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Human microbiome churns out thousands of tiny novel proteins
The bacteria in our gut make thousands of tiny, previously unidentified proteins that could shed light on human health and advance drug development, Stanford researchers have found.
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The proteins belong to more than 4,000 new biological families predicted to be involved in, among other processes, the warfare waged among different bacterial strains as they vie for primacy in coveted biological niches, the cell-to-cell communication between microbes and their unwitting hosts, and the critical day-to-day housekeeping duties that keep the bacteria happy and healthy.
Because they are so small — fewer than 50 amino acids in length — it’s likely the proteins fold into unique shapes that represent previously unidentified biological building blocks. If the shapes and functions of these proteins can be recreated in the lab, they could help researchers advance scientific understanding of how the microbiome affects human health and pave the way for new drug discovery.
A paper describing the research findings was published Aug. 8 in Cell. Ami Bhatt, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and of genetics, is the senior author. Postdoctoral scholar Hila Sberro, PhD, is the lead author.
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More here: http://med.stanford.edu/news/all-ne...rns-out-thousands-of-tiny-novel-proteins.html
The bacteria in our gut make thousands of tiny, previously unidentified proteins that could shed light on human health and advance drug development, Stanford researchers have found.
...
The proteins belong to more than 4,000 new biological families predicted to be involved in, among other processes, the warfare waged among different bacterial strains as they vie for primacy in coveted biological niches, the cell-to-cell communication between microbes and their unwitting hosts, and the critical day-to-day housekeeping duties that keep the bacteria happy and healthy.
Because they are so small — fewer than 50 amino acids in length — it’s likely the proteins fold into unique shapes that represent previously unidentified biological building blocks. If the shapes and functions of these proteins can be recreated in the lab, they could help researchers advance scientific understanding of how the microbiome affects human health and pave the way for new drug discovery.
A paper describing the research findings was published Aug. 8 in Cell. Ami Bhatt, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine and of genetics, is the senior author. Postdoctoral scholar Hila Sberro, PhD, is the lead author.
...
More here: http://med.stanford.edu/news/all-ne...rns-out-thousands-of-tiny-novel-proteins.html