Kumar Somyajit & Lab

PAF15–PCNA exhaustion governs the strand-specific control of DNA replication - Nature PCNA–PAF15 has a key role in determining replisome dynamics during genome replication and protecting against genome instability.

A study published in Nature has identified a new mechanism that controls DNA’s ability to replicate – and thereby a cell’s ability to divide. A protein, PAF15, acts as the brake, preventing the replication machinery from becoming overloaded and protecting cells from replication catastrophe. 🧪

Another great science appointment is coming up with @centromellone.bsky.social, Michele Pagano and Gergely Róna!
Join us live on Tuesday, March 3rd at 5pm (Rome) / 11am (NYC).
Zoom link: uniroma1.zoom.us/j/95149984403
Register here to stay in the loop: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Indeed, your work is so interesting and we are very much keen on exploring p15-911. Will keep you posted. Thank you.

Can't thank enough @lundbeckfonden.bsky.social, @erc.europa.eu, @novo-nordisk.bsky.social, @cancer.dk for believing in us and supporting our research.

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark @sdu.dk

We hope you enjoy reading this story. 🙏🙏🙏

This would not have been possible without the exceptional generosity and expertise of outstanding collaborators Nataliya Petryk, Narcis-Adrian Petriman, Jens Andersen, @jespergrud.bsky.social , @hanasedlackova.bsky.social, Ole Nørregaard Jensen, @ravnskjaer-lab.bsky.social, Jonathan Brewer. 🙏🙏🙏

The work was spearheaded by the supremely talented PhD student Gita Chhetri, and the wholehearted, indispensable contributions of the entire lab.

PAF15–PCNA exhaustion governs the strand-specific control of DNA replication Nature - PCNA–PAF15 has a key role in determining replisome dynamics during genome replication and protecting against genome instability.

Dear Colleagues,

Delighted to share that our first lab paper is now published in Nature.!!! 😊😊😊

We identify a previously concealed “safety limit” in DNA replication program: cells intrinsically rate-limit PCNA via PAF15, shaping strand-specific and global replication dynamics.

👉 rdcu.be/e1bBt

Cells' built-in capacity limit for copying DNA could impact cancer treatment For almost 60 years, scientists have tried to understand why DNA doesn't replicate wildly and uncontrollably every time a cell divides, which happens constantly.

Cells possess a built-in limit for DNA replication, controlled by the protein PAF15, which may offer a new approach to targeting rapidly dividing cancer cells.

Deep contrastive learning enables genome-wide virtual screening Recent breakthroughs in protein structure prediction have opened new avenues for genome-wide drug discovery, yet existing virtual screening methods remain computationally prohibitive. We present DrugC...

@science.org Deep contrastive learning enables genome-wide virtual screening | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🌍Open call: Junior Group Leader positions!

Join a world-class biomedical research institute at the heart of the Vienna BioCenter, where curiosity drives discovery.

Lead your own lab, pursue bold ideas, and shape the future of science at the IMP: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...

Repair of DNA double-strand breaks leaves heritable impairment to genome function Upon DNA breakage, a genomic locus undergoes alterations in three-dimensional chromatin architecture to facilitate signaling and repair. Although cells possess mechanisms to repair damaged DNA, it is ...

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗗𝗡𝗔 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲?Excited to share our new study “Repair of DNA double-strand breaks leaves heritable impairment to genome function”, revealing DNA repair’s hidden cost, out now @science.org tinyurl.com/5n6zw3ye. Led by @sbantele.bsky.social and Jiri Lukas.🧵👇1/n

Many many congratulations Susi!!! Wow!! Exciting to see this out! Such a great work!!👏👏👏👏

Structural basis of T-loop–independent recognition and activation of CDKs by the CDK-activating kinase Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are prototypical regulators of the cell cycle. The CDK-activating kinase (CAK) acts as a master regulator of CDK activity by catalyzing the activating phosphorylation o...

Now out in Science! Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are key regulators of the cell cycle. In @vcushing.bsky.social's magnum opus, we use #cryoEM to figure out how the CDK-activating kinase recognises CDKs to fully activate them - a key step in cell cycle control.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Wonderful news! Many congratulations!!!

9 days to go:
* 2 x open positions!
* Exceptional environment, competitive start-up package
* University of Toronto appointments
* Toronto has great (and peaceful) quality of life!

Description Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities ment...

@mariasecrier.bsky.social & I are looking for an enthusiastic & excellent data scientist for a 4-year postdoc to understand cell cycle dysregulation in cancer.

Deadline 15th October. Get in touch if you have any questions.

Please repost!

More details:
www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...

