Eduardo Tassoni Tsuchida
@eduardotassoni.bsky.social
Postdoc in the Brandman Lab at Stanford Biochemistry
We’re so excited to share our new paper, where we tackle the wealth of structural and functional diversity of anti-phage sensors across bacteria (1/6)
Nature@nature.com · 2w agoNature research paper: Diverse bacterial pattern recognition receptors sense the core phage proteome go.nature.com/45fpXCZ
UC Davis Ecology & Evolution Grad Preview Program is accepting applications until July 20th! It's a fully virtual program where you are paired with a grad student mentor and learn about what grad school entails, how to apply, and what student life is like! Please share widely!
Do you know any students who are planning to apply to graduate school this cycle? Encourage them to apply to the Biology Preview Program! We provide intensive workshops to help students w/ their applications + 1:1 mentorship.
Excited to share our preprint on terminase sensing by Avs2 and Upx! We solved a cryo-EM structure of Avs2 with terminase and found an unexpected "bridging" ATP at their interface. In contrast, Upx is predicted to bind an unfolded ATPase domain via β-augmentation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Phage terminase recognition by the bacterial immune sensors Avs2 and Upx
Prokaryotes employ diverse defense strategies to detect and halt the progression of phage infection. Multiple defense systems sense phage proteins through direct binding, including antiviral STAND NTPases (Avs), which oligomerize upon target recognition to induce programmed cell death. The widespread Avs2 family was previously shown to detect the large terminase subunit of tailed phages, but the mechanism of terminase sensing was unknown. Here, we determine the structural basis of terminase recognition by Avs2 from Escherichia coli (EcAvs2). A cryo-EM structure at 2.3 Å resolution reveals that EcAvs2 forms a flat, C4-symmetric tetramer in which each protomer is bound to a single terminase monomer. Terminase recognition is mediated by a large, shape complementary binding pocket in the EcAvs2 sensor domain, including specific contacts with an unexpected ATP molecule at the interface of EcAvs2 and terminase. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the defense protein Upx also recognizes diverse phage terminases, despite lacking sequence and structural homology to Avs. AlphaFold 3 models indicate that Upx binds an unfolded state of the core terminase ATPase domain, mediated by β-augmentation. These findings highlight the distinct modes of terminase recognition across structurally diverse defense proteins. ### Competing Interest Statement F.Z. is a scientific advisor and cofounder of Beam Therapeutics, Pairwise Plants, Arbor Biotechnologies, Aera Therapeutics, and Moonwalk Biosciences. F.Z. is a scientific advisor for Octant. The remaining authors have no competing interests to declare. National Institute of General Medical Sciences, 5T32GM007276, 5T32GM141828 Stanford Bio-X Helen Hay Whitney Foundation, https://ror.org/037ebw447 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, https://ror.org/006w34k90 Yang Tan Collective K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Molecular Therapeutics Center Broad Institute Programmable Therapeutics Donors BT Charitable Foundation G. Harold & Leila Y. Mathers Foundation, MF-2303-04116 Stanford University School of Medicine, https://ror.org/011pcwc98
biorxiv.org
Job ad now available here: careersearch.stanford.edu/jobs/life-sc...!
Life Science Research Professional 1 in School of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford, California, United States
Life Science Research Professional 1 (On-Site Only)This position has been deemed critical by the School of Humanities and Sciences Dean’s Office and.....
