Repurposing ribosomes for synthetic biology

Yi Liu, Do Soon Kim, Michael C. Jewett

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

The translation system is the cell's factory for protein biosynthesis, stitching together hundreds to thousands of amino acids into proteins, which are required for the structure, function, and regulation of living systems. The extraordinary synthetic capability of this system, which includes the ribosome and its associated factors required for polymerization, has driven extensive efforts to harness it for societal use in areas as diverse as energy, materials, and medicine. A powerful example is recombinant protein production, which has impacted the lives of patients through the synthesis of biopharmaceuticals such as insulin. In nature, however, only limited sets of monomers are utilized, thereby resulting in limited sets of biopolymers (i.e., proteins). Expanding nature's repertoire of ribosomal monomers could yield new classes of enzymes, therapeutics, materials, and chemicals with diverse, genetically encoded chemistry. Here, we discuss recent progress towards engineering ribosomes both in vivo and in vitro. These fundamental and technical breakthroughs open doors for advanced applications in biotechnology and synthetic biology.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)87-94
Number of pages8
JournalCurrent Opinion in Chemical Biology
Volume40
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2017

Funding

This work was supported by the Army Research Office W911NF-16-1-0372 (to M.C.J.), National Science Foundation grant MCB-1716766 (to M.C.J.), the Air Force Research Laboratory Center of Excellence Grant FA8650-15-2-5518 (to M.C.J.), the David and Lucile Packard Foundation (to M.C.J.), and the Human Frontiers Science Program ( RGP0015/2017 ). Y.L. is a Medical Scientist Training Program scholar under the MSTP NIH T32 training grant T32GM008152. D.S.K. is supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. We thank Jamie Cate, Rhiju Das, Andrew Ellington, Farren Isaacs, Shura Mankin, and Alanna Schepartz for ongoing scientific discussions. The U.S. Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation thereon. The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of Air Force Research Laboratory, Army Research Office, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Biochemistry

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