Simply Mycoplasma: The bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae , a human pathogen, has a genome of reduced size and is one of the simplest organisms that can reproduce outside of host cells. As such, it represents an excellent model organism in which to attempt a systems-level understanding of its biological organization. Now three papers provide a comprehensive and quantitative analysis of the proteome, the metabolic network, and the transcriptome of M. pneumoniae (see the Perspective by Ochman and Raghavan ). Anticipating what might be possible in the future for more complex organisms, Kühner et al. (p. 1235 ) combine analysis of protein interactions by mass spectrometry with extensive structural information on M. pneumoniae proteins to reveal how proteins work together as molecular machines and map their organization within the cell by electron tomography. The manageable genome size of M. pneumoniae allowed Yus et al. (p. 1263 ) to map the metabolic network of the organism manually and validate it experimentally. Analysis of the network aided development of a minimal medium in which the bacterium could be cultured. Finally, G‡ell et al. (p. 1268 ) applied state-of-the-art sequencing techniques to reveal that this “simple” organism makes extensive use of noncoding RNAs and has exon- and intron-like structure within transcriptional operons that allows complex gene regulation resembling that of eukaryotes.

Cellular organelles provide opportunities to relate biological mechanisms to disease. Here we use affinity proteomics, genetics and cell biology to interrogate cilia: poorly understood organelles, where defects cause genetic diseases. Two hundred and seventeen tagged human ciliary proteins create a final landscape of 1,319 proteins, 4,905 interactions and 52 complexes. Reverse tagging, repetition of purifications and statistical analyses, produce a high-resolution network that reveals organelle-specific interactions and complexes not apparent in larger studies, and links vesicle transport, the cytoskeleton, signalling and ubiquitination to ciliary signalling and proteostasis. We observe sub-complexes in exocyst and intraflagellar transport complexes, which we validate biochemically, and by probing structurally predicted, disruptive, genetic variants from ciliary disease patients. The landscape suggests other genetic diseases could be ciliary including 3M syndrome. We show that 3M genes are involved in ciliogenesis, and that patient fibroblasts lack cilia. Overall, this organelle-specific targeting strategy shows considerable promise for Systems Medicine.

Conformational changes on complex formation have been measured for 39 pairs of structures of complexed proteins and unbound equivalents, averaged over interface and non-interface regions and for individual residues. We evaluate their significance by comparison with the differences seen in 12 pairs of independently solved structures of identical proteins, and find that just over half have some substantial overall movement. Movements involve main chains as well as side chains, and large changes in the interface are closely involved with complex formation, while those of exposed non-interface residues are caused by flexibility and disorder. Interface movements in enzymes are similar in extent to those of inhibitors. All eight of the complexes (six enzyme–inhibitor and two antibody–antigen) that have structures of both components in an unbound form available show some significant interface movement. However, predictive docking is successful even when some of the largest changes occur. We note however that the situation may be different in systems other than the enzyme–inhibitors which dominate this study. Thus the general model is induced fit but, because there is only limited conformational change in many systems, recognition can be treated as lock and key to a first approximation.

EMBO Press is an editorially independent publishing platform for the development of EMBO scientific publications.