Scientists direct bacteria with expanded genetic code to evolve extreme heat tolerance
Wednesday, November 28, 2018 - 11:00
in Biology & Nature
Synthetic bacteria with expanded genetic codes can evolve proteins in the laboratory with enhanced properties using mechanisms that might not be possible with nature's 20 amino acid building blocks. Exposing bacteria with an artificially expanded genetic code to temperatures at which they cannot normally grow, researchers found that some of the bacteria evolved new heat-resistant proteins that remain stable at temperatures where they would typically inactivate.