James A. Letts

Structural characterization of an extracellular contractile injection system from Photorhabdus luminescens in extended and contracted states - Nature Communications Marín-Arraiza and colleagues report the cryo-EM structures of an extracellular contractile injection system from Photorhabdus luminescens in extended and contracted states, providing structural insigh...

Thrilled to see Leyre’s PhD work finally out!

We reported the #cryoEM structures of an extracellular contractile injection system from P. luminescens in extended and contracted states, providing structural insight into its architecture and contraction mechanism 🔬
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Chris Russo and Anastasiia Gusach have developed a new method to prepare #cryoEM samples that avoids protein damage during freezing

Read more: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/a-new-method...

#LMBResearch

Endogenous structure of antimalarial target PfATP4 reveals an apicomplexan-specific P-type ATPase modulator Nature Communications - Here, the authors present the 3.7 Å cryoEM structure of native sodium efflux pump PfATP4 from Plasmodium falciparum, revealing a bound protein that they term...

Learn how our hunt for the native structure of top antimalarial target PfATP4🧂led to the discovery of PfABP, an unknown essential binding partner, out now! @natcomms.nature.com 👉 rdcu.be/eLRlH 🦠🔬❄️

A team effort led by @mehsehret.bsky.social & Anurag Shukla @akhilvaidya.bsky.social! #cryoEM #malaria

Structures of rotary ATP synthase from Thermus thermophilus during proton powered ATP synthesis Cryo-EM snapshots of the ATP synthase driven by proton motive force reveal the torsional deformation during ATP synthesis.

Structures of rotary ATP synthase from Thermus thermophilus during proton powered ATP synthesis | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Structural basis of T-loop–independent recognition and activation of CDKs by the CDK-activating kinase Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are prototypical regulators of the cell cycle. The CDK-activating kinase (CAK) acts as a master regulator of CDK activity by catalyzing the activating phosphorylation o...

Now out in Science! Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are key regulators of the cell cycle. In @vcushing.bsky.social's magnum opus, we use #cryoEM to figure out how the CDK-activating kinase recognises CDKs to fully activate them - a key step in cell cycle control.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Tenure-based Research Staff Scientist Position in Computational Structural Biology ISTA (www.ista.ac.at) is seeking a highly skilled Staff Scientist in Computational Structural Biology to support and advance the Institute’s structural biology research through the development and imp...

ISTA @istaresearch.bsky.social is hiring a tenure-track staff scientist in Computational Structural Biology, to develop tools for cryo-EM, cryo-ET, structural prediction methods and protein interaction analysis!

Please spread the word!

ista.ac.at/en/job/tenur...

Locating the missing chlorophylls f in far-red photosystem I The discovery of chlorophyll f-containing photosystems, with their long-wavelength photochemistry, represented a distinct, low-energy paradigm for oxygenic photosynthesis. Structural studies on chloro...

Have you ever looked at the night sky and wondered if there’s a chlorophyll f in the reaction centre of Photosystem I from far-red light adapted cyanobacteria? 🦠

Well, we did (don’t judge) and the work that followed is now out as a First Release in @science.org

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Pretty excited to share our new preprint!
Non-photosynthetic Plastid Replacement by a Primary Plastid in the Making
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Great analysis and figure making by two outstanding postdocs in the lab Dr. Dong Woo Shin and Dr. Tingting Chen!

Congratulations to the whole team.

P.S. Sorry about the long list of abbreviations at the start of the text but this complex is complex!

We are ague that this pattern is best explained by constructive neutral evolution (CNE) and not necessarily driven by positive selection of new functions. The "complex I clock" of adding a new subunit every ~10-30 million years can be used to help constrain quantitative theories of CNE.

Next, using the alphaproteobacterial CI structure and its shared subunits with all known eukaryotic structures we propose the structure of CI from the First Eukaryotic Common Ancestor (FECA). This indicates that eukaryotic CI gained a new subunit every ~10-30 million years between FECA and LECA.

By comparing the structures of mitochondrial complex I across eukaryotic species and mapping them our best current model of the eukaryotic tree of life (yellow stars below indicate clades with complex I structures) we propose the structure of complex I from the Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor (LECA)

New Review from the lab:
Respiratory complex I (CI) is composed of a conserved set of core subunits and additional accessory subunits that vary depending on the organism. Here, we categorize CI subunits from available structures to map the evolution of CI across eukaryotes. 1/n
tinyurl.com/txtrbfnw

First approved drug for mitochondrial disease could pave way for more treatments Researchers are testing multiple treatments for the rare genetic conditions

Mitochondrial diseases have seemed intractable, but last month the Food and Drug Administration OK’d the first treatment targeting a mitochondrial flaw. https://scim.ag/4q3Ymxz

Structure of Photosystem I-FCP from giant kelp uncovers drivers of antenna evolution across the red lineage https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.07.680316v1

Deep new insights into the evolution of PSI from within the red-lineage, a diverse group of eukaryotes that evolved from secondary endosymbiosis of a red algae.

