The RNA Pirate Republic

Research Goal

RNA molecules are present in key molecular processes across all kingdoms of life, often playing essential regulatory roles. The ancient origin of RNA, predating cellular life itself, probably explain their pervasive role in biology. Often, RNA molecules are involved in molecular conflicts, like hostile takeovers of cellular components or weaponized as part of nucleic acid targeting complexes.

However ubiquitous, mechanistic understanding of RNA molecules, especially structural knowledge, remains scarce. We intent to explore aspects of RNA biology as molecular pirates, focusing on how viruses use RNA molecules to hijack cellular ribosomes to gain access to the cellular machinery for protein production. These RNA molecules, termed Internal Ribosomal Entry Sites or IRES, are common in viruses with single stranded RNA in the positive sense as genetic material or (+)-ssRNA viruses. We rely on electron imaging techniques, especially single particle electron-cryo microscopy (CryoEM) to structurally characterize IRES sequences in its ribosome bound state.

Thousands of new (+)-ssRNA viruses were discovered by metagenomic approaches, revealing a vast landscape of uncharacterized IRES sequences. We believe there is exciting biology hidden in the RNA Pirate Republic of IRESs.