Wright Lab
Illuminating the inner-workings of bacterial and viral pathogens by cryo-electron microscopy

Publications

The Wright Laboratory’s publication portfolio spans cryo-electron microscopy, cryo-electron tomography, correlative cryo-microscopy, structural virology, in situ structural biology, neurodegeneration, and technology development. Publications are organized below by major research area.

In Situ Structural Biology.

Bacterial and Cellular Architecture.

  1. Guerrero-Ferreira et al. Alternative mechanism for bacteriophage adsorption to the motile bacterium Caulobacter crescentus. PNAS, 2011.
  2. Ding et al. Receptor tyrosine kinase Erbb2 translocates into mitochondria and regulates cellular metabolism. Nature Communications, 2012.
  3. Davis et al. De- and re-polarization mechanism of flagellar morphogenesis during a bacterial cell cycle. Genes & Development, 2013.
  4. Jin et al. Glutamate dehydrogenase 1 signals through antioxidant glutathione peroxidase 1 to regulate redox homeostasis and tumor growth. Cancer Cell, 2015.
  5. Mitchell et al. Pleomorphic structures in human blood are red blood cell-derived microparticles, not bacteria. PLoS One, 2016.
  6. Ellison et al. Obstruction of pilus retraction stimulates bacterial surface sensing. Science, 2017.
  7. Hampton et al. The opportunistic pathogen Vibrio vulnificus produces outer membrane vesicles in a spatially distinct manner related to the capsular polysaccharide. Frontiers in Microbiology, 2017.
  8. Reyes-Robles et al. Vibrio cholerae outer membrane vesicles inhibit bacteriophage infection. Journal of Bacteriology, 2018.
  9. Montemayor et al. Flagellar structures from the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus and implications for phage CbK predation of multi-flagellin bacteria. Journal of Bacteriology, 2021.
  10. Lakey et al. Role of CenKR in coordination of Rhodobacter sphaeroides cell elongation and division. mBio, 2023.
  11. Sonani et al. Tad and toxin-coregulated pili structures reveal diversity in bacterial type IV pili. PNAS, 2023.
  12. Beltran et al. The mating pilus of E. coli pED208 acts as a conduit for ssDNA during horizonal gene transfer. mBio, 2023.
  13. Parrell et al. Quantitative analysis of Rhodobacter sphaeroides storage organelles by cryo-ET and light microscopy. Biomolecules, 2024.
  14. Hall et al. MarK, a Novosphingobium aromaticivorans Kinase Required For Catabolism Of Multiple Aromatic Monomers. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2025.

Structural Virology.

HIV, RSV, Paramyxoviruses, Coronaviruses, and Viral Assembly.

  1. Wright et al. Electron cryotomography of immature HIV-1 reveals CA and SP1 domains of Gag. EMBO Journal, 2007.
  2. Hellerstein et al. Co-expression of HIV-1 virus-like particles and GM-CSF by GEO-D03 DNA vaccine. Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, 2012.
  3. Brindley et al. Stabilized headless measles virus attachment protein triggers membrane fusion. Journal of Virology, 2013.
  4. Kiss et al. Capturing enveloped viruses on affinity grids for cryo-EM applications. Microscopy and Microanalysis, 2014.
  5. Kiss et al. Structural analysis of RSV reveals the position of M2-1. Journal of Virology, 2014.
  6. Strauss et al. Three-dimensional structural characterization of HIV-1 tethered to human cells. Journal of Virology, 2015.
  7. Stobart et al. Live-attenuated RSV vaccine with enhanced stability and immunogenicity. Nature Communications, 2016.
  8. Gigante et al. Mycobacteriophage-induced lysis and LysB function. Viruses, 2017.
  9. Ke et al. Promotion of virus assembly and organization by measles virus matrix protein. Nature Communications, 2018.
  10. Ke et al. Morphology and assembly of RSV revealed by cryo-ET. Viruses, 2018.
  11. Ha et al. Two RSV platforms for G, F, or G+F protein VLPs. Viruses, 2020.
  12. Chiba et al. Multivalent nanoparticle-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Communications Biology, 2021.
  13. Welbourn et al. Neutralizing antibody target in early HIV-1 infection. PLoS Pathogens, 2022.
  14. Halfmann et al. Broad protection against clade 1 sarbecoviruses. Nature Communications, 2024.
  15. Sibert et al. RSV matrix protein lattice and coordination with fusion glycoprotein trimers. Nature Communications, 2024.
  16. Halfmann et al. Multivalent S2-subunit vaccines against sarbecoviruses. Nature Communications, 2024.
  17. Halfmann et al. Merbecovirus S2 subunit vaccines and partial protection against MERS coronavirus. npj Viruses, 2025.

Technology Development.

