Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2025

Super-Resolution Imaging of Bacterial Secreted Proteins Using Genetic Code Expansion
Published on: February 10, 2023
Genetic Code Expansion: Recent Developments and Emerging Applications
Yujia Huang1, Pan Zhang2, Haoyu Wang1
1State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chemical Biology Center, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China.
Abstract:
The concept of genetic code expansion (GCE) has revolutionized the field of chemical and synthetic biology, enabling the site-specific incorporation of noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) into proteins, thus opening new avenues in research and applications across biology and medicine. In this review, we cover the principles of GCE, including the optimization of the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS)/tRNA system and the advancements in translation system engineering. Notable developments include the refinement of aaRS/tRNA pairs, enhancements in screening methods, and the biosynthesis of noncanonical amino acids. The applications of GCE technology span from synthetic biology, where it facilitates gene expression regulation and protein engineering, to medicine, with promising approaches in drug development, vaccine production, and gene editing. The review concludes with a perspective on the future of GCE, underscoring its potential to further expand the toolkit of biology and medicine. Through this comprehensive review, we aim to provide a detailed overview of the current state of GCE technology, its challenges, opportunities, and the frontier it represents in the expansion of the genetic code for novel biological research and therapeutic applications.
More Related Videos
11:47Residue-specific Incorporation of Noncanonical Amino Acids into Model Proteins Using an Escherichia coli Cell-free Transcription-translation System
Published on: August 1, 2016
11:08A Facile Protocol to Generate Site-Specifically Acetylated Proteins in Escherichia Coli
Published on: December 9, 2017
Related Concept Videos
From DNA to Protein
The Central Dogma
RNA is the Missing Link Between DNA and Proteins
In the early 1900s, scientists discovered that DNA stores all the information needed for cellular functions and that proteins perform most of these functions. However, the mechanisms of converting genetic information into functional proteins remained unknown for many years. Initially, it was believed that a single gene is...
Genome Size and the Evolution of New Genes
What is Genetic Engineering?
Next-generation Sequencing
Next-Generation Sequencing Methods
Although all next-generation methods use different technologies, they all share a set of standard features....
Maxam-Gilbert Sequencing
Challenges of the Maxam-Gilbert Method
The...