Wilson Lab
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wilsonlab.bsky.social
Wilson Lab
@wilsonlab.bsky.social
Ribosomes & Translation Regulation; Antibiotics & Resistance Mechanisms; Structural Biology & Cryo-EM; University of Hamburg.
Reposted by Wilson Lab
We're launching a research lab at SMART. Shenzhen Medical Academy for Research and Translation is a newly established institute with long-term funding mechanisms for internal and external investigators. At full capacity SMART aims to support up to 400 labs.
www.scmp.com/news/china/s...
Structural biologist Alexey Amunts launches new research lab in Shenzhen
‘Shenzhen adds another dimension; it is a place where ideas do not remain ideas for long,’ Amunts says of new position.
www.scmp.com
February 6, 2026 at 5:36 AM
Reposted by Wilson Lab
4 - Still lots to learn about this mysterious factor.
🔗 Read the paper: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Funded by @dfg.de via SFB TRR319-RMaP 🙏
#RibosomeBiology #TranslationQC #RNA #Nanopore #Yeast #PhDPosition #DFG #RMaP #New1
Yeast elongation factor homolog New1 protects a subset of mRNAs from degradation by no-go decay
Abstract. New1 is a homologue of the essential yeast translation elongation factor eEF3. Lack of New1 has been shown to induce ribosome queuing upstream of
academic.oup.com
February 1, 2026 at 9:53 PM
Reposted by Wilson Lab
3 - Builds on work from @hauryliuk.bsky.social & @wilsonlab.bsky.social.

Big thanks to our collaborators Liz Petfalski, Tamer Butto and Stefan Pastore, and huge kudos to main heroes from Winz lab: Max Müller and Lena Tittel, as well as @kaushikiyer.bsky.social, and Alina-Andrea Kraft!
February 1, 2026 at 9:51 PM
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🧬 Metabolic arms race continues!
We discovered a new NAD⁺-depleting bacterial immune system aRES and phage enzymes that overcome it.
Our preprint is out: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Bacterial defense via RES-mediated NAD+ depletion is countered by phage phosphatases
Many bacterial defense systems restrict phage infection by breaking the molecule NAD+ to its constituents, adenosine diphosphate ribose (ADPR) and nicotinamide (Nam). To counter NAD+ depletion-mediated defense, phages evolved NAD+ reconstitution pathway 1 (NARP1), which uses ADPR and Nam to rebuild NAD+. Here we report a bacterial defense system called aRES, involving RES-domain proteins that degrade NAD+ into Nam and ADPR-1″-phosphate (ADPR-1P). This molecule cannot serve as a substrate for NARP1, so that NAD+ depletion by aRES defends against phages even if they encode NARP1. We further discover that some phages evolved an extended NARP1 pathway capable of overcoming aRES defense. In these phages, the NARP1 operon also includes a specialized phosphatase, which dephosphorylates ADPR-1P to form ADPR, a substrate from which NARP1 then reconstitutes NAD+. Other phages encode inhibitors that directly bind aRES proteins and physically block their active sites. Our study describes new layers in the NAD+-centric arms race between bacteria and phages and highlights the centrality of the NAD+ pool in cellular battles between viruses and their hosts. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. European Research Council, ERC-AdG GA 101018520 Israel Science Foundation, MAPATS grant 2720/22 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, SPP 2330, grant 464312965 Minerva Foundation with funding from the Federal German Ministry for Education and Research research grant from Magnus Konow in honor of his mother Olga Konow Rappaport Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption, https://ror.org/05aycsg86 Clore Scholars Program
www.biorxiv.org
January 29, 2026 at 11:20 AM
Reposted by Wilson Lab
Have a look at our new structure of co translational folding in yeast. This is collaborative work initialized by the Rospert lab from the @uni-freiburg.de. Structural work has been done by the amazing @lgrundmann.bsky.social Stay tuned for the next ribosome paper from him, following very soon.
🧪Scientists from our Haselbach lab captured how proteins begin to fold as they’re being made.

