Ingrida Olendraite

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Postdoctoral Research Associate at University of Cambridge

Solenopsis invicta virus 2 is a single-stranded positive-sense picorna-like RNA virus with an unusual genome structure. The monopartite genome of approximately 11 kb contains four open reading frames in its 5' third, three of which encode proteins with homology to picornavirus-like jelly-roll fold capsid proteins. These are followed by an intergeni...

Archaeal fibrillarin (aFib) is a well-characterized S-Adenosyl methionine (SAM)-dependent RNA 2'-O-methyltransferase that is known to act in a large C/D ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex together with Nop5 and L7Ae proteins and a box C/D guide RNA. In the reaction, the guide RNA is critical to direct the methylation reaction to a specific site in tRN...

Three novel RNA viruses, named Formica fusca virus 1 (GenBank accession no. MH477287), Lasius neglectus virus 2 (MH477288) and Myrmica scabrinodis virus 2 (MH477289), were discovered in ants collected in Cambridge, UK. The proposed virus names were given based on the hosts in which they were identified. The genome sequences were obtained using de n...

Positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses form the largest and most diverse group of eukaryote-infecting viruses. Their genomes comprise one or more segments of coding-sense RNA that function directly as messenger RNAs upon release into the cytoplasm of infected cells. Positive-sense RNA viruses are generally accepted to encode proteins solely on...

Polycipiviridae is a family of picorna-like viruses with non-segmented, linear, positive-sense RNA genomes of approximately 10-12 kb. Unusually for viruses within the order Picornavirales, their genomes are polycistronic, with four (or more) consecutive 5'-proximal open reading frames (ORFs) encoding structural (and possibly other) proteins and a l...

Improved RNA virus understanding is critical to studying animal and plant health, and environmental processes. However, the continuous and rapid RNA virus evolution makes their identification and characterization challenging. While recent sequence-based advances have led to extensive RNA virus discovery, there is growing variation in how RNA viruse...

RNA viruses are abundant, highly diverse, and infect all or most eukaryotic organisms. However, only a tiny fraction of the number and diversity of RNA virus species have been catalogued. To cost effectively expand the diversity of known RNA virus sequences we mined publicly available transcriptomic datasets. We developed 77 family-level Hidden Mar...

RNA viruses are abundant, highly diverse, and infect all or most eukaryotic organisms. However, only a tiny fraction of the number and diversity of RNA virus species have been catalogued. To cost effectively expand the diversity of known RNA virus sequences we mined publicly available transcriptomic datasets. We developed 77 family-level Hidden Mar...

Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is regarded as the gold-standard for diagnostic testing. However, the detection of residual viral RNA genome fragments is affecting several percent of recovered patients, which unnecessarily pro-longs quarantines or delays clinical procedures. To minimize the detection of such f...

Distinct SARS-CoV-2 lineages, discovered through various genomic surveillance initiatives, have emerged during the pandemic following unprecedented reductions in worldwide human mobility. We here describe a SARS-CoV-2 lineage - designated B.1.620 - discovered in Lithuania and carrying many mutations and deletions in the spike protein shared with wi...

Many high-income countries have met the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with overwhelming sequencing resources and have identified numerous distinct lineages, including some with notably altered biology. Over a year into the pandemic following unprecedented reductions in worldwide human mobility, distinct introduced lineages of SARS-CoV-2 without sequenced ant...

In‌ ‌my‌ ‌project,‌ ‌I‌ ‌analysed‌ ‌multiple‌ ‌various‌ ‌transcriptomic‌ ‌data‌ ‌with‌ ‌a‌ ‌goal‌ ‌to‌ ‌identify‌ ‌novel‌‌ and‌ ‌diverse‌ ‌RNA‌ ‌viruses.‌ ‌For‌ ‌this,‌ ‌I‌ ‌developed‌ ‌a‌ ‌workflow‌ ‌and‌ ‌applied‌ ‌various‌ ‌methods‌ ‌to‌‌ accommodate‌ ‌and‌ ‌characterize‌ ‌the‌ ‌(un)expected‌ ‌viral‌ ‌diversity.‌ ‌ I‌ ‌analysed‌ ‌multiple‌ ‌RNA-...

The International Virus Bioinformatics Meeting 2020 was originally planned to take place in Bern, Switzerland, in March 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic put a spoke in the wheel of almost all conferences to be held in 2020. After moving the conference to 8–9 October 2020, we got hit by the second wave and finally decided at short notice to go f...

This is the Polycipiviridae poster, which as been presented at Microbiology SGM in 2018

Positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses form the largest and most diverse group of eukaryote-infecting viruses. Their genomes comprise one or more segments of coding-sense RNA that function directly as messenger RNAs upon release into the cytoplasm of infected cells. Positive-sense RNA viruses are generally accepted to encode proteins solely on...

Positive-sense single-stranded RNA viruses form the largest and most diverse group of eukaryote-infecting viruses. Their genomes comprise one or more segments of coding-sense RNA that function directly as messenger RNAs upon release into the cytoplasm of infected cells. Positive-sense RNA viruses are generally accepted to encode proteins solely on...

Solinviviridae is a family of picorna/calici-like viruses with non-segmented, linear, positive-sense RNA genomes of approximately 10-11 kb. Unusually, their capsid proteins are encoded towards the 3'-end of the genome where they can be expressed both from a subgenomic RNA and as an extension of the replication (picorna-like helicase-protease-polyme...

Narnaviruses are a group of single-stranded, positive-sense RNA viruses, which are non-encapsidated and hence normally transmitted vertically. Narnaviral genomes encode a single protein: the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), which catalyses viral replication. Currently, there are just two recognised species within the genus Narnavirus, both of w...

Many honey bee colonies suffer large losses due to colony collapse disorder. This phenomenon, which has dramatically increased in frequency since 2006, has led to widespread efforts in sequencing honey bee pathogens, including RNA viruses such as deformed wing virus. However, honey bees coexist with a number of other arthropods, whose viruses are l...