New Proteins That Can Help Regulate Cellular Genetic Circuits
Created By BiotechDaily International staff writers Posted on 15
Aug 2012 Scientists are designing transcription factors for
nonbacterial cells. An initial library of 19 new transcription
factors should help overcome the logjam that has limited
synthetic biology applications. Synthetic biologists have been
working for about 12 years on ways to design genetic circuits to
perform innovative functions such as manufacturing new drugs,
producing fuel, or even programming the suicide of cancer cells.
Achieving these complex functions requires controlling many
genetic and cellular components, including not only genes but
also the regulatory proteins that switch them on and off. In a
living cell, proteins called transcription factors often
regulate that process. So far, most researchers have designed
their synthetic circuits using transcription factors found in
bacteria. However, these do not always transform well to
nonbacterial cells and can be a challen