title: Engineering and Characterizing Synthetic Protease Sensors and Switches.
abstract: Proteases are finding an increasing number of applications as molecular tools and reporters in biotechnology and basic research. Proteases are also increasingly incorporated into synthetic genetic signaling circuits equipping cells with tailored new functions. In the majority of cases however, proteases are employed in constitutively active forms which limits their utility and application as molecular sensors. The following chapter provides a detailed experimental protocol for converting constitutively active proteases into regulated protease receptors. Such receptors can potentially sense, transduce, and amplify any molecular input, thereby opening up a range of new applications in basic research, biotechnology, and synthetic biology.
authors.affiliation: Fachbereich Biologie, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany. stein@bio.tu-darmstadt.de.
authors.forename: Viktor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.affiliation: Institute for Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Building 80, Services Road, 4072, St Lucia, QLD, Australia. k.alexandov@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Kirill
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Alexandrov
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000379:methods; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000235:genetics*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics; D058615:Synthetic Biology / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D010447:Peptide Hydrolases
keywords: Diagnostic reagents; Proteases; Protein engineering; Protein switches