Team:Bielefeld-CeBiTec/Applied Design
Applied Design
Terminus independent specific fusion of two or more peptides is a major challenge in synthetic biology and beyond. Inspired by the highly specific condensation reaction of D-luciferin from the firefly Photinus pyralis, we came up with a sophisticated solution, combining organic chemistry, computational modelling, and molecular biology. Based on our own design, we synthesized the novel synthetic amino acid Nγ cyanobenzothiazolyl L asparagine (CBT-asparagine). The cyano group of CBT-asparagine undergoes a condensation reaction with the 1,2-aminothiol group of Nε L cysteinyl L lysine (CL). Through in silico simulation, we predicted different aminoacyl tRNA synthetase sequences to incorporate CBT-asparagine into proteins of interest. This system offers a new way for the production of fusion proteins and polymerized polypeptides.
