Dual-Code E. Coli Engineered to Produce Synthetic Proteins Without Cross-Talk

Dual-Code E. coli Engineered to Produce Synthetic Proteins Without Cross-Talk

Researchers have engineered bacterial cells capable of running two distinct genetic codes simultaneously, an advance that opens new avenues for producing synthetic proteins and exploring fundamental questions in molecular biology. The work, reported by a team at the University of Cambridge and published in the journal Nature, demonstrates that the standard genetic code and an expanded “mirror” code can operate together inside living Escherichia …

Researchers get two genetic codes to work at the same time

Messing with the genetic code might have gotten a bit easier to do.

Researchers Clear Major Obstacle in Genetic Engineering of Proteins

• A new tool allows researchers to design and produce synthetic proteins faster, more safely, and at larger scale than previously possible. • Each protein can contain up to 34 custom amino acids rather than the naturally occurring 20. • The work promises to expand the development of novel protein-based medicines and other materials. • The technology arises from a discovery that overturns decades of understanding of how transfer RNAs (tRNAs) help turn the genetic code into proteins.