DNA G-quadruplexes are uniquely stable in the presence of denaturants and monovalent cations

Tanner G Hoog, Matthew R Pawlak, Benjamin F Bachan, Aaron E Engelhart Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports Volume 30, July 2022, 101238 Ions in the Hofmeister series exhibit varied effects on biopolymers. Those classed as kosmotropes generally stabilize secondary structure, and those classed as chaotropes generally […]

[preprint] Parasites, infections and inoculation in synthetic minimal cells

Brock Cash, Nathaniel J. Gaut, Christopher Deich, Laura L. Johnson, Aaron E. Engelhart, Katarzyna P. Adamala https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.11.491559v1.abstract Synthetic minimal cells provide a controllable and engineerable model for an increasing amount of biological processes. While much simpler than any live natural cell, synthetic cells offer a […]

[preprint] Expanding luciferase reporter systems for cell-free protein expression

Wakana Sato, Melanie Rasmussen, Christopher Deich, Aaron E Engelhart, Katarzyna P Adamala https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.10.491427v1.abstract Luciferases are often used as a sensitive, versatile reporter in cell-free transcription-translation (TXTL) systems, for research and practical applications such as engineering genetic parts, validating genetic circuits, and biosensor outputs. Currently, only […]

Akaby—Cell-free protein expression system for linear templates

Wakana Sato, Judee Sharon, Christopher Deich, Nathaniel Gaut, Brock Cash, Aaron E Engelhart, Katarzyna P Adamala PLoS ONE 17(4): e0266272. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266272 Cell-free protein expression is increasingly becoming popular for biotechnology, biomedical and research applications. Among cell-free systems, the most popular one is based on Escherichia […]

Switchable DNA-Based Peroxidases Controlled by a Chaotropic Ion

Tanner G Hoog, Matthew R Pawlak, Lauren M Aufdembrink, Benjamin R Bachan, Matthew B Galles, Nicholas B Bense, Katarzyna P Adamala, Aaron E Engelhart ChemBioChem Volume 23, Issue 9 e202200090 Here we demonstrate a switchable DNA electron‐transfer catalyst, enabled by selective destabilization of secondary structure […]

[preprint] Controlled exchange of protein and nucleic acid signals from and between synthetic minimal cells

Joseph M Heili, Kaitlin Stokes, Nathaniel J Gaut, Christopher Deich, Jose Gomez-Garcia, Brock Cash, Matthew R Pawlak, Aaron E Engelhart, Katarzyna P Adamala https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.03.474826v1.abstract Synthetic minimal cells are a class of small liposome bioreactors that have some, but not all functions of live cells. Here, […]

[preprint] T7Max transcription system

Christopher Deich, Brock Cash, Wakana Sato, Judee Sharon, Lauren Aufdembrink, Nathaniel J Gaut, Joseph Heili, Kaitlin Stokes, Aaron E Engelhart, Katarzyna P Adamala https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.10.17.464727v1.abstract Efficient cell-free protein expression from linear DNA templates has remained a challenge primarily due to template degradation. Here we present a […]

Salty Environments: The importance of evaporites and brine environments as habitats and preservers of biosignatures

Scott Perl, Solmaz Adeli, Chhandak Basu, Bonnie K Baxter, Jeff Bowman, Eric Boyd, Morgan Cable, Aaron J Celestian, Charles S Cockell, Frank A Corsetti, Kate L Craft, Aaron Engelhart, Alberto G Fairen, Suniti Karunatillake, Kennda Lynch, Sally Potter-McIntyre, Frances Rivera-Hernandez, Mark Schneegurt, Susanne Schwenzer, Svetlana […]