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The Hill Lab @ York

Molecular mechanisms of viral gene expression

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Viruses do things differently

Translation of mRNA by the ribosome is essential for all life. It’s normally exceptionally accurate, with spontaneous error rates of only ~1 in 100,000 codons.

 

When RNA viruses infect cells, they use the ribosomes in the host cell to translate their genomes. However, they often force the ribosome to make 'mistakes' - e.g. shift into a different reading frame, initiate in a different place, or read through a stop codon. 

 

These ‘forced errors’ are actually tightly-regulated events that are vitally important to viral gene expression. If disrupted, many viruses fail to complete their replication cycles. We're trying to better understand these events at a molecular level.

PhD studentship
October 2024 entry 

We have a fully-funded PhD position in our lab through the BBSRC White Rose DTP in Mechanistic Biology

Latest Publications

A comprehensive review covering the structural and mechanistic basis of programmed -1 ribosomal frameshifting (-1PRF) in RNA viruses. Here we provide a summary of historical perspectives, highlight recent advances and discuss to what extent a general model for −1PRF remains a useful way of thinking.

Find Us

Address

Department of Biology

University of York

Wentworth Way

York

United Kingdom

YO10 5DD

Contact

+44 (0)1904 328688

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