Max Fels
@mfels.bsky.social
Branco Weiss and Moderna Global Fellow at DFCI/HMS. On the lookout for the strangest viruses out there. 🐸
https://brancoweissfellowship.org/fellow/fels/
https://brancoweissfellowship.org/fellow/fels/
This unique viral replication strategy shows that you can build sophisticated translation regulation through a very simple cap-binding complex. Perhaps there are contexts in which cellular organisms also make use of similar strategies?
October 2, 2025 at 12:32 AM
This unique viral replication strategy shows that you can build sophisticated translation regulation through a very simple cap-binding complex. Perhaps there are contexts in which cellular organisms also make use of similar strategies?
How does the viral cap-binding complex specifically promote viral translation? Viral mRNAs carry a unique 5′ UTR motif: a conserved +1A followed by AU-rich sequences. A crystal structure of vIF4E shows exactly how this mRNA cap is recognized!
October 2, 2025 at 12:32 AM
How does the viral cap-binding complex specifically promote viral translation? Viral mRNAs carry a unique 5′ UTR motif: a conserved +1A followed by AU-rich sequences. A crystal structure of vIF4E shows exactly how this mRNA cap is recognized!
This effect becomes obvious when looking at viral factories by TEM. Early in infection these large structures form independent of the viral cap-binding complex, but when this complex is disrupted viral particles cannot assemble.
October 2, 2025 at 12:32 AM
This effect becomes obvious when looking at viral factories by TEM. Early in infection these large structures form independent of the viral cap-binding complex, but when this complex is disrupted viral particles cannot assemble.
Giant DNA viruses encode a stunning number of proteins that were long thought unique to living organisms. Among them: translation factors, the master regulators of protein synthesis. But are these viral proteins functional?
October 2, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Giant DNA viruses encode a stunning number of proteins that were long thought unique to living organisms. Among them: translation factors, the master regulators of protein synthesis. But are these viral proteins functional?