Gautier Courbon
@courbongautier.bsky.social
Learning every day 🚀 | Cryo-EM | Infectious diseases | Rubinstein lab 🇨🇦
@sickkids @UofT
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oFP3wRkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
@sickkids @UofT
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=oFP3wRkAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
This has now been published in print! Check it out:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Now out in Science! Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are key regulators of the cell cycle. In @vcushing.bsky.social's magnum opus, we use #cryoEM to figure out how the CDK-activating kinase recognises CDKs to fully activate them - a key step in cell cycle control.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Structural basis of T-loop–independent recognition and activation of CDKs by the CDK-activating kinase
Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are prototypical regulators of the cell cycle. The CDK-activating kinase (CAK) acts as a master regulator of CDK activity by catalyzing the activating phosphorylation o...
www.science.org
November 28, 2025 at 10:53 AM
This has now been published in print! Check it out:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
Exciting collab with Paul Palme, Peter Imming, & Adrian Richter!
Guided by @courbongautier.bsky.social's structure of myco ATP synthase bound to a squaramide, they have made SQAs that are less toxic, more potent, more stable than AstraZeneca's SQ31f
#MedChem #TB #NTM
pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
Guided by @courbongautier.bsky.social's structure of myco ATP synthase bound to a squaramide, they have made SQAs that are less toxic, more potent, more stable than AstraZeneca's SQ31f
#MedChem #TB #NTM
pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Mono- and Diamino-Substituted Squaramide Derivatives as Potent Inhibitors of Mycobacterial Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) Synthase
Amides of squaric acid are new drug candidates with activity against mycobacteria. Like the approved drug bedaquiline, these compounds achieve efficacy by inhibiting mycobacterial ATP synthase. Howeve...
pubs.acs.org
November 27, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Exciting collab with Paul Palme, Peter Imming, & Adrian Richter!
Guided by @courbongautier.bsky.social's structure of myco ATP synthase bound to a squaramide, they have made SQAs that are less toxic, more potent, more stable than AstraZeneca's SQ31f
#MedChem #TB #NTM
pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
Guided by @courbongautier.bsky.social's structure of myco ATP synthase bound to a squaramide, they have made SQAs that are less toxic, more potent, more stable than AstraZeneca's SQ31f
#MedChem #TB #NTM
pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
Proteins are dynamic structures, but structural biology often shows them as static snapshots. Inspired by long-exposure photography and generative art, I built ProteinCHAOS, an artistic tool inspired by molecular dynamics to capture protein flexibility over time, much like long-exposure images.
November 23, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Proteins are dynamic structures, but structural biology often shows them as static snapshots. Inspired by long-exposure photography and generative art, I built ProteinCHAOS, an artistic tool inspired by molecular dynamics to capture protein flexibility over time, much like long-exposure images.
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
🚀 Hiring: Cryo-EM Application Scientist, Marketing!
Develop and deliver high-impact scientific marketing content, illustrate the value of new #CryoSPARC features and #cryoEM advances, and help scientists understand how our tools can help solve their problems.
structura.bio/careers/appl...
Develop and deliver high-impact scientific marketing content, illustrate the value of new #CryoSPARC features and #cryoEM advances, and help scientists understand how our tools can help solve their problems.
structura.bio/careers/appl...
Structura Bio | Structura Bio
structura.bio
November 20, 2025 at 9:00 PM
🚀 Hiring: Cryo-EM Application Scientist, Marketing!
Develop and deliver high-impact scientific marketing content, illustrate the value of new #CryoSPARC features and #cryoEM advances, and help scientists understand how our tools can help solve their problems.
structura.bio/careers/appl...
Develop and deliver high-impact scientific marketing content, illustrate the value of new #CryoSPARC features and #cryoEM advances, and help scientists understand how our tools can help solve their problems.
structura.bio/careers/appl...
