Bacterial transcriptional regulation

PLP-GROUP

PLP-GROUP

Our research group is interested in the regulation of VitaminB6 metabolism in bacteria and humans, and in diseases caused by Vitamin B6 malfunctioning.

Specifically, our studies focus on:

i) Transcriptional regulation of Vitamin $\text{B}_6$ metabolism in bacteria;

ii) Allosteric properties of proteins involved in Vitamin $\text{B}_6$ metabolism in bacteria and humans;

iii) Molecular basis of neurological diseases caused by defects in Vitamin $\text{B}_6$ metabolism;

The MocR-like transcription factors: pyridoxal 5'-phosphate-dependent regulators of bacterial metabolism

Many biological functions played by current proteins were not created by evolution from scratch, rather they were obtained combining already available protein scaffolds. This is the case of MocR-like bacterial transcription factors (MocR-TFs), a subclass of GntR transcription regulators, whose structure is the outcome of the fusion between DNA-binding proteins and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzymes. The resultant chimeras can count on the properties of both protein classes, i.e.

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