The Department of Biology in the Faculty of Arts and Science at Concordia University invites applications for a tenure track faculty position and Tier II Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Applied Synthet...

Culture-independent metagenomic approaches have proven to be effective tools for identifying previously hidden biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) encoding novel natural products with potential medical relevance. However, producing these compounds remains challenging as metagenomic BGCs often originate from organisms phylogenetically distant from available heterologous hosts. Lasso peptides, a subclass of ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) natural products, exhibit diverse bioactivities, yet no lasso peptide has previously been discovered directly from a metagenome. Here, we report the discovery and heterologous expression of the first soil metagenome-derived lasso peptide. Expression of its biosynthetic gene cluster in Escherichia coli, followed by mass spectrometry analysis, strongly supported the predicted amino acid sequence and lasso structure of the peptide. Notably, this lasso peptide is the first to feature asparagine as the ring-forming residue at position one. Taxonomic analysis of the corresponding BGC identified an uncultivated member of the Steroidobacterales family (Gammaproteobacteria) as the closest known relative of the potential native host. These findings underscore the potential of metagenomic genome mining to reveal structurally novel RiPPs and to expand our understanding of the natural diversity of lasso peptides.

AI is revolutionizing biotechnology innovation, but industry stakeholders must work together to mitigate its risks. In this article, Adam Clore explores the role of nucleic acid biosecurity screening ...

Elsässer strengthens the ‘Signals of Life’ research focus as well as the CIBSS Cluster of Excellence at the University of Freiburg. The foundation Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung is providing the professorship wi...

Researchers expose flaws in safeguards intended to block rogue actors from making bioweapons

Scientists used AI to write coherent viral genomes, using them to synthesize bacteriophages capable of killing resistant strains of bacteria.

Barcoding microbial ribosomal RNA creates a recording of gene transfer events without requiring translation.

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Despite recent advances in mammalian synthetic biology, there remains a lack of modular synthetic receptors that can robustly respond to soluble ligands and, in turn, activate bespoke cellular functions. Such receptors would have extensive clinical potential to regulate the activity of engineered therapeutic cells, but so far only receptors against cell-surface targets have approached clinical translation1. To address this gap, here we adapt a receptor architecture called the synthetic intramembrane proteolysis receptor (SNIPR) for activation by soluble ligands. Our SNIPR platform can be activated by both natural and synthetic soluble factors, with notably low baseline activity and high fold activation, through an endocytic, pH-dependent cleavage mechanism. We demonstrate the therapeutic capabilities of the receptor platform by localizing the activity of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells to solid tumours in which soluble disease-associated factors are expressed, bypassing the maj

The ESM3 model revolutionizes synthetic biology by enabling the creation of new proteins from scratch. This breakthrough opens up endless possibilities for the field, paving the way for innovative app...

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