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
Why would Mycobacterium shed its surface right after entering a host cell? Host phagocytes rapidly strip its outer layer, releasing components that alert neighbors and trigger defense responses
Our preprint is out, curious to hear your take! 👀
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Our preprint is out, curious to hear your take! 👀
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
November 20, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Why would Mycobacterium shed its surface right after entering a host cell? Host phagocytes rapidly strip its outer layer, releasing components that alert neighbors and trigger defense responses
Our preprint is out, curious to hear your take! 👀
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Our preprint is out, curious to hear your take! 👀
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
Thrilled to share our work on the 🔥 single-celled predator Podophrya collini, which rewires its cell morphology to hunt more efficiently. Huge thanks to our amazing team—Amy, Lauren, Omaya, Marine, Mari, and especially Scott—for making this shine! ✨
How do cells adapt morphology to function? In a 🔥 preprint by @zjmaggiexu.bsky.social , with @dudinlab.bsky.social and @amyweeks.bsky.social , we identify a self-organizing single-cell morphology circuit that optimizes the feeding trap structure of the suctorian P. collini. 🧵 tinyurl.com/4k8nv926
November 18, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Thrilled to share our work on the 🔥 single-celled predator Podophrya collini, which rewires its cell morphology to hunt more efficiently. Huge thanks to our amazing team—Amy, Lauren, Omaya, Marine, Mari, and especially Scott—for making this shine! ✨
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
#NewResearch
A bile acid-bound structure of toxin TcdB revealed the mechanism of inhibition and guided the design of a synthetic bile acid that alleviated C. difficile infection in mice.
#MicroSky 🦠💊
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A bile acid-bound structure of toxin TcdB revealed the mechanism of inhibition and guided the design of a synthetic bile acid that alleviated C. difficile infection in mice.
#MicroSky 🦠💊
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Structure-guided design of a synthetic bile acid that inhibits Clostridioides difficile TcdB toxin - Nature Microbiology
A bile acid-bound structure of toxin TcdB revealed the mechanism of inhibition and guided the design of a synthetic bile acid that alleviated Clostridioides difficile infection in mice.
www.nature.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:07 PM
#NewResearch
A bile acid-bound structure of toxin TcdB revealed the mechanism of inhibition and guided the design of a synthetic bile acid that alleviated C. difficile infection in mice.
#MicroSky 🦠💊
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A bile acid-bound structure of toxin TcdB revealed the mechanism of inhibition and guided the design of a synthetic bile acid that alleviated C. difficile infection in mice.
#MicroSky 🦠💊
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
Great work, beautiful structures and really interesting new insights into #Cdiff toxin inhibition. Congratulations to all! #microsky
#NewResearch
A bile acid-bound structure of toxin TcdB revealed the mechanism of inhibition and guided the design of a synthetic bile acid that alleviated C. difficile infection in mice.
#MicroSky 🦠💊
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A bile acid-bound structure of toxin TcdB revealed the mechanism of inhibition and guided the design of a synthetic bile acid that alleviated C. difficile infection in mice.
#MicroSky 🦠💊
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Structure-guided design of a synthetic bile acid that inhibits Clostridioides difficile TcdB toxin - Nature Microbiology
A bile acid-bound structure of toxin TcdB revealed the mechanism of inhibition and guided the design of a synthetic bile acid that alleviated Clostridioides difficile infection in mice.
www.nature.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
With the Wilmanns lab @embl.org we reveal cryoEM structures of an essential, bifunctional acyl-CoA carboxylase from mycobacteria. @wertheimufscripps.bsky.social
This ~ 600 kDa enzyme is asymmetric, rotatory, has unusual stoichiometry, and unique E5 subunits.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
This ~ 600 kDa enzyme is asymmetric, rotatory, has unusual stoichiometry, and unique E5 subunits.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
November 17, 2025 at 1:38 PM
With the Wilmanns lab @embl.org we reveal cryoEM structures of an essential, bifunctional acyl-CoA carboxylase from mycobacteria. @wertheimufscripps.bsky.social
This ~ 600 kDa enzyme is asymmetric, rotatory, has unusual stoichiometry, and unique E5 subunits.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
This ~ 600 kDa enzyme is asymmetric, rotatory, has unusual stoichiometry, and unique E5 subunits.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
How does the well tolerated anti-hyperglycemic drug #metformin inhibit mitochondrial complex I?
