We report a human cell-free translation screen that identified NT-2, a Fusarium mycotoxin that blocks human ribosomes. The surprise: NT-2 does binds the ribosome and pushes them into a dormant state. www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Karousis Lab
@karousislab.bsky.social
Group leader in Bern, Cell-free translation enthusiast enjoying teaching, once upon @RNAKook on x-Twitter https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=24B_5toAAAAJ&hl=en https://www.ekarousis.net/
A very exciting NMD story 🤩Congratulations to the team!
Volker Boehm@volkerboehm.bsky.social · 7mo agoHow are faulty #RNA degraded? New mechanistic insight into NMD: 1️⃣SMG5 & SMG6 PIN domains form a composite endonuclease (cPIN) 2️⃣ SMG5 completes the SMG6 active site, enabling efficient mRNA cleavage Fantastic collaboration with @labconti.bsky.social 🙏 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/n
Using "in extracto cryo-EM", we visualize ribosomes in mammalian lysates, including RRL. "Hibernating" ribosomes carry an extended set of proteins that protect functional centers. These include elongation factor eEF2, LARP1 implicated in mTOR signaling, eIF5A etc. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Check out our latest work on how collided ribosomes activate the MAP3K ZAK! 💫 www.nature.com/articles/s41... A fun collaboration with @beckmannlab.bsky.social @doubleshuang.bsky.social
ZAK activation at the collided ribosome - Nature
The kinase ZAK is activated at collided ribosomes to mediate the ribotoxic stress response.
nature.com
Exciting new #Zebrafish research from the #WeinsteinLab, led by Jong Park! “Specialized gas-exchange endothelium of the zebrafish gill” — www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Amazing to see red blood cells moving through the gills! Don’t forget to check out the supplemental movies ;-)
🚀 New preprint! We used a human cell-free translation screen (~28 000 compounds) to discover NT-2, a #Fusarium -derived #mycotoxin that blocks human ribosomes. #Cryo-EM at 1.72 Å reveals a link between chemical inhibition and ribosome dormancy. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A human cell-free translation screen identifies the NT-2 mycotoxin as a ribosomal peptidyl transferase inhibitor
Translation inhibitors are invaluable for probing ribosome function and therapeutic applications, but systematic discovery in human systems is limited by the lack of scalable, screening-compatible cel...
biorxiv.org
Nature Reviews Methods Primers (2025): "Flow biocatalysis" https://paradisiresearch.com/research-highlights/nature-reviews-methods-primers-2025-flow-biocatalysis/
Polysomes and mRNA control the biophysical properties of the eukaryotic cytoplasm
Polysomes and mRNA control the biophysical properties of the eukaryotic cytoplasm
Gade et al. report that polysomes and mRNA levels impact the biophysical properties of the cytoplasm. Using passive rheology probes and single-particle tracking, they demonstrate that intracellular diffusion is enhanced when polysomes are disassembled or when mRNA levels are reduced in eukaryotic cells.
dlvr.it
*️⃣ Step-by-step STAR protocol for Cell-free translation and mRNA decay *️⃣ What to do (and what not to do 😅) guide based on our work on Nsp1 published in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... @unibe.ch @mcid-unibe.bsky.social @nccr-rna-disease.bsky.social @snf-fns.ch
Protocol for monitoring mRNA translation and degradation in human cell-free lysates
Cell-free translation is a powerful tool for studying protein synthesis. Here, we present a protocol for monitoring mRNA translation and degradation u…
sciencedirect.com
Excellent science, impeccable organisation and breathtaking views in and out the #RNA turnover #BiochemEvent in Brighton, UK 🌊🧬 @biochemsoc.bsky.social
Very excited that our most significant work, a collaboration w/ Dr. Can Cenik at UT Austin on translational gene regulation, was finally published in Nature Biotechnology in a dual set of studies: Paper 1 -- an AI model trained to predict translation rates from mRNA sequences: rdcu.be/exN1l
Predicting the translation efficiency of messenger RNA in mammalian cells
Nature Biotechnology - A deep convolutional neural network model predicts the influence of the full-length mRNA sequence on translation efficiency.
url.de.m.mimecastprotect.com
Translation efficiency covariation identifies conserved coordination patterns across cell types go.nature.com/3TXvmZy
Translation efficiency covariation identifies conserved coordination patterns across cell types - Nature Biotechnology
Matched ribosome profiling and RNA sequencing data quantify translation efficiency patterns across 140 human and mouse cell lines.