careersearch.stanford.edu
Molly Schumer@mollyschumer.bsky.social · 4mo agoPlease share widely! We will imminently be posting a technician position in our lab group since @rheasood.bsky.social is off to grad school 🙌! If you know of anyone excited about molecular biology, evolution, and functional genomics please have them reach out (schumer at stanford). Start date ~June
Please share widely! We will imminently be posting a technician position in our lab group since @rheasood.bsky.social is off to grad school 🙌! If you know of anyone excited about molecular biology, evolution, and functional genomics please have them reach out (schumer at stanford). Start date ~June
Excited to share our new findings in @science.org on how the DRT3 bacterial defense system uses a reverse transcriptase that builds DNA repeats without a nucleic acid template. Microbes never cease to amaze! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Science | AAAS
science.org
Nup42 safeguards heat-induced mRNAs from nuclear condensation tosupport chaperone synthesis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.10.705189v1
Nup42 safeguards heat-induced mRNAs from nuclear condensation tosupport chaperone synthesis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.02.10.705189v1
I am excited to share the main piece of work from my PhD! In this paper, we investigated the propensities of distinct transcripts in associating with biomolecular condensates, mainly focusing on how heat-induced mRNAs escape condensation and are properly translated. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
The Abreu lab at NYU is hiring another postdoc! We study microbial ecology and evolution, using yeast/bacteria microcosms, DNA barcoding for evolutionary lineage tracking, and simple mathematical modeling. Apply here: apply.interfolio.com/179949
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16 (! What?) years ago I went to my first ABRCMS and was welcomed and encouraged to pursue my scientific dreams. I met folks that provided direct feedback on my graduate school applications and served a pivotal role in my career. I am honored return and give back again as faculty. #ABRCMS2025
IMPRS-BAC #gradschool: Our new groupleader @sedonamurphy.bsky.social has an open PhD project in her lab. Topic: Spatial feedback between epigenetic regulation and chromatin regulation. Apply by Jan 7, 2026! 👉 www.molgen.mpg.de/5091778/Murp...
I am so excited to share new work on a TE insertion that regulates iridescence in swordtails, led by fantastic grad student @nadiahaghani.bsky.social and with help from many coauthors! In a time that has been so difficult to navigate, this & other projects have kept my spirits up: shorturl.at/NE65A
Insertion of an invading retrovirus regulates a novel color trait in swordtail fish
For over a century, evolutionary biologists have been motivated to understand the mechanisms through which organisms adapt to their environments. Coloration and pigmentation are remarkably variable wi...
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I'm recruiting a postdoc for my group (based in beautiful Eugene, OR). Please get in touch if you're interested, esp if you'd like to chat at #ASHG25!
Roshni Patel@roshnipatel.bsky.social · last yr.We'll primarily work at the intersection of statistical and population genetics, and we also have active projects related to the ethical and social implications of human genetics (ELSI). Please get in touch if that's a combination that sounds interesting to you!
Just a few more days until the deadline! If you're planning to apply to Bio-based PhD programs this year, considering joining us at the Biology Preview Program where we'll walk you through the PhD application process and help you polish you application materials! Apply here: bit.ly/4n4Nxtu
Please share this widely and encourage students to apply! Many of our current graduate students were recruited through this program -- happy to answer any questions and connect with students bsky.app/profile/stan...
The Stanford Biology Preview Program@stanfordbpp.bsky.social · last yr.Planning to apply to Biology PhD Programs this year? Let us help you out!! At the Stanford Biology Preview Program, we aim to support students from all backgrounds through the graduate school application process. Apply here: forms.gle/EvTyUWXFMRSL...
Planning to apply to Biology PhD Programs this year? Let us help you out!! At the Stanford Biology Preview Program, we aim to support students from all backgrounds through the graduate school application process. Apply here: forms.gle/EvTyUWXFMRSL...
Applying to Biology PhD programs this year? Let us help! At BPP, we aim to support students from all backgrounds through the grad school application process. Learn more about grad student life and receive 1-on-1 feedback on your application materials! Apply here: forms.gle/EvTyUWXFMRSL...
Please share! We are accepting applications for the Biology Preview Program, which aims to make the PhD application process accessible and work with students to strenghten applications. Participants will receive a fee waiver, work 1:1 w/ a mentor, and meet w/faculty. Link: forms.gle/1xBShmvot5Vr...
2025 Stanford Biology Preview Program Application
The Stanford Biology Preview Program (BPP) aims to support scholars through the PhD application process. The Stanford BPP offers virtual workshops to provide insight into the Stanford Biology PhD Prog...
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