Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the selection of 6 projects totaling over $5 million to conduct research and development needed to accelerate the U.S. biomanufacturing sector. As part of the DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) Agile BioFoundry (ABF) consortium, these projects will leverage national laboratory capabilities to address challenges in biomanufacturing.
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Scientists from three national laboratories who specialize in revealing the atomic structure of proteins collaborated to model the complex protein responsible for SARS-CoV-2 replication, revealing potential weak spots for drug development.
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Vibrant cities around the world are made up of a unique blend of cultures, languages, cuisines, and – as scientists recently revealed – microbes. Nearly 1,000 scientists from around the world, including three from Berkeley Lab, collected and analyzed microbial samples from public transit stations across 60 global cities. They probed ticket kiosks, benches, and rails to see what tiny organisms like bacteria, viruses, and archaea were in residence.
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Papain-like protease (PLpro) from SARS-CoV-2 plays essential roles in the replication cycle of the virus that is the cause of the global COVID-19 pandemic. In human cells that the virus has infected, PLpro seeks out and binds with the interferon-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15) protein, a key component of the cells’ immune response. PLpro strips ISG15 from other cellular proteins to aid SARS-CoV-2 in evading the body’s immune system.
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) used small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) combined with computational techniques to reveal the molecular details of how the two proteins interact. Susan Tsutakawa, a staff scientist in the Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division, obtained small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) data on the PLpro-ISG15 complex at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS) to augment the SANS work.
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Trent Northen gathered together seven experts who use synthetic communities to get at the key roles microbes play in complex ecosystems, to share their work in a mini-conference at the 2021 World Microbe Forum.
This session and others will be available to registrants for a discounted rate until July 31, 2021. Registration to access World Microbe Forum content ends June 30, 2021.
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