Moonlighting proteins [ML proteins]: The pandora's box of insidious oro-dental diseases

Oral pathogens survive in the harsh niche of the oral microbiome on account of a plethora of moonlighting [ML] proteins that can multitask in the oro-mucosal layers. ML proteins are considered as the complex protein hyperspace expressed in many oral bacterial pathogens and encompass many hypothetical and experimentally evidenced proteins that can efficiently assist in the initiation and progression of various oro-dental infections. With the propensity of multi-drug resistance and biofilm formation, unravelling the mysterious functions associated with the oral ML proteins could be essential in targeting the vital oral bacteria and their associated infections. This commentary thus throws insights onto the key clues on various ML proteins that can be considered for the development of therapeutic versatility to curtail the complications caused by various oral bacterial species.

Biochemical and in silico Characterization of Recombinant L-Lactate Dehydrogenase of Theileria annulata

Theileria annulata is a parasite that causes theileriosis in cattle. Reports about drug resistance made essential to develop new drug. LDH of Theileria schizonts is the vital enzyme for its anaerobic metabolism. TaLDH gene was first cloned into pGEM-T cloning vector with two introns in our previous study. Here we report cloning of TaLDH without introns into pLATE 31 vector in E. coli BL21(DE3). Protein was in an inactive form. Two mutations were fixed to express the active protein. Protein was purified by affinity chromatography and evaluated by SDS-PAGE and size exclusion chromatography. Optimum pH of enzyme was performed in pH 7.5, and enzyme was stabilized at 20-40 °C. Enzyme kinetics of recombinant TaLDH were found to be in the direction of pyruvate to lactate K m 0.1324 and K i 4.295 mM, k cat, 44.55/s and k cat /K m, 3.3693 × 10(5)/M/s. 3D structure of TaLDH was predicted, and possible drug binding sites were determined by homology modelling.