Abstract:
Described are compounds having the formula: H1-Y-H2 where H1 is a substrate capable of selectively binding to a first receptor; where H2 is a substrate capable of selectively binding to and selectively forming a covalent bond with a second receptor; and wherein Y is a molety providing a covalent linkage between H1 and H2, which may be present or absent, and when absent, H1 is covalently linked to H2. Also described are uses of the compounds for in vivo screening of compounds are proteins.
Abstract:
A transgenic bacterial cell comprising (a) a dimeric small molecule which comprises a first moiety known to bind a first receptor domain covalently linked to a second moiety known to bind a second receptor domain; (b) nucleotide sequences which upon transcription encode i) a first fusion protein comprising the first receptor domain, and ii) a second fusion protein comprising the second receptor domain; and (c) a reporter gene wherein expression of the reporter gene is conditioned on the proximity of the first fusion protein to the second fusion protein. The cell is also adapted for use in a method for identifying a molecule that binds to a known target in a bacterial cell from a pool of candidate molecules, and a method for identifying an unknown target receptor to which a molecule is capable of binding in a bacterial cell. Also described are compounds and kits for carrying out the methods.
Abstract:
The present invention relates to systems which harness the molecular biology of a living cell to direct evolution of biological entities of interest. According to the invention, a host cell is engineered to facilitate mutation of a nucleic acid target corresponding to that entity and select for desirable mutants. As applied to populations of host cells, the invention provides a means to generate and contemporaneously select mutants of interest, allowing for the production of extremely diverse libraries enriched in the most "fit" mutants.