Using the Population‐Shift Mechanism to Rationally Introduce “Hill‐type” Cooperativity into a Normally Non‐Cooperative Receptor |
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| Authors: | Anna J Simon Prof Dr Alexis Vallée‐Bélisle Prof Dr Francesco Ricci Dr Herschel M Watkins Prof Dr Kevin W Plaxco |
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| Institution: | 1. Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106 (USA);2. Département de Chimie, Université de Montréal, QC (Canada);3. Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, University of Rome, Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica (Italy);4. Current address: Department of Applied Physics Stanford University (USA);5. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UC Santa Barbara (USA) |
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| Abstract: | Allosteric cooperativity, which nature uses to improve the sensitivity with which biomolecular receptors respond to small changes in ligand concentration, could likewise be of use in improving the responsiveness of artificial biosystems. Thus motivated, we demonstrate here the rational design of cooperative molecular beacons, a widely employed DNA sensor, using a generalizable population‐shift approach in which we engineer receptors that equilibrate between a low‐affinity state and a high‐affinity state exposing two binding sites. Doing so we achieve cooperativity within error of ideal behavior, greatly steepening the beacon’s binding curve relative to that of the parent receptor. The ability to rationally engineer cooperativity should prove useful in applications such as biosensors, synthetic biology and “smart” biomaterials, in which improved responsiveness is of value. |
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| Keywords: | allosterism cooperative effects DNA sensors synthetic biology |
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