Anita Meier
@anitafmeier.bsky.social
Virologist at ETHZ sharing my fascination for viruses
Zika virus induces nanotube formation 👾 in the host cell to facilitate viral spread.
ZIKV even uses them to acquire mitochondria from neighbouring uninfected cells!
ZIKV even uses them to acquire mitochondria from neighbouring uninfected cells!
November 11, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Zika virus induces nanotube formation 👾 in the host cell to facilitate viral spread.
ZIKV even uses them to acquire mitochondria from neighbouring uninfected cells!
ZIKV even uses them to acquire mitochondria from neighbouring uninfected cells!
Epstein-Barr virus encodes a protein called EBNA1, which physically tethers 🤝 the viral DNA to the host chromosome so it doesn't get lost during mitosis.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
August 14, 2025 at 6:19 AM
Epstein-Barr virus encodes a protein called EBNA1, which physically tethers 🤝 the viral DNA to the host chromosome so it doesn't get lost during mitosis.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infections dramatically change the architecture of the host nucleus. HSV-1 specifically recruits certain host factors (e.g. RNAPII) to promote its replication.
HSV-1 actively rewires the human genome!
😲Look at how the host genome gets squeezed!!
HSV-1 actively rewires the human genome!
😲Look at how the host genome gets squeezed!!
June 27, 2025 at 6:44 AM
Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infections dramatically change the architecture of the host nucleus. HSV-1 specifically recruits certain host factors (e.g. RNAPII) to promote its replication.
HSV-1 actively rewires the human genome!
😲Look at how the host genome gets squeezed!!
HSV-1 actively rewires the human genome!
😲Look at how the host genome gets squeezed!!
This is a tupanvirus, ~450nm in diameter ~1.2um in length, clearly one of the giant viruses. It encodes for the most complete translational machinery found in viruses with only the ribosome lacking. Most (non-giant) viruses don't encode any components required for translation.
It's so fluffy!! 😱
It's so fluffy!! 😱
June 14, 2025 at 9:02 PM
This is a tupanvirus, ~450nm in diameter ~1.2um in length, clearly one of the giant viruses. It encodes for the most complete translational machinery found in viruses with only the ribosome lacking. Most (non-giant) viruses don't encode any components required for translation.
It's so fluffy!! 😱
It's so fluffy!! 😱
Blows my mind 🤯 that it is possible to capture the structural dynamics of viral capsid contraction by thawing and re-freezing the ice within the electron microscope!
Anyone interested in microsecond time-resolved cryo-EM should check out this paper:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Anyone interested in microsecond time-resolved cryo-EM should check out this paper:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
June 11, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Blows my mind 🤯 that it is possible to capture the structural dynamics of viral capsid contraction by thawing and re-freezing the ice within the electron microscope!
Anyone interested in microsecond time-resolved cryo-EM should check out this paper:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Anyone interested in microsecond time-resolved cryo-EM should check out this paper:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Weird virus fact:
Bacteriophage 29 (Phi29) uses RNA to help package genomic DNA 🤯. This so-called packaging RNA (pRNA) is an essential part of the packaging motor, which is part of the newly formed viral capsid.
Check out the pRNA (pink) in the beautiful structure:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Bacteriophage 29 (Phi29) uses RNA to help package genomic DNA 🤯. This so-called packaging RNA (pRNA) is an essential part of the packaging motor, which is part of the newly formed viral capsid.
Check out the pRNA (pink) in the beautiful structure:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
May 7, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Weird virus fact:
Bacteriophage 29 (Phi29) uses RNA to help package genomic DNA 🤯. This so-called packaging RNA (pRNA) is an essential part of the packaging motor, which is part of the newly formed viral capsid.
Check out the pRNA (pink) in the beautiful structure:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Bacteriophage 29 (Phi29) uses RNA to help package genomic DNA 🤯. This so-called packaging RNA (pRNA) is an essential part of the packaging motor, which is part of the newly formed viral capsid.
Check out the pRNA (pink) in the beautiful structure:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Weird virus fact:
Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) can only replicate if the same host cell is infected with a helper virus. AAV will remain in the host cell (latently infecting it) until a helper virus such as HSV or AdV comes along.
www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12...
Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) can only replicate if the same host cell is infected with a helper virus. AAV will remain in the host cell (latently infecting it) until a helper virus such as HSV or AdV comes along.
www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12...
April 25, 2025 at 7:22 AM
Weird virus fact:
Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) can only replicate if the same host cell is infected with a helper virus. AAV will remain in the host cell (latently infecting it) until a helper virus such as HSV or AdV comes along.
www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12...
Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) can only replicate if the same host cell is infected with a helper virus. AAV will remain in the host cell (latently infecting it) until a helper virus such as HSV or AdV comes along.
www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12...
Weird virus fact:
HIV-1 and other retroviruses hijack cellular tRNA and use it as primer to initiate reverse transcription of their RNA genome.
They exploit the same tRNA terminal 3′-OH group used by the host for aminoacylation and peptidyl transfer.
HIV-1 and other retroviruses hijack cellular tRNA and use it as primer to initiate reverse transcription of their RNA genome.
They exploit the same tRNA terminal 3′-OH group used by the host for aminoacylation and peptidyl transfer.
April 13, 2025 at 7:16 AM
Weird virus fact:
HIV-1 and other retroviruses hijack cellular tRNA and use it as primer to initiate reverse transcription of their RNA genome.
They exploit the same tRNA terminal 3′-OH group used by the host for aminoacylation and peptidyl transfer.
HIV-1 and other retroviruses hijack cellular tRNA and use it as primer to initiate reverse transcription of their RNA genome.
They exploit the same tRNA terminal 3′-OH group used by the host for aminoacylation and peptidyl transfer.
Weird virus fact: The SV40 polyomavirus dsDNA genome is wrapped around cellular histones within the viral capsid. Most #viruses don't contain histones in their virions.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Image credit: viralzone.expasy.org/148
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Image credit: viralzone.expasy.org/148
March 20, 2025 at 7:09 AM
Weird virus fact: The SV40 polyomavirus dsDNA genome is wrapped around cellular histones within the viral capsid. Most #viruses don't contain histones in their virions.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Image credit: viralzone.expasy.org/148
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Image credit: viralzone.expasy.org/148
Weird virus fact:
Herpesvirus (HSV-1) assimilates the cellular motor kinesin-1 to travel within the cell. HSV-1 takes it up into the tegument to use it for future infection: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Herpesvirus (HSV-1) assimilates the cellular motor kinesin-1 to travel within the cell. HSV-1 takes it up into the tegument to use it for future infection: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
March 16, 2025 at 6:59 AM
Weird virus fact:
Herpesvirus (HSV-1) assimilates the cellular motor kinesin-1 to travel within the cell. HSV-1 takes it up into the tegument to use it for future infection: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Herpesvirus (HSV-1) assimilates the cellular motor kinesin-1 to travel within the cell. HSV-1 takes it up into the tegument to use it for future infection: www.nature.com/articles/s41...