. In a surprise twist, the researchers discovered that one other known carbonic anhydrase - found in mouse kidney - sported a similar, salt-tolerant construction. Pondering why a structure conferring salt tolerance should evolve once in a Dead Sea organism and once in a mouse has led the researchers to some new insights into kidney physiology. The researchers hope that the knowledge gleaned from their study of a tiny alga might provide the basis for designing new drugs that could target enzymes based on their salt tolerance.

Prof. Joel Sussman's research is funded by the Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman Center for Biomolecular Structure and Assembly; the Joseph and Ceil Mazer Center for Structural Biology; the Charles A. Dana Foundation; the Divadol Foundation; the Jean and Jula Goldwurm Memorial Foundation; the late Sally Schnitzer, New York, NY; the Kalman and Ida Wolens Foundation; and the Wolfson Family Charitable Trust. Prof. Joel Sussman is the incumbent of the Morton and Gladys Pickman Chair in Structural Biology.

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Contact: Alex Smith
ASmith@jgordonassociates.com
212-367-3892
American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science
12-Jul-2005

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