Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Antibody Fc receptor CD16a mediates natural killer cell activation via mechanotransduction of piconewton forces

Natural Killer(NK) cells eliminate target cells through antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity(ADCC), initiated by CD16a(FcγRIIIa) recognizing the Fc region of antibodies bound to the target cell surface. While the recognition is considered to be driven by CD16a-Fc binding...

Heterogeneous single-cell dynamics support stable population codes for objects in the mouse anterior cingulate cortex

Remembering object locations is crucial for survival, yet how the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) encodes spatial features across repeated experiences has not been fully characterized. Using longitudinal calcium imaging in freely moving mice, we tracked excitatory ACC neurons whi...

De novo design of RNA pseudoknots with deep learning

RNA design has been hindered by the limited accuracy of 3D structure prediction. Here, we show that intricate RNA structures can be generated with current deep learning tools through accurate de novo design of pseudoknot secondary structures. In an Eterna competition involving 57...

JNK signaling regulates reproductive trade-offs after Plasmodium infection in the malaria mosquito

ABSTRACT Environmental stress can limit mammalian reproduction by affecting production of sexual steroid hormones. Here we reveal a similar mechanism in the malarial mosquito Anopheles gambiae : activation of the stress-sensitive c- J un N -terminal k inase, JNK, constrains repro...

Zinc increases stress granule formation by promoting RNA condensation

During cellular stress, mRNAs are condensed into stress granules through the action of G3BP1 and G3BP2. How intracellular conditions affect RNA-protein condensation in stress granules is still unclear. Herein, we present several observations that cells modulate intracellular zinc...

Transposon end recognition and excision mechanisms of type I-F CRISPR-associated transposases

Abstract CRISPR-associated transposons (CASTs) are Tn7-like elements that have co-opted RNA-guided CRISPR effectors for targeted DNA insertion. CASTs have been adapted as genome editing tools for programmable, site-specific integration. Among them, the type I-F system from Ps e u...

Form and function of actin impacts actin health and aging

Abstract The actin cytoskeleton is a fundamental and highly conserved structure that functions in diverse cellular processes, yet its direct contribution to organismal aging remains unclear. Here, we systematically interrogated how genetic and pharmacologic perturbations of actin...

Photometallobiocatalytic Asymmetric Radical‐Mediated Cross‐Coupling of Organotrifluoroborate Salts and Pyridotriazoles

ABSTRACT The cooperative integration of photoredox catalysis and metalloenzyme catalysis has emerged as a powerful strategy for enabling stereoselective radical transformations beyond the capabilities of either catalytic mode alone. Herein, we report a photometallobiocatalytic en...

Accelerating protein design by scaling experimental characterization

Abstract Recent advances in de novo protein design have greatly outpaced standard protein biochemistry workflows, and experimental testing has been a bottleneck in the validation of new designs and methodologies. Here, we describe experimental and computational workflows to addre...

The combination of morphogenic regulators BABY BOOM and GRF ‐ GIF improves maize transformation efficiency and promotes leaf regeneration

Summary Transformation is an indispensable tool for plant genetics and functional genomics. Although stable transformation in maize is no longer a major obstacle, there remains a need for accessible and efficient methods for academic laboratories. Here, we present the GGB system,...

Autoantibodies neutralizing type I interferons underlie a third of cases of Chikungunya virus encephalitis or myelitis

Abstract Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection is typically not life-threatening but may, in rare cases, affect the central nervous system (CNS). In three cohorts of confirmed CHIKV cases from Martinique (French overseas territory) and Brazil (patients aged 0–89 years, n = 245), 20...

Potent type-specific de novo antibodies complement broadly reactive imprinted antibodies in immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 variants

Abstract For rapidly mutating viruses such as influenza viruses and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), immune memory recalled by antigenically drifted variants primarily comprises antibodies that cross-react to the priming strain rather than de novo eli...

The Biomass Distribution on Earth

<p>This resource uses an interactive Voronoi diagram to explore global biomass and abundance data across major taxonomic groups, based on Bar-On, Phillips, and Milo (2018). It compares organisms across environments and measurement types, with guided activities for additiona...

RTF2 and CLASPIN localize CHK1 to the replication fork to control S-phase progression

The essential kinase ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3-related (ATR) monitors the replicative (S) phase of the cell cycle to ensure faithful propagation of genetic material. While much is known about the mechanisms governing ATR activity at replication forks, how its effector checkp...

A Workflow for the Identification of Oligomeric Structures on Tilted Sample Planes in Cryo-SMLM

We introduce a workflow to identify oligomeric structures that are recorded with single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) under cryogenic conditions. Typically, these oligomers are assumed to consist of protomers arranged as equilateral two-dimensional polygons and every pr...