Synthetic biology UBER — a portable system for cross-species genetic engineering Nature.com Genetic engineering approaches typically rely on the host's transcriptional machinery and, therefore, can only normally be used in the species for which...
Bill Gates and Google are among some of the high-profile backers of a genome editing company that's raised £120 million to help develop DNA-editing technology
by Viviana Scognamiglio , Amina Antonacci, Maya D. Lambreva, Simona C. Litescu, Giuseppina Rea
"Biosensors are powerful tunable systems able to switch between an ON/OFF status in response to an external stimulus. This extraordinary property could be engineered by adopting synthetic biology or biomimetic chemistry to obtain tailor-made biosensors having the desired requirements of robustness, sensitivity and detection range. Recent advances in both disciplines, in fact, allow to re-design the configuration of the sensing elements - either by modifying toggle switches and gene networks, or by producing synthetic entities mimicking key properties of natural molecules.
The present review considered the role of synthetic biology in sustaining biosensor technology, reporting examples from the literature and reflecting on the features that make it a useful tool for designing and constructing engineered biological systems for sensing application. Besides, a section dedicated to bioinspired synthetic molecules as powerful tools to enhance biosensor potential is reported, and treated as an extension of the concept of biomimetic chemistry, where organic synthesis is used to generate artificial molecules that mimic natural molecules. Thus, the design of synthetic molecules, such as aptamers, biomimetics, molecular imprinting polymers, peptide nucleic acids, and ribozymes were encompassed as “products” of biomimetic chemistry."
The components of natural quorum-sensing (QS) systems can be used to engineer synthetic communication systems that regulate gene expression in response to chemical signals. We have used the machinery from the peptide-based agr QS system from Staphylococcus aureus to engineer a synthetic QS system in Bacillus megaterium to enable autoinduction of a target gene at high cell densities. Growth and gene expression from these synthetic QS cells were characterized in both complex and minimal media. We also split the signal production and sensing components between two strains of B. megaterium to produce sender and receiver cells and characterized the resulting communication in liquid media and on semisolid agar. The system described in this work represents the first synthetic QS and cell–cell communication system that has been engineered to function in a Gram-positive host, and it has the potential to enable the generation of dynamic gene regulatory networks in B. megaterium and other Gram-positive organisms.
The ribosome is a ribonucleoprotein machine responsible for protein synthesis. In all kingdoms of life it is composed of two subunits, each built on its own ribosomal RNA (rRNA) scaffold. The independent but coordinated functions of the subunits, including their ability to associate at initiation, rotate during elongation, and dissociate after protein release, are an established model of protein synthesis. Furthermore, the bipartite nature of the ribosome is presumed to be essential for biogenesis, since dedicated assembly factors keep immature ribosomal subunits apart and prevent them from translation initiation. Free exchange of the subunits limits the development of specialized orthogonal genetic systems that could be evolved for novel functions without interfering with native translation. Here we show that ribosomes with tethered and thus inseparable subunits (termed Ribo-T) are capable of successfully carrying out protein synthesis. By engineering a hybrid rRNA composed of both small and large subunit rRNA sequences, we produced a functional ribosome in which the subunits are covalently linked into a single entity by short RNA linkers. Notably, Ribo-T was not only functional in vitro, but was also able to support the growth of Escherichia coli cells even in the absence of wild-type ribosomes. We used Ribo-T to create the first fully orthogonal ribosome-messenger RNA system, and demonstrate its evolvability by selecting otherwise dominantly lethal rRNA mutations in the peptidyl transferase centre that facilitate the translation of a problematic protein sequence. Ribo-T can be used for exploring poorly understood functions of the ribosome, enabling orthogonal genetic systems, and engineering ribosomes with new functions.
the emerging discipline of synthetic biology is poised to change many aspects of our lives, from the production of medicines and bio-fuels through to genetic en
New biosensors developed by Wyss Institute core faculty member George Church enable complex genetic reprogramming of common bacteria like E. coli and could be leveraged for sustainable biomanufacturing, using the metabolic processes of bacterial cells to generate valuable chemicals and fuels.
"Chromatin is the universal template of genetic information in all eukaryotic cells. This complex of DNA and histone proteins not only packages and organizes genomes but also regulates gene expression. A multitude of posttranslational histone modifications and their combinations are thought to constitute a code for directing distinct structural and functional states of chromatin. Methods of protein chemistry, including protein semisynthesis, amber suppression technology, and cysteine bioconjugation, have enabled the generation of so-called designer chromatin containing histones in defined and homogeneous modification states. Several of these approaches have matured from proof-of-concept studies into efficient tools and technologies for studying the biochemistry of chromatin regulation and for interrogating the histone code. We summarize pioneering experiments and recent developments in this exciting field of chemical biology."
Chemist Lee Cronin is working on a 3D printer that, instead of objects, is able to print molecules. An exciting potential long-term application: printing your own medicine using chemical inks.
"Many microbial opsin genes encode proteins that, upon absorption of a photon, move ions across the cell membrane. The resulting ion flow can activate, inhibit, or modulate cells depending on the type, direction, and quantity of the ion being conducted (1). For optogenetic experiments, expressing these proteins has been useful for providing activity patterns to targeted cells (1, 2). On page 647 of this issue, Govorunova et al. (3) report a potent new opsin from the microbe Guillardia theta that can inhibit target cells. The discovery of this channelrhodopsin punctuates the long search for a naturally occurring, light-activated ion channel with utility for inhibition in optogenetic studies."
A synthetic biology documentary by Kelly Neaves and Dominic Rees-Roberts, following the Imperial College IGEM team (International Genetically Engineered ...
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