The paper uses cryo-EM and single-channel recordings to show that acetylcholine receptor subunits transition asynchronously, leading to a sequential activation mechanism.

Science · Oct 2, 2025Peer-reviewedNeuroscience

Heteropentameric architecture predisposes functional inequivalence of acetylcholine receptor agonist sites

Johnathon R. Emlaw, Christian J. G. Tessier, Mariam Taktek, André R. Paquette, Christopher N. C. Boddy, Corrie J.B. daCosta

This study shows that structural asymmetry in acetylcholine receptors causes functional inequivalence between chemically identical agonist sites, highlighting its role in disease and evolution.

bioRxiv · Sep 13, 2025 · PreprintBiophysics

Ancestral sequence reconstruction of the Mic60 Mitofilin domain reveals residues supporting respiration in yeast

Friederike M. C. Benning, Tristan A. Bell, Tran H. Nguyen, Della Syau, Louise B. Connell, Yi‐Ting Liao, Matthew P. Keating, Margaret L. Coughlin, Anja E. H. Nordstrom, Maria Ericsson, Corrie J.B. daCosta, Luke H. Chao

This study uses ancestral sequence reconstruction to identify residues in the Mitofilin domain of Mic60 that support respiration in yeast.

Protein Science · Jun 22, 2025Peer-reviewedEvolutionary Biology

pUdOs: concise plasmids for bacterial and mammalian cells

France Ourida Manigat, Louise B. Connell, Brittany N. Stewart, Abdel-Rahman LePabic, Christian J. G. Tessier, Johnathon R. Emlaw, Nicholas D. Calvert, Anthony Rössl, Adam J. Shuhendler, Corrie J.B. daCosta, François‐Xavier Campbell‐Valois

The paper introduces pUdOs, a set of small plasmids with flexible replication and selection markers, useful for bacterial and mammalian cells.

ACS Synthetic Biology · Jan 18, 2024Peer-reviewedSynthetic Biology