Billions of organisms work to sustain the cycle of life in the soil. Understanding how these organisms interact with one another can help scientists understand soil health, soil carbon and the ways in which dead insects break down.
The genes that appear to have some metabolism are not required for normal viral replication. Some of the genes that are called auxiliary metabolic genes produce some of the same things as the main ones. Scientists have been wondering if some AMGProteins play a role in critical soil processes. Researchers were able to determine the atomic structure of aProtein that is expressed by a particular AMG
The X-rays revealed some of the mysteries behind the makeup of the samples.
Unlike many viral genes, AMGs do not help a virus reproduce. Each of the different proteins has its own function. A key role in how soils process and cycle carbon is played by the AMG.
The location of every atom in the viralProtein helps us figure out how it works. "We were amazed to see that the protein resembled the known atomic structures of related families, but also contained completely new pieces"
Janet K. Jansson is the chief scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and co-author of the paper.
We have been able to decipher previously unknown functions carried out by soil viruses thanks to our collaboration with SLAC.
The results of the research from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory were published in Nature Communications.
The breakdown of Chitin.
A degradation reaction on chitin is thought to be performed by the viralAMG. Chitin is one of the most abundant carbon biopolymers on the planet and is a part of the insect's body.
From the sequence analysis of the viral AMG, it was found that it was a member of the GH75 family of hydrolases. A garden hoe is a tool that helps to prepare the soil for vegetables, trees, flowers and other things.
More than 5000 images were taken from the crystal samples to create the atomic structure of the chitosanase. Piecing together the images showed that parts of theprotein's structure were similar to a group of metabolizing enzymes. Smith said that the role of soil cycling remains open to further studies because the chitosanase protein contained other pieces that did not look the same as those found in GH45 or any other knownProtein structures.
There is a new part of theidase. To see something we have not seen before and try to figure out what its role might be is exciting to me as a structural biologist.
Smith said that future research could lead to an understanding of why AMGs exist. Researchers can learn more about other AMGs that are carried by soil viruses and whether or not they play a role in the soil ecology.
One of the big questions coming from this finding is what carbon in the soil needs to be there. Smith made a statement.
More information: Ruonan Wu et al, Structural characterization of a soil viral auxiliary metabolic gene product—a functional chitosanase, Nature Communications (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32993-8 Journal information: Nature Communications
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