B. A. Johnson

Variant mutation in SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid enhances viral infection via altered genomic encapsidation

The paper identifies a mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein that enhances viral infection by promoting dimer formation and altering virion structure.

Differential effects of aneuploidy on growth and differentiation in human intestinal stem cells

This study investigates how different types of aneuploidy affect growth and differentiation in human intestinal stem cells, finding that complex aneuploidy triggers p53 activation and cell-cycle arrest, while simple aneuploidy allows continued proliferation and impaired differentiation.

Interaction between host G3BP and viral nucleocapsid protein regulates SARS-CoV-2 replication

This study identifies the role of G3BP1-N interaction in SARS-CoV-2 replication by showing that disrupting this interaction reduces viral replication and pathogenesis.

SARS-CoV-2 Uses Nonstructural Protein 16 to Evade Restriction by IFIT1 and IFIT3

This paper shows that SARS-CoV-2's NSP16 protein helps evade immune detection by methylating viral mRNA, and disrupting this function reduces viral replication and disease in hamsters.

Nucleocapsid mutations in SARS-CoV-2 augment replication and pathogenesis.

This study shows that mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein enhance viral replication and pathogenesis by increasing phosphorylation and resisting kinase inhibition.

QTQTN motif upstream of the furin-cleavage site plays key role in SARS-CoV-2 infection and pathogenesis.

This study shows that deleting the QTQTN motif reduces SARS-CoV-2 replication and disease by affecting spike processing and glycosylation.

The indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase pathway drives intratumoral B cell maintenance.

This study shows that inhibiting the IDO1 pathway reduces tumor-infiltrating B cells in melanoma models, suggesting potential therapeutic strategies for solid tumors.

Delta spike P681R mutation enhances SARS-CoV-2 fitness over Alpha variant

This study identifies the P681R mutation in the Delta variant's spike protein as critical for enhanced viral replication compared to the Alpha variant through increased furin cleavage of the spike protein.

NMR chemical shift assignments of RNA oligonucleotides to expand the RNA chemical shift database

The paper reports chemical shift assignments for 12 RNA hairpins to enhance the BMRB database.

Mouse Adapted SARS-CoV-2 protects animals from lethal SARS-CoV challenge

This study creates a mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 strain that protects mice from lethal SARS-CoV challenge, demonstrating cross-strain immunity.

Investigating a trade-off between the quality of nest grown feathers and pace of development in an altricial bird.

The paper investigates a trade-off between nest-grown feather quality and developmental speed in tree swallows, finding no evidence for a negative association between the two traits.

Vibrio cholerae's mysterious Seventh Pandemic island (VSP-II) encodes novel Zur-regulated zinc starvation genes involved in chemotaxis and autoaggregation

This study identifies zinc starvation as an inducer of VSP-II gene expression in V. cholerae, revealing a transcriptional network involving VerA and AerB that drives autoaggregation and aerotaxis.

Spike mutation D614G alters SARS-CoV-2 fitness and neutralization susceptibility

This study shows the D614G mutation in SARS-CoV-2 increases viral replication and upper respiratory tract viral loads but does not reduce vaccine efficacy or antibody neutralization.

Furin Cleavage Site Is Key to SARS-CoV-2 Pathogenesis

This study shows that removing the furin cleavage site from SARS-CoV-2 increases replication in Vero cells but reduces replication in respiratory cells and pathogenesis in hamsters, while also decreasing neutralization susceptibility.

Use of High Pressure NMR Spectroscopy to Rapidly Identify Proteins with Internal Ligand-Binding Voids

This paper introduces a method using high-pressure NMR spectroscopy to identify proteins with internal ligand-binding voids by detecting nonlinear chemical shift changes in 1H/15N HSQC experiments.

Peptidoglycan associated cyclic lipopeptide disrupts viral infectivity

The paper identifies surfactin, a cyclic lipopeptide from bacterial peptidoglycan, as a broad-spectrum virucidal compound that disrupts enveloped virus infectivity.