Using cryo-EM, they visualised chaperones guiding nascent proteins on the ribosome: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-67685-6
January 19, 2026 at 11:09 AM
Reposted by Wilson Lab
We found a new mode by which bacteria deplete NAD+ to protect from phages. And then we found how phages overcome this defense

Discovered by talented biochemist Dr Ilya Osterman, read the preprint: tinyurl.com/Narp-ap

A thread 🧵
Bacterial defense via RES-mediated NAD+ depletion is countered by phage phosphatases
Many bacterial defense systems restrict phage infection by breaking the molecule NAD+ to its constituents, adenosine diphosphate ribose (ADPR) and nicotinamide (Nam). To counter NAD+ depletion-mediated defense, phages evolved NAD+ reconstitution pathway 1 (NARP1), which uses ADPR and Nam to rebuild NAD+. Here we report a bacterial defense system called aRES, involving RES-domain proteins that degrade NAD+ into Nam and ADPR-1″-phosphate (ADPR-1P). This molecule cannot serve as a substrate for NARP1, so that NAD+ depletion by aRES defends against phages even if they encode NARP1. We further discover that some phages evolved an extended NARP1 pathway capable of overcoming aRES defense. In these phages, the NARP1 operon also includes a specialized phosphatase, which dephosphorylates ADPR-1P to form ADPR, a substrate from which NARP1 then reconstitutes NAD+. Other phages encode inhibitors that directly bind aRES proteins and physically block their active sites. Our study describes new layers in the NAD+-centric arms race between bacteria and phages and highlights the centrality of the NAD+ pool in cellular battles between viruses and their hosts. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. European Research Council, ERC-AdG GA 101018520 Israel Science Foundation, MAPATS grant 2720/22 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, SPP 2330, grant 464312965 Minerva Foundation with funding from the Federal German Ministry for Education and Research research grant from Magnus Konow in honor of his mother Olga Konow Rappaport Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption, https://ror.org/05aycsg86 Clore Scholars Program
tinyurl.com
January 29, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Reposted by Wilson Lab
Reposted by Wilson Lab
Interested in direct tRNA-seq by Nanopore? We developed a new RNA-based barcoding aproach for seq parallelization; it is also cost-saving. Scripts available on github. #tRNA #Nanopore

track.smtpsendmail.com/9032119/c?p=...
ADAM-tRNA-seq: an optimized approach for demultiplexing and enhanced hierarchal mapping in direct tRNA sequencing
Abstract. Transfer RNAs (tRNAs) play an essential role in protein synthesis and cellular homeostasis, and their dysregulation is associated with various hu
track.smtpsendmail.com
January 27, 2026 at 10:14 PM
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Active transport of tRNAs facilitates distributed protein synthesis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.26.698744v1
January 27, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Reposted by Wilson Lab
🚀 CryoSPARC v5.0 BETA is here!

We’re excited to deploy another major #CryoSPARC release to help enable and accelerate #cryoEM data analysis. v5 has a redesigned underlying software system and many new features - highlights in thread!

Full changelog: cryosparc.com/updates/v5.0.0
January 27, 2026 at 8:36 PM
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Online Now: Why m⁶A? An RNA surveillance model Online now:
Why m⁶A? An RNA surveillance model
Dierks and Schwartz discuss the m6A surveillance model, proposing that m6A flags “undesirable” intron-less RNAs (e.g., transposons) for decay. This provides a mechanism to distinguish “legitimate” spliced mRNAs and potentially suppress harmful RNA.
dlvr.it
January 28, 2026 at 12:32 PM
Reposted by Wilson Lab
Structure of the 30S translation initiation complex coupled to paused RNA polymerase and its potential for riboregulation #rnasky 🦠
Structure of the 30S translation initiation complex coupled to paused RNA polymerase and its potential for riboregulation - Nature Communications
Small regulatory RNAs can act on target mRNAs to control their translation and stability. Here, the authors present evidence that this riboregulation can potentially regulate by pairing to a target si...
www.nature.com
January 26, 2026 at 12:59 PM
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Many many moons ago I fell in love with science while working on how Polyamines regulate programmed ribosomal frame shifting

www.nature.com/articles/nat...