Exciting stuff!

Structure of Photosystem I-FCP from giant kelp uncovers drivers of antenna evolution across the red lineage Brown algae and other red-algae-derived organisms such as diatoms are major contributors to global CO2 fixation via photosynthesis. To understand the photosynthetic function of brown algae, we obtaine...

Exciting new preprint from the Maldonado Lab @ucdavis.bsky.social
Structure of photosystem I from Giant Kelp!! First brown algae structure of a photosystem and the first structure of any protein from giant kelp a major primary producer, ecosystem defining species.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Our cryo-EM structure of the intermediate state of the KCNQ1 potassium channel is out. Collaborative effort with the David Fedida and Luca Maragliano labs. Cryo-EM work spearheaded by Efthimios Kyriakis, PhD

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Time for a thread!🧵 How different is the molecular organization of thylakoids in “higher” plants🌱? To find out, we teamed up with @profmattjohnson.bsky.social to dive into spinach chloroplasts with #CryoET ❄️🔬. Curious? ..Read on!

#TeamTomo #PlantScience 🧪 🧶🧬 🌾
elifesciences.org/articles/105...
1/🧵

Cryo-EM snapshots of NMDA receptor activation illuminate sequential rearrangements Opening of the NMDA receptor involves bending of the helices lining the ion channel gate.

Cryo-EM snapshots of NMDA receptor activation illuminate sequential rearrangements | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Congratulations, Yifan, for the Anatrace Award! Yifan’s work on the TRPV1 structure with David Julius helped launch the Resolution Revolution in cryo-EM. Not just in membrane proteins—hardly any area of biophysics today has remained untouched by the techniques Yifan pioneered.

⛓️ August’s most-read Structural Biology paper is a ‘landmark’ study, describing the structural mechanism of strand exchange by the RAD51 filament: buff.ly/CvSkF34

Have a paper people should see? See what our Editors look for: buff.ly/rr68suW

🌱 Using ‘compelling’ methods, including #CryoET, researchers mapped spinach thylakoid membranes at single-molecule precision, revealing how photosynthetic complexes are organised and settling long-standing debates on chloroplast architecture.
buff.ly/j3TSIkn

A molecular-resolution look into the near-native architecture of the spinach chloroplast🌱. This one was a long time in the oven, but we're happy to finally share our "version of record". What long-standing debates did we settle? Check back for a short thread🧵 on Monday. #TeamTomo #PlantScience 🧪🧶🧬🔬🌾

STRUCTURE OF A NITROGENASE-PII SUPERCOMPLEX
New work from the oxidoreductase half of the group.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

How the twin-arginine translocase (Tat) system manages to transport folded proteins across membranes without any leaks? To answer this fundamental question we solved the first structure of TatB3C3 complex with bound cargo. Please check out new preprint!
t.co/962Kj9pt6F

Structural basis for mTORC1 activation on the lysosomal membrane - Nature Cryo-electron microscopy was used to study human mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) activation on lysosomal membranes, showing progressive recruitment by RAG–Ragulator, RHEB and RAPTOR, culminating in mTOR–membrane engagement and full enzyme activation.

Nature research paper: Structural basis for mTORC1 activation on the lysosomal membrane

go.nature.com/3VmoKEU

In this @jem.org Viewpoint a cross section of women, across multiple research fields, discuss their science and the process of setting up a lab as an independent researcher. rupress.org/jem/article/...
@quinascience.bsky.social @aweinstock.bsky.social @osterhoutlab.bsky.social
#WomeninSTEM

The photosynthetic proteins of marine coccolithophores capture green light underwater and appear orange-red. Their photosystem I and light-harvesting proteins assemble into a huge molecular machine that efficiently captures, transfers, and converts light energy, demonstrating the evolutionary diversity of photosynthesis and the ultimate pursuit of light.

The photosystem I and light-harvesting proteins of marine coccolithophores assemble into a huge molecular machine that efficiently captures, transfers, and converts light energy, demonstrating the evolutionary diversity of photosynthesis.

Learn more this week in Science: https://scim.ag/4mZBkpy

Mystery Martian minerals hint at the planet’s complex geochemical past The Perseverance rover on Mars has observed unusual minerals associated with organic matter — raising questions about the geochemistry of ancient Mars.

The Perseverance rover on Mars has observed unusual minerals associated with organic matter — raising questions about the geochemistry of ancient Mars.

go.nature.com/469V1nr