| Title | A de novo enzyme catalyzes a life-sustaining reaction in Escherichia coli. |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2018 |
| Authors | Donnelly, AE, Murphy, GS, Digianantonio, KM, Hecht, MH |
| Journal | Nat Chem Biol |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pagination | 253-255 |
| Date Published | 2018 03 |
| ISSN | 1552-4469 |
| Keywords | Catalysis, Computational Biology, Culture Media, Dimerization, Enterobactin, Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli Proteins, Hydrolysis, Iron, Kinetics, Mutagenesis, Mutation, Phenotype, Protein Folding, Siderophores, Synthetic Biology |
| Abstract | <p>Producing novel enzymes that are catalytically active in vitro and biologically functional in vivo is a key goal of synthetic biology. Here we describe Syn-F4, the first de novo protein that meets both criteria. Purified Syn-F4 hydrolyzes the siderophore ferric enterobactin, and expression of Syn-F4 allows an inviable strain of Escherichia coli to grow in iron-limited medium. These findings demonstrate that entirely new sequences can provide life-sustaining enzymatic functions in living organisms.</p> |
| DOI | 10.1038/nchembio.2550 |
| Alternate Journal | Nat. Chem. Biol. |
| PubMed ID | 29334382 |
