Přehled

Doctoral study program: Life Sciences (Faculty of Science, Masaryk University)

Research area: Translation

Supervisor: RNDr. Petr Tesina, Ph.D.

Annotation

Proteins are produced by ribosome-catalyzed translation of mRNAs in all domains of life. Translation is also critical in the context of human host-pathogen interaction where the ribosome, as the central molecular machine for genetic information expression, is the subject to numerous regulatory and quality control events and pathological interventions. The strategies adopted by viruses to reprogram translation and co-translational quality control machinery to promote infection are poorly understood. Thus, there is an urgent need for further research in this area to develop effective strategies for combating viral infections.

The successful candidate will study how viruses affect human translation and co-translational quality control with the aim of providing high-resolution structures of large macromolecular assemblies. He/she will utilize human cell cultures, protein expression and purification techniques and biochemistry methods to produce samples for cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM). Comprehensive training in cryo-EM will be available to the successful candidate.

Recommended literature

  • Xu, Z., et al., SARS-CoV-2 impairs interferon production via NSP2-induced repression of mRNA translation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2022. 119(32): p. e2204539119.
  • Liu, J., et al., Remodeling of the Ribosomal Quality Control and Integrated Stress Response by Viral Ubiquitin Deconjugases. 2023.
  • Hsu, J.C., et al., Viperin triggers ribosome collision-dependent translation inhibition to restrict viral replication. Mol Cell, 2022. 82(9): p. 1631-1642 e6.
  • Thoms, M., et al., Structural basis for translational shutdown and immune evasion by the Nsp1 protein of SARS-CoV-2. Science, 2020. 369(6508): p. 1249-1255.
  • Lu, B., Translational regulation by ribosome-associated quality control in neurodegenerative disease, cancer, and viral infection. Front Cell Dev Biol, 2022. 10: p. 970654.

Funding

Národní institut virologie a bakteriologie (LX22NPO5103) – Ministerstvo školství, mládeže a tělovýchovy ČR / Národní plán obnovy

Requirements on candidates

The ideal candidate should have background in either molecular biology, biochemistry or structural biology. Experience with human cell culture work or protein biochemistry is a plus.

Keywords: translation, cryo-EM, host-pathogen interaction, co-translational control

Information on the supervisor

The supervisor has recently established the research group and is running the first round of hiring of PhD candidates.

Information about the application process: https://www.ceitec.eu/ls-mm-phd/

Application webpage: https://www.ceitec.eu/translation-in-the-context-of-human-host-pathogen-interaction/t11440

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