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IRB Barcelona participates in the resolution of the first structures achieved with the Alba synchrotron

By 27 de March de 2013November 18th, 2020No Comments
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Binding of LC8 (yellow and orange) with a fragment of phoshorylated Nek 9 (right) and non-phoshorylated form or inactive (left).
 27.03.2013

IRB Barcelona participates in the resolution of the first structures achieved with the Alba synchrotron

Collaboration between researchers at the "Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona", the Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems in Zarragoza, and IRB Barcelona –located at the Parc Científic de Barcelona– has led to the publication of the first scientific paper on data collected from the BL13-XALOC beamline of the Alba Synchrotron, located in Cerdanyola de Vallès, a facility that which allows scientists to obtain 3D structures of macromolecular complexes.


The team headed by the research associate Joan Roig, who works in Jens Lüders “Microtubule Organisation” group, in collaboration with David Reverter’s lab, has resolved two structures that shed light on the regulation of certain proteins involved in correct cell division. In particular, the researchers have managed to achieve 3D information of the interaction between the protein LC8 and two fragments of Nek9, one of them modified by phosphorylation.

Nek6/7. Nek9, Nek 6 and Nek 7 are a set of relevant proteins for the correct separation of chromosomes during cell division and they ensure that each daughter cell receives the appropriate genetic material. The new study provides insight into the regulation of the signaling cascade involved in cell division through this set of proteins.