Development of New Computational Design and Synthetic Biology Strategies for Engineering Proteins

Development of New Computational Design and Synthetic Biology Strategies for Engineering Proteins

James Davey - Dr. Davey is a candidate for the Assistant Professor in Computational Protein Biochemistry position

Monday January 17, 2022

Time: 1-2 PM

Direct link Webex:

https://mun.webex.com/mun/j.php?MTID=m316a65301f081bdf07188afdd3fd436b

Abstract

Development of New Computational Design and Synthetic Biology Strategies for Engineering Proteins

James Davey | Research Seminar at Memorial University of Newfoundland

Protein designers and synthetic biologists strive to engineer biomacromolecules with improved properties and functions. These efforts are predominantly guided by mutation and screening of existing protein sequences. Rational design alternatives to discovery-based protein engineering approaches have the potential to expand the functional utility of engineered biotechnologies. However, the application of rational design strategies requires the development of computational and experimental methodologies that efficiently and accurately parse protein sequence spaces. To this end, I present three protein engineering projects employing new rational design strategies; 1) meta-multistate computational design of protein dynamics into the rigid scaffold of protein G domain beta-1; 2) tandem repeat DNA sequence redesign to construct a novel single-chain genetic repressor protein, and; 3) function-guided modular design of a genetic repressor protein reporting on membrane-bound rhomboid protease activity. These rational design strategies have the potential to significantly expand the scope of existing protein engineering approaches and will enable the creation of protein sequences having tailored properties and functions.