Time to get back to these fascinating and complex field
Polyamine sensing by nascent ornithine decarboxylase antizyme stimulates decoding of its mRNA - Nature
Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of polyamines, is regulated by an antizyme (OAZ). Polyamines induce antizyme expression by promoting ribosomal frame-shiftin...
www.nature.com
January 24, 2026 at 7:08 AM
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New Preprint alert! Excited to share our latest work on the #MAPKinases from stellar PhD student Jill von Velsen. First structures of the MAP2K MEK1 activating its substrate MAPK between 2.9 and 3.6A - amazing resolutions for such a small and mobile complex! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
January 22, 2026 at 9:56 AM
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And the 4th paper in this week contribution from our lab tells about ribosome biogenesis in yeast. A follow-up story from our wonderful collaborators in Graz - the Bergler Lab. Structural work was again done by the amazing @lgrundmann.bsky.social: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
A comprehensive view on r-protein binding and rRNA domain structuring during early eukaryotic ribosome formation
Abstract. Formation of the eukaryotic ribosomal subunits follows a strict regime to assemble ribosomal proteins (r-protein) with ribosomal RNAs (rRNA) whil
academic.oup.com
January 22, 2026 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by Wilson Lab
🧪Scientists from our Haselbach lab captured how proteins begin to fold as they’re being made.

Using cryo-EM, they visualised chaperones guiding nascent proteins on the ribosome: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-67685-6
January 19, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Reposted by Wilson Lab
We’re thrilled to share our latest iTP-seq protocol for mapping bacterial translation landscapes in vitro — with a complete experimental workflow streamlined by Mélanie Gillard and an open source Python library for data analysis developed by Thibaud Renault.
January 17, 2026 at 2:22 PM
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Discovery and development of a new oxazolidinone with reduced toxicity for the treatment of tuberculosis @naturemedicine.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
January 15, 2026 at 1:58 AM
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Ribosome collisions activate ZAK, influencing cell fate via p38 & JNK phosphorylation. Biochemistry & cryo-EM uncover distinct ZAK-ribosome interactions. PMID:41261136, Nature 2025, @Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09772-8 #Medsky #Pharmsky #RNA #ASHG #ESHG 🧪
ZAK activation at the collided ribosome | Nature
Ribosome collisions activate the ribotoxic stress response mediated by the MAP3K ZAK, which in turn regulates cell-fate consequences through downstream phosphorylation of the MAPKs p38 and JNK1. Despite the critical role of ZAK during cellular stress, a mechanistic and structural understanding of ZAK–ribosome interactions and how these lead to activation remain elusive. Here we combine biochemistry and cryo-electron microscopy to discover distinct ZAK–ribosome interactions required for constitutive recruitment and for activation. We find that upon induction of ribosome collisions, interactions between ZAK and the ribosomal protein RACK1 enable its activation by dimerization of its SAM domains at the collision interface. Furthermore, we discover how this process is negatively regulated by the ribosome-binding protein SERBP1 to prevent constitutive ZAK activation. Characterization of novel SAM variants as well as a known pathogenic variant of the SAM domain of ZAK supports a key role of
doi.org
January 11, 2026 at 1:10 AM
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Only in Shenzhen: Science Nature coffee bar. If you’ve published in @science.org or @nature.com, they give you coffee for free. 100% real!
January 10, 2026 at 10:43 AM
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Slightly overdue article highlight!

In PNAS, we use smFRET to reveal how polypeptide release factor 2 (RF2) undergoes a cascade of structural changes to catalyze polypeptide release during translation termination and ArfA-mediated ribosome rescue.

🧵⬇️
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
January 5, 2026 at 4:27 PM
Reposted by Wilson Lab
Just in time for 2026! 🎆 Presenting a nascent-centric view on the shape of the ribosomal exit tunnel topology, based on MD-derived occupancy maps for 55 distinct ribosomes. 🧶🧬🖥️
📄 Read the preprint: biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

#StructuralBiology #Ribosome #CryoEM #Evolution #Biophysics
Evolution of the ribosomal exit tunnel through the eyes of the nascent chain
The ribosomal exit tunnel is a universally conserved feature of the large subunit that directs the nascent polypeptide chain into the cellular environment and is involved in co-translational folding, ...
biorxiv.org
December 30, 2025 at 10:30 PM
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Interested in learning or strengthening skills in #CryoEM single particle analysis? Apply for the CSHL cryo-EM course happening in March! This is a super intense 2 week course covering theory up through data deposition. Apps due Jan 9! Info here: meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx...
Cryo-Electron Microscopy
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Meetings & Courses -- a private, non-profit institution with research programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, genomics, bioinformatics.
meetings.cshl.edu
December 30, 2025 at 4:16 PM
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Happy Holidays from the Feaga Lab!
Strain credit to Kevin England @kevinengland.bsky.social and streaking/photo credit Katrina Callan.
December 25, 2025 at 3:19 PM