In our new paper, we use structures, MD and kinetics to show that metformin inhibits by a distinct mechanism that more hydrophobic, less well tolerated, biguanides.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In our new paper, we use structures, MD and kinetics to show that metformin inhibits by a distinct mechanism that more hydrophobic, less well tolerated, biguanides.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Hydrophilic metformin and hydrophobic biguanides inhibit mitochondrial complex I by distinct mechanisms - Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
He, Teng and Yang et al. report how metformin, the widely used antidiabetic drug, inhibit its target, the respiratory complex I, through a distinct state-dependent, inhibitor trapping mechanism, thus ...
www.nature.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:35 PM
How does the well tolerated anti-hyperglycemic drug #metformin inhibit mitochondrial complex I?
In our new paper, we use structures, MD and kinetics to show that metformin inhibits by a distinct mechanism that more hydrophobic, less well tolerated, biguanides.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In our new paper, we use structures, MD and kinetics to show that metformin inhibits by a distinct mechanism that more hydrophobic, less well tolerated, biguanides.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
MISO: microfluidic protein isolation enables single-particle cryo-EM structure determination from a single cell colony.
Or from a single dish of HEK cell culture in the case of two membrane proteins.
Out in Nature Methods now! lnkd.in/gpyBSceg
Wonderful collaboration with the Efremov lab.
Or from a single dish of HEK cell culture in the case of two membrane proteins.
Out in Nature Methods now! lnkd.in/gpyBSceg
Wonderful collaboration with the Efremov lab.
November 14, 2025 at 6:38 PM
MISO: microfluidic protein isolation enables single-particle cryo-EM structure determination from a single cell colony.
Or from a single dish of HEK cell culture in the case of two membrane proteins.
Out in Nature Methods now! lnkd.in/gpyBSceg
Wonderful collaboration with the Efremov lab.
Or from a single dish of HEK cell culture in the case of two membrane proteins.
Out in Nature Methods now! lnkd.in/gpyBSceg
Wonderful collaboration with the Efremov lab.
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
The Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis at the University of Zurich is seeking a new Head:
jobs.uzh.ch/job-vacancie...
It is super fun to work with them, tons of expertise and cutting edge instrumentation in ❄️🔬
Application deadline: December 15, 2025.
jobs.uzh.ch/job-vacancie...
It is super fun to work with them, tons of expertise and cutting edge instrumentation in ❄️🔬
Application deadline: December 15, 2025.
UZH: Head of the Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis (Core Facility)
The Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis (ZMB) is a nationally and internationally recognized Core Facility at the University of Zurich (UZH), providing access to state-of-the-art light and electr...
jobs.uzh.ch
November 12, 2025 at 6:42 PM
The Center for Microscopy and Image Analysis at the University of Zurich is seeking a new Head:
jobs.uzh.ch/job-vacancie...
It is super fun to work with them, tons of expertise and cutting edge instrumentation in ❄️🔬
Application deadline: December 15, 2025.
jobs.uzh.ch/job-vacancie...
It is super fun to work with them, tons of expertise and cutting edge instrumentation in ❄️🔬
Application deadline: December 15, 2025.
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
Gluing a bulky host protein onto an immune surveillance complex is a wild mechanism of viral immune evasion!
@natmicrobiol.nature.com
#phagesky #phage #microsky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@natmicrobiol.nature.com
#phagesky #phage #microsky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 12, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Gluing a bulky host protein onto an immune surveillance complex is a wild mechanism of viral immune evasion!
@natmicrobiol.nature.com
#phagesky #phage #microsky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@natmicrobiol.nature.com
#phagesky #phage #microsky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
Potent neutralization of Marburg virus by a vaccine-elicited antibody @nature.com @hhmi.org @veeslerlab.bsky.social @virbiotechnology.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 12, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Potent neutralization of Marburg virus by a vaccine-elicited antibody @nature.com @hhmi.org @veeslerlab.bsky.social @virbiotechnology.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
On a gruelling hunt for rare associated molecules in your #cryoEM particle stack and not sure where to look?
Discover practical tips and tricks in our new case study using #CryoSPARC v4.7.1 where we find and refine a low-population interaction partner!
guide.cryosparc.com/processing-d...
Discover practical tips and tricks in our new case study using #CryoSPARC v4.7.1 where we find and refine a low-population interaction partner!
guide.cryosparc.com/processing-d...
