Stephen Tang
@stephentang23.bsky.social
MD-PhD student at Columbia University | Sternberg Lab | Genome editing and RNA biology
Genome maintenance by telomerase is a fundamental process in nearly all eukaryotes. But where does it come from?
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral reverse transcriptases, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral reverse transcriptases, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
October 17, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Genome maintenance by telomerase is a fundamental process in nearly all eukaryotes. But where does it come from?
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral reverse transcriptases, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral reverse transcriptases, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Our new paper on DRT9 is now online @nature.com! This remarkable reverse transcriptase synthesizes homopolymeric DNA to protect bacteria against viral infection. Congrats to all authors!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Protein-primed homopolymer synthesis by an antiviral reverse transcriptase - Nature
Nature - Protein-primed homopolymer synthesis by an antiviral reverse transcriptase
www.nature.com
May 28, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Our new paper on DRT9 is now online @nature.com! This remarkable reverse transcriptase synthesizes homopolymeric DNA to protect bacteria against viral infection. Congrats to all authors!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Thought polyA tails were only for mRNA? Here's a protein with a poly-dA tail, that it synthesized itself!
Hello BlueSky! Inaugural post here from the Sternberg Lab. We're excited to share our latest work, in which we teamed up with the @WiedenheftLab to study how DRT9 reverse transcriptases provide antiviral immunity. Here’s what we found: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Protein-primed DNA homopolymer synthesis by an antiviral reverse transcriptase
Bacteria defend themselves from viral predation using diverse immune systems, many of which sense and target foreign DNA for degradation. Defense-associated reverse transcriptase (DRT) systems provide...
www.biorxiv.org
March 27, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Thought polyA tails were only for mRNA? Here's a protein with a poly-dA tail, that it synthesized itself!