Kranzusch Lab
@kranzuschlab.bsky.social
Harvard Medical School, Dana Farber Cancer Institute https://kranzuschlab.med.harvard.edu
Please don't miss this opportunity to work with a brilliant, patient and rigorous scientist!!
Andrew Darwin@durkdarwin.bsky.social · 2w agoAfter a bit of a rough patch my lab's funding situation has taken a significant upturn, so if you're looking for a Postdoc position please keep us in mind...Pseudomonas aeruginosa genetics, regulation, and physiology - with a focus on the cell envelope. Please repost. andrewdarwinlab.org
1st genome sequenced (Sanger 1977), 1st genome synthesised (Venter 2003), 1st genome + proteome fully mutated (Huijin Xiangua 2026!) @crg.eu @sangerinstitute.bsky.social Complete Mutagenesis of the Genome and Proteome of ΦX174 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Complete Mutagenesis of the Genome and Proteome of ΦX174
The bacteriophage ΦX174 was the first genome to be sequenced and the first to be chemically synthesised. Here we present a complete map of the consequences of changing every nucleotide in the ΦX174 ge...
biorxiv.org
We are excited to share two preprints reporting a mosquito-specific receptor for chikungunya virus and other alphaviruses! 🤩 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... @harvardmicro.bsky.social @harvardvirology.bsky.social @hhmi-science.bsky.social
Nature research paper: Diverse bacterial pattern recognition receptors sense the core phage proteome go.nature.com/45fpXCZ
Diverse bacterial pattern recognition receptors sense the core phage proteome - Nature
Systematic analysis of prokaryotic STAND NTPases — relatives of animal and plant immune receptors — uncovers diverse antiviral sensors that detect most of the core structural and replicative proteins of bacteriophages.
go.nature.com
Caroline Langley's primary thesis chapter from her time as a grad student in @memerman.bsky.social's and my lab is now published. She shows that HIV-1 Vif’s ability to maintain A3G antagonism depends on structural robustness, which permits adaptation, and epistasis, which imposes constraints.
@JohnGrossSF@johngrosssf.bsky.social · 2w agoStrain-specific epistasis shapes fitness landscapes of APOBEC3G antagonism by HIV-1 Vif proteins | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Congratulations on this beautiful work!
Wait, what?! This isn’t about ribosomes? Check out our new work where we find that a #Legionella effector thought to target host translation instead targets metabolism by modifying a host glycolytic metabolite. Led by @drjoshblack.bsky.social www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
The Legionella pneumophila effector SidL is an adenylyltransferase that modifies the glycolytic intermediate 3-phosphoglycerate
Black et al. identify the L. pneumophila effector SidL as an adenylyltransferase that targets host glycolysis. SidL covalently modifies the glycolytic intermediate 3-phosphoglycerate (3PG) with AMP, g...
cell.com
Some bacteria use the CRISPR/Cas systems as transcriptional repressors of other anti-phage systems, such that when CRISPR interfered with, gene expression of repressed anti-phage systems goes up www.nature.com/articles/s41...
CRISPR–Cas regulates expression of embedded anti-phage defence systems - Nature
CRISPR–Cas systems transcriptionally tune diverse innate defences using CRISPR RNA-like guides to balance antiviral protection with fitness, and hyperactivate these defences when compromised, establis...
nature.com
Super proud and excited about this work, led masterfully by Peiwei Chen! A fun and fruitful collaboration with department colleagues Andy Clark & Alexei Aravin. After 30 yrs of studying transposons, this is one of the very first times I see them jump in real time in their natural host! Hurrah! 🥳
Peiwei Chen@peiwei-chen.bsky.social · 3w agoHow do transposons jump when they’re released from host control? I babysat two chromosomes for 2 years, making sure they are ok without most piRNAs. Here’s what we found & excited to share my 1st postdoc paper: “piRNA loss unleashes episodic transposition bursts” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Happy to share the first preprint out of the Nomburg lab! Many aspects of cellular immunity are shared across the tree of life. Here, we show that some of these conserved aspects of cellular immunity are mirrored by conserved effectors of immune antagonism. Thread below! 1/15
bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 2w agoConserved folds enable immune antagonism across the tree of life https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.21.739742v1
1/4 Every good defence needs a backup! 🛡️⚔ Out now in @natrevmicro.nature.com our Comment on "𝗶𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴"! 🎉 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Immune safeguarding as a conserved principle of antiviral defence - Nature Reviews Microbiology
All organisms defend against viral infections through active immunity mechanisms that clear the virus or population-level mechanisms that cause regulated cell death. Recent research increasingly shows...
