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Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Large-scale Production of Recombinant RNAs on a Circular Scaffold Using a Viroid-derived System in Escherichia coli
Published on: November 30, 2018
A de novo enzyme catalyzes a life-sustaining reaction in Escherichia coli
Ann E Donnelly1, Grant S Murphy1, Katherine M Digianantonio1
1Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
Abstract:
Producing novel enzymes that are catalytically active in vitro and biologically functional in vivo is a key goal of synthetic biology. Here we describe Syn-F4, the first de novo protein that meets both criteria. Purified Syn-F4 hydrolyzes the siderophore ferric enterobactin, and expression of Syn-F4 allows an inviable strain of Escherichia coli to grow in iron-limited medium. These findings demonstrate that entirely new sequences can provide life-sustaining enzymatic functions in living organisms.
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