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Updated: Aug 19, 2025

Structure and Coordination Determination of Peptide-metal Complexes Using 1D and 2D 1H NMR
Published on: December 16, 2013
The rational design of iron-sulfur cluster binding site for prolonged stability in magnetoreceptor MagR
Tianyang Tong1,2, Yajie Zhou2,3, Fan Fei2,4
1Department of Anatomy, School of Basic Medicine, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China.
Abstract:
Iron-sulfur proteins play essential roles in a wide variety of cellular processes such as respiration, photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation and magnetoreception. The stability of iron-sulfur clusters varies significantly between anaerobic and aerobic conditions due to their intrinsic sensitivity to oxygen. Iron-sulfur proteins are well suited to various practical applications as molecular redox sensors or molecular "wires" for electron transfer. Various technologies have been developed recently using one particular iron-sulfur protein, MagR, as a magnetic tag. However, the limited protein stability and low magnetic sensitivity of MagR hindered its wide application. Here in this study, the iron-sulfur binding site of pigeon clMagR was rationally re-designed. One such mutation, T57C in pigeon MagR, showed improved iron-sulfur binding efficiency and higher iron content, as well as prolonged thermostability. Thus, clMagRT57C can serve as a prototype for further design of more stable and sensitive magnetic toolbox for magnetogenetics in the future.
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