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ACS Chem. Biol.,
3 (1),
38–50
10.1021/cb700249v
Web Release Date: January 18, 2008
Copyright © 2008 American Chemical Society
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Peptide and Protein Building Blocks for Synthetic
Biology: From Programming Biomolecules to Self-Organized Biomolecular
Systems
Elizabeth H. C. Bromley†, Kevin Channon†, Efrosini Moutevelis†, and Derek N. Woolfson†,‡,*
† School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, BS8 1TS, United Kingdom, ‡ Department of Biochemistry, University of Bristol, BS8 1TD, United Kingdom
Received for review December 3, 2007
and accepted December 21, 2007
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*Corresponding author, d.n.woolfson#bristol.ac.uk.
There are several approaches to creating synthetic-biological systems.
Here, we describe a molecular-design approach. First, we lay out a
possible synthetic-biology space, which we define with a plot of complexity
of components versus divergence from nature. In this scheme, there
are basic units, which range from natural amino acids to totally synthetic
small molecules. These are linked together to form programmable tectons,
for example, amphipathic α-helices. In turn, tectons can interact
to give self-assembled units, which can combine and organize further
to produce functional assemblies and systems. To illustrate one path
through this vast landscape, we focus on protein engineering and design.
We describe how, for certain protein-folding motifs, polypeptide chains
can be instructed to fold. These folds can be combined to give structured
complexes, and function can be incorporated through computational
design. Finally, we describe how protein-based systems may be encapsulated
to control and investigate their functions.
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