Lost & Found #6

by Christoph
 

In this episode, again three bookmarks that came to my attention while cleaning up our account on 𝕏 (formerly Twitter) and that are not at all out of date. Give them a brief look and judge for yourself. Here is Lost & Found #6.
 

Bookmark #1

Have you ever looked for a good, textbook-ready diagram of the known post-translational modifications of proteins? This tweet from Cees Dekker may help you! Note that what is called "lipidation" in the diagram is also known as prenylation or farnesylation. Cees had not given the source of the diagram at the time; after some searching I found this source as its earliest mention on the net, but not its author.

If you read the entire thread to this tweet, you'll see that Cees is briefly describing his lab's progress in identifying these post-translational modi­fi­cations by protein sequencing.

Protein sequencing is a big deal and goes way beyond DNA sequencing. While we have ~20000 protein-coding genes, we have _millions_ of protein variants, mainly because of post-translational modifications that attach a side group to amino acids.

1/ pic.twitter.com/E3kmpQFlan

— cees dekker (@cees_dekker) November 14, 2022

If the tweet is no longer available, you can see a screen capture here, and the diagram here.
 

Bookmark #2

A review that I liked a lot and provide a clear classifications is: 'How low can they go? Aerobic respiration by microorganisms under apparent anoxia' https://t.co/BsxZhMxKFf By the formidable Jasmine Berg.

— Davide Ciccarese (@CiccareseDavide) August 1, 2023

If the tweet is no longer available, you can see a screen capture here.
 

In his tweet, Davide Ciccarese points out a review that we at STC have not yet considered: How low can they go? Aerobic respiration by microor­gan­isms under apparent anoxia (Open Access). Modern analytical methods make it possible to measure oxygen concentrations, especially very low oxygen concentrations, much more accurately than before. The traditional distinction between aerobic and anaerobic metabolic processes is no longer tenable, and in addition to micro-aerobic processes, nanaerobic processes must also be considered.

 

(click to enlarge)

 

This is of concern not only to ecologists when characterizing, for example, aquatic habitats. It is also important for sample collectors who conduct transcription studies (transcriptomics) on deep-sea organisms: the first steps in obtaining native mRNA must be carried out under the O2 and pressure conditions found at the site, since bringing the samples to the sea surface, however quickly, completely changes the physiological con­ditions.

 

(click to enlarge)

 

Bookmark #3

This tweet from Owen S. Wangensteen prompted me to write my STC post Finding the actual needle in a virtual haystack. Here in the video you can see this little animal Limnognathia maerski (~100 µm body length) romping around very lively. Previously, its existence had only been sus­pected from data collections of eDNA samples, but the researchers succeeded in finding it in a remote bog way up in the mountains.

Guided by the eDNA results as a treasure map, we looked for it and we found it! There it was, Limnognathia maerski alive and kicking! https://t.co/poYGyJGg3m

— Owen S. Wangensteen (@owenwangensteen) July 25, 2023

If the tweet is no longer available, you can see a screen capture here, and the video here (GIF).

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