go.nature.com
New paper out in Mol Cell, where we show how N-myristolytransferases lipidate proteins on the translating ribosome! Continuing our successful collaboration with DeuerlingLab @uni-konstanz.de & Shu-ou Chan @caltech.edu @snsf.ch @ethz.ch www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Happy to share the latest work on a bacterial protein that inhibits human mRNA decay machinery, in collaboration with @smlea.bsky.social #RNAsky www.nature.com/articles/s41... Intracellular pathogen effector reprograms host gene expression by inhibiting mRNA decay | Nature Communications
Intracellular pathogen effector reprograms host gene expression by inhibiting mRNA decay - Nature Communications
Intracellular pathogens hijack host gene expression to subvert cellular processes. Here, the authors show that Legionella pneumophila’s PieF effector inhibits the human CCR4-NOT deadenylation machiner...
nature.com
What if I told you, there is a way to pause the time?
A protein produced by the pathogenic bacteria Helicobacter pylori can block amyloid proteins from clustering, new #ScienceAdvances research finds.
Helicobacter pylori CagA protein is a potent and broad-spectrum amyloid inhibitor
Helicobacter pylori CagA protein strongly inhibits functional and pathogenic amyloid fibril formation in both bacteria and humans.
scim.ag
Our method paper to produce efficient cell-free translation lysates from diverse human cell types is out 🎉 www.jbc.org/article/S002... @unibe.ch @mcid-unibe.bsky.social @muehlemann.bsky.social @nickkouvelas.bsky.social
I am very excited and grateful for the opportunity to present our work and exchange ideas with the research community at LMU Munich hosted by Jonathan Bohlen! @jonathanbohlen.bsky.social @jonathanbohlen.bsky.social @unibe.ch @mcid-unibe.bsky.social @nccr-rna-disease.bsky.social
Gene Center Munich @LMU Munich@genecenter-lmu.bsky.social · last yr.We're happy to welcome Evangelos Karousis next Monday! 🎉 He’ll be talking about “Decoding viral secrets using cell-free translation” 🧬 📅 May 12 🕐 1:15 PM ➡️Lynen Lecture Hall Don’t miss it! 🤗✨ @karousislab.bsky.social @jonathanbohlen.bsky.social @unibe.ch
🦠😷 Researchers at the #unibern have gained new insights into an early mechanism of #coronavirus infection. 👉 mediarelations.unibe.ch/media_releas... @karousislab.bsky.social @nccr-rna-disease.bsky.social @mcid-unibe.bsky.social Image: © Adrian Bothe
I think I study more #Biochemistry on semester weekends than my students 😅 Gluconeogenesis feat. Greek language lessons 🍭
The impact of Coronavirus Nsp1 on host mRNA degradation is independent of its role in translation inhibition
The impact of Coronavirus Nsp1 on host mRNA degradation is independent of its role in translation inhibition
Bäumlin et al. investigate the roles of coronavirus Nsp1 in translation inhibition and mRNA degradation using a human cell-free translation system. They demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 Nsp1 mediates mRNA degradation independently of translation, whereas MERS-CoV Nsp1 inhibits translation without degradation, revealing distinct mechanisms and co-evolutionary protection of viral mRNAs.
dlvr.it
A Perspective in Nature Reviews Neuroscience focuses on neural resonance theory in music, which summarizes how the dynamics of fundamental neural mechanisms can explain various aspects of music perception and performance. https://go.nature.com/3DXLLJ2 🔒
Our latest research on #Coronavirus Nsp1 found its home (and a new name) at @cp-cellreports.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell-reports... Thankful to the first (dream) team of my lab and funding for making this happen. @nccr-rna-disease.bsky.social @mcid-unibe.bsky.social @unibe.ch
The impact of Coronavirus Nsp1 on host mRNA degradation is independent of its role in translation inhibition
Bäumlin et al. investigate the roles of coronavirus Nsp1 in translation inhibition and mRNA degradation using a human cell-free translation system. They demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 Nsp1 mediates mRNA ...
cell.com
Cellular responses to RNA damage: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Cellular responses to RNA damage
RNA plays a central role in protein biosynthesis and performs diverse regulatory and catalytic functions, making it essential for all processes of life. Like DNA, RNA is constantly subjected to damage...
cell.com