| ECONOMY |
Previous methods like protein purification & expression cloning demanded months or years. This technique today require 2 weeks & researchers are working at reducing it to one day |
| TECHNOLOGY |
Researchers have developed a technique that identifies genes associated with specific bioactive proteins much more quickly than previous possible. The technique generates pure prepn of most or all of the proteins expressed by an organism & keeps track of the gene associated with each one. The new approach mechanizes & accelerates this process by providing purified prepn of every protein in cell & automatically accounting for the gene associated with each one. The yeast genome encodes more than 6,000 proteins, each specified by an open reading frame (ORF). The researchers created plasmids, each contg one of yeast's ORF & the gene for glutathione S-transferase (GST). They then incorporated the plasmids into yeast. The result was a library of 6,144 strains, each of which overexpressed a particular GST-ORF fusion protein. The GST units make it easy to purify the individual yeast proteins with an affinity reagent, but one disadvantage is that they can interfere with the activity of the ORF proteins The purified proteins were then assayed for bioactivity. Those responsible for each type of activity were found, & the genes that encode the proteins were identified |
| UPDATE | 11.99 |
| USES | Although; the technique was applied to baker's yeast; the technique is useful for other organisms including humans |
| AUTHOR |
Fields Stanley; University of Washington at Seattle Grayhack Elizabeth J., Research Associate Prof., Rochester Phizicky Eric M., Associate Prof., Uni. Rochester |
| LITERATURE REF. | Science, 286, p. 1153 (1999) |
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