🚨 Our new paper is out! 🙌 Bioorthogonal reactions often create bulky, non-native linkages-great for labeling, but not ideal for installing natural PTMs. We combine GCE with a chemoselective amide-bond forming reaction to install site-specific acylation PTMs. www.cell.com/chem/fulltex... 1/4

A modular genetic code expansion approach to site-specific lysine acylations

A modular strategy combining genetic code expansion with a selective amide bond-forming reaction enables the site-specific installation of lysine acylations on folded proteins. Acylboronates react sel...

cell.com

Are you interested in cutting edge #Biochemistry and #ChemBio? Check out our #Biochemistry2026 meeting in Würzburg from March 16th to 18th. Deadlines for reduced early bird registration fee and abstracts have been extended to January 28th. veranstaltungen.gdch.de/microsite/in...

📢 Open Call! The Max Perutz Labs invite applications for a Full Professorship in Integrative Structure Biology with a focus on in situ structural biology using cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) and related methods. More details ➡️ tinyurl.com/brswbymu

How selective is your favourite electrophile? 🤔 🧪 🧫 🎯 Check out this thorough study from the @stephanhacker2.bsky.social lab, now published in Nature Chemistry! Many congrats to everyone. We are thrilled to have contributed a little! Many congrats to @klanglab.bsky.social alumni Kristina and Marko!

Stephan Hacker@stephanhacker2.bsky.social · 9mo ago

How can we study target engagement and selectivity of covalent inhibitors? Which electrophilic probes are best suited to study a certain amino acid? Our study on "Profiling the proteome-wide selectivity of diverse electrophiles" is published in Nature Chemistry.(1/7) www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Super proud of this story! ☺️ Huge thanks to @taruniype.bsky.social for the amazing work - and to @klanglab.bsky.social for the constant support! The first time we saw that phenomenon actually goes all the way back to my Master’s thesis in 2016 🫣 Every now and then, persistence pays off 🤞

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

🚨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

new preprint: Ubiquitin is a protein modification linked with degradation but known to regulate other functions. Over 100k ubiquitination sites have been discovered and here we (@julianvangerwen.bsky.social + others) try to prioritize those most critical to the cell www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

The functional landscape of the human ubiquitinome

Protein ubiquitination regulates cell biology through diverse avenues, from quality control-linked protein degradation to signaling functions such as modulating protein-protein interactions and enzyme...

biorxiv.org

Today, I would like to honor the memory of Roger Y. Tsien, who died on August 24, 2016. His legacy lives with all who use his technologies, including calcium sensors, fluorescent proteins, the acetoxymethyl (AM) ester, & many more! #FluorescenceFriday www.nature.com/articles/nme...

1/16 New pre-print from the Sternberg Lab! We uncover how temperate phages can use RNA-guided transcription factors to remodel the flagellar composition of their bacterial host and enhance their fitness. Find the preprint and full story here: tinyurl.com/mshwjd77

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... le 🦠💫💫💫 #ribosome #rnasky

Mechanism of release factor–mediated peptidyl-tRNA hydrolysis on the ribosome

Translation termination is essential in all living organisms because it ensures that proteins have lengths strictly defined by their genes. This universal process is mediated by peptide release factor...

science.org

New Preprint: We have solved the structure of the proteasome in complex with two different ubiquitin chains: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... This work is spearheaded by PhD Student Sascha Amann Let me walk you through it 🧵 1/9

Structural basis for the ubiquitin chain recognition of the human 26S proteasome

Proteasomal degradation is a fundamental process for all eukaryotic life. A protein destined for degradation is first tagged with a polyubiquitin chain, which is selected by the proteasome. Different ...

biorxiv.org

Nature research paper: A broad-spectrum lasso peptide antibiotic targeting the bacterial ribosome https://go.nature.com/4iECjJz

A broad-spectrum lasso peptide antibiotic targeting the bacterial ribosome - Nature

A new lasso peptide antibiotic exhibits broad-spectrum activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria by interfering with bacterial protein synthesis, is unaffected by common resistance mechanisms and shows no toxicity towards human cells.

go.nature.com

Cells are filled with toxic stuff that damages healthy proteins. Is that garbage just left to rot on the curb? No way! Ubiquitin ligases have evolved to recognize chemical damage and clean it up! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

C-terminal amides mark proteins for degradation via SCF–FBXO31 - Nature

SCF–FBXO31 scans proteins for C-terminal amidation and marks them for subsequent proteasomal degradation.

nature.com

Elise and Tarah's work on engineering leucyl-tRNA synthetase to incorporate numerous ncAAs in mammalian cells now published! A bit of good news amidst these chaotic times onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Optimized Directed Evolution of E. coli leucyl‐tRNA Synthetase adds many Noncanonical Amino Acids into the Eukaryotic Genetic Code Including Ornithine and Nϵ‐Acetyl‐Methyllysine

The pyrrolysyl pair has dominated noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) incorporation in eukaryotes, but additional engineerable pairs are needed to further expand this toolbox. Although E. coli leucyl-tR....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

📢 The Louis-Jeantet Foundation is happy to announce the 2025 #LouisJeantetPrizes, awarded to VEIT HORNUNG @v-hornung.bsky.social @genecenter-lmu.bsky.social and to GILLES LAURENT @ maxplanck.de CONGRATULATIONS!!! 👉 jeantet.ch/en 👇 follow thread

Overjoyed and honestly relieved to share a Chem Rev magnum opus from Brian Chen & Julia Li titled Synthetic Lipid Biology! In it, we organize efforts across numerous fields to create, manipulate, and analyze lipids and biomembranes. Check it out! doi.org/10.1021/acs.... #lipidtime #chemsky #chembio

A new tool FUSEP profiles the E2-specific ubiquitome and enables systematic studies of non-lysine ubiquitin conjugation, here used to identify the existence of tyrosine ubiquitination www.nature.com/articles/s41...

