Are natural proteins special? Can we do that?

Michael H Hecht; Shlomo Zarzhitsky; Christina Karas; Sarangan Chari

doi:10.1016/j.sbi.2017.11.009

Are natural proteins special? Can we do that?

Curr Opin Struct Biol. 2018 Feb:48:124-132. doi: 10.1016/j.sbi.2017.11.009. Epub 2018 Jan 3.

Authors

Michael H Hecht¹, Shlomo Zarzhitsky², Christina Karas², Sarangan Chari²

Affiliations

¹ Departments of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA. Electronic address: hecht@princeton.edu.
² Departments of Chemistry and Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA.

PMID: 29306103
DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2017.11.009

Abstract

Natural proteins represent a minuscule fraction of possible sequence space. These very rare sequences display remarkable properties: They fold into many different stable structures, and perform a wide range of complex biological functions. These two considerations-rarity and functionality-may suggest that natural proteins are somehow special. Is this true? We address this question by exploring attempts to recapitulate the special structures and functions of natural proteins into sequences designed de novo.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Review

MeSH terms

Amino Acid Sequence
Escherichia coli / genetics*
Escherichia coli / metabolism
Escherichia coli Proteins / genetics*
Escherichia coli Proteins / metabolism
Gene Deletion
Gene Library
Genetic Complementation Test / methods*
Models, Molecular
Protein Binding
Protein Conformation
Protein Conformation, alpha-Helical
Protein Conformation, beta-Strand
Protein Engineering / methods*
Protein Folding

Substances

Escherichia coli Proteins