Artificial Ribosomes

Overview of Artificial Ribosomes

Ribosomes are hardworking molecular machines that produce proteins at a rate of up to 20 amino acids per second. They read RNA templates transcribed from DNA and use this information to string together amino acids into proteins. Artificial ribosomes are synthetic biological systems constructed using genetic engineering methods that can mimic the function of natural ribosomes to synthesize proteins. They consist of specific RNA molecules and artificially synthesized synthetic ribosome proteins that can recognize and translate specific mRNA sequences to produce specific proteins. Research on artificial ribosomes helps to deepen understanding of fundamental biological problems such as gene expression regulation, protein structure and function, and can also be used for biomedical and industrial applications.

The Challenge of Artificial Ribosomes

Cells need functional ribosomes to survive and proliferate properly, and artificially designed ribosomal molecules may die if they deviate too far from the standard ribosome. Each ribosome structure consists of a small subunit and a large subunit, which assemble to translate messenger RNA sequences into proteins and then separate. When another protein needs to be manufactured, they will reassemble, but not necessarily with the same partners as before. To some extent, they are highly mixed. This mixing hinders efforts to design ribosomes that can incorporate non-native amino acids or other compounds. Mixing engineered and native subunits can reduce the ability of the cell to produce normal proteins. Since artificial ribosomes are still in a long stage of research and development, their market profitability cannot be guaranteed, and their economic benefits are still uncertain.

Artificial Ribosome Continues Advancing

Ribosomes have functional parts that depend on structural interactions across sequence distance regions, which limits evolutionary exploration of mutant libraries and presents challenges for guiding design towards 3D structures. To address this, Jewett et al. developed a new type of tethered ribosome called Ribo-T, in which two subunits are covalently linked to form a single entity that can be designed for synthetic biology applications. Compared to previously developed tethered ribosomes, the orthogonality of protein translation activity and doubling time in cells are significantly improved. With this engineered ribosome, biological processes such as protein biosynthesis can be controlled, potentially addressing the increasingly serious problem of antibiotic resistance. Evolving non-protein drugs and materials in the natural way of protein evolution holds promise for generating new biotechnological products that meet societal needs.

Fig.1 Engineering tethered ribosomes.¹

Although there are still many challenges, the application prospects of artificial ribosomes are very broad, covering multiple fields such as gene therapy, drug development, and biosynthesis. Creative Biolabs has assembled a professional team dedicated to ribosome research, providing customized services for global customers, including but not limited to Ribosome Complex Profiling service and Ribosomal Proteomics service. If you are interested in our ribosome services, please contact us immediately to obtain more information for free.

Reference

1. Stan, Andreea, and Clemens Mayer. "Tethered Ribosomes: Toward the Synthesis of Nonproteinogenic Polymers in Bacteria." ChemBioChem (2023): e202200578.