Article
Chemistry, Physical
Helen B. Belato, Carmelissa Norbrun, Jinping Luo, Chinmai Pindi, Souvik Sinha, Alexandra M. D'Ordine, Gerwald Jogl, Giulia Palermo, George P. Lisi
Summary: Allosteric signaling within multidomain proteins is a driving force for communication between functional sites. This study used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and computational approaches to identify an allosteric hotspot in the HNH domain of GeoCas9. Mutation of a specific amino acid disrupted a salt-bridge network and altered the structure, timescale of allosteric motions, and thermostability of the domain. This finding may have implications for the specificity enhancement of Cas9.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rodrigo M. Florentino, Kazutoyo Morita, Nils Haep, Takashi Motomura, Ricardo Diaz-Aragon, Lanuza A. P. Faccioli, Alexandra Collin de l'Hortet, Zeliha Cetin, Carla Frau, Lawrence Vernetti, Anna-Klara Amler, Alexander Thomas, Tobias Lam, Lutz Kloke, Kazuki Takeishi, D. Lansing Taylor, Ira J. Fox, Alejandro Soto-Gutierrez
Summary: Advancements in cellular engineering and gene therapy allow for the production of human tissues with programmable genetically enhanced functions to model and treat specific diseases. This study successfully fabricated synthetic human liver tissues with programmable functions using CRISPR-Cas9 to control gene expression. The engineered liver tissues demonstrated enhanced functions compared to primary liver cells.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Jucan Gao, Lihong Jiang, Jiazhang Lian
Summary: Pichia pastoris, a methylotrophic yeast commonly used for industrial production of recombinant proteins, has unique biological characteristics and a well-developed expression system. Synthetic biology tools are being used to develop P. pastoris as a platform for producing high-value compounds. The successful production of value-added natural products and the use of genetic engineering tools showcase the potential of P. pastoris as a synthetic biology chassis.
SYNTHETIC AND SYSTEMS BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Li Duan, Limei Xu, Xiao Xu, Zhuan Qin, Xiaoying Zhou, Yin Xiao, Yujie Liang, Jiang Xia
Summary: Gene vectors deliver genetic materials or gene editing devices into cells for therapeutic protein production or gene correction, but barriers like cell membrane and degradation necessitate carriers for clinical gene therapy. Exosomes, engineered to encapsulate and deliver nucleic acids, and their fusion with liposomes increase loading capacity and maintain targeting capability, showing promise for future gene delivery applications in therapy.
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Dhananjay Dhokane, Arshi Shaikh, Anu Yadav, Nandinee Giri, Anindya Bandyopadhyay, Santanu Dasgupta, Bhaskar Bhadra
Summary: Microalgae have the potential to produce biomolecules, and bioengineering approaches have been used to improve their productivity and quality. Further research is needed to optimize genome editing tools, understand microalgal metabolism, and address ethical and environmental concerns.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Chenwang Tang, Lin Wang, Lei Zang, Qing Wang, Dianpeng Qi, Zhuojun Dai
Summary: This article reviews the challenges in the production and distribution of biopharmaceuticals and explores the application of synthetic biology in on-site manufacturing of biomolecules.
MATERIALS TODAY BIO
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Viktor Haellman, Tobias Strittmatter, Adrian Bertschi, Pascal Stuecheli, Martin Fussenegger
Summary: VAMSyB is a versatile plasmid architecture for mammalian synthetic biology, consisting of a three-tier vector family, which can be widely applied in engineering fusion constructs and multi-gene expression.
METABOLIC ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Mingxia Wang, Jinming Xu, Jialin Meng, Xinbo Huang
Summary: A novel gRNA design for rapid circular gRNA assembly inside cells is proposed in this study, which can effectively reduce off-target editing in the CRISPR system.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Dipinte Gupta, Gauri Sharma, Pooja Saraswat, Rajiv Ranjan
Summary: The recent expansion of knowledge in various disciplines has led to the emergence of interdisciplinary fields, including Synthetic Biology (SynBio), which integrates concepts from biology, chemistry, electrical engineering, and computer science to rewire natural biological pathways through genetic circuits. This has resulted in innovative applications in molecular medicines, pharmaceuticals, biofuels, and crop improvement, mainly utilizing prokaryotic systems but showing growth potential in eukaryotic systems.
MOLECULAR BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Irene Otero-Muras, Pablo Carbonell
Summary: Metabolic engineering involves optimizing processes from single-cell to fermentation to increase production of valuable chemicals. A systems approach has accelerated scaling from rapid prototyping to industrial production, with automated DNA assembly reducing time from conception to production. The success of metabolic engineering often relies on retrobiosynthetic protocols and dynamic regulation strategies assembled as genetic circuits in host strains.
METABOLIC ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zhipeng Huang, Arslan Habib, Guoping Zhao, Xiaoming Ding
Summary: This study successfully utilizes CRISPR-Cas9 technology to integrate foreign genes into a specific chromosomal location in Chinese hamster ovary cells, allowing for sustained and stable expression of exogenous proteins. The results demonstrate the advantage of the NC_048595.1 locus in this expression.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
J. Carl Schultz, Shekhar Mishra, Emily Gaither, Andrea Mejia, Hoang Dinh, Costas Maranas, Huimin Zhao
Summary: This study explored metabolic engineering approaches to improve the production of fatty alcohols in the oleaginous yeast Rhodotorula toruloides. Deletion of LRO1 or deletion of DGA1 combined with overexpression of ACC1 and ACL1 significantly increased the fatty alcohol production. The deletion of LRO1 surprisingly increased both lipid and fatty alcohol production.
MICROBIAL CELL FACTORIES
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Zion Lee, Marina Raabe, Wei-Shou Hu
Summary: Different regions of the mammalian genome exhibit varying accessibilities to transcriptional machinery, with super-enhancers playing a key role in shaping cell identity. Integration of transgenes into these highly accessible regions leads to increased transcriptional activity. Targeted integration of genes into super-enhancer regions in CHO cells has been shown to result in higher expression levels, indicating the potential of epigenomic landscape in guiding cell line development for therapeutic protein production.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
(2021)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Ali Kerem Kalkan, Fahreddin Palaz, Semeniuk Sofija, Nada Elmousa, Yuri Ledezma, Elise Cachat, Leonardo Rios-Solis
Summary: This review summarizes recent studies on the use of CRISPR-Cas systems to improve recombinant protein production in CHO cells. The advantages, limitations, and potential solutions of these systems are discussed, with focus on their impact on glycan composition. Furthermore, the promising future applications of CRISPR in CHO cells are highlighted.
BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Izel Koyuturk, Surbhi Kedia, Anna Robotham, Alexandra Star, Denis Brochu, Janelle Sauvageau, John Kelly, Michel Gilbert, Yves Durocher
Summary: Alpha-1-antitrypsin (A1AT) is a protease inhibitor that protects the lungs from damage. A1AT deficiency increases the risk of lung diseases. Currently, the only treatment is weekly injection of plasma-purified A1AT. This study aimed to produce recombinant A1AT with N-glycans similar to plasma-derived A1AT. By disrupting glycosyltransferase genes and overexpressing sialyltransferase, high levels of recombinant A1AT with desired glycosylation were obtained.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
(2022)