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Crystal structure of NucB, a biofilm-degrading endonuclease

Bacterial biofilms are a complex architecture of cells that grow on moist interfaces, and are held together by a molecular glue of extracellular proteins, sugars and nucleic acids. Biofilms are particularly problematic in human healthcare as they can coat medical implants and are thus a potential so...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Baslé, Arnaud, Hewitt, Lorraine, Koh, Alan, Lamb, Heather K, Thompson, Paul, Burgess, J Grant, Hall, Michael J, Hawkins, Alastair R, Murray, Heath, Lewis, Richard J
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Oxford University Press 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5758888/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29165717
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkx1170
Descripción
Sumario:Bacterial biofilms are a complex architecture of cells that grow on moist interfaces, and are held together by a molecular glue of extracellular proteins, sugars and nucleic acids. Biofilms are particularly problematic in human healthcare as they can coat medical implants and are thus a potential source of disease. The enzymatic dispersal of biofilms is increasingly being developed as a new strategy to treat this problem. Here, we have characterized NucB, a biofilm-dispersing nuclease from a marine strain of Bacillus licheniformis, and present its crystal structure together with the biochemistry and a mutational analysis required to confirm its active site. Taken together, these data support the categorization of NucB into a unique subfamily of the ββα metal-dependent non-specific endonucleases. Understanding the structure and function of NucB will facilitate its future development into an anti-biofilm therapeutic agent.