Spotlights on Recent JACS Publications

摘要

Large assemblies of proteins, such as ATP synthase and the coats of viruses, are critical for many biological functions. Researchers seek to identify the individual proteins and ligands inside these complicated assemblies and to understand how the individual components come together to carry out their functions. Although several mass spectrometric techniques have been developed to analyze large protein complexes, a drawback is that they do not allow researchers to get primary sequence information on individual components or information about how the individual components are held together. To address the drawback, Jennifer S. Brodbelt and colleagues have developed a new mass spectrometric method (DOI: 10.1021/ja505217w). The investigators combine mass spec-trometry with an approach called ultraviolet photodissociation. The photodissociation process provides detailed sequence information on each component and indicates where ligands bind to the complexes as well as the locations of the various protein-protein interfaces.