Cryo-EM, Cryo-ET, Specimen Preparation, Imaging, and Structural Methods.

  1. Wright et al. Thermoplastic elastomer hydrogels via self-assembly. Advanced Functional Materials, 2002.
  2. Wright and Conticello. Self-assembly of block copolymers derived from elastin-mimetic polypeptides. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 2001.
  3. Menger et al. Colloidal assemblies of branched geminis studied by cryo-etch HRSEM. JACS, 2002.
  4. Wright et al. Morphological characterization of elastin-mimetic block copolymers. Microscopy and Microanalysis, 2003.
  5. Apkarian et al. In-lens cryo-HRSEM methodologies for molecular imaging of hydrogels. Microscopy and Microanalysis, 2003.
  6. Nagapudi et al. Viscoelastic and mechanical behavior of recombinant protein elastomers. Biomaterials, 2005.
  7. Nagapudi et al. Protein-based thermoplastic elastomers. Macromolecules, 2005.
  8. Iancu et al. Flip-flop rotation stage for routine dual-axis electron cryotomography. Journal of Structural Biology, 2005.
  9. Iancu et al. Comparison of liquid nitrogen and liquid helium as cryogens for electron cryotomography. Journal of Structural Biology, 2006.
  10. Wright et al. Behavior of vitreous ice at approximately 82 K and 12 K. Journal of Structural Biology, 2006.
  11. Iancu et al. Electron cryotomography sample preparation using the Vitrobot. Nature Protocols, 2007.
  12. Lee et al. Radiation dose reduction and image enhancement through equally sloped tomography. Journal of Structural Biology, 2008.
  13. Sallach et al. Long-term biostability of self-assembling protein polymers. Biomaterials, 2010.
  14. Kang et al. Dehydration and rehydroxylation of aluminosilicate nanotubes. ACS Nano, 2010.
  15. Yucelen et al. Shaping single-walled metal oxide nanotubes. Nano Letters, 2012.
  16. Xu et al. Rational design of helical nanotubes from coiled-coil lock washers. JACS, 2013.
  17. Guerrero-Ferreira and Wright. Zernike phase contrast cryo-ET of whole bacterial cells. Journal of Structural Biology, 2014.
  18. Egelman et al. Structural plasticity of helical nanotubes based on coiled-coil assemblies. Structure, 2015.
  19. Magnotti et al. Self-assembly of an alpha-helical peptide into a crystalline 2D nanoporous framework. JACS, 2016.
  20. Jang et al. Engineering globular protein vesicles through tunable self-assembly. Small, 2017.
  21. Alewijnse et al. Best practices for managing large cryo-EM facilities. Journal of Structural Biology, 2017.
  22. Dillard et al. Biological applications at the cutting edge of cryo-EM. Microscopy and Microanalysis, 2018.
  23. Sanchez et al. Purification and cryo-EM analysis of bacterial filaments. Bio-Protocol, 2024.

Neurodegeneration.

Amyloid Structure, Neuronal Biology, and Disease-Relevant Protein Assemblies

  1. Mittendorf et al. Peripheral myelin protein 22 alters membrane architecture. Science Advances, 2017.
  2. Kim et al. Handling difficult cryo-ET samples: primary neurons from Drosophila melanogaster. Microscopy and Microanalysis, 2023.
  3. Sanchez et al. High-resolution cryo-EM structure determination of alpha-synuclein. Bio-Protocol, 2025.
  4. Milchberg et al. Alpha-synuclein fibril structures cluster into distinct classes. Biophysical Journal, 2025.

Correlative Microscopy.

Cryo-CLEM, Targeting, Montage Cryo-ET, iFLM, and Integrated Imaging

  1. Alonas et al. Single RNA-sensitive probes with subdiffraction and live-cell imaging to characterize virus dynamics. ACS Nano, 2014.
  2. Yi et al. Native immunogold labeling of cell surface proteins and viral glycoproteins for cryo-EM and cryo-ET. Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry, 2015.
  3. Hampton et al. Correlated fluorescence microscopy and cryo-ET of virus-infected and transfected mammalian cells. Nature Protocols, 2017.
  4. Yang et al. CorRelator: real-time high-precision cryo-correlative light and electron microscopy software. Journal of Structural Biology, 2021.
  5. Sibert et al. Micropatterning TEM grids to direct cell positioning in whole-cell cryo-ET workflows. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 2021.
  6. Yang et al. Correlative montage parallel array cryo-tomography for in situ structural cell biology. Nature Methods, 2023.
  7. Yang et al. iFLM-guided cryo-focused ion beam milling for in situ montage cryo-ET. Nature Protocols, 2026.

Complete Bibliography.

A complete chronological publication list is available through Dr. Wright’s CV, Google Scholar, PubMed, and ORCID.