A de novo enzyme catalyzes a life-sustaining reaction in Escherichia coli

Ann E. Donnelly, Grant S. Murphy, Katherine M. Digianantonio, Michael H. Hecht

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Scopus citations

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)253-255
Number of pages3
JournalNature Chemical Biology
Volume14
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1 2018

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cell Biology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A de novo enzyme catalyzes a life-sustaining reaction in Escherichia coli'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this