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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

Engineering Adherent Bacteria by Creating a Single Synthetic Curli Operon
Published on: November 16, 2012
Generation of a bacterium with a 21 amino acid genetic code
Ryan A Mehl1, J Christopher Anderson, Stephen W Santoro
1Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Abstract:
We have generated a completely autonomous bacterium with a 21 amino acid genetic code. This bacterium can biosynthesize a nonstandard amino acid from basic carbon sources and incorporate this amino acid into proteins in response to the amber nonsense codon. The biosynthetic pathway for the amino acid p-aminophenylalanine (pAF) as well as a unique pAF synthetase and cognate tRNA were added to Escherichia coli. Denaturing gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometric analysis show that pAF is incorporated into myoglobin with fidelity and efficiency rivaling those of the common 20 amino acids. This and other such organisms may provide an opportunity to examine the evolutionary consequences of adding new amino acids to the genetic repertoire, as well as generate proteins with new or enhanced biological functions.
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