E2–Ub-R74G strategy reveals E2-specific ubiquitin conjugation profiles in live cells - Nature Chemical Biology

Shen and Yin developed a technology named FUSEP to profile the E2-specific ubiquitome that makes use of a fusion between E2 and ubiquitin carrying a R74G point mutation, which leaves an LGGG remnant f...

nature.com

Exciting paper by the groups of Ronald Micura and Alexandra Lusser in @nchembio.bsky.social. Covalent binders to structured RNA based on alkyl halides and alkyl mesylates show engagement of the preQ1 and Pepper aptamers in vitro and in cells. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Engineering covalent small molecule–RNA complexes in living cells - Nature Chemical Biology

Small-molecule ligands have been developed that covalently attach to their cognate RNA aptamers in vitro and in living cells. This strategy opens up new avenues for RNA imaging applications (for examp...

nature.com

Die Fachgruppe Biochemie der @gdch.bsky.social wünscht ein frohes neues Jahr! Wir hatten ein großartiges 2024 mit einer fantastischen Biochemie-Tagung. Wenn Sie in 2024 eine herausragende Doktorarbeit oder Veröffentlichung in Ihrer Gruppe hatten, nominieren Sie für unseren Förderpreis!

Efficient circular RNA synthesis for potent rolling circle translation. Congratulations to Yifei and the team in Venki's lab at @mrclmb.bsky.social! www.nature.com/articles/s41... #RNA #RNABiology #RNAsky #Translation #mRNA

Efficient circular RNA synthesis for potent rolling circle translation - Nature Biomedical Engineering

Trans-splicing-based methods that are independent of bacterial sequences and that allow the incorporation of RNA modifications enable the reliable synthesis of circular RNAs and enhance the efficiency...

nature.com

WOW!!! Beautiful new Nature paper from Burkart Lab UCSD reveals how non-ribosomal peptide natural product synthetases work together. They use tetrazine click chemistry to capture these huge protein complexes mid-reaction. 3 different snapshots show different states. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Curious what we do in my new lab at D-CHAB @ethzurich.bsky.social 🔬⚗️? Save the date for my inaugural lecture on April 3, 2025 and if you can’t wait to know more check out the news article and the associated video. chab.ethz.ch/en/news-and-...

Happy to see my Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology Highlight out in the current CHIMIA and online. Thank you to @klanglab.bsky.social for the invitation! www.chimia.ch/chimia/artic...

First paper of our lab today @natureportfolio.bsky.social by Nussi! We provide a real-time movie on how #transcription and #translation cooperate using #single-molecule FM: we find long-range #ribosome/ RNAP communication mediated by #RNA looping! @embl.org #RNAbiology #RNASky t.co/a24Xxcxdo0

Could one envision a synthetic receptor technology that is fully programmable, able to detect diverse extracellular antigens – both soluble and cell-attached – and convert that recognition into a wide range of intracellular responses, from gene expression and real-time fluorescence to modulation..

I’m thrilled to share a collaborative story from @Mendell_lab and Jan Erzberger labs, led by postdoc extraordinaire Xiaoqiang Zhu. We showed that in addition to their canonical decoding function, tRNAs play a key role in regulating mRNA stability during translation! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Specific tRNAs promote mRNA decay by recruiting the CCR4-NOT complex to translating ribosomes

The CCR4-NOT complex is a major regulator of eukaryotic messenger RNA (mRNA) stability. Slow decoding during translation promotes association of CCR4-NOT with ribosomes, accelerating mRNA degradation....

science.org

Mechanistic basis for protein conjugation in a diverged bacterial ubiquitination pathway https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.11.21.623953v1

Mechanistic basis for protein conjugation in a diverged bacterial ubiquitination pathway https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.11.21.623953v1

Ubiquitination is a fundamental and highly conserved protein post-translational modification pathway

biorxiv.org

Very creative use of a prebiotic-inspired, hybridization-accelerated covalent reaction for capture of charged aminoacyl-tRNAs.

Laura White@laurakwhite.bsky.social · 2y ago

New preprint on our method aa-tRNA-seq: chemically capturing aminoacylated tRNA molecules & pulling them through nanopores. It’s been a blast working with my collaborator Aleks Radakovic to take this from idea to promising pilot data to some looking exciting biology to chase down in future work.

Check out this list of ubiquitin and Ubl profiles to follow. Repost if you want me to add you to it. Let’s create a good community here ☁️ go.bsky.app/3VPQofn