Korostelev Lab

All life depends on accurate translation (both intracellular & international). Using time-resolved cryo-EM, we watched ribosomes decode mRNA, aided by EF-Tu and GTP. See our animations & article (nature.com/articles/s4158…) on how ribosomes proofread tRNAs to make correct proteins:

ROOL monomers entangle with other monomers via strand swapping to form octameric nanocages. nature.com/articles/s4158…

Our review on small endogenous RNAs in animals is online. We thank @MartinjSimard, @SvobodaLab and the third, anonymous, reviewer for helping us improve our manuscript. bit.ly/3Ebk931

Preprint from our collaboration with the labs of Gerry Wright and Shura Mankin @shuramankin identifying the first translation inhibitor binding to the E-site of the bacterial ribosome… researchsquare.com/article/rs-692…

With our RTI colleagues Xiaobin Ling and @WenwenFang2, we report cryo-EM structures of enigmatic bacterial RNA nanocages made of long-noncoding ROOL RNAs. Octamers are held by "A-minor staples" and other interactions. Congrats Xiaobin, Dima et al! nature.com/articles/s4158…

Activation of Retron-Septu for antiphage defense. Congrats @futianmin and all co-authors! science.org/doi/full/10.11…

“Undermining the future of American science is not a path to accountability — it’s a path to decline.” In a powerful new piece, my colleague Daphna Shohamy explains how canceled grants are driving young scientists out of science—and out of the country. 🔗 statnews.com/2025/05/07/us-…

In our newly published study we show that the proline-rich antimicrobial peptide (PrAMP) Bac5 has a distinct mode of interaction with the ribosome compared to other PrAMPs…academic.oup.com/nar/article/53…

We developed a new siRNA drug candidate for prion disease, a @broadinstitute / @RTI_UMassChan collaboration. We now have an open IND meaning FDA has given us permission to start first-in-human trials. Work remains before trials can launch. The full update: cureffi.org/2025/04/14/ope…

I’m happy to share our recent manuscript in which we are structurally and biochemically investigating 3'-5' tRNA splicing ligases, including a #cryoEM structure of the five-subunit D. rerio tRNA ligase complex. jbc.org/article/S0021-…

Fresh off the press…our latest study on the Structure of a Gcn2 dimer in complex with the large 60S ribosomal subunit | great collaboration with @inada_lab and Zaher lab. Data collected at @DCI_EM. PNAS pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…

Anastasia Khvorova, PhD, named 2025 Else Kröner Fresenius Prize for Medical Research awardee for her pioneering work in the field of RNA-based therapies: direc.to/nacN #EKFprize25 #EKFS #ElseKrönerFreseniusStiftung #RNA #RNAtherapies @EKFStiftung @RTI_UMassChan

Biological systems find ingenuous solutions. Almost anything that can happen, happens. Still, I would not have guessed a role of RNA-binding proteins on the cell surface. The Flynn lab are boldly investigating glycoRNAs and following their leads.

Our paper on Stopless-ORF Circular RNAs (socRNAs) is now out in Cell. By high-res tracking and comparing translation by either single or multiple ribosomes, we find that ribosomes cooperate to overcome pausing to ensure fast and efficient translation cell.com/cell/fulltext/…

Gabriel Demo and colleagues report how a small archaeal protein (aRDF) dimerizes 30S subunits to prevent ribosome formation: academic.oup.com/nar/article/53…

Using reporters with long unstructured 5’ UTRs, we examined which initiation factors are limiting for 40S scanning. Our results&literature led us to the model that 40S scans 5’ UTRs by one-dimensional diffusion rather than helicase-driven translocation. biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

It's a great pleasure to share our latest collaborative work detailing the composition and structure of the highly rRNA-fragmented mitoribosome from Apicomplexa, such as Plasmodium falciparum and Toxoplasma gondii, now out in @NatureComms rdcu.be/d3R8C

Our latest work is out in @Nature today! Using smFRET, we directly visualized recruitment of the eIF4F complex to the 5' cap of eukaryotic mRNAs and formation of an activated mRNA. Our findings reveal new and surprising roles for each eIF4F component. 1/3 nature.com/articles/s4158…

Congratulations Matt and all co-authors. It's exciting that you harnessed RNase L for a specific RNA cleavage!

RiSANA is online! We report the Ribosome Stimulated Angiogenin Nuclease Assay (RiSANA) and explore: (a) if Angiogenin is activated by bacterial 70S ribosomes; and (b) if closest homolog RNase 4 is stimulated by 80S: tinyurl.com/3fftczrw Congrats Emily Sholi and Anna Loveland!

We are excited to share our latest work on the cooperation between RNA polymerase and the ribosome in bacteria: science.org/doi/10.1126/sc… The work was supported by @IGBMC, @Inserm, @CNRS, @unistra, @ERC_research, @IMC_Bio, and @instructhub. 1/7