Abstract
Cell-free protein synthesis based on E. coli cell extracts has been described for the first time more than 50 years ago. To date, cell-free synthesis is widely used for the preparation of toxic proteins, for studies of the translation process and its regulation as well as for the incorporation of artificial or labeled amino acids into a polypeptide chain. Many efforts have been directed towards establishing cell-free expression as a standard method for gene expression, with limited success. In this chapter we will describe the state-of-the-art of cell-free expression, extract preparation methods and recent examples for successful applications of cell-free synthesis of macromolecular complexes.
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Acknowledgements
C.S. acknowledges funding by the European Research Council Starting grant (ComplexNMD, 281331); and by a Sinergia grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (CRSII3_136254/1).
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Botte, M., Deniaud, A., Schaffitzel, C. (2016). Cell-Free Synthesis of Macromolecular Complexes. In: Vega, M. (eds) Advanced Technologies for Protein Complex Production and Characterization. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 896. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27216-0_6
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