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The revolution in genetic engineering: How to introduce unusual amino acids into living organisms?
Recently, the scientific community's research on genetic engineering has been groundbreaking, especially in the field of introducing non-standard amino acids into living organisms. With the advancement of science and technology, scientists are able to manipulate the genetic code of organisms and create new life forms. This makes people think: How will these advances change our understanding of the nature of life in the future?
Expanded genetic code is an artificially modified genetic code in which one or more specific codes are reassigned to code for amino acids that are not among the 22 common natural protein amino acids.
Key elements of expanding the genetic code
The basic elements of the extended genetic code include: the non-standard amino acid to be encoded, an unused code, a transfer RNA (tRNA) that recognizes the code, and a tRNA amino acid that recognizes only the tRNA and the non-standard amino acid acyl synthase. This field is not only a research focus in synthetic biology, but also an important tool for scientific exploration.
According to a May 2019 study, scientists have created a new synthetic life form - a mutant form of intestinal E. coli (Escherichia coli). They reduced the 64 codes in the bacterial genome to 61, thereby realizing the possibility of expanding the genetic code.
The genetic code of all organisms is essentially the same, which results in all organisms using the same "genetic language."
Introduction to non-standard amino acids
The first step in the process of introducing non-standard amino acids (NSAAs) into the genetic code is to select the desired amino acid. To date, more than 71 different NSAAs have been successfully introduced into different cell lines, including E. coli, yeast, and mammalian cells.
These non-standard amino acids usually have larger structures, often with phenylalanine as the core, and their diverse substituents can confer new functions. For example, they can be used as fluorescent reporters or for post-translational modification.
Password assignment and challenge
The choice of assigning a code to a new amino acid is an important step. Since the layout of the genetic code is non-random, finding freely assignable codes is not easy. Amber codes (UAG) in particular are an attractive option due to their rarity.
In 1990, Normanly et al. achieved the first redistribution of the amber code, which opened up a new research direction in genetic code expansion.
Four basic passwords and their applications
The latest research shows that the four basic codes (quadruple code) can also be used to encode non-standard amino acids. This has potentially far-reaching implications for expanding the genetic code, as new coding methods can be used to introduce entirely new amino acids, further expanding the functionality of biological systems.
Applications and future prospects
The expanded genetic code allows scientists to precisely target non-standard amino acids to specific protein positions, which is more efficient than traditional post-translational modification methods. This method can be performed in a living cellular environment, allowing the application of chemical groups into precise locations on proteins, expanding the study of protein structure and function.
The ability to expand genetic codes will not only continuously enhance our understanding of biology, but may also bring about revolutionary changes in fields such as industry and biomedical engineering.
As genetic engineering technology continues to evolve, how to harness these emerging biotechnologies will become one of our biggest challenges in the future. How exactly will the expanded genetic code cause changes in different fields of life sciences?
