T. J. Cole

Adapting antibacterial display to identify serum active macrocyclic peptide antibiotics

This study identifies new macrocyclic peptide antibiotics active in human serum by screening a library under serum conditions, finding that sequence factors like length, charge, and disulfide bonds influence activity.

Two sequence- and two structure-based ML models have learned different aspects of protein biochemistry

The paper compares sequence- and structure-based ML models for predicting protein residue properties, finding they excel at different tasks and that combining them improves accuracy.

Designing β-hairpin peptide macrocycles for antibiotic potential

The paper designs and screens a synthetic macrocyclic β-hairpin peptide library for antibiotic potential, identifying active peptides with unique structural and charge features.

Killer Knots: Molecular evolution of Inhibitor Cystine Knot toxins in wandering spiders (Araneae: Ctenidae)

The paper analyzes ICK toxins in wandering spiders to understand their evolutionary diversification using transcriptomes and proteomes from multiple species.

Ultraconserved elements help resolve the phylogeny of an ancient radiation of venomous flies (Diptera: Asilidae)

This study uses ultraconserved elements to resolve the phylogeny of robber flies, finding that subfamily classifications are inconsistent and recommending quartet concordance for nodal support.

Pick Your Poison: Molecular Evolution of Venom Proteins in Asilidae (Insecta: Diptera)

The paper studies the molecular evolution of venom genes in robber flies by analyzing transcriptomes and identifying gene families under positive selection.