Abstract:
The invention relates to the production of flavonoids and flavonoid precursors in cells through recombinant expression of tyrosine ammonia lyase (TAL), 4-coumarate:CoA ligase (4CL), chalcone synthase (CHS), and chalcone isomerase (CHI).
Abstract:
The invention relates to identification of mutations and genetic targets for enhanced L-tyrosine production, and bacterial strains capable of L-tyrosine production.
Abstract:
The invention provides a device for adhering cells in a specific and predetermined position, and associated methods. The device includes a plate defining a surface and a plurality of cytophilic islands that adhere cells, isolated by cytophobic regions to which cells do not adhere, contiguous with the cytophilic islands. The islands or the regions or both may be formed of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM).
Abstract:
The invention relates to recombinant expression of a taxadiene synthase enzyme and a geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase (GGPPS) enzyme in cells and the production of terpenoids.
Abstract:
The invention relates to recombinant expression of terpenoid synthase enzymes and geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase (GGPPS) enzymes in cells and the production of diterpenoids.
Abstract:
A method has been developed to create databases of peptides having a desirable property, such as antimicrobial activity, based on analyzing a database of known peptides for a pattern statistically associated with an activity. One can determine a set of patterns that may be representative of a peptide having a desired characteristic or property, and evaluate a set of sequences against the set of patterns (grammars) to determine if the peptide sequence being evaluated has similar patterns to those of a peptide having the desired characteristic or property. The set of sequences being evaluated may include peptide sequences of a desired length comprising all or substantially all combinations of amino acids that conform to at least one of the set of patterns. Once the database is identified, the database may be processed in a pattern recognition procedure that identifies a set of patterns that could be understood as representative of a peptide having the characteristic of interest. A set of newly generated peptides sequences may then be processed to score these new sequences against the identified patterns to correlate the patterns to the sequences and determine a degree of association or a similarity between a respective one of the new sequences and the set of identified patterns. The method is used to provide a database of sequences that are expected to have one or more desired activities, specific sequences within the database proven to have the desired activity, and the patterns or grammars used to create the database of sequences. Although described with reference to antimicrobial peptides, a database of peptides may be identified that contains peptides that have antiviral properties, wound response properties, or some other property of interest.
Abstract:
Antimicrobial peptides are small proteins used by the innate immune system to combat bacterial infection in multicellular eukaryotes. There is mounting evidence that these peptides are less susceptible to bacterial resistance than traditional antibiotics and that they may form the basis for a novel class of therapeutics. Systems and methods may treat the amino acid sequences of these peptides as a formal language and build a set of right-linear grammars that describe this language. These grammars may allow for rationally designed novel antimicrobial peptides in silico. These peptides conform to the syntax of natural antimicrobial peptides lack significant homology to any natural sequences, thus populating a previously unexplored region of protein sequence space. Synthesis of these peptides, leads to de novo AmPs.