Genetic engineering technology

Thaumatin. Thaumatin [53850-34-3] is a mixture of proteins extracted from the fmit of a West African