Assistant Professor TERAMOTO, Professor KAKUTA, and their research group (Laboratory of Biophysical Chemistry) reveals structural basis of ultra-high affinity RNA-protein pairs created by directed evolution

Promising Applications for RNP Tool Development

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Highlights

• Atomic-level insights into the distinct binding modes of two artificial RNP complexes via X-ray co-crystal structure analysis.
• Development of a riboswitch for cell-free systems that activates translation upon binding to a protein ligand.
• Construction of an AND logic circuit to control γ-hemolysin functional expression.

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Summary

A research team from Kyushu University's Graduate School of Agriculture, led by Assistant Professor TERAMOTO Takamasa , Master's student NAKASHIMA Momoka , and Professor KAKUTA Yoshimitsu (Laboratory of Biophysical Chemistry), in collaboration with Associate Professor FUKUNAGA Keisuke (University of Miyazaki), Professor MATSUURA Tomoaki (Tokyo University of Science), and Professor YOKOBAYASHI Yohei (Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology), successfully elucidated the structural differences between two artificial RNA-protein complexes (RNPs) using X-ray crystallography. The research group further leveraged these RNPs to create highly efficient riboswitches--RNA switches capable of regulating gene expression. The performance of these novel riboswitches was demonstrated using cell-free protein synthesis systems, showcasing their potential for advanced biotechnological applications.

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Paper Information

Journal: Nucleic Acids Research
Title: Structural insights into lab-coevolved RNA-RBP pairs and applications of synthetic riboswitches in cell-free system
Authors: Keisuke Fukunaga*,#, Takamasa Teramoto#, Momoka Nakashima, Toshitaka Ohtani, Riku Katsuki, Tomoaki Matsuura, Yohei Yokobayashi*, Yoshimitsu Kakuta*
#contributed equally, *corresponding authors
DOI：10.1093/nar/gkaf212

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For Research-related inquiries

TERAMOTO Takamasa, Assistant Professor
KAKUTA Yoshimitsu, Professor