October 30, 2025 at 1:33 PM
On a gruelling hunt for rare associated molecules in your #cryoEM particle stack and not sure where to look?
Discover practical tips and tricks in our new case study using #CryoSPARC v4.7.1 where we find and refine a low-population interaction partner!
guide.cryosparc.com/processing-d...
Discover practical tips and tricks in our new case study using #CryoSPARC v4.7.1 where we find and refine a low-population interaction partner!
guide.cryosparc.com/processing-d...
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
New paper alert! Scientists in Clemens Plaschka’s lab at the IMP and @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social's lab at
@imbavienna.bsky.social solved a decade-old puzzle, uncovering how the information molecule mRNA travels from the cell’s nucleus to its periphery. More: bit.ly/4nHcvys
@imbavienna.bsky.social solved a decade-old puzzle, uncovering how the information molecule mRNA travels from the cell’s nucleus to its periphery. More: bit.ly/4nHcvys
November 6, 2025 at 4:04 PM
New paper alert! Scientists in Clemens Plaschka’s lab at the IMP and @juliusbrennecke.bsky.social's lab at
@imbavienna.bsky.social solved a decade-old puzzle, uncovering how the information molecule mRNA travels from the cell’s nucleus to its periphery. More: bit.ly/4nHcvys
@imbavienna.bsky.social solved a decade-old puzzle, uncovering how the information molecule mRNA travels from the cell’s nucleus to its periphery. More: bit.ly/4nHcvys
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
Great collaboration with @guo-lab.bsky.social to determine an in situ architectural model of the Tad pilus machine. Be on the lookout soon for a preprint on the same topic by Grant Jensen and @viollierpat.bsky.social. #microsky
November 6, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Great collaboration with @guo-lab.bsky.social to determine an in situ architectural model of the Tad pilus machine. Be on the lookout soon for a preprint on the same topic by Grant Jensen and @viollierpat.bsky.social. #microsky
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
Excited to share our latest @nature.com: How does naloxone (Narcan) stop an opioid overdose? We determined the first GDP-bound μ-opioid receptor–G protein structures and found naloxone traps a novel "latent” state, preventing GDP release and G protein activation.💊🧪 🧵👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 5, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Excited to share our latest @nature.com: How does naloxone (Narcan) stop an opioid overdose? We determined the first GDP-bound μ-opioid receptor–G protein structures and found naloxone traps a novel "latent” state, preventing GDP release and G protein activation.💊🧪 🧵👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
M. smegmatis uses new types of biofilm to enclose a liquid core and expand outwards in a weird new way.
October 30, 2025 at 8:30 PM
M. smegmatis uses new types of biofilm to enclose a liquid core and expand outwards in a weird new way.
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
Our new preprint is out 🥳🥳🥳
Henipaviruses, like Nipah and Hendra, package their genomes inside helical shells built by thousands of nucleoproteins. These nucleocapsids are essential to protect the viral RNA, but how do they ever let the polymerase in to read the sequence?
👇
Henipaviruses, like Nipah and Hendra, package their genomes inside helical shells built by thousands of nucleoproteins. These nucleocapsids are essential to protect the viral RNA, but how do they ever let the polymerase in to read the sequence?
👇
November 3, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Our new preprint is out 🥳🥳🥳
Henipaviruses, like Nipah and Hendra, package their genomes inside helical shells built by thousands of nucleoproteins. These nucleocapsids are essential to protect the viral RNA, but how do they ever let the polymerase in to read the sequence?
👇
Henipaviruses, like Nipah and Hendra, package their genomes inside helical shells built by thousands of nucleoproteins. These nucleocapsids are essential to protect the viral RNA, but how do they ever let the polymerase in to read the sequence?
👇
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
🥳 Today marks the start of the lab of former postdoc @florianwollweber.bsky.social at @embl.org Grenoble!
www.embl.org/groups/wollw...
Florian-- we will miss you dearly and wish you much success!
With us, Florian applied multiscale imaging 🔬to Asgard archaea ...👇
www.embl.org/groups/wollw...
Florian-- we will miss you dearly and wish you much success!
With us, Florian applied multiscale imaging 🔬to Asgard archaea ...👇
November 1, 2025 at 12:41 PM
🥳 Today marks the start of the lab of former postdoc @florianwollweber.bsky.social at @embl.org Grenoble!
www.embl.org/groups/wollw...
