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Abhishek Chatterjee

@achemsynbio.bsky.social

Professor @BostonCollege Chemical Biology, Synthetic Biology, Directed Evolution, Expanding the genetic code https://sites.google.com/a/bc.edu/thechatterjeelab/home https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=zeSNxNcAAAAJ&hl=en

67 Posts2131 Follower1150 Folgt
Karim Majzoub@karimaj.bsky.social · 5mo ago

We found a viral Trojan Horse: a virus can hide inside another virus.This one surprised us: deltaviruses don’t just borrow a helper virus. They can travel inside it. A literal Trojan Horse “virus-in-a-virus” route into cells. 🤯 Kudos to 1st author @viroscope.bsky.social and co-authors !

Deltaviruses spread through a viral Trojan Horse

Hepatitis D-like satellite viruses, known as deltaviruses, have been recently discovered in a wide range of animals. These viruses are thought to expr…

sciencedirect.com

Abhishek Chatterjee@achemsynbio.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Chintan's work demonstrating the efficient incorporation of non-α-amino acid backbones into proteins expressed in both E. coli and mammalian cells just came out! A great collaborative effort from @cgemcci.bsky.social! pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Co-Translational Incorporation of (R)- and (S)-β2-Hydroxyacids In Vivo: Directed Evolution of Efficient Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases

Expanding the genetic code of living cells with noncanonical monomers (ncMs) relies on engineered aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS) and their cognate tRNAs. Conventional aaRS engineering strategies rely on translation-dependent selection systems, limiting their utility for ncMs that are poorly accommodated by the native translational machinery. To address this limitation, we recently developed START, a translation-independent platform that selects Methanomethylophilus alvus pyrrolysyl-synthetase (MaPylRS) mutants based on their ability to acylate cognate tRNAMaPyl. START uses barcoded tRNAs to encode the identity of distinct aaRS mutants in a library. Acylation by active aaRS mutants protects the corresponding tRNAs from periodate oxidation, and their identity is retrieved subsequently through sequencing. START was previously applied to genetically encode noncanonical α-amino acids. Here, we successfully applied START to engineer MaPylRS mutants capable of acylating tRNAMaPyl with diverse non-α-amino acid substrates with good efficiency and fidelity, including (R) and (S) enantiomers of a β2-hydroxy acid, a β2-amino acids, and a malonate. Several mutants exhibit notable polyspecificity across noncanonical backbones while maintaining selectivity against their α-amino acid counterparts. Using these novel enzymes, we demonstrate the ribosomal incorporation of both (R)- and (S)-β2-hydroxy acids into a luciferase reporter protein expressed in Escherichia coli with good efficiency and fidelity. These results imply that highly active engineered aaRS/tRNA pairs can overcome the recently established limitations of EF-Tu with respect to non-α-amino acid substrates. The engineered MaPylRS mutants also enabled the successful incorporation of both (R)- and (S)-β2-hydroxy acids into a protein expressed in mammalian cells, demonstrating for the first time that eukaryotic translation can accommodate non-α-backbones.

pubs.acs.org

Abhishek Chatterjee@achemsynbio.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Starting 2026 with Quan Pham's paper expanding the chemical toolbox for engineering AAV - New bioorthogonal labeling, including IEDDA, for efficient macromolecule attachment - Incorporation of two different chemistries for dual capsid labeling & much more: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

An Expanded Toolbox for Versatile Chemical Editing of Adeno‐Associated Virus

We describe technology to introduce diverse non-natural chemical functionalities site-specifically into the capsid of adeno-associated virus through genetic code expansion, and using them to engineer...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Kathrin Lang@klanglab.bsky.social · 10mo ago

🚨Our paper is out! 🥳 Hijacking a bacterial ABC transporter for efficient genetic code expansion. Many congrats to everyone involved - a multi-year effort led by @taruniype.bsky.social @maxfottner.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41... it all started years ago with a failed experiment 🧵👇 1/9

Hijacking a bacterial ABC transporter for genetic code expansion - Nature

Bacterial ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters can be utilized and engineered to transport non-canonical amino acids into Escherichia coli for highly efficient synthesis of proteins with novel func...

nature.com

Bryan Dickinson@chembiobryan.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Our latest work seeks to answer a longstanding question: why is discovering new protein binders seemingly unpredictable – and can we better quantify and understand the de novo binder discover process? 1/12 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Mapping the diverse topologies of protein-protein interaction fitness landscapes

De novo binder discovery is unpredictable and inefficient due to a lack of quantitative understanding of protein-protein interaction (PPI) sequence-function landscapes. Here, we use our PANCS-Binder t...

biorxiv.org

Abhishek Chatterjee@achemsynbio.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Excited to share our work with Eranthie Weerapana and Tim van Opijnen, co-led by Conor Loynd, Soumya Roy, and Sarah Canarelli! We introduce a new generation of BONCAT tools for the versatile characterization of newly synthesized proteins in pathogenic bacteria. rdcu.be/eI4M5

Cell-selective multiplexed bioorthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging for nascent proteomics

Nature Chemical Biology - Engineered aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS) mutants have been developed that facilitate ultrafast bioorthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT) of newly...

rdcu.be

Abhishek Chatterjee@achemsynbio.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Thrilled to see this in print! Co-translational incorporation of a noncanonical monomer into a protein, followed by its triggered post-translational chemical rearrangement, yields novel backbone modifications. One step closer to novel genetically encoded biopolymers!

