Anthony C Forster
Uppsala University, Sweden
Title: NextGen SynBio: Synthetic genomics and drug discovery
Biography
Biography: Anthony C Forster
Abstract
We have developed simplified, purified, bacterial translation systems to facilitate studies of substrate recognition in protein synthesis and enable new applications. Surprises in translation include slower incorporation of proline and other N-alkyl amino acids and that peptide bond formation, not accommodation, is rate-limiting in dipeptide synthesis. One application is directed evolution in vitro of small-molecule, peptidomimetic drug candidates by redesigning the genetic code for the synthesis and display of polymers containing unnatural amino acids. Fast kinetics with unnatural amino acids has identified the causes of several inefficiencies and lead to ways of improving incorporation yields. Another application is cost-effective, scalable, purified, in vitro translation. The latter was achieved by total synthesis and BioBrick assembly of a 58-kbp module encoding 30 translation factor cistrons, breaking new ground in de novo design for synthetic genomics.