Seminars

Design and evolution of synthetic nucleocapsids

Title Design and evolution of synthetic nucleocapsids
Lecturer Marc J. Lajoie, PhD.(Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington, Seattle)
Language English
Date&Time 09/18/2018 (Tue) 15:00~16:00
Venue D105
Detail

Nucleic acid encapsulation is a fundamental requirement of life, elegantly solving the challenges of evolution in a complex biochemical environment by coupling genotype to phenotype and protecting genetic material. In the simplest examples, viruses use capsids to surround their genomes, but they remain delicate systems that are difficult to re-engineer for therapeutic applications. Based on simple first principles, we have created synthetic nucleocapsids that encapsulate their own RNA genome, providing a “blank slate” to design and evolve desired properties for drug delivery, while avoiding the safety risks and engineering challenges associated with viruses.

Reference: Butterfield GL, Lajoie MJ, Gustafson HH, Sellers DL, Nattermann U, Ellis D, Bale JB, Ke S,
Lenz GH, Yehdego A et al: Evolution of a designed protein assembly encapsulating its own
RNA genome. Nature 2017, 552(7685):415-420. PMID: 29236688

Contact システム微生物学
森浩禎 (hmori@gtc.naist.jp)

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