Biology subjects

Turner, N. N.

Publications and source records attributed to Turner, N. N..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Conservation and evolution of the ribosome across the photosynthetic lineage

Regulated biogenesis of photosynthetic proteins by the chloroplast ribosomes is central to plant development and environmental adaptation. Here, we describe changes to the ribosome that occurred during evolution of chloroplasts from cyanobacteria in the photosynthetic lineage based on structural, proteomic and bioinformatic analyses. We identify structural features common to oxygenic photosynthetic organisms and distinct from other bacteria, as well as the gain and loss of ribosomal proteins, rRNA modifications and hibernation factors upon endosymbiosis. We uncover structural variation among land plant lineages at sites that remodel the peptide exit tunnel and features associated with translation initiation. The data challenge the prevailing view of ribosomal features that are specific to the chloroplast by demonstrating that many originated earlier, in cyanobacteria, or later, during land plant evolution.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2025

Assembly and phospho-regulatory mechanisms of the budding yeast outer kinetochore KMN complex

During mitosis and meiosis kinetochores mediate interactions between chromosomes and spindle microtubules. Kinetochores are multi-megadalton protein complexes essential for chromosome segregation in all eukaryotes, however recent structural, functional, and evolutionary studies have revealed divergent mechanisms of kinetochore assembly. In this study, we use cryo-EM to understand the structural mechanisms by which the budding yeast microtubule-binding outer kinetochore KMN complex assembles, and how its interactions with the centromere-binding inner kinetochore are regulated. The ten-subunit KMN complex comprises three subcomplexes: Knl1c, Mis12cMtw1c and Ndc80c. We show that -helical motifs in the C-termini of the Mis12cMtw1c subunits Dsn1, Mis12Mtw1 and Nnf1 bind Knl1c and Ndc80c. At the opposite end of the Mis12cMtw1c stalk, an N-terminal auto-inhibitory segment of Dsn1 (Dsn1AI) folds into two -helices that engage the Mis12cMtw1c head 1 domain, thereby occluding binding sites for the inner kinetochore subunits CENP-CMif2 and CENP-UAme1, reducing their affinity for Mis12cMtw1. Our structure reveals how Aurora BIpl1 phosphorylation of Dsn1AI would release this auto-inhibition to substantially strengthen pre-existing connections between the inner and outer kinetochore. SummaryKinetochore-localised KMN complexes mediate chromosome segregation by attaching chromosomes to spindle microtubules. Cryo-EM, biochemical and genetic experiments reveal conserved underlying mechanisms of complex assembly, auto-inhibition and phospho-regulation that ensure precise control of KMN assembly onto centromeres to enable genome division.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2020

Repulsive electrostatic interactions modulate dense and dilute phase properties of biomolecular condensates

Liquid-like membraneless organelles form via multiple, weak interactions between biomolecules. The resulting condensed states constitute novel solvent environments inside eukaryotic cells that partition biomolecules and may favour particular biochemical reactions. Here we demonstrate that, in addition to attractive interactions, repulsive electrostatic interactions modulate condensate properties. We find that net charge modulates the formation, morphology and solvent properties of model Ddx4 condensates in cells and in vitro and that a net negative charge is conserved across germ cell-specific Ddx4 orthologues. This conserved net charge provides a sensitivity to multivalent cations that is not observed in somatic paralogues. The disfavouring effect of a net negative charge in Ddx4 orthologues appears to be offset by increased charge patterning, indicating that fine tuning of both attractive and repulsive interactions can create responsive solvent environments inside biomolecular condensates.

cell biology↗