Michael R. Sawaya

A founder population reveals genetic variation with major effect on serious mental illness

The paper identifies a founder variant in ADAP1 associated with increased risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in a Colombian genetic isolate.

AlphaFold-Driven Structural Proteomics Reveals Extensive Cellulosome Machinery in Human Ruminococcal Symbionts

The paper uses AlphaFold2 to uncover expanded cellulosome machinery in human-associated Ruminococcus species, revealing previously undetected structures and functions.

Structural basis for L-isoaspartyl-containing protein recognition by the PCMTD1 cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin ligase

This paper shows PCMTD1, a cullin-RING ligase, recognizes L-isoaspartyl residues and targets damaged proteins for ubiquitylation and degradation.

Leveraging structurally-informed bioorthogonal conjugation for alpha synuclein fibril surveillance

This paper develops a method to label alpha synuclein fibrils with fluorophores for tracking their structure and function in cells.

Combining MicroED and native mass spectrometry for structural discovery of enzyme-biosynthetic inhibitor complexes

This paper combines MicroED and native mass spectrometry to determine structures of enzyme-inhibitor complexes and identify high-affinity ligands from crude samples.

How short peptides can disassemble ultra-stable tau fibrils extracted from Alzheimers disease brain by a strain-relief mechanism

The paper shows a D-peptide disassembles AD-tau fibrils via a strain-relief mechanism involving oppositely twisted fibrils.

De novo determination of mosquitocidal Cry11Aa and Cry11Ba structures from naturally-occurring nanocrystals

The paper determines the structures of Cry11Aa and Cry11Ba toxins using serial femtosecond crystallography, revealing new insights into their in vivo crystallization patterns and toxicity.

Structural polymorphism of amyloid fibrils in cardiac ATTR amyloidosis revealed by cryo-electron microscopy

The paper uses cryo-electron microscopy to show that cardiac ATTR amyloid fibrils are structurally polymorphic, independent of genotype and phenotype, challenging the one-fibril-fold-per-disease paradigm.

Amyloid fibrils in frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 inclusions are composed of TMEM106B, rather than TDP-43

The paper identifies TMEM106B, not TDP-43, as the protein composing amyloid fibrils in FTLD-TDP using cryo-EM.

The cryoEM structure of the fibril-forming low-complexity domain of hnRNPA2 reveals distinct differences from pathogenic amyloid and shows how mutation converts it to the pathogenic form

This paper presents the cryoEM structure of hnRNPA2 LCD fibrils, showing structural differences from pathogenic amyloid and how mutations convert it to a pathogenic form.

Low-complexity domains adhere by reversible amyloid-like interactions between kinked β-sheets

The paper reports atomic structures of low-complexity domains showing reversible amyloid-like interactions, identifies hundreds of potential segments in the human proteome, and links them to dynamic intracellular bodies.