Daily Business Report-March 30, 2018
UC San Diego biologists in Justin Meyer’s laboratory studied the lambda virus, which infects bacteria but not humans, through lab experiments that provided evidence for a new path of evolution. (Photo courtesy of UC San Diego)
Virus Found to Adapt through
Newly Discovered Path of Evolution
Innovation allows viruses to test drive new functions and evolve more easily than previously believed possible
By Mario Aguilera | UC San Diego
Bucking a central tenet of biology, researchers at the University of California San Diego and their colleagues have discovered evidence for a new path of evolution, and with it a deeper understanding of how quickly organisms such as viruses can adapt to their environment.
Describing their findings in the March 30 issue of the journal Science, UC San Diego biologists conducted a series of experiments with a bacterial virus and found that it could infect “normal” hosts, as expected, but also —through a process previously unseen in evolution — acquired an ability to infect new host targets. The researchers say their findings, which address longstanding mysteries of how genes acquire new functions and how mutations arise to ease transmission from one host to another, could be applied to investigations of viral diseases such as Zika, Ebola and bird flu.
“This research shows us that viruses are much more adaptable than previously anticipated,” said Justin Meyer, a UC San Diego Biological Sciences assistant professor and the paper’s senior author. “By learning how viruses achieve evolutionary flexibility, we have new insight into how to set up road blocks to stop the emergence of new diseases.”
Viruses infect by attaching themselves to molecular receptors on the surface of cells. These receptors are the “locks” that viruses must open to enter cells. The “keys” to the locks are viral proteins called host-recognition proteins. Researchers working in this area have focused on how mutations alter these protein keys—and what changes allow them to access new locks. Scientists have known for years that viruses can gain new keys with relatively few mutations but they have not solved the mysteries of how these mutations first appear.
This question led to a collaborative effort with researchers from UC San Diego, the Earth-Life Science Institute in Tokyo and Yale University.
Katherine Petrie in Meyer’s laboratory led the project’s experiments on lambda, a virus that infects bacteria but not humans and allows broad flexibility in lab testing. The researchers found that lambda overcomes the challenge of using a new receptor by violating a well-accepted rule of molecular biology through which genetic information is translated into a protein—the molecule that makes up living cells and viruses.
Petrie and colleagues found that a single gene sometimes yields multiple different proteins. The lambda virus evolved a protein sequence that was prone to structural instability that results in the creation of at least two different host-recognition proteins. Fortunately for the virus—but not its host—these different types of proteins can exploit different locks.
“We were able to capture this evolutionary process in action,” said Petrie, the lead author of the study. “We found that the protein’s ‘mistakes’ allowed the virus to infect its normal host, as well as different host cells. This nongenetic variation in the protein is a way to access more functions from a single DNA gene sequence. It’s like a buy-one-get-one-free special for the protein.”
The researchers are now looking for further examples of their newly discovered evolutionary phenomenon and seeking evidence for how common it is. They are also moving down in scale to probe the details of the new pathway to focus on the processes of individual molecules.
“This is a very atypical adaptation in that it’s an evolutionary innovation,” said Meyer.
In addition to Petrie and Meyer, the study’s coauthors include Nathan Palmer, Daniel Johnson, Sarah Medina, Stephanie Yan and Victor Li of UC San Diego and Alita Burmeister of Yale University. Funding for the research was provided by the Earth-Life Science Institute Origins Network (funded by the John Templeton Foundation) and the National Science Foundation.
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Zable Foundation Awards $1 Million
to TERI Inc. for TERI Campus for Life
The Walter J. and Betty C. Zable Foundation has awarded San Diego-based nonprofit TERI Inc. a $1,000,000 grant for Phase II of the TERI Campus for Life in San Marcos. The foundation will release $500,000 of the grant when TERI pulls the grading permit and begins grading. The additional $500,000 will be donated as a challenge upon finding a $500,000 match.
Zable will match dollar-for-dollar all new contributions from individuals, the community, corporations, and foundations toward the completion of Phase II. TERI has until Dec. 31, 2018 to receive $500,000 in donations for Zable to provide the $500,000 matching funds.
The TERI Campus of Life is designed to be an innovative, university-like environment that will not only build upon TERI’s successful model programs and services that empower individuals with developmental disabilities, but also serve as an inclusive center for the local community, veterans, and the military. The public will have access to the performing arts and music center, the aquatic center, the health and wellness fitness center, and more.
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Climate and Transit Advocates Call
on Mayor to Prioritize Transportation
Community leaders and transportation advocates on Thursday called on Mayor Kevin Faulconer to make mobility a top priority of the city. San Diego’s legally binding Climate Action Plan promises that by 2035, half of urban commuters will travel by walking, biking, and transit. The city needs a roadmap to the targets, infrastructure investment, and our mayor’s influence at SANDAG to get there.
“The kind of shift in transportation infrastructure and commuter habits we need won’t be easy, but it will be worth it,” said Sophie Wolfram, Director of Programs at Climate Action Campaign. “Following through on the promises made in the Climate Action Plan means cleaner air, healthier lungs, more economic opportunity, and a more vibrant city. That’s why we’re asking the mayor for investment and for his leadership at SANDAG.”
Advocates called for completion of a Transportation Master Plan, which will serve as a roadmap to meeting the climate plan targets for walking, biking, and transit; improvements along Vision Zero corridors, completion of the Downtown Mobility Plan, and implementation of bike projects along El Cajon and University in City Heights; establishment of a Mobility Department and the appointment of a Director of Mobility in the Mayor’s Office; and leadership from the mayor to ensure SANDAG’s next Regional Transportation Plan supports San Diego’s climate targets.
