⚗️ Category

biochemistry

277 papers

Biochemistry explores the intricate chemical processes that power life, bridging the gap between biology and chemistry to explain how molecules like proteins and DNA function within living cells. This field reveals the molecular machinery behind everything from metabolism to genetic inheritance, turning complex biological mysteries into understandable chemical interactions.

On Gist.Science, we bring you the freshest discoveries in this dynamic area directly from bioRxiv. Our team processes every new preprint uploaded to the server, transforming dense academic findings into both clear, plain-language overviews and detailed technical summaries. This dual approach ensures that whether you are a curious beginner or a seasoned researcher, you can grasp the significance of these breakthroughs immediately.

Below are the latest papers in biochemistry, complete with our curated summaries to help you navigate the cutting edge of molecular science.

⚗️ biochemistry

Loss of the Central Region Reshapes the Dynamic Landscape of the Cellular Prion Protein and Its Plasma Membrane Interaction

Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that deleting the central region of the cellular prion protein disrupts stabilizing intramolecular interactions, causing the N-terminal domain to adopt extended conformations and increase its proximity to the plasma membrane, thereby providing a mechanistic explanation for the neurotoxicity associated with this mutation.

Rigoli, M., Faccioli, P., Biasini, E.2026-06-03
⚗️ biochemistry

Novel Binding Partners of the Vacuolar Transporter Chaperone (VTC) complex in Acidocalcisomes of Leishmania tarentolae

Using proximity-dependent biotinylation (BioID) in *Leishmania tarentolae*, this study identifies three novel VTC binding partners that colocalize and interact with the VTC complex in acidocalcisomes, thereby expanding the organelle's interactome and suggesting new mechanisms for phosphate homeostasis and structural regulation in kinetoplastid parasites.

Krolak, P., Ribeiro, O., Gehl-Vaisanen, B., Hiltunen, M., Goldman, A., Vidilaseris, K.2026-05-28
⚗️ biochemistry

Near-Zero Missed Cleavages with a High-Fidelity Recombinant Arg-C Zero for Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics

This paper introduces Arg-C Zero, a high-fidelity recombinant arginyl endopeptidase derived from *Porphyromonas gingivalis* that achieves near-zero missed cleavages and robust performance under diverse conditions, offering a superior alternative to trypsin for specific applications such as mapping histone post-translational modifications and preserving labile ADP-ribosylation sites.

Hernandez-Rollan, C., Elsborg, J. D., Le Boiteux, E., Lu, Y., Patel, K., Ahel, I., Jensen, O. N., Batth, T. S., Olsen, J (…)2026-05-28
⚗️ biochemistry

A cell type-resolved proteomic atlas of the human body

This study presents the first cell type-resolved proteomic atlas of the human body, generated via Deep Visual Proteomics from a healthy female donor, which quantifies thousands of proteins across 27 cell types to reveal a universal core and specialized programs, uncover new cancer-testis antigens, and provide a foundational resource for comparing RNA and protein abundance at single-cell resolution.

Weiss, C. A., Sjoestedt, E., Debnath, A., Ben-Moshe, S., Diedrich, L., Zwahlen, M., Oeller, M., Wahle, M., Skarwan, E. (…)2026-05-27
⚗️ biochemistry

Functional partitioning of lipoic acid decouples cellular abundance from mitochondrial utilization

This study reveals that lipoic acid exists in distinct free and protein-bound pools within mammalian cells, demonstrating that mitochondrial utilization depends on the mtFAS pathway for protein lipoylation rather than on cellular abundance, thereby challenging the efficacy of lipoic acid supplementation for restoring mitochondrial function in primary disorders.

Norden, P. R., Wedan, R. J., Ellis, A. E., Hart, M. L., Gendjar, M. R., Sheldon, R. D., Nowinski, S. M.2026-05-23
⚗️ biochemistry

Cells Engage Endogenous Malonate Synthesis to Drive Mitochondrial Metabolism

This study reveals that cells actively synthesize malonate via ACC1 to fuel mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis and support oxidative phosphorylation, demonstrating that malonate serves as a regulated endogenous metabolic intermediate rather than solely as a complex II inhibitor.

Wedan, R. J., Norden, P. R., Canfield, M. T., Ellis, A. E., Saxena, S., Longenecker, J. Z., Dykstra, M., Sheldon, R. D. (…)2026-05-23
⚗️ biochemistry

Development of a Vibrio natriegens-based plate-clearing assay for rapid screening of PET-hydrolyzing enzymes

This study establishes a rapid, scalable plate-clearing assay using *Vibrio natriegens* to screen for PET-hydrolyzing enzymes, successfully validating its utility by identifying a high-activity *Fusarium solani pisi* cutinase mutant and achieving a 25% hit rate in a library screen.

Trooyen, S. H., Bolstad, I. M., Droivoldsmo, N., Luciano, D., Petersen, E., Courtade, G.2026-05-22
⚗️ biochemistry

A quantitative proteomics dataset for assessment and prediction of low dose X-ray radiation exposure in mice.

This paper presents two comprehensive quantitative proteomics datasets derived from mouse skin samples exposed to varying doses, dose rates, and time points of X-ray radiation, providing high-quality data to facilitate the discovery of biomarkers and the development of machine learning models for estimating radiation exposure.

Zelter, A., Riffle, M., Merrihew, G. E., Mutawe, B., Shulman, N., Sanders, J. A., Noble, W. S., Johnson Erickson, D. P. (…)2026-05-22
⚗️ biochemistry

Systematic characterization of the yeast secretome under diverse proteosynthetic stress conditions reveals secretion of functional ER chaperone BiP

This study systematically characterizes the yeast secretome under diverse proteosynthetic stress conditions, revealing distinct stress-specific secretion profiles and demonstrating that the intracellular chaperone BiP is secreted via unconventional pathways to function as an extracellular holdase that stabilizes misfolded client proteins under specific stress conditions like reductive stress.

Liu, S., Schulz, B. L.2026-05-22