Sandbox Reserved 1061: Difference between revisions
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Similar structures of NrdH have been isolated in other primitive species including ''E. coli'', ''S. pyogenes'', ''S. typhimurium'', ''D. deserti'', ''S. flexneri 2457T'', and ''S. dysenteriae''. In higher order multi-cellular organisms, however the NrdH protein is replaced by more complex glutaredoxins or thioredoxins. This observation leads some to speculate that NrdH is one of the very first ancestors in the ribonucleotide reduction pathway. <ref>Swastik, Phulera and Mande, Shekhar C. (2013) The Crystal Structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis NrdH at 0.87Å Suggests a Possible Mode of Its Activity. Biochemistry 52, 4056-4065.</ref> If this is true, NrdH can be seen as a critical protein that allowed for the development of DNA-based life since deoxyribonucleotides could not have existed without the ribonucleotide reduction pathway. A better understanding of the evolutionary timeline of NrdH and similar proteins could shed greater light onto the RNA Wold Hypothesis, specifically describing the time frame of emergence of DNA based life. | Similar structures of NrdH have been isolated in other primitive species including ''E. coli'', ''S. pyogenes'', ''S. typhimurium'', ''D. deserti'', ''S. flexneri 2457T'', and ''S. dysenteriae''. In higher order multi-cellular organisms, however the NrdH protein is replaced by more complex glutaredoxins or thioredoxins. This observation leads some to speculate that NrdH is one of the very first ancestors in the ribonucleotide reduction pathway. <ref>Swastik, Phulera and Mande, Shekhar C. (2013) The Crystal Structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis NrdH at 0.87Å Suggests a Possible Mode of Its Activity. Biochemistry 52, 4056-4065.</ref> If this is true, NrdH can be seen as a critical protein that allowed for the development of DNA-based life since deoxyribonucleotides could not have existed without the ribonucleotide reduction pathway. A better understanding of the evolutionary timeline of NrdH and similar proteins could shed greater light onto the RNA Wold Hypothesis, specifically describing the time frame of emergence of DNA based life. | ||
==Possible Drug Target== | |||
MtNrdH can serve as a potential drug target to treat tuberculosis. The genes encoding NrdE and NrdF2, a cofactor in class 1b ribonucleotide reduction, are essential for growth of M. tuberculosis in vitro.<ref>Swastik, Phulera and Mande, Shekhar C. (2013) 4057.</ref> This suggest that M. tuberculosis relies solely on class Ib ribonucleotide reduction. If that is the case, NrdH may be an essential gene as well. Since NrdH is not found in humans, a drug that targets NrdH would be able to damage M. tuberculosis cells without hurting the human host. | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||
