Marqusee Lab
@marquseelab.bsky.social
The Marqusee Lab @UCBerkeley uses #biophysics to study #proteinfolding in basic and cellular contexts. Account is student/postdoc run. All posts in kcal/mol.
This may inform our understanding of how proteins evolve to satisfy unique environmental constraints, such as resisting autolysis in the case of proteases. This has important implications in protein design as well
August 23, 2025 at 4:01 PM
This may inform our understanding of how proteins evolve to satisfy unique environmental constraints, such as resisting autolysis in the case of proteases. This has important implications in protein design as well
Protein energy landscapes affect not just how a protein first folds its structure, but also its functional and adaptive properties. In this work, Miriam performs a thorough biophysical characterization of how sequence changes affect the dynamics of two related proteases with different sequences
August 23, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Protein energy landscapes affect not just how a protein first folds its structure, but also its functional and adaptive properties. In this work, Miriam performs a thorough biophysical characterization of how sequence changes affect the dynamics of two related proteases with different sequences
Update: Many congrats to our talented undergraduate student Joshua Morse for receiving a top poster award!!
June 30, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Update: Many congrats to our talented undergraduate student Joshua Morse for receiving a top poster award!!
In addition, come check out posters by Joshua Morse (T94), Darren Kahan (T82), Eva Gerber (F14), Mark Petersen (F77), Sophie Shoemaker (F89), Lynn Gu (F33), and Amir Bitran (S89)
June 26, 2025 at 6:01 PM
In addition, come check out posters by Joshua Morse (T94), Darren Kahan (T82), Eva Gerber (F14), Mark Petersen (F77), Sophie Shoemaker (F89), Lynn Gu (F33), and Amir Bitran (S89)
Sophie Shoemaker will be giving a flash talk tomorrow afternoon in the "Proteins and Lipids: Fusion, Fission, Budding" session, while Eva Gerber will give a flash talk on Sunday as part of the morning "20 Amino Acids… and Beyond" session
June 26, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Sophie Shoemaker will be giving a flash talk tomorrow afternoon in the "Proteins and Lipids: Fusion, Fission, Budding" session, while Eva Gerber will give a flash talk on Sunday as part of the morning "20 Amino Acids… and Beyond" session
Check it out and let us know what you think! We are really excited by the combination of HDX-MS with eVLPs as it provides an opportunity to more easily study viral fusion proteins and other membrane proteins in native-like environments with HDX-MS.
7/7
7/7
January 30, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Check it out and let us know what you think! We are really excited by the combination of HDX-MS with eVLPs as it provides an opportunity to more easily study viral fusion proteins and other membrane proteins in native-like environments with HDX-MS.
7/7
7/7
D614G shifts the equilibrium to favor the prefusion conformation while the S2' site stays disordered. This study provides, to our knowledge, the first molecular explanation for the dual evolutionary advantages of furin cleavage and D614G.
6/7
6/7
January 30, 2025 at 9:58 PM
D614G shifts the equilibrium to favor the prefusion conformation while the S2' site stays disordered. This study provides, to our knowledge, the first molecular explanation for the dual evolutionary advantages of furin cleavage and D614G.
6/7
6/7
However, furin cleavage also increases the population of the open-interface trimer, potentially promoting premature S1 shedding. We propose that this trade-off drove the evolution of the D614G mutation, an early fixed mutation in SARS-CoV-2.
5/7
5/7
January 30, 2025 at 9:57 PM
However, furin cleavage also increases the population of the open-interface trimer, potentially promoting premature S1 shedding. We propose that this trade-off drove the evolution of the D614G mutation, an early fixed mutation in SARS-CoV-2.
5/7
5/7
We find that furin cleavage at the S1/S2 site increases the disorder of the S2’ protease site, which may increase TMPRSS2 activity leading to more efficient fusion. This provides a mechanistic explanation for furin cleavage enhancing infectivity.
4/7
4/7
January 30, 2025 at 9:57 PM
We find that furin cleavage at the S1/S2 site increases the disorder of the S2’ protease site, which may increase TMPRSS2 activity leading to more efficient fusion. This provides a mechanistic explanation for furin cleavage enhancing infectivity.
4/7
4/7
We show that the native, full-length spike samples the previously identified open-interface trimer conformation, and its populations and interconversion rates are sensitive to sequence variations.
3/7
3/7
January 30, 2025 at 9:57 PM
We show that the native, full-length spike samples the previously identified open-interface trimer conformation, and its populations and interconversion rates are sensitive to sequence variations.
3/7
3/7
We use eVLPs to display full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike, both with and without prefusion-stabilizing prolines, and then probe dynamics with HDX-MS. Our findings reveal significant changes in spike dynamics resulting from natural and engineered variants.
2/7
2/7
January 30, 2025 at 9:56 PM
We use eVLPs to display full-length SARS-CoV-2 spike, both with and without prefusion-stabilizing prolines, and then probe dynamics with HDX-MS. Our findings reveal significant changes in spike dynamics resulting from natural and engineered variants.
2/7
2/7