Anita Meier

Cryo-EM Structure and Functional Studies of EBNA1 Binding to the Family of Repeats and Dyad Symmetry Elements of Epstein-Barr Virus oriP | Journal of Virology EBV latent infection is causally linked to diverse cancers and autoimmune disorders. EBNA1 is the viral-encoded DNA binding protein required for episomal maintenance during latent infection and is con...

Image: EBNA1 401 to 641 structure with DNA
Credit: Cryo-EM Structure and Functional Studies of EBNA1 Binding to the Family of Repeats and Dyad Symmetry Elements of Epstein-Barr Virus oriP | Journal of Virology journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Epstein-Barr virus encodes a protein called EBNA1, which physically tethers 🤝 the viral DNA to the host chromosome so it doesn't get lost during mitosis.

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

💥 We have 3 positions open in my lab in Basel, Switzerland🇨🇭:
#nanopores #smFRET #biomolecular #dynamics #singleMolecules

We’re looking for talented & ambitious new colleagues enthusiastic about biomolecular dynamics & single-molecule tech.

Please share broadly, thank you!🤝

schmid.chemie.unibas.ch

Application deadline for up to 5 @mrc-lms.bsky.social postdoc positions in developmental epigenetics closes soon - don’t miss out! Positions across both experimental and computational projects. Come and join our fantastic team science community!

Don't forget to sign up to reserve your spot!
🍿🥂🍪Signing up now will also ensure that we order enough drinks and snacks!

Herpes simplex virus type 1 reshapes host chromatin architecture via transcription machinery hijacking - Nature Communications Here, the authors show how HSV-1 rewires the host cell’s chromatin architecture during lytic infection by hijacking transcription machinery and forming contacts between viral and host genomes.

Beautiful article characterising how HSV-1 alters the host chromosome and nuclear architecture and image credit: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infections dramatically change the architecture of the host nucleus. HSV-1 specifically recruits certain host factors (e.g. RNAPII) to promote its replication.

HSV-1 actively rewires the human genome!

😲Look at how the host genome gets squeezed!!

Postdoctoral Scientist - Structural Studies - Dr Sjors Scheres - LMB 2640 - Cambridgeshire job with MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) | 12840844 Postdoctoral Scientist Starting Salary: £41,344 Fixed term: 3 years MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK We are looking for a postdoc...

We have a 3-year funded postdoc position to work on structures of #amyloid filaments. If you are an expert in protein biochemistry, structural biology or #cryoEM / #cryoET, this could be for you! Feel free to email me with any questions. Come join us! 🤩

www.nature.com/naturecareer...

MRC Postdoctoral Research Scientist - MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences The MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) is a biomedical research institute where scientists and clinicians collaborate to advance the understanding of biology and its application to medicine. LMS...

#JobAlert! We have an opening for a postdoctoral scientist in #CancerMetabolism in my lab @mrc-lms.bsky.social. If you're interested in the role of metabolism in drug response and resistance in cancer, and would like to work in a fun and friendly team, check it out: lms.mrc.ac.uk/work/vacanci...

💥Our next AWA event is all about networking, mentorship and how to do it in a way that is right for you.😌

Sign up and come along. Everyone from Imperial/ MRC welcome! Limited spaces available, drinks and snacks included 🥂🧀

🌟 The next event of the Academic Women Association (AWA) is happening!

Registration and details here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/academic-w...

Mimivirus Fibrils Are Important for Viral Attachment to the Microbial World by a Diverse Glycoside Interaction Repertoire | Journal of Virology ABSTRACT Acanthamoeba polyphaga mimivirus (APMV) is a giant virus from the Mimiviridae family. It has many unusual features, such as a pseudoicosahedral capsid that presents a starfish shape in one o...

It's apparently a glycoprotein fibril layer and used by the virus to attach itself to amoeba, its natural host. 😎
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Tailed giant Tupanvirus possesses the most complete translational apparatus of the known virosphere - Nature Communications Giant viruses are the largest viruses of the known virosphere and their genetic analysis can provide insights into virus evolution. Here, the authors discover Tupanvirus, a unique giant virus that has...

Image credit and great paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This is a tupanvirus, ~450nm in diameter ~1.2um in length, clearly one of the giant viruses. It encodes for the most complete translational machinery found in viruses with only the ribosome lacking. Most (non-giant) viruses don't encode any components required for translation.

It's so fluffy!! 😱

Many viruses use the acidification of endosomes to change the conformation of their capsid/ envelope enabling the escape into the cytosol to ultimately infect the cell

Blows my mind 🤯 that it is possible to capture the structural dynamics of viral capsid contraction by thawing and re-freezing the ice within the electron microscope!

Anyone interested in microsecond time-resolved cryo-EM should check out this paper:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Weird virus fact:

Bacteriophage 29 (Phi29) uses RNA to help package genomic DNA 🤯. This so-called packaging RNA (pRNA) is an essential part of the packaging motor, which is part of the newly formed viral capsid.

Check out the pRNA (pink) in the beautiful structure:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

This of course contributes to the carcinogenic properties of papillomaviruses.

Telomeres and Telomerase During Human Papillomavirus-Induced Carcinogenesis Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) belong to a small spherical virus family and are transmitted through direct contact, most often through sexual behavior. More than 200 types of HPV are known, a dozen or ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Weird virus fact: Papillomaviruses can make their host cell immortal 🧟‍♂️ by activating telomerase (together with other mechanisms).
The viral protein E6 regulates and directly interacts with hTERT and telomeric DNA.

Weird virus fact:
Adeno-associated viruses (AAV) can only replicate if the same host cell is infected with a helper virus. AAV will remain in the host cell (latently infecting it) until a helper virus such as HSV or AdV comes along.

www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/12...

Image credit: viralzone.expasy.org/7

Interplay between Host tRNAs and HIV-1: A Structural Perspective The cellular metabolism of host tRNAs and life cycle of HIV-1 cross paths at several key virus–host interfaces. Emerging data suggest a multi-faceted interplay between host tRNAs and HIV-1 that plays ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Weird virus fact:
HIV-1 and other retroviruses hijack cellular tRNA and use it as primer to initiate reverse transcription of their RNA genome.
They exploit the same tRNA terminal 3′-OH group used by the host for aminoacylation and peptidyl transfer.

Adenovirus DNA Replication: Protein Priming, Jumping Back and the Role of the DNA Binding Protein DBP The adenovirus (Ad) genome is a linear double-stranded (ds) molecule containing about 36 kilobase pairs. At each end of the genome an approximately 100 base pair (bp) inverted terminal repeat (ITR) is...

link.springer.com/chapter/10.1...

Weird virus fact:
In order to overcome the end replication problem, adenovirus DNA replication starts at a protein, rather than an RNA primer. The viral polymerase couples the first nucleotide (dCTP) to a serine on the terminal protein, which assures full replication by a jump-back mechanism. 😎

I fear the consequences of this move...

Weird virus fact: The SV40 polyomavirus dsDNA genome is wrapped around cellular histones within the viral capsid. Most #viruses don't contain histones in their virions.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Image credit: viralzone.expasy.org/148

Great opportunity for people at Imperial/ LMS too meet and network. Sign up if interested!

Weird virus fact:
Herpesvirus (HSV-1) assimilates the cellular motor kinesin-1 to travel within the cell. HSV-1 takes it up into the tegument to use it for future infection: www.nature.com/articles/s41...