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Karen Lemmon Takes Presidency of San Diego
Chapter of Association of Legal Administrators
Karen Lemmon, director of operations at Higgs Fletcher & Mack, is the new president of the San Diego chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators, succeeding Shaila Schaible. Lemmon has been a chapter member for 12 years and will serve as president through March 2019.
Other board members during Lemmon’s term are: president-elect and education chair Stephen Williamson, administrative coordinator at Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo P.C.; vice president and membership chair Katya Adams, office administrator at Watkins Firm APC; treasurer Katherine Rivette, at Henderson Caverly & Pum LLP; secretary Cynthia Barron, office administrator at Fitzgerald Knaier LLP; director, Business Partner Relations Lauren Bloodworth, legal administrator at Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP; Director, Bank Statement Auditor Libby Worden, firm administrator at Robertson & Associates APC; Director at Large Jamie Vidovich, director of administration at Sullivan Hill Lewin Rez & Engel APLC; and immediate past president Shaila Schaible, director of finance and administration at Koeller Nebeker Carlson & Haluck LLP.
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San Diego Community College
District Hiring Fair Set for April 27
The San Diego Community College District will hold a hiring fair April 27 complete with interviews and potential on-site conditional job offers for dozens of adjunct faculty job opportunities in many disciplines ranging from English and math to all sciences, as well as vocational fields.
A priority is being placed on hiring adjunct faculty. San Diego City, Mesa, and Miramar Colleges, in addition to San Diego Continuing Education, will have deans and department chairs at the hiring fair to interview applicants and with consideration of making conditional job offers. In addition, individuals who apply to the adjunct application pools may be contacted when future job opportunities arise and the campuses seek qualified applicants in a variety of disciplines.
The hiring fair is scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Handlery Hotel, 950 Hotel Circle North, San Diego, 92108 (parking is free with validation).
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Families First San Diego Dinner
Gala and Fundraiser Set for April 14
The Families First San Diego dinner gala and annual fundraiser to benefit the SEAL Family Foundation is set for April 14 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego, 1 Market Place in Downtown San Diego. The event will honor the legacy of service for the fallen heroes and active duty Naval Special Warfare community and their families. Guests will learn about the Foundation’s programs and their impact on the NSW families.
Click here for more information, visit
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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires
San Diego’s McGregor & Associates
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an insurance brokerage headquartered in Illinois, announced the acquisition of McGregor & Associates in San Diego. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. McGregor & Associates, founded in 1993 by George McGregor, is a health benefits administrator serving public and private sector clients throughout California. Focus areas include educational institutions, public agencies, construction organizations and retiree medical trusts.
George McGregor and his team will continue to operate from their San Diego location under the direction of Norbert Chung, head of Gallagher’s Western employee benefits consulting and brokerage operations.
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New Probation Department Training
Facility Opens in Scripps Ranch
A new San Diego Probation Department regional training facility in Scripps Ranch will provide officers from around the region with cutting-edge training enhancement opportunities including scenario-based and interactive maneuvers.
Probation Chief Adolfo Gonzales and County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Kristin Gaspar were among the officials to cut the ribbon on the $5 million, 34,615-square-foot facility Thursday. Local law enforcement, probation staff and community service partners were among the guests.
Included in the new facility are a wellness center, an auditorium with a stage that can fold up to offer more floor space, a mat-training room, a use-of-force simulator, and a room with moveable walls with viewing from above for instructors, a library and computer room, and a gymnasium. About 30 Probation employees will work out of this facility, and the capacity in the auditorium is for 124 students. The facility will be used by new Probation academy students and the Safety and Weapons Academy where officers learn tactics and how to protect themselves in the field.
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Lawyers Club Annual Dinner to Feature
Address by Former U.S. Attorney General
The Lawyers Club of San Diego will hold its annual dinner on June 7 featuring an address by former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch. She will be awarded the Lawyers Club Icon Award in recognition of “exceptional achievement by individuals furthering the advancement of women in the law and in society,” and to honor those who share Lawyers Club’s values of justice, inclusion and progress.
Lynch was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as Attorney General in 2015. She was the first African-American female Attorney General and only the second woman to be confirmed to the post. Prior to her appointment, Lynch served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office as well as in private practice.
The annual dinner will be at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, 333 W. Harbor Drive, Downtown San Diego. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m., and the dinner and program are set for 6:30-8 p.m. Tickets are now on sale for both Lawyers Club members and the general public.
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Personnel Announcements
Scott Campbell Named CFO of DuChâteau
DuChâteau, manufacturer of luxury architectural finishes, has appointed Scott Campbell as the new chief financial officer. Campbell, who has more than 25 years of financial expertise, will be responsible for managing DuChâteau’s financial resources and leading its strategic investments as part of the organization’s growth initiatives. His expertise includes cross-functional leadership, strategic planning and execution, contract review and negotiation, and planning and managing growth with improved profitability.
Campbell is based at the company’s headquarters in San Diego and reports to Misael Tagle, CEO, and Benjamin Buzali, president.
Campbell previously served as CFO of Road Runner Sports, a provider of running and walking gear with 36 stores in 11 states nationwide. He held the position from 1997-2003 and again from 2008 until leaving to join DuChâteau.
Campbell was also corporate controller at Patagonia, a global company specializing in the manufacture and multi-channel distribution of premium outdoor clothing, outdoor gear, footwear and luggage.