nature.com
Out @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social, natural products meet bacterial immunity! We used genomics to identify lanthivirins: a family of >2,000 lanthipeptide BGCs that protect Actinobacteria against phages. Led by @hshomar.bsky.social & @mariegllm.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A family of lanthipeptides with anti-phage function
Bacteria produce natural products to adapt to their environments, with phage interactions as major ecological and evolutionary drivers. While some nat…
sciencedirect.com
The third chapter in our coral single-cell trilogy is here. After mapping cell type diversity in Stylophora (Levy 2021) and exploring facultative symbiosis in Oculina (Levy 2025), we now uncover cell type-specific responses to heat stress. Find out more in @xgrau.bsky.social's thread below.
Cell-resolved transcriptional responses during heat-induced coral bleaching and recovery
Coral reefs depend on an intracellular symbiosis between cnidarian hosts and photosynthetic dinoflagellates that is disrupted by ocean warming, causing coral bleaching. Yet how these responses are dis...
biorxiv.org
Xavier Grau-Bové 🌾@xgrau.bsky.social · 2w agoI'm happy to share our latest on #coral single-cell biology: a transcriptomic timecourse of heat stress in Stylophora pistillata, from bleaching to recovery 🪸🌊 This project was spearheaded by Shani Levy and carried through in @arnausebe.bsky.social's lab at @crg.eu. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
A mechanism for STING sensing of bacterial cyclic dinucleotides! Congratulations Stephanie and @jkagan1.bsky.social !
Jonathan Kagan@jkagan1.bsky.social · 3w agoA new PAMP, a new innate immunity principle and a new preclinical application. I am so pleased to share our study on STING activation mechanisms in health and disease. Led by the fantastic Stephanie Ragland, follow the link below for a summary of all we learned. www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
Gabija restricts phage circularization & DNA replication Gabija prevents phage genome circularization & replication w/out impacting bacterial host. Exposed DNA ends & phage end-binding proteins license DNA targeting while RecBCD protects host from Gabija www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...
Gabija restricts phage circularization and DNA replication
Gabija acts early during phage infection, preventing phage genome circularization and replication. Phage DNA end-binding proteins prevent RecBCD loading onto linear DNA, and the absence of RecBCD lice...
cell.com
Our AI-guided design of RNA-guided nucleases is now out in @science.org 💻🧬 We used structure and evolutionary data to generate minimal, active and divergent gene editors! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Congrats to @petrskopintsev.bsky.social @isabelesain.bsky.social @evandeturk.bsky.social & team!
Structure and evolution-guided design of minimal RNA-guided nucleases
The design of RNA-guided nucleases with properties not limited by evolution can expand programmable genome-editing capabilities. However, generating diverse multidomain proteins with robust enzymatic ...
science.org
One of the coolest structures presented at the recent SISB2026 meeting, great to see this story from @rafomics.bsky.social and @guillermo-montoya.bsky.social on a giant retron ring-shaped assembly now out: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Stunning pre-print from @artemisaev.bsky.social @dbikard.bsky.social and the Wang lab answering long-standing questions about OLD phage defense and extending the concept of "protein complex disassembly" controlling activation of bacterial immunity: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🚨 We're hiring! My new lab at EMBL Hamburg is looking for a Research Technician. I'm looking for someone excited by phages, metabolism, enzymes, structural biology and bacterial immunity—if you know the right person, please share this post!🧵⬇️ Apply here: embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/EMBL/j...
Research Technician (Osterman Group – Metabolism-driven immunity)
EMBL Hamburg / CSSB The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is Europe’s flagship life sciences organization, with more than 110 independent research groups across Heidelberg, Hamburg, Grenobl...
embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com
1/11 New preprint from the Sternberg lab in collaboration with the Fernández lab! We are excited to share our structure-function study of DRT10, a bacterial defense-associated reverse transcriptase that synthesizes long tandem-repeat DNA.🧵 Read the full story here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Mechanism of tandem-repeat DNA synthesis by an antiviral reverse transcriptase
Defense-associated reverse transcriptases (DRTs) employ DNA synthesis to protect bacteria against phage infection[1][1],[2][2]. We previously showed that DRT10, a tripartite system comprising an RT, a...
biorxiv.org
Our paper out in Science today: The Metis defense system senses molecular byproducts released when a phage degrades the bacterial genome, and then prevents replication of the phage in the infected cell Congratulations @ostermanilya.bsky.social and co-authors!
