A Ubiquitin-like Protein Unleashes Ubiquitin Ligases

Modification of cullin-RING ubiquitin ligases by the ubiquitin-like molecule Nedd8 promotes substrate ubiquitination. A crystal structure of a cullin modified by Nedd8 recently reported in Cell () and a biochemical study in Molecular Cell () reveal the dramatic impact on the ligase machinery by conjugation of ubiquitin or ubiquitin-like proteins.