Outputs (21)

A metal-trap tests and refines blueprints to engineer cellular protein metalation with different elements (2025)
Journal Article
Clough, S. E., Young, T. R., Tarrant, E., Scott, A. J. P., Chivers, P. T., Glasfeld, A., & Robinson, D. J. (2025). A metal-trap tests and refines blueprints to engineer cellular protein metalation with different elements. Nature Communications, 16(1), Article 810. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56199-w

It has been challenging to test how proteins acquire specific metals in cells. The speciation of metalation is thought to depend on the preferences of proteins for different metals competing at intracellular metal-availabilities. This implies mis-met... Read More about A metal-trap tests and refines blueprints to engineer cellular protein metalation with different elements.

Two Distinct Thermodynamic Gradients for Cellular Metalation of Vitamin B12 (2023)
Journal Article
Young, T. R., Deery, E., Foster, A. W., Martini, M. A., Osman, D., Warren, M. J., & Robinson, N. J. (2023). Two Distinct Thermodynamic Gradients for Cellular Metalation of Vitamin B12. JACS Au, 3(5), 1264-1534. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacsau.3c00119

The acquisition of CoII by the corrin component of vitamin B12 follows one of two distinct pathways, referred to as early or late CoII insertion. The late insertion pathway exploits a CoII metallochaperone (CobW) from the COG0523 family of G3E GTPase... Read More about Two Distinct Thermodynamic Gradients for Cellular Metalation of Vitamin B12.

Protein metalation in a nutshell (2022)
Journal Article
Osman, D., & Robinson, N. J. (2023). Protein metalation in a nutshell. FEBS Letters, 597(1), 141-150. https://doi.org/10.1002/1873-3468.14500

Metalation, the acquisition of metals by proteins, must avoid mis-metalation with tighter binding metals. This is illustrated by four selected proteins that require different metals: all show similar ranked orders of affinity for bioavailable metals,... Read More about Protein metalation in a nutshell.

Metalation calculators for E. coli strain JM109 (DE3): Aerobic, anaerobic and hydrogen peroxide exposed cells cultured in LB media (2022)
Journal Article
Foster, A. W., Clough, S. E., Aki, Z., Young, T. R., Clarke, A. R., & Robinson, N. J. (2022). Metalation calculators for E. coli strain JM109 (DE3): Aerobic, anaerobic and hydrogen peroxide exposed cells cultured in LB media. Metallomics, 14(9), https://doi.org/10.1093/mtomcs/mfac058

Three Web-based calculators, and three analogous spreadsheets, have been generated that predict in vivo metal occupancies of proteins based on known metal affinities. The calculations exploit estimates of the availabilities of the labile buffered poo... Read More about Metalation calculators for E. coli strain JM109 (DE3): Aerobic, anaerobic and hydrogen peroxide exposed cells cultured in LB media.

Protein metalation in biology (2021)
Journal Article
Foster, A. W., Young, T. R., Chivers, P. T., & Robinson, N. J. (2022). Protein metalation in biology. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology, 66, Article 102095. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2021.102095

Inorganic metals supplement the chemical repertoire of organic molecules, especially proteins. This requires the correct metals to associate with proteins at metalation. Protein mismetalation typically occurs when excesses of unbound metals compete f... Read More about Protein metalation in biology.

Calculating metalation in cells reveals CobW acquires Co(II) for vitamin B12 biosynthesis while related proteins prefer Zn(II) (2021)
Journal Article
Young, T., Martini, M., Foster, A., Glasfeld, A., Osman, D., Morton, R., Deery, E., Warren, M., & Robinson, N. (2021). Calculating metalation in cells reveals CobW acquires Co(II) for vitamin B12 biosynthesis while related proteins prefer Zn(II). Nature Communications, 12, Article 1195. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21479-8

Protein metal-occupancy (metalation) in vivo has been elusive. To address this challenge, the available free energies of metals have recently been determined from the responses of metal sensors. Here, we use these free energy values to develop a meta... Read More about Calculating metalation in cells reveals CobW acquires Co(II) for vitamin B12 biosynthesis while related proteins prefer Zn(II).

Metalation: nature’s challenge in bioinorganic chemistry (2020)
Journal Article
Robinson, N. J., & Glasfeld, A. (2020). Metalation: nature’s challenge in bioinorganic chemistry. JBIC Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry, 25(4), 543-545. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00775-020-01790-3

The association of proteins with metals, metalation, is challenging because the tightest binding metals are rarely the correct ones. Inside cells, correct metalation is enabled by controlled bioavailability plus extra mechanisms for tricky combinatio... Read More about Metalation: nature’s challenge in bioinorganic chemistry.

Bacterial sensors define intracellular free energies for correct enzyme metalation (2019)
Journal Article
Osman, D., Martini, M. A., Foster, A. W., Chen, J., Scott, A. J., Morton, R. J., Steed, J. W., Lurie-Luke, E., Huggins, T. G., Lawrence, A. D., Deery, E., Warren, M. J., Chivers, P. T., & Robinson, N. J. (2019). Bacterial sensors define intracellular free energies for correct enzyme metalation. Nature Chemical Biology, 15(3), 241-249. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41589-018-0211-4

There is a challenge for metalloenzymes to acquire their correct metals because some inorganic elements form more stable complexes with proteins than do others. These preferences can be overcome provided some metals are more available than others. Ho... Read More about Bacterial sensors define intracellular free energies for correct enzyme metalation.

A unique ferredoxin acts as a player in the low-iron response of photosynthetic organisms (2018)
Journal Article
Schorsch, M., Kramer, M., Goss, T., Eisenhut, M., Robinson, N., Osman, D., Wilde, A., Sadaf, S., Brückler, H., Walder, L., Scheibe, R., Hase, T., & Hanke, G. T. (2018). A unique ferredoxin acts as a player in the low-iron response of photosynthetic organisms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(51), E12111-E12120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1810379115

Iron chronically limits aquatic photosynthesis, especially in marine environments, and the correct perception and maintenance of iron homeostasis in photosynthetic bacteria, including cyanobacteria, is therefore of global significance. Multiple adapt... Read More about A unique ferredoxin acts as a player in the low-iron response of photosynthetic organisms.

Fine control of metal concentrations is necessary for cells to discern zinc from cobalt (2017)
Journal Article
Osman, D., Foster, A. W., Chen, J., Svedaite, K., Steed, J. W., Lurie-Luke, E., …Robinson, N. J. (2017). Fine control of metal concentrations is necessary for cells to discern zinc from cobalt. Nature Communications, 8, Article 1884. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02085-z

Bacteria possess transcription factors whose DNA-binding activity is altered upon binding to specific metals, but metal binding is not specific in vitro. Here we show that tight regulation of buffered intracellular metal concentrations is a prerequis... Read More about Fine control of metal concentrations is necessary for cells to discern zinc from cobalt.