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Science 5 August 2005:
Vol. 309. no. 5736, p. 847
DOI: 10.1126/science.309.5736.847p
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This Week in Science

The carboxysome is a bacterial microcompartment made up of a protein shell that sequesters enzymes involved in carbon fixation reactions. Kerfield et al. (p. 936) have determined the crystal structures of two carboxysome shell proteins and show that, similar to some viral capsids, a hexameric unit is the basic building block of the polyhedral shell. Hexamer sheets suggest how the building blocks may assemble. Central pores and gaps between hexamers are positively charged and may be involved in regulating molecular transport across the shell.




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