C-GEM, the NSF Center for Genetically Encoded Materials@cgemcci.bsky.social · 12mo ago

✨New in Nat Chem Biol: Site-selective protein editing by backbone extension acyl rearrangements bit.ly/4oKQ251 Congrats @roeleah.bsky.social, Izzi, Carly, Taylor, Bhavana, @nxhamlish.bsky.social, Arjun, Diondra, Zhongqi, @achemsynbio.bsky.social, Matt, Scott, Alanna, and collaborators! #NSFfunded

Jeremy Berg@jeremymberg.bsky.social · last yr.

I am a big believe of doing your own research and checking facts and sources. BUT THE BIG PROBLEM IS THAT A POST FROM SOME DUDE ON THE INTERNET SHOULD NOT BE WEIGHTED THE SAME AS INFORMATION FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS SPENT DECADES STUDYING AN ISSUE.

Michael Clemens@mclem.org · last yr.

They're terminating OPT. Today the nominee to head USCIS stated directly: he will end Optional Practical Training, the single largest channel for high-skill immigrants to work in the US. 6 weeks ago I warned about this & summarized the research on impacts of this drastic action—> @piie.com

Skilled immigration on the chopping block? Effects of eliminating "Optional Practical Training" in the US

The White House has taken numerous steps to sharply reduce the number of immigrant workers, with or without legal status, in the US economy. These policies, so far, typically target immigrants with le...

piie.com

Huiqing Zhou@huiqingzhou.bsky.social · last yr.

Happy to share a paper from our group on "MapID-tRNA-seq" for confidently identifying modifications by RT mutation signatures in human tRNAs. This method will enable future discoveries of modifications' occurrence and functions in tRNA biology and diseases. www.cell.com/cell-chemica...

MapID-based quantitative mapping of chemical modifications and expression of human transfer RNA

tRNA chemical modifications play critical roles in biology and diseases. Tepe et al. report MapID-tRNA-seq to map m1A, m3C, and multiple bulky modifications in tRNAs from HEK293T and breast cancer-rel...

cell.com

Stand Up for Science!@standupforscience.net · last yr.

HAPPY 75th, NSF! We’re celebrating this milestone by highlighting some of NSF’s most transformative accomplishments—innovations that have shaped our world and continue to drive progress in health, technology, the environment, and beyond. Read on 🧵(1/11):

A chocolate cake with red and white decorations and lit candles shaped as the number 75. Bold text reads: ‘The NSF Turns 75 Today. What has it done over the past 7 decades?’ The background is a celebratory red with a spray-paint texture.
Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈@davidimiller.bsky.social · last yr.

🧪 Though a doubling of NSF's budget might seem far-fetched, that's exactly what Congress said what's needed to maintain national competitiveness in science & tech. From the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022:

CHIPS and Science authorization for FY26 = $17.8B White House skinny budget = $3.9B
Dan Garisto@dangaristo.bsky.social · last yr.

In light of the skinny budget (55.8% reduction), 6 past NSF directors and 7 NSB chairs have sent the House Committee on Appropriations a letter advising doubling the NSF budget. "We face a fork in the road. Do we want to win or concede the race for new knowledge and a competitive STEM workforce?"

Key paragraph of letter: We believe these challenges can be met, but not with the draconian budget plan and staffing reductions just released by OMB. Such a budget would thwart scientific progress, decimate the research workforce, and take a decade or more to recover. Achieving the President’s vision requires a major enhancement of the NSF budget, ideally a doubling of the FY25 level over the next few years and sufficient staff to execute this vision. In the current political climate, we know this is a bold request. We make it, nonetheless, to say -- if we truly wish to realize this vision, we must commit to a historic investment in fundamental research and education in a manner that leaves no doubt about the United States’ intentions with our international competitors. We face a fork in the road. Do we want to win or concede the race for new knowledge and a competitive STEM workforce? For 75 years winning that race has been the foundation of American prosperity and national security. Adopting the proposed cuts would fast-track China’s plans for technological dominance. As Senator Todd Young said in his March 25th Washington Post op-ed, “…Our policymakers should lock arms with the science-and-technology dreamers and doers across the country — from Silicon Valley to the Silicon Prairie — and recognize that basic research isn’t a federal handout to help sustain academia. Instead, it is a vital ingredient in our innovation future, economic and geopolitical competitiveness, and national security.”
Max Kozlov@maxkozlov.bsky.social · last yr.

BREAKING: Reports that Trump would try to cut NIH's budget by 40% have come true. The request released moments ago would: - Cut $18 BILLION to NIH's $47b budget - Eliminate NIMHD, NCCIH, FIC - Collapse ICs into five 'focus areas' There's also a long screed about NIH's deficiencies.

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Carolyn Bertozzi@carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social · last yr.

SCAM ALERT. This is a fake conference that ripped off my and other people’s names to trick people into registering. There is no such conference that I or the others shown were invited or agreed to. We are working to try to get this fraud taken down from the web. chemsymposia.com

Join Chemsymposia 2026: Research & Innovation | ChemSymposia 2026

Join us at Chemsymposia 2026 to discover groundbreaking research in physics applications. Connect with experts, engage in insightful discussions, and explore our venue, registration details, and speak...

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