DNA2 enables growth by restricting recombination-restarted replication - Nature DNA2 suppresses recombination-restarted replication and checkpoint activation at stalled forks, and its loss triggers recombination-dependent synthesis, checkpoint signalling and cell-cycle exit, high...

My first post on bsky to share our latest research in @nature.com: “DNA2 enables growth by restricting recombination-restarted replication” - defines DNA2’s essential function & elucidates links with primordial dwarfism and cancer. Thanks to the lab, collaborators & @ukri.org @acmedsci.bsky.social

Targeting G1–S-checkpoint-compromised cancers with cyclin A/B RxL inhibitors - Nature Dual cyclin A/B RxL inhibitors selectively kill small cell lung cancer cells and other cancer cells with high E2F activity.

new out in Nature
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

So utterly honoured to have been recruited, mentored and supported by this incredibly influential individual. Long may he happily retire. @gdsc-sussex.bsky.social

Transient APC/C inactivation by mTOR boosts glycolysis during cell cycle entry - Nature APC/C activity is transiently inhibited to generate a pulse of glycolysis that is required for mammalian cell cycle entry.

new out in Nature: cell cycle meets metabolism
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Tillykke til alle nye SDU-studerende

Den 28. juli er 4.415 blevet tilbudt en studieplads på Syddansk Universitet.

Stort tillykke og husk at takke ja til pladsen senest den 4. august.

Der er fortsat få ledige studiepladser - få et overblik her: ledigepladser.sdu.dk

#studiestart #uddpol

Yadav, Jadhav, @hanasedlackova.bsky.social et al present a novel cell-permeable biotin-HaloTag ligand. The reported ligand expands the HaloTag toolbox by enabling in vivo labeling & providing capabilities for efficient affinity capture of protein variants from live cells rupress.org/jcb/article/...

Nanoscale 3D DNA tracing in non-denatured cells resolves the Cohesin-dependent loop architecture of the genome in situ - Nature Communications A nanoscale 3D DNA tracing workflow visualizes Cohesin-dependent loops in single, structurally well-preserved cells. Computer simulations based on the tracing data give further insight into how Cohesi...

Our new non-denaturing nanoscale 3D DNA tracing technology provides single-cell (and sister-chromatid specific!) readout of chromatin structure with 10kb genomic resolution - Check it out!

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Congratulations to Kai and Oyvind!!

Spatiotemporal orchestration of mitosis by cyclin-dependent kinase - Nature Experiments in fission yeast show that cyclin-dependent kinase is first activated in the nucleus, from which the mitotic signal is propagated from CDK at the centrosome to the cytoplasm.

new out in Nature, the latest on the cell cycle in fission yeast, lovely basic biology www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Mechanism of cytarabine-induced neurotoxicity - Nature Certain antimetabolites used to treat cancer are more neurotoxic than others, and it is now shown that this is due to their greater tendency to generate DNA double-stranded breaks, whereas less n...

Cytarabine has been the mainstay for AML treatment for over 50 years. This chemotherapy can lead to problems with movement and balance. Here we explain this neurotoxic side-effect. www.nature.com/articles/s41... Work led by Jia-Cheng Liu, Donpeng Wang and Elsa Callen and terrific collaborators!

Multigenerational cell tracking of DNA replication and heritable DNA damage - Nature A multigenerational single-cell tracking approach provides a framework to dissect phenotypic plasticity at the single-cell level, offering insights into cellular processes that may resemble early even...

Delighted to share that the results of my main postdoc project are now published in @nature.com

🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Amazing work Andreas!!! Beautiful!! Huge congratulations to you, Matthias and everyone involved. 👏👏👏👏👏👏

Inherited deficiency of DIAPH1 identifies a DNA double strand break repair pathway regulated by γ-actin - Nature Communications DNA double strand break repair pathways ensure genome stability and prevent disease. Here the authors show that the actin nucleating factor DIAPH1 and γ-actin promote homologous recombination (HR)-dep...

Proud to present our work identifying a role for DIAPH1 and gamma-actin in regulating DSB repair and how defects in this pathway give rise to human disease. Big thanks to everyone involved, especially Beth Woodward, Sudipta Lahiri and @anoopsinghchauhan.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

(1/n) Thread @matteomazzocca.bsky.social @domenicnarducci.bsky.social Simon Grosse-Holz @jessematthias.bsky.social preprint

Q: how does chromatin move?

Using MINFLUX, SPT & SRLCI, we track chromatin dynamics across 7 orders of magnitude in time to provide answers www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Exciting PhD project available in our lab (time sensitive)! 👇