Metabolons in Motion
GCIB-SIMS catches elusive clusters of enzymes in action
Multiple enzymes have long been known to form complexes, called metabolons, to combine sequential processes in metabolic pathways. But they’ve never been caught in the act – until now.
A team of researchers at Pennsylvania State University has used gas cluster ion beam secondary ion MS (GCIB-SIMS) to directly visualize de novo purine biosynthesis in the purinosomes of frozen HeLa cells (1). Purines – along with pyrimidines – are the building blocks of DNA and RNA.
Not only does the research offer an exciting glimpse into the little-explored world of metabolons, it also serves as an example of how high-resolution GCIB-SIMS could be applied to other biomolecular analyses at the single-cell level.
- V Pareek et al., Science, 368, 283 (2020). DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz6465
By the time I finished my degree in Microbiology I had come to one conclusion – I did not want to work in a lab. Instead, I decided to move to the south of Spain to teach English. After two brilliant years, I realized that I missed science, and what I really enjoyed was communicating scientific ideas – whether that be to four-year-olds or mature professionals. On returning to England I landed a role in science writing and found it combined my passions perfectly. Now at Texere, I get to hone these skills every day by writing about the latest research in an exciting, creative way.