Florian-- we will miss you dearly and wish you much success!
With us, Florian applied multiscale imaging 🔬to Asgard archaea ...👇
www.embl.org/groups/wollw...
Florian-- we will miss you dearly and wish you much success!
With us, Florian applied multiscale imaging 🔬to Asgard archaea ...👇
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
Interestingly, Yingke found some complexes bound to uncharacterized proteins MSMEG_0435 & 0436 (Rv0263c & 0264c in M. tuberculosis). A recent preprint from Carl Nathan shows that Rv0263c is needed for Mtb survival during transmission, suggesting it modulates mycolic acid synthesis in TB transmission
October 30, 2025 at 3:21 AM
Interestingly, Yingke found some complexes bound to uncharacterized proteins MSMEG_0435 & 0436 (Rv0263c & 0264c in M. tuberculosis). A recent preprint from Carl Nathan shows that Rv0263c is needed for Mtb survival during transmission, suggesting it modulates mycolic acid synthesis in TB transmission
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
New lab preprint!
@zestytoast.bsky.social tagged a scarce mycobacterial protein in M. smegmatis with TwinStep but got… something? @kjamali.bsky.social's ModelAngelo built models & @martinsteinegger.bsky.social's FoldSeek IDed them as the biotin-containing MCC & LCC complexes
🧵
tinyurl.com/ukny4ptz
@zestytoast.bsky.social tagged a scarce mycobacterial protein in M. smegmatis with TwinStep but got… something? @kjamali.bsky.social's ModelAngelo built models & @martinsteinegger.bsky.social's FoldSeek IDed them as the biotin-containing MCC & LCC complexes
🧵
tinyurl.com/ukny4ptz
October 30, 2025 at 3:21 AM
New lab preprint!
@zestytoast.bsky.social tagged a scarce mycobacterial protein in M. smegmatis with TwinStep but got… something? @kjamali.bsky.social's ModelAngelo built models & @martinsteinegger.bsky.social's FoldSeek IDed them as the biotin-containing MCC & LCC complexes
🧵
tinyurl.com/ukny4ptz
@zestytoast.bsky.social tagged a scarce mycobacterial protein in M. smegmatis with TwinStep but got… something? @kjamali.bsky.social's ModelAngelo built models & @martinsteinegger.bsky.social's FoldSeek IDed them as the biotin-containing MCC & LCC complexes
🧵
tinyurl.com/ukny4ptz
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
We are looking for a computational postdoc to work with us on new optimisation algorithms to make #RELION even better. Join our bubbly team at the @mrclmb.bsky.social in Cambridge, UK. 🤗 RTs appreciated.
mrc.tal.net/vx/appcentre...
mrc.tal.net/vx/appcentre...
Quick Check Needed
mrc.tal.net
October 29, 2025 at 9:17 AM
We are looking for a computational postdoc to work with us on new optimisation algorithms to make #RELION even better. Join our bubbly team at the @mrclmb.bsky.social in Cambridge, UK. 🤗 RTs appreciated.
mrc.tal.net/vx/appcentre...
mrc.tal.net/vx/appcentre...
Reposted by Gautier Courbon
Lab’s first paper is out!! We show the first structures of #Asgard #chromatin by #cryo-EM 🧬❄️
Asgard histones form closed and open hypernucleosomes. Closed are conserved across #Archaea, while open resemble eukaryotic H3–H4 octasomes and are Asgard-specific. More here: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Asgard histones form closed and open hypernucleosomes. Closed are conserved across #Archaea, while open resemble eukaryotic H3–H4 octasomes and are Asgard-specific. More here: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
October 28, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Lab’s first paper is out!! We show the first structures of #Asgard #chromatin by #cryo-EM 🧬❄️
Asgard histones form closed and open hypernucleosomes. Closed are conserved across #Archaea, while open resemble eukaryotic H3–H4 octasomes and are Asgard-specific. More here: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Asgard histones form closed and open hypernucleosomes. Closed are conserved across #Archaea, while open resemble eukaryotic H3–H4 octasomes and are Asgard-specific. More here: www.cell.com/molecular-ce...