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Mimicking living cells: Synthesizing ribosomes
Synthetic biology researchers at Northwestern University, working with partners at Harvard Medical School, have for the first time synthesized ribosomes—cell structures responsible for generating all proteins and enzymes in our bodies—from scratch in a test tube.
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"We can mimic nature and create ribosomes the way nature has evolved to do it, where all the processes are co-activated at the same time," said Jewett, who led the research along with Church. "Our approach is a one-pot synthesis scheme in which we toss genes encoding ribosomal RNA, natural ribosomal proteins, and additional enzymes of an E. coli cell together in a test tube, and this leads to the construction of a ribosome."
Jewett is an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.
The in vitro construction of ribosomes, as demonstrated in this study, is of great interest to the synthetic biology field, which seeks to transform the ability to engineer new or novel life forms and biocatalytic ensembles for useful purposes.
The findings of the four-year research project were published June 25 in the journal Molecular Systems Biology.
Comprising 57 parts—three strands of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and 54 proteins—ribosomes carry out the translation of messenger RNA into proteins, a core process of the cell. The thousands of proteins per cell, in turn, carry out a vast array of functions, from digestion to the creation of antibodies. Cells require ribosomes to live.
Jewett likens a ribosome to a chef. The ribosome takes the recipe, encoded in DNA, and makes the meal, or a protein. "We want to make brand new chefs, or ribosomes," Jewett said. "Then we can alter ribosomes to do new things for us."
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Synthetic biology researchers at Northwestern University, working with partners at Harvard Medical School, have for the first time synthesized ribosomes—cell structures responsible for generating all proteins and enzymes in our bodies—from scratch in a test tube.
>
"We can mimic nature and create ribosomes the way nature has evolved to do it, where all the processes are co-activated at the same time," said Jewett, who led the research along with Church. "Our approach is a one-pot synthesis scheme in which we toss genes encoding ribosomal RNA, natural ribosomal proteins, and additional enzymes of an E. coli cell together in a test tube, and this leads to the construction of a ribosome."
Jewett is an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering at Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.
The in vitro construction of ribosomes, as demonstrated in this study, is of great interest to the synthetic biology field, which seeks to transform the ability to engineer new or novel life forms and biocatalytic ensembles for useful purposes.
The findings of the four-year research project were published June 25 in the journal Molecular Systems Biology.
Comprising 57 parts—three strands of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and 54 proteins—ribosomes carry out the translation of messenger RNA into proteins, a core process of the cell. The thousands of proteins per cell, in turn, carry out a vast array of functions, from digestion to the creation of antibodies. Cells require ribosomes to live.
Jewett likens a ribosome to a chef. The ribosome takes the recipe, encoded in DNA, and makes the meal, or a protein. "We want to make brand new chefs, or ribosomes," Jewett said. "Then we can alter ribosomes to do new things for us."
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