Molecular ‘fossils’ offer microscopic clues to the origins of life – but they take care to interpret A protein historian and evolutionary biochemist found that a protein sequence present across all known life didn’t form as researchers previously thought it did.

Exploring the role of short peptide motifs (focusing on Walker A P-loop) at the origins of life using simulations. Discussion of collaborative work with the @liamlongo.bsky.social and other colleagues. What can molecular fossils teach us about the first proteins? theconversation.com/molecular-fo...

Representation shapes the questions we ask. Here, we use contrastive learning to unite sequence and structure and build a new, global "map" of protein space.

Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Congratulations to Guy Yanai, who led this work, Rachel Kolodny, Nir Ben Tal, and Gabriel Axel

This work would not have been possible without Harrison Smith, Eric Smith, and @jgoldford.bsky.social and financial support from @hfspo.bsky.social and #NASA.

The History of Enzyme Evolution Embedded in Metabolism Phylogenetic reconstructions are a primary record of protein evolution. But what other records can attest to the deep history of enzymes, and what tools are needed to decode their meaning? Here, we de...

Is phylogenetics the only record of protein history? No!

Led by Tatsuya Corlett, we show that the history of enzymes is written into the structure of metabolism. From there, we reconstruct a self-consistent model of metabolic and enzyme evolution.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

"Protein Problem: Georgia Tech Researchers Challenge Fundamental Assumption in Evolutionary Biochemistry", GT press release on our latest paper with @liamlongo.bsky.social and colleagues. research.gatech.edu/protein-prob...

Excited to announce that @preinerin.bsky.social, @colemathis.bsky.social and I were awarded an @hfspo.bsky.social research grant! 🎉

If you are an experimentalist interested in studying protein histories as a graduate student in the Longo Lab ELSI, please get in touch.

Our ambidextrous HhH peptide is now in @angewandtechemie.bsky.social
Proud of the great team @liamlongo.bsky.social , Metanis lab and Koby Levy lab

Redefining the Limits of Functional Continuity in the Early Evolution of P-Loop NTPases Abstract. At the heart of many nucleoside triphosphatases is a conserved phosphate-binding sequence motif. A current model of early enzyme evolution propos

Redefining the Limits of Functional Continuity in the Early Evolution of P-Loop NTPases

Now out in Molecular Biology and Evolution

Exciting collaboration with @lynnkamerlin.bsky.social

academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...

Functional Ambidexterity of an Ancient Nucleic Acid‐Binding Domain The helix-hairpin-helix (HhH) motif is an ancient and ubiquitous nucleic acid-binding element that has emerged as a model system for studying the evolution of dsDNA-binding domains from simple peptid....

Functional Ambidexterity of an Ancient Nucleic Acid-Binding Domain

Now out now in @angewandtechemie.bsky.social

Exciting collaboration with Norman Metanis and Koby Levy

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

A universal polyphosphate kinase powers in vitro transcription Polyphosphate kinases (PPKs) catalyze phosphoryl transfer between polyphosphates and nucleotides. Polyphosphates are a cost-effective source of phosphorylating power, making polyphosphate kinases an a...

Need phosphorylating power? Maybe our universal polyphosphate kinase can help!

ATP ✅ GTP ✅ CTP ✅ UTP ✅
in vitro transcription ✅

An energizing collaboration with the Matsuura Group @ ELSI. Check out the preprint here👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...