A. Borodavka

Modulating Nucleic Acid Phase Transitions as a Mechanism of Action for Cell-Penetrating Antimicrobial Peptides

This study identifies that antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) induce nucleic acid phase separation, which may be a novel mechanism for their antibacterial activity.

Engineering a Vaccine Platform using Rotavirus A to Express SARS-CoV-2 Spike Epitopes

This paper tests engineering rotavirus to express SARS-CoV-2 spike epitopes, finding that inserting peptides into NSP3 is feasible while VP4 insertions impair viral replication.

Rotavirus RNA chaperone mediates global transcriptome-wide increase in RNA backbone flexibility

The paper uses SHAPE-MaP to analyze rotavirus transcriptome structure with and without NSP2, finding increased RNA backbone flexibility rather than helix unwinding.

Principles of RNA recruitment to viral ribonucleoprotein condensates in a segmented dsRNA virus

The paper investigates how rotavirus transcripts are recruited into viroplasms, showing that RNA enrichment depends on conserved terminal regions and varies among transcripts.

Rotavirus Replication Factories Are Complex Ribonucleoprotein Condensates

This study shows rotavirus replication factories are RNA-protein condensates formed by phase separation, with unique features that could be targeted for antiviral therapies.

Structural basis of rotavirus RNA chaperone displacement and RNA annealing

This study identifies how the rotavirus NSP2 protein regulates RNA chaperone activity through structural changes that promote RNA annealing and release.

High Resolution Biomolecular Condensate Phase Diagrams with a Combinatorial Microdroplet Platform

This paper introduces a microdroplet platform to rapidly generate high-resolution phase diagrams of biomolecular condensates and demonstrates its application in studying phase transitions.

Recombinant rotaviruses rescued by reverse genetics reveal the role of NSP5 hyperphosphorylation in the assembly of viral factories

This study uses reverse genetics to generate recombinant rotaviruses with NSP5 mutations, revealing that NSP5 hyperphosphorylation is essential for viroplasm assembly and viral replication.

Stability of local secondary structure determines selectivity of viral RNA chaperones

This study compares the ability of viral RNA chaperones NSP2 and σNS to promote inter-segment RNA-RNA interactions, finding that NSP2's high affinity for structured RNAs and efficient helix disruption enable successful inter-segment association, while σNS lacks this capacity.