Stephen Tang @stephentang23.bsky.social · 17/10/2025Genome maintenance by telomerase is a fundamental process in nearly all eukaryotes. But where does it come from? Today, we report the discovery of telomerase homologs in a family of antiviral reverse transcriptases, revealing an unexpected evolutionary origin in bacteria. doi.org/10.1101/2025... 18433
Stephen Tang @stephentang23.bsky.social · 28/05/2025Our new paper on DRT9 is now online @nature.com! This remarkable reverse transcriptase synthesizes homopolymeric DNA to protect bacteria against viral infection. Congrats to all authors! www.nature.com/articles/s41...nature.comProtein-primed homopolymer synthesis by an antiviral reverse transcriptase - NatureNature - Protein-primed homopolymer synthesis by an antiviral reverse transcriptase 000
Stephen Tang @stephentang23.bsky.social · 27/03/2025Thought polyA tails were only for mRNA? Here's a protein with a poly-dA tail, that it synthesized itself! 020