Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Imaging Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Mice with Reporter Enzyme Fluorescence
Published on: February 26, 2018
Structure of Type-I Mycobacterium tuberculosis fatty acid synthase at 3.3 Å resolution
Nadav Elad1, Szilvia Baron2, Yoav Peleg3
1Department of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 7610001, Israel.
Abstract:
Tuberculosis (TB) is a devastating and rapidly spreading disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Therapy requires prolonged treatment with a combination of multiple agents and interruptions in the treatment regimen result in emergence and spread of multi-drug resistant (MDR) Mtb strains. MDR Mtb poses a significant global health problem, calling for urgent development of novel drugs to combat TB. Here, we report the 3.3 Å resolution structure of the ~2 MDa type-I fatty acid synthase (FAS-I) from Mtb, determined by single particle cryo-EM. Mtb FAS-I is an essential enzymatic complex that contributes to the virulence of Mtb, and thus a prime target for anti-TB drugs. The structural information for Mtb FAS-I we have obtained enables computer-based drug discovery approaches, and the resolution achieved by cryo-EM is sufficient for elucidating inhibition mechanisms by putative small molecular weight inhibitors.
Related Concept Videos
ATP Synthase: Structure
Overview of Fatty Acid Metabolism
Fatty acids are catabolized in a process called beta-oxidation, which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria and converts their fatty acid chains into two-carbon units of acetyl groups. The acetyl...
Structure of Lipids
Acid Strength and Molecular Structure
In the absence of any leveling effect, the acid strength of binary compounds of hydrogen with nonmetals (A) increases as the H-A bond strength decreases down a group in the periodic table. For group 17, the order of increasing acidity is HF < HCl < HBr < HI. Likewise, for group 16, the order of increasing acid strength is H2O < H2S < H2Se < H2Te. Across a row in the periodic table, the acid strength of binary hydrogen compounds increases with increasing...
Nucleic Acid Structure
DNA Structure
DNA...
Molecular Structure and Acidity
The size effect explains the change in atomic size on acidity. When comparing the acids formed from elements that belong to the same column in the periodic table, their atomic sizes...