Bacteria sense virus-induced genome degradation via methylated mononucleotides
Phages often degrade the genome of their bacterial host to individual nucleotides. Here we describe Metis, a bacterial defense system that directly senses phage-mediated host genome degradation. Metis...
science.org
Osterman Ilya@ostermanilya.bsky.social · 4w agoExcited to share that our Metis story is now published in Science! 🎉 Bacteria can sense phage-induced degradation of their genome and activate immunity. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this work. 📄 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... More details in my earlier thread 🧵⬇️
Excited to share that our Metis story is now published in Science! 🎉 Bacteria can sense phage-induced degradation of their genome and activate immunity. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this work. 📄 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... More details in my earlier thread 🧵⬇️
Bacteria sense virus-induced genome degradation via methylated mononucleotides
Phages often degrade the genome of their bacterial host to individual nucleotides. Here we describe Metis, a bacterial defense system that directly senses phage-mediated host genome degradation. Metis...
science.org
Osterman Ilya@ostermanilya.bsky.social · 9mo agoBacteria can sense when a virus starts shredding their genome — by detecting methylated mononucleotides. Here’s the story of how we discovered the Metis defense system 👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
How did octopuses evolve novel traits? Rishav Mitra, Richard Han, Trey Scott, et al serendipitously discover a unique ribosome adaptation that increases the accuracy of protein synthesis and evolved alongside their elaborate nervous systems vs deep sea relatives. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#microsky New preprint from the lab! Widespread immune systems protect bacteria against conjugative plasmids www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Kudos to the extremely talented lead author Ludovic Poiré! Key contributions by @francoisrousset.bsky.social and also help from C. Lesterlin/TacC lab. 🧵⬇️
Widespread immune systems protect bacteria against conjugative plasmids
Conjugative plasmids are a class of mobile genetic elements capable of efficient transfer between bacterial cells. Although they can introduce beneficial traits such as antibiotic resistance to recipi...
biorxiv.org
Now online! A viral ORFeome library for systems-level genetic dissection of host-pathogen interactions
A viral ORFeome library for systems-level genetic dissection of host-pathogen interactions
A scalable library of ∼13,000 barcoded viral open reading frames from >500 viral species enables functional genomic screens across the virome. Applying this platform identified viral regulators of cellular proliferation, antigen presentation, and interferon signaling. This platform enables systematic exploration of viral protein function.
dlvr.it
RNA splicing was discovered in adenovirus almost 50 years ago. In our lab's first pre-print we have turned that relationship around, showing that viruses dependence on the cell's splicing machinery leads to a hidden vulnerability that can be targeted with drugs already in human clinical trials.
New preprint from @courtneyrsantos.bsky.social and @kvnforsberg.bsky.social discovering human ISGs are sufficient to block phage replication in bacteria! Amazing to see such strong phenotypes especially against RNA phages: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Meet SpudCell, a synthetic cell made from lifeless ingredients that feeds, grows, divides, and experiences selection. If it doesn't have all the hallmarks of life, it has a lot! Here's my story. Gift link: nyti.ms/4vCbTih
One of the oddest things to get across to non-genetics/genomicists is just how weird and varied hetreogametic sex development pathways are. You just ... could not make it up. (eyes sideways to the platypus - in particular you!). So - ribosomal protein as sex determining factor. Just normal crazy.
Adria LeBoeuf@adriatica.bsky.social · last mo.Diego Cortez on the weird Y chromosomes of lizards: a ribosomal protein is the sex determining factor (!) #SMBE2026 also, excellent thank you slide.
Cool new preprint of a new defence family! Antimicrobial-resistance plasmids encode Evangelion, a widespread DUF4062 anti-phage defence family www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Antimicrobial-resistance plasmids encode Evangelion, a widespread DUF4062 anti-phage defence family
Many bacterial anti-phage defence systems are encoded by mobile genetic elements, yet much of this antiviral repertoire remains undiscovered. Antimicrobial-resistance plasmids are well known for disse...
biorxiv.org
Our evil ORFeome paper is out! In collaboration with @alex-stark.bsky.social, we screened ~4,000 viral proteins and secreted effectors from bacteria and parasites, covering hundreds of diverse pathogens, for phenotypes in human cells.