title: Putting RNA to work: Translating RNA fundamentals into biotechnological engineering practice.
abstract: Synthetic biology, in close concert with systems biology, is revolutionizing the field of metabolic engineering by providing novel tools and technologies to rationally, in a standardized way, reroute metabolism with a view to optimally converting renewable resources into a broad range of bio-products, bio-materials and bio-energy. Increasingly, these novel synthetic biology tools are exploiting the extensive programmable nature of RNA, vis-à-vis DNA- and protein-based devices, to rationally design standardized, composable, and orthogonal parts, which can be scaled and tuned promptly and at will. This review gives an extensive overview of the recently developed parts and tools for i) modulating gene expression ii) building genetic circuits iii) detecting molecules, iv) reporting cellular processes and v) building RNA nanostructures. These parts and tools are becoming necessary armamentarium for contemporary metabolic engineering. Furthermore, the design criteria, technological challenges, and recent metabolic engineering success stories of the use of RNA devices are highlighted. Finally, the future trends in transforming metabolism through RNA engineering are critically evaluated and summarized.
authors.affiliation: Centre of Expertise Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Gert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Centre of Expertise Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Coussement
authors.affiliation: Centre of Expertise Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Maertens
authors.affiliation: BIOSYST-MeBioS, KU Leuven, Willem de Croylaan 42, 3001 Louvain, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jeroen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lammertyn
authors.affiliation: Centre of Expertise Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: marjan.demey@ugent.be.
authors.forename: Marjan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Mey
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D060847:Metabolic Engineering / Q000639:trends*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D058615:Synthetic Biology
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA
keywords: Bio-sensors; Genetic circuits; Metabolic engineering; Parts and tools; RNA; Riboregulators; Synthetic biology; Tuning