We used this evolved enzyme to produce halogenated antimicrobial peptides with fermentation at 5L scale. The biosynthesized peptides are just as effective as equivalent peptides produced using expensive chemical methods.

Our evolved RebHEvo4 is a 12-mutant of the wildtype sequence and is >30x more active on a variety of substrates.

It is also MUCH easier to use in vivo thanks to being quite soluble!

Using this circuit, we did 500+ hours of Phage Assisted Continuous Evolution.

(Why no PRANCE? This project happened so early in London that the robot wasn’t even delivered + installed + working smoothly before the continuous flow happened 🤣 🤖)

Enzymes tend to be difficult to tackle with continuous evolution. The small molecule substrates are slippery and it’s tough to make good gene circuits.

We played a cute trick: we made a circuit that uses an Aminoacyl tRNA Synthetase (AARS) to detect the halogenated product of the enzyme.

What’s ‘halogenated’?

It’s anything with fluorine/chlorine etc from over on the right of the period table. Often halogenated compounds have a hydrogen swapped for, say, a fluorine. They all need one more electron, and so can stand in for one another.

Happy to announce a new preprint from my former academic lab, where we use PACE to evolve halogenase enzymes!

Congrats to Andre Pulschen and Justin Booth who led the study!

If we terraform Mars, it would be a powerful example of human civilization having a net *positive* impact on the surrounding environment.

Today I and 11 other scientists describe in Nature Astronomy how recent breakthroughs in launch capabilities, climate, and synthetic biology demand a new assessment of the feasibility of terraforming Mars.

www.erikadebenedictis.com/s/The-case-f...

Heads up: terraforming Mars isn’t just sci-fi, it’s a real possibility that’s possible with today’s technology.

Mars could be green in MY lifetime. 🚀 🌼

What’s stopping us? We need a lot more real research into how to do it right. Don’t nuke Mars!

👇

Time for a LOT of microbe data! 📊 🦠 🤖

@alignbio.bsky.social is aiming to gather a core dataset composed of phenotypes for 1000 diverse microbes cultivated in 1000 diverse conditions.

This labeled data has the potential to take our ability to predict how microbes will behave to the next level!

The first astronauts on Mars will use bacteria to make food, therapeutics & building materials.

What do you feed the 🦠? Here's the recipe:
- 40g of Mars dirt
- 1 liter of water
- Mix and strain

In our substack post, Pioneer Labs defines how to mimic this recipe on Earth. 🚀🌼