Zehan Zhou
@zehanzhou.bsky.social
Interest in all things transposon + RNA + cancer biology!
Reposted by Zehan Zhou
1/10 Genome maintenance by telomerase is a fundamental process in nearly all eukaryotes. But where does it come from?
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Antiviral reverse transcriptases reveal the evolutionary origin of telomerase
Defense-associated reverse transcriptases (DRTs) employ diverse and distinctive mechanisms of cDNA synthesis to protect bacteria against viral infection. However, much of DRT family diversity remains ...
www.biorxiv.org
October 17, 2025 at 5:22 PM
1/10 Genome maintenance by telomerase is a fundamental process in nearly all eukaryotes. But where does it come from?
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral RTs, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Zehan Zhou
Excited to share our new preprint co-led by @jnoms.bsky.social!
Here we reveal an exceptional diversity of viral 2H phosphodiesterases (PDEs) that enable immune evasion by selectively degrading oligonucleotide-based messengers. This 2H PDE fold has evolved striking substrate breath & specificity.
Here we reveal an exceptional diversity of viral 2H phosphodiesterases (PDEs) that enable immune evasion by selectively degrading oligonucleotide-based messengers. This 2H PDE fold has evolved striking substrate breath & specificity.
Divergent viral phosphodiesterases for immune signaling evasion
Cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs) and other short oligonucleotides play fundamental roles in immune system activation in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. In response, viruses use phosphodiesterase...
www.biorxiv.org
August 22, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Excited to share our new preprint co-led by @jnoms.bsky.social!
Here we reveal an exceptional diversity of viral 2H phosphodiesterases (PDEs) that enable immune evasion by selectively degrading oligonucleotide-based messengers. This 2H PDE fold has evolved striking substrate breath & specificity.
Here we reveal an exceptional diversity of viral 2H phosphodiesterases (PDEs) that enable immune evasion by selectively degrading oligonucleotide-based messengers. This 2H PDE fold has evolved striking substrate breath & specificity.
Reposted by Zehan Zhou
1/10 New pre-print(s) from the Sternberg Lab in collaboration with Leifu Chang's Lab! We uncover the unprecedented molecular mechanism of CRISPR-Cas12f-like proteins, which drive RNA-guided transcription independently of canonical promoter motifs.
Full story here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Full story here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
June 11, 2025 at 4:03 PM
1/10 New pre-print(s) from the Sternberg Lab in collaboration with Leifu Chang's Lab! We uncover the unprecedented molecular mechanism of CRISPR-Cas12f-like proteins, which drive RNA-guided transcription independently of canonical promoter motifs.
Full story here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Full story here:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Zehan Zhou
Our paper is finally out in Molecular Cell! 🚀 We uncover why PAM-relaxed Cas9 variants like SpRY are inefficient — they get kinetically trapped during target engagement. Mechanistic insights like this are key to engineering smarter, faster genome editors. Huge thanks to the team! #CRISPR #editing🔬🧬
Online Now: Rapid two-step target capture ensures efficient CRISPR-Cas9-guided genome editing Online now:
Rapid two-step target capture ensures efficient CRISPR-Cas9-guided genome editing
A two-step target capture process—specific but low-affinity PAM binding followed by rapid DNA unwinding—underpins efficient CRISPR-Cas9 editing. Shi et al. show that PAM-relaxed Cas9 variants like SpRY become kinetically trapped between these steps, reducing editing efficiency. These insights provide new principles for engineering improved RNA-guided genome editors.
dlvr.it
May 4, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Our paper is finally out in Molecular Cell! 🚀 We uncover why PAM-relaxed Cas9 variants like SpRY are inefficient — they get kinetically trapped during target engagement. Mechanistic insights like this are key to engineering smarter, faster genome editors. Huge thanks to the team! #CRISPR #editing🔬🧬
Reposted by Zehan Zhou
Glad to welcome Democratic Vice Chair
@tedlieu.bsky.social to CA-12 today.
We toured labs at @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social and discussed how the Trump administration's attacks on
NIH funding endangers decades of leading research and scientific work.
@tedlieu.bsky.social to CA-12 today.
We toured labs at @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social and discussed how the Trump administration's attacks on
NIH funding endangers decades of leading research and scientific work.
February 21, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Glad to welcome Democratic Vice Chair
@tedlieu.bsky.social to CA-12 today.
We toured labs at @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social and discussed how the Trump administration's attacks on
NIH funding endangers decades of leading research and scientific work.
@tedlieu.bsky.social to CA-12 today.
We toured labs at @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social and discussed how the Trump administration's attacks on
NIH funding endangers decades of leading research and scientific work.