Guillaume Hummel 🌱 🇪🇺 🇫🇷 🥨 🇮🇹

Some molecular machines, like ribosomes, can persist for long periods of time in cells.

Could molecular aging of ribosomes shape how proteins are made?

In our new preprint we track ribosomes as they age in cells and uncover unexpected effects on translation (1/10)

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Spligation enables programmable chimeric RNA generation in living cells
doi.org/10.64898/202...

Happy to share our new preprint on the mechanism of human tRNA 3' CCA maturation! This project was spearheaded by Bernhard Kuhle in my group, with contributions from many others and a great collaboration with the group of Peter Rehling (UMG). See highlights below!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

New preprint from
@novoalab.bsky.social !

Which tRNAs are used by ribosomes during translation?

We introduce tRIBO-seq, a nanopore method to sequence ribosome-associated tRNAs and track how the active tRNA pool changes across stress conditions.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Thread 👇

With Eugene Koonin, we propose a concept of “the selfish ribosome”, under which evolution of life is viewed as a ribosomal takeover, where the ribosome evolved to consume most of the cell’s resources, while other cellular componentry ensures the propagation of the ribosome. arxiv.org/abs/2602.23268

A symbiotic origin of the ribosome? Abstract. The origin of life is one of the great mysteries of science. Of the multiple unsolved problems, the origin of the translation system (the means b

academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...

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Happy by a recent biorxiv pre-print about DARNA (PD-T7-3) anti-phage defense system. This system is activated by binding to ssDNA, presented by phage SSB, to cleave tRNA in the anti-codon loop.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Priyanka Kumari is the First Author of Reactivation of the tRNASer/tRNATyr gene cluster in Arabidopsis thaliana root tips published 06 June 2025. Kumari is a Scientific Assistant/PhD Student, FG Epigenetics, University of Hohenheim. Education background includes: 2020 MSc Crop Sciences (Plant nutrition & Protection), University of Hohenheim, Germany; 2010 MSc Applied Microbiology & Biotechnology, Banasthali University, India; 2008 BSc Chemstry/Microbiology/Biochemistry, Andhra University, India. Research interests include Plant Epigenetics, Plant Pathology, Plant-Microbe interactions. Personal interests include Travelling, Cooking.

Kumari’s interest in plant science began with a fascination for how plants adapt and thrive in diverse environments. academic.oup.com/plcell/artic...

#WeAreASPB

Structure and mechanism of antiphage retron Eco2 Nature Structural & Molecular Biology - This study shows how the bacterial retron Eco2 defends against viruses. Phage nucleases trigger activation of Eco2, which cuts RNAs, shuts down protein...

1/6) Hot off the press @natsmb.nature.com 🔥! Jasnauskaite et al. reveal how the minimal bacterial retron Eco2 defends against #phage 🛡️. Phage nucleases trigger Eco2, which cuts RNA, shuts down protein production and stops phage replication 🦠🚫. #phagesky #immunity #microbiology #cryo-em rdcu.be/e4AyH

New preprint on Detectrons from @jihoon-han.bsky.social! These are programmable biosensors for RNA that produce DNA barcodes in the presence of their target RNA. Check out Jihoon's quoted thread and the preprint for more:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Top: A representative modeling example from Chimpanzee CPEB3 HDV-like ribozyme (PDB ID: 7QR3), with models predicted by four better-performing methods (blue cartoons) overlaid on experimental structure (gray cartoons). Left to right: DRFold2, DeepFoldRNA, AlphaFold3, RhoFold. Bottom: Structural visualization of the example from coxsackievirus B3 cloverleaf RNA (PDBID: 8DP3), showing experimental structure (left), AlphaFold3’s best prediction from 100 models (middle), and 5th model of DRfold2 (right), respectively. Structures are rainbow-colored from 5′ (blue) to 3′ (red) end.

Accurate RNA structure prediction remains a challenge, despite recent computational advances. This study presents DRFold2, a #DeepLearning framework that significantly enhances accuracy of de novo #RNAstructure prediction by increasing contact prediction precision @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4aoOQiX

𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀🧧🐎🐴✨ 🎉🎊

Wishing you a Spring Festival filled with joy 🤩🥟 and a New Year full of energy 🌱☀️. May the Year of the Horse 🐎 bring you strength 💪, speed ⚡, and success 🏆 in all your endeavours 😇
#ChineseNewYear2026 #ChineseSpringFestival

How did life arise from simple chemical building blocks?

New #LMBResearch led by @edogia.bsky.social in @philholliger.bsky.social group has identified a small self-replicating ribozyme that could be the answer.

Read more: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...

Sialic acid-responsive Parabacteroides is linked to gut barrier integrity in older adults Aging is frequently accompanied by inflammaging—a chronic, low-grade inflammatory state that contributes to functional decline and disease risk. Disruption of the intestinal barrier is increasingly...

#microsky #glycotime #sialic acid

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The Plant Cell Features May, June, and July 2025 First Authors | Plantae Behind the manuscripts are researchers, professors, professionals and students dedicated to advancing the field of plant science.

Extremely proud to see Priyanka Kumari, PhD student in Chang Liu’s lab and co-first author on my postdoctoral work, featured in Plantae! 👇 @plantaeofficial.bsky.social

plantae.org/the_plant_ce...

A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...

How could a simple self-replicating system emerge at the origins of life? RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but existing ones are so large that their self-replication seems impossible. Could they be smaller?

Excited to share our latest work in @science.org on a new small polymerase.
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I am excited to share a new review @cp-molcell.bsky.social written in collaboration with @tanjamittag.bsky.social , Mikayla Eppert, and Ambuja Navalkar where we review the current evidence for and against the role of density transitions in regulating transcription www.cell.com/molecular-ce...

1/9 Our latest paper on immunity mechanisms in Marchantia just out @pnas.org ! 🔽

Close collaboration between our former PhD students @karimaelm.bsky.social and @chloe-beaulieu.bsky.social !

and the old gard @jacquet-chris.bsky.social @maximebonhomme.bsky.social

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Yeast elongation factor homolog New1 protects a subset of mRNAs from degradation by no-go decay Abstract. New1 is a homologue of the essential yeast translation elongation factor eEF3. Lack of New1 has been shown to induce ribosome queuing upstream of

4 - Still lots to learn about this mysterious factor.
🔗 Read the paper: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Funded by @dfg.de via SFB TRR319-RMaP 🙏
#RibosomeBiology #TranslationQC #RNA #Nanopore #Yeast #PhDPosition #DFG #RMaP #New1

Science update from my postdoc Peiyuan Chai - his work “glycoRNA complexed with heparan sulfate regulates VEGF-A signaling” is now published @nature.com uncovering a new layer or glycoRNA-regulation of growth factor mediated control physiological processes rdcu.be/e1bBX

📢 Rfam 15.1 is here!

✨ 50 new RNA families including riboswitch candidates, plastid ncRNAs, snoRNAs, plant xrRNAs and more.
🧬 10 families updated with 3D structures
🖥️ Brand new interactive alignment viewer

Take a look xfam.wordpress.com/2026/01/08/r...

#RNA #Bioinformatics #RNAbiology

Active transport of tRNAs facilitates distributed protein synthesis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.26.698744v1

An Arabidopsis leaf-infection assay with Alternaria alternata showing lesions on Col-0, defenseless (abi1-1 coi1 eds1 ein2 rbohD sid2) and cyp79b2b3 plants. The lesions are worst on cyb79b2b3, intermediate on the defenseless plant, and least on Col. Similarly, plants infected with Pseudomonas syringae show strongest susceptibility in an eds1 sid2 background, medium susceptibility in defenseless, and least in Col.

Interesting that a 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 mutant (𝘢𝘣𝘪𝟣-𝟣 𝘤𝘰𝘪𝟣 𝘦𝘥𝘴𝟣 𝘦𝘪𝘯𝟤 𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘩𝘋 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝟤) is less sensitive to fungal infection than a 𝘤𝘺𝘣𝟩𝟫𝘣𝟤/𝘣𝟤 mutant (Similarly, 𝘦𝘥𝘴𝟣 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝟤 is more susceptible to bacterial infection than the 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴).

From @newphyt.bsky.social: shorturl.at/jYbOS

#PlantScience #PlantImmunity

Efficient mucin O-glycan degradation by specific mucin degrading intestinal bacteria: towards understanding enzyme-glycan interactions Abstract. Intestinal mucin glycan-degrading bacteria are important for mucus turnover, stimulating mucus production, and producing beneficial metabolites.

Another piece of the microbe-mucin interactions puzzle 🧩:

Enzyme extracts of our favourite mucin glycan degraders cleave different bonds that occur in mucins. 🍬

Expression of glycoside hydrolases also differs per species. ✂️

To each their own! 😋

#glycotime #microsky #mucin
doi.org/10.1093/glyc...

🚀 New preprint! @jacobsenucla.bsky.social x @doudna-lab.bsky.social collaboration: High-activity TnpB (Ymu1-WFR) + a multi-gRNA system in TRV enables heritable, tissue-culture-free multiplex editing in plants. Big potential for plant biotech 🧬🌾🌱
doi.org/10.64898/202...

Figure 1. Scheme of split intein-mediated protein editing

Programmable protein editing by split intein-mediated recombination by Takumi Yanase and team: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Tom Cech on RNA research in Davos (video): www.weforum.org/meetings/wor...

Apprendre de ses erreurs : comment former les étudiants à rebondir après un échec Comment aider les étudiants à ne plus craindre l’erreur mais à la voir comme une opportunité de progresser ? Exemple avec un dispositif d’apprentissage par l’action.

On ne peut progresser sans se tromper. Comment dès lors inviter les étudiants à ne plus craindre l’erreur mais à la voir comme une opportunité d’acquérir de nouvelles compétences ? Exemple à travers un dispositif d’apprentissage par l’action.

New Brief Communication: "A CRISPR-based sequence proximity binding protein labelling system for scanning upstream regulatory proteins" rdcu.be/eZLUP

CRISPR-based proximity labelling system to profile DNA-binding proteins such as PIF4 transcription factor .

Enhancing apple disease resistance using magnetic nanoparticles carrying artificial miRNAs that suppress a tRNA-derived small RNA targeting a disease-resistant gene #research #PlantCommunications cell.com/plant-commun...