (EPSP) into chorismate, and requires reduced FMN as a cofactor. The enzyme can bind first oxidized FMN and then EPSP to form a stable ternary complex which does not undergo turnover. [...]

Background: The biosynthesis of key metabolic components is of major interest to biologists. Studies of de novo purine synthesis are aimed at obtaining a deeper understanding of this central pathway and the development of effective chemotherapeutic agents. [...]

Background: β-Mannanases hydrolyse the O-glycosidic bonds in mannan, a hemicellulose constituent of plants. These enzymes have potential use in pulp and paper production and are of significant biotechnological interest. [...]

When concentrated solutions (30–45% by weight) of inulin (degree of polymerization 2–66, number average degree of polymerization 12) are cooled at 1 °C/min or 0.25 °C/min from 96 °C to 20 °C, suspensions of semi-crystalline material in water are formed. A thermal nucleation process was detected by optical microscopy: the 8-like shaped crystallites resulting from primary nucleation at higher temperature are larger than those resulting from secondary nucleation at lower temperature. [...]

The crystal structure of the zinc-containing exopeptidase bovine carboxypeptidase A (CPA) has been refined to high resolution, based on a data set collected from a single crystal, incorporating new sequence information based on cloning of the bovine gene. In addition, new refined structures are available for the zinc-removed form of the enzyme, apo-CPA, as well as the mercury-replaced form, Hg-CPA. [...]

Are the microtubule-organising centers of the different cell types of a metazoan interchangeable? If not, what are the differences between them? Do they play any role in the differentiation processes to which these cells are subjected? Nearly one hundred years of centrosome research has established the essential role of this organelle as the main microtubule-organising center of animal cells. But only now are we starting to unveil the answers to the challenging questions which are raised when the centrosome is studied within the context of a pluricellular organism. [...]

We describe genetic interactions between mutations in mgr, asp, and polo, genes required for the correct behaviour of the spindle poles in Drosophila. The phenotype of a polo1mgr double mutant is more similar to mgr than polo1, but the frequency of circular monopolar figures (CMFs) seen with either mutant alone is additive, suggesting that the two gene products are required for independent functions in the formation of bipolar spindles. [...]

The morphology of several semicrystalline poly(aryl ether ether ketone) (PEEK) samples with narrow molecular weight distributions and of a commercial sample of PEEK has been investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The use of different molecular weights allows us to enlarge the macroscopic crystallinity range usually attainable for the commercial PEEK grades. [...]