1/10 Today in @ScienceMagazine in collaboration with @liugroup we report the development of a laboratory-evolved CRISPR-associated transposase (evoCAST) that supports therapeutically relevant levels of RNA-programmable gene insertion in human cells. drive.google.com/file/d/1I-UbCR…
Sternberg Lab
113 posts
News from the Sternberg lab at Columbia Univ., HHMI. Posts are from lab members and not Samuel Sternberg unless signed SHS. Posts represent personal views only.
- New pre-print from the Sternberg Lab! Transposon-encoded nucleases (TnpB/IscB) gave rise to the CRISPR-associated proteins (Cas9 and Cas12), but were TnpB-like proteins domesticated for other functions? 𝙔𝙀𝙎!! doi.org/10.1101/2023.1…
- New pre-print(s) from the Sternberg Lab in collaboration with @LeifuChangLab! We uncover an unprecedented molecular mechanism of CRISPR-Cas12f-like proteins, which drive RNA-guided transcription independently of canonical promoter motifs. Full story here: tinyurl.com/mr3fd493
- Our latest story is now online @Nature! We discovered a phage defense system that deploys kilobase-long DNA homopolymers to protect against viral infection. Congratulations to all authors, and to the @WiedenheftLab for a fun and fruitful collaboration! nature.com/articles/s4158…
- Coverage of our collaboration with the Liu group.. ' “This is crazy directed evolution!” - Makoto Saito' nature.com/articles/d4158…
- George & Rebeca here for the Sternberg Lab's inaugural tweet! We are excited to describe the reconstitution of CRISPR-associated transposases (CASTs) in human cells for programmable DSB-free insertion of large DNA cargo at genomic loci @NatureBiotech🧬 1/8 rdcu.be/c8GWQ
- 1/16 New pre-print from the Sternberg Lab! We uncover how temperate phages can use RNA-guided transcription factors to remodel the flagellar composition of their bacterial host and enhance their fitness. Find the preprint and full story here: tinyurl.com/mshwjd77
- We're excited to see our recent work on multi-functional transposons now in press. Nucleases and guide RNAs and catalytic introns, oh my! See the links and original thread below, for more... science.org/doi/10.1126/sc… drive.google.com/file/d/1fOVqT2…We’re beyond excited to share the newest pre-print from the Sternberg Lab! You thought all bacterial transposons (aka IS elements) were simple? Think again…🤓1/6science.orgAntagonistic conflict between transposon-encoded introns and guide RNAsTnpB nucleases represent the evolutionary precursors to CRISPR-Cas12 and are widespread in all domains of life. IS605-family TnpB homologs function as programmable RNA-guided homing endonucleases in...
- We’re beyond excited to share the newest pre-print from the Sternberg Lab! You thought all bacterial transposons (aka IS elements) were simple? Think again…🤓1/6
- "..one of the biggest challenges right now for evoCAST, and other large DNA editing tools under development, is delivery. 'How do we actually get these tools and their payloads into the cells or tissues of interest?'” cuimc.columbia.edu/news/sternberg…
- Check out our latest work now 'in print,' on an evolutionary path -- parallel to CRISPR-Cas -- that led to the recurrent emergence of RNA-guided transcription factors. A great piece of detective work led by @TannerWiegand, with major contributions from many others in the lab!Check out the latest story from the Sternberg group: phages coopted transposon-encoded nucleases (TnpB) and repurposed them for regulation of host genes! nature.com/articles/s4158… Thrilled to see this work in print, & a huge thanks to my amazing co-authors!!
- In a new preprint from the lab, @stephentang23 et al uncover a remarkable mechanism of antiviral immunity mediated by bacterial reverse transcriptase enzymes. Check out the thread below for more!I am delighted to share the newest work from the @SternbergLab, in which we discover RNA-templated gene creation as a mechanism of antiviral immunity. This is a story for anyone who loves molecular biology, and one that repeatedly left us in disbelief. doi.org/10.1101/2024.0…
- Know the feeling when two things look similar, and yet turn out to be quite different? Seems like defense-associated reverse transcriptases will continue to surprise us... Another thrilling story uncovered in collaboration with @WiedenheftLab! Check it out:The sequel to our DRT2 story is here, and this one is once again full of surprises! This time around, the @SternbergLab teamed up with the @WiedenheftLab to study how DRT9 reverse transcriptases provide antiviral immunity. Here’s what we found: biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
- Replying to @SternbergLabTldRs use guide RNAs to natively target the promoters of genes, blocking RNA polymerase recruitment and transcription initiation. TL;DR explanation (😆): nature invented CRISPRi long before humans did!











