Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by James A. Letts

Filip Husnik @filiphusnik.bsky.social · 1d

Pretty excited to share our new preprint!
Non-photosynthetic Plastid Replacement by a Primary Plastid in the Making
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

41 79

James A. Letts @lettsscience.bsky.social · 1d

Great analysis and figure making by two outstanding postdocs in the lab Dr. Dong Woo Shin and Dr. Tingting Chen!

Congratulations to the whole team.

P.S. Sorry about the long list of abbreviations at the start of the text but this complex is complex!

James A. Letts @lettsscience.bsky.social · 1d

We are ague that this pattern is best explained by constructive neutral evolution (CNE) and not necessarily driven by positive selection of new functions. The "complex I clock" of adding a new subunit every ~10-30 million years can be used to help constrain quantitative theories of CNE.

1

James A. Letts @lettsscience.bsky.social · 1d

Next, using the alphaproteobacterial CI structure and its shared subunits with all known eukaryotic structures we propose the structure of CI from the First Eukaryotic Common Ancestor (FECA). This indicates that eukaryotic CI gained a new subunit every ~10-30 million years between FECA and LECA.

1

James A. Letts @lettsscience.bsky.social · 1d

By comparing the structures of mitochondrial complex I across eukaryotic species and mapping them our best current model of the eukaryotic tree of life (yellow stars below indicate clades with complex I structures) we propose the structure of complex I from the Last Eukaryotic Common Ancestor (LECA)

1

James A. Letts @lettsscience.bsky.social · 1d

New Review from the lab:
Respiratory complex I (CI) is composed of a conserved set of core subunits and additional accessory subunits that vary depending on the organism. Here, we categorize CI subunits from available structures to map the evolution of CI across eukaryotes. 1/n
tinyurl.com/txtrbfnw

1 3

Reposted by James A. Letts

Science Magazine @science.org · 2d

Mitochondrial diseases have seemed intractable, but last month the Food and Drug Administration OK’d the first treatment targeting a mitochondrial flaw. https://scim.ag/4q3Ymxz

First approved drug for mitochondrial disease could pave way for more treatments

Researchers are testing multiple treatments for the rare genetic conditions

scim.ag

19 49

Reposted by James A. Letts

bioRxiv Biochemistry @biorxiv-biochem.bsky.social · 3d

Structure of Photosystem I-FCP from giant kelp uncovers drivers of antenna evolution across the red lineage https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.07.680316v1

1 1

James A. Letts @lettsscience.bsky.social · 3d

Deep new insights into the evolution of PSI from within the red-lineage, a diverse group of eukaryotes that evolved from secondary endosymbiosis of a red algae.

Exciting stuff!

James A. Letts @lettsscience.bsky.social · 3d

Exciting new preprint from the Maldonado Lab @ucdavis.bsky.social
Structure of photosystem I from Giant Kelp!! First brown algae structure of a photosystem and the first structure of any protein from giant kelp a major primary producer, ecosystem defining species.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Structure of Photosystem I-FCP from giant kelp uncovers drivers of antenna evolution across the red lineage

Brown algae and other red-algae-derived organisms such as diatoms are major contributors to global CO2 fixation via photosynthesis. To understand the photosynthetic function of brown algae, we obtaine...

www.biorxiv.org

1 3 9

Reposted by James A. Letts

Filip Van Petegem @filipvanpetegem.bsky.social · 8d

Our cryo-EM structure of the intermediate state of the KCNQ1 potassium channel is out. Collaborative effort with the David Fedida and Luca Maragliano labs. Cryo-EM work spearheaded by Efthimios Kyriakis, PhD

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

1 5 10

Reposted by James A. Letts

Ben Engel @cellarchlab.com · 16d

Time for a thread!🧵 How different is the molecular organization of thylakoids in “higher” plants🌱? To find out, we teamed up with @profmattjohnson.bsky.social to dive into spinach chloroplasts with #CryoET ❄️🔬. Curious? ..Read on!

#TeamTomo #PlantScience 🧪 🧶🧬 🌾
elifesciences.org/articles/105...
1/🧵

3 44 140

Reposted by James A. Letts

Gabriela K Popescu @popstarlab.bsky.social · 17d

Cryo-EM snapshots of NMDA receptor activation illuminate sequential rearrangements | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Cryo-EM snapshots of NMDA receptor activation illuminate sequential rearrangements

Opening of the NMDA receptor involves bending of the helices lining the ion channel gate.

www.science.org

5 7 17

Reposted by James A. Letts

Da-Neng Wang @danengw.bsky.social · 16d

Congratulations, Yifan, for the Anatrace Award! Yifan’s work on the TRPV1 structure with David Julius helped launch the Resolution Revolution in cryo-EM. Not just in membrane proteins—hardly any area of biophysics today has remained untouched by the techniques Yifan pioneered.

Biophysical Society @biophysicalsoc.bsky.social · 17d

Yifan Cheng to Receive 2026 Anatrace Membrane Protein Award buff.ly/ooI1UDy

6 15

Reposted by James A. Letts

eLife @elife.bsky.social · 19d

⛓️ August’s most-read Structural Biology paper is a ‘landmark’ study, describing the structural mechanism of strand exchange by the RAD51 filament: buff.ly/CvSkF34

Have a paper people should see? See what our Editors look for: buff.ly/rr68suW

4 8

Reposted by James A. Letts

eLife @elife.bsky.social · 21d

🌱 Using ‘compelling’ methods, including #CryoET, researchers mapped spinach thylakoid membranes at single-molecule precision, revealing how photosynthetic complexes are organised and settling long-standing debates on chloroplast architecture.
buff.ly/j3TSIkn

3 18 68

Reposted by James A. Letts

Ben Engel @cellarchlab.com · 21d

A molecular-resolution look into the near-native architecture of the spinach chloroplast🌱. This one was a long time in the oven, but we're happy to finally share our "version of record". What long-standing debates did we settle? Check back for a short thread🧵 on Monday. #TeamTomo #PlantScience 🧪🧶🧬🔬🌾

eLife @elife.bsky.social · 21d

🌱 Using ‘compelling’ methods, including #CryoET, researchers mapped spinach thylakoid membranes at single-molecule precision, revealing how photosynthetic complexes are organised and settling long-standing debates on chloroplast architecture.
buff.ly/j3TSIkn

3 46 140

Reposted by James A. Letts

Edwin Antony @professorantony.bsky.social · Sep 11

STRUCTURE OF A NITROGENASE-PII SUPERCOMPLEX
New work from the oxidoreductase half of the group.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

2 4 30

Reposted by James A. Letts

Sazanov Lab @sazanovlab.bsky.social · 23d

How the twin-arginine translocase (Tat) system manages to transport folded proteins across membranes without any leaks? To answer this fundamental question we solved the first structure of TatB3C3 complex with bound cargo. Please check out new preprint!
t.co/962Kj9pt6F

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.16.676506v1

t.co

2 18 55

Reposted by James A. Letts

Nature @nature.com · 23d

Nature research paper: Structural basis for mTORC1 activation on the lysosomal membrane

go.nature.com/3VmoKEU

Structural basis for mTORC1 activation on the lysosomal membrane - Nature

Cryo-electron microscopy was used to study human mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) activation on lysosomal membranes, showing progressive recruitment by RAG–Ragulator, RHEB and RAPTOR, culminating in mTOR–membrane engagement and full enzyme activation.

go.nature.com

3 14

Reposted by James A. Letts

Rockefeller University Press @rupress.org · 24d

In this @jem.org Viewpoint a cross section of women, across multiple research fields, discuss their science and the process of setting up a lab as an independent researcher. rupress.org/jem/article/...
@quinascience.bsky.social @aweinstock.bsky.social @osterhoutlab.bsky.social
#WomeninSTEM

2 5

Reposted by James A. Letts

Science Magazine @science.org · Sep 11

The photosystem I and light-harvesting proteins of marine coccolithophores assemble into a huge molecular machine that efficiently captures, transfers, and converts light energy, demonstrating the evolutionary diversity of photosynthesis.

Learn more this week in Science: https://scim.ag/4mZBkpy

The photosynthetic proteins of marine coccolithophores capture green light underwater and appear orange-red. Their photosystem I and light-harvesting proteins assemble into a huge molecular machine that efficiently captures, transfers, and converts light energy, demonstrating the evolutionary diversity of photosynthesis and the ultimate pursuit of light.

15 59

Reposted by James A. Letts

Nature @nature.com · Sep 10

The Perseverance rover on Mars has observed unusual minerals associated with organic matter — raising questions about the geochemistry of ancient Mars.

go.nature.com/469V1nr

Mystery Martian minerals hint at the planet’s complex geochemical past

The Perseverance rover on Mars has observed unusual minerals associated with organic matter — raising questions about the geochemistry of ancient Mars.

go.nature.com

1 37 72

Reposted by James A. Letts

Antoni Wrobel @agwrobel.bsky.social · Sep 8

Dear scientific community,

I am looking for two postdoctoral structural biologists to join my group at the Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford.

my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

2 30 29

Reposted by James A. Letts

Andrew Roger @andrewjroger.bsky.social · Aug 25

I gave a symposium talk at the European Society for Evolutionary Biology 2025 (#eseb2025) meeting last week and this was my title slide showcasing how I was speaking as an independent scientist because @dalhousieu.bsky.social @dalhousie.bsky.social has locked us out.

6 71 150