Ubiquitous purine sensor modulates diverse signal transduction pathways in bacteria.
Monteagudo-Cascales, E., Gumerov, V.M., Fernandez, M., Matilla, M.A., Gavira, J.A., Zhulin, I.B., Krell, T.(2024) Nat Commun 15: 5867-5867
- PubMed: 38997289 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50275-3
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
8BMV - PubMed Abstract: 
Purines and their derivatives control intracellular energy homeostasis and nucleotide synthesis, and act as signaling molecules. Here, we combine structural and sequence information to define a purine-binding motif that is present in sensor domains of thousands of bacterial receptors that modulate motility, gene expression, metabolism, and second-messenger turnover. Microcalorimetric titrations of selected sensor domains validate their ability to specifically bind purine derivatives, and evolutionary analyses indicate that purine sensors share a common ancestor with amino-acid receptors. Furthermore, we provide experimental evidence of physiological relevance of purine sensing in a second-messenger signaling system that modulates c-di-GMP levels.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Department of Biotechnology and Environmental Protection, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Prof. Albareda 1, 18008, Granada, Spain.