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Helen successfully passed her prelims! Congratulations, Helen!

#phdcandidate

Heidi needs two pairs of glasses to guide snowshoeing at the Biochemistry Department Retreat!!

Happy RNA Day! Sarah baked cupcakes to celebrate.

#RNA Day

Recent Graduate

Dan Reich is now working for ARUP Laboratories as a Clinical Variant Scientist.

#bass lab recent graduates

Welcome, Evan!

Evan Leslie joins the Bass Lab as a Lab Technician. He just graduated from Colorado College with a B.S. in Chemistry.

#bass lab members

Welcome Helen and Deji!

Helen Donelick and Adedeji (Deji) Aderounmu join the Bass Lab as graduate students.

#bass lab graduate students

Watch Bass lab alumnus Joe Whipple teach a quick lesson on RNA modification!

View on NEB website

#rna modification

New Graduate Student!!

Helen Donelick decides to join the Bass Lab AND the Shen lab! Hooray! What a good combination!

#newlabmembers

Dan Reich Defends His Thesis

Daniel P. Reich B.S., University of North Carolina

“ADAR RNA Editing Enzymes Prevent Endogenous dsRNAs from Triggering Antiviral Immune Signaling”

Friday, March 16, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. in HSEB 4100B

Committee: Brenda Bass (chair), Jared Rutter, Demián Cazalla, Mark Metzstein, Andres Villu Maricq

#thesis defense

C. elegans ADARs antagonize silencing of cellular dsRNAs by the antiviral RNAi pathway (Genes & Development 1 Feb 2018)

Because viruses often generate double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) during viral replication, host cells use antiviral proteins to sense viral dsRNAs and trigger innate immune responses. However, host cells can also generate their own dsRNAs, which do not activate antiviral signaling. How can these antiviral sensors distinguish viral dsRNAs from host dsRNAs? Our recent publication, together with studies from a number of groups, suggests a role for adenosine deaminases that act on RNA, RNA editing enzymes that convert adenosine to inosine in dsRNA. In our work, we identify thousands of gene-associated ADAR-edited dsRNAs expressed in C. elegans, and find that ADARs are important to prevent their processing by Dicer into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Dicer-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) is the main antiviral response in invertebrates like C. elegans, so our results suggest ADARs normally mark cellular dsRNAs as “self” so that they don’t trigger antiviral RNAi. Intriguingly, we further found that an endogenous siRNA pathway (the 26G pathway) also limits RNAi against cellular dsRNA, likely by competing for components involved in antiviral silencing. Our work emphasizes the importance of limiting immune signaling to appropriate contexts and describes an important role of RNA editing in discriminating “self” and “nonself”.

Reich DP, Tyc KM, Bass BL Genes Dev. 2018 Feb 1;32(3-4):271-282

#basslabpublications #RNA editing siRNA Dicer deaminase

Dicer uses distinct modules for recognizing dsRNA termini (Science 21 Dec 2017)

Invertebrates rely on Dicer to cleave viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), and Drosophila Dicer-2 distinguishes dsRNA substrates by their termini. Blunt termini promote processive cleavage, while 3_ overhanging termini are cleaved distributively. To understand this discrimination, we used cryo_electron microscopy to solve structures of Drosophila Dicer-2 alone and in complex with blunt dsRNA. While the Platform-PAZ domains have been considered the only Dicer domains that bind dsRNA termini, unexpectedly, we found that the helicase domain is required for binding blunt, but not 3_ overhanging, termini. We further showed that blunt dsRNA is locally unwound and threaded through the helicase domain in an ATP-dependent manner. Our studies reveal a previously unrecognized mechanism for optimizing antiviral defense and set the stage for discovery of helicase-dependent functions in other Dicers.

Sinha NK, Iwasa J, Shen PS, Bass BL. Science (New York, N.Y.). 2018; 359(6373):329-334

#basslabpublications

Recent Graduates

Congratulations to Dr. Niladri Sinha and Dr. Kyle Trettin, who successfully defended their theses. Niladri will begin his postdoctoral research in Rachel Green’s Lab at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Kyle will be leading an RNA research group in the Science and Technology Division at Myriad Genetics.

#bass lab recent graduates

Niladri Sinha receives the Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award

Recent graduate, Niladri Sinha, Ph.D. (Bass Lab) has been selected for a Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award to recognize outstanding achievement in Graduate Studies. Niladri will be participating in a one-day scientific symposium honoring Hal Weintraub and his commitment to innovative science. The annual Weintraub Award Symposium will be held Friday May 4, 2018 at Fred Hutch’s lakeside Robert W. Day Campus.

Brenda receives an Honorary Degree from her undergraduate alma mater, Colorado College

#brendabasshonors

Brenda elected to the National Academy of Sciences

#brendabasshonors

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