Bacteriophage T7 transcription system: an enabling tool in synthetic biology

Wenya Wang; Yuwenbin Li; Yaqiong Wang; Chen Shi; Chenmeng Li; Qiang Li; Robert J Linhardt

doi:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2018.10.001

Bacteriophage T7 transcription system: an enabling tool in synthetic biology

Biotechnol Adv. 2018 Dec;36(8):2129-2137. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2018.10.001. Epub 2018 Oct 2.

Authors

Wenya Wang¹, Yuwenbin Li², Yaqiong Wang³, Chen Shi³, Chenmeng Li³, Qiang Li⁴, Robert J Linhardt⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China. Electronic address: wangwy@mail.buct.edu.cn.
² Division of Biological Science, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0021, USA.
³ College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory for Industrial Biocatalysis, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: liqiang@tsinghua.edu.cn.
⁵ Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, NY 12180, USA; Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, NY 12180, USA; Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, NY 12180, USA; Department of Chemical Biology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 110 8th Street, Troy, NY 12180, USA.

PMID: 30290194
DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2018.10.001

Abstract

Since its discovery in the 1970s, the T7 RNA polymerase (T7 RNAP) transcription system has been applied extensively as an effective tool in molecular biology because of its robust function in various hosts, including prokaryotic, eukaryotic and cell free systems. Recently, the T7 RNAP transcription system has emerged as a critical component for synthetic biology. The present paper summarizes the advances of the T7 RNAP transcription system in synthetic biology, including the recent progress of T7 RNAP structure and its cognate promoter and terminator and its application in cell free systems, logic gates and orthogonal genetic circuits.

Keywords: Synthetic biology; T7 RNA polymerase; T7 promoter; Transcription system.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

Bacteriophage T7 / genetics*
DNA, Viral / genetics
Genetic Engineering
Promoter Regions, Genetic / genetics*
Synthetic Biology / methods*
Transcription, Genetic / genetics

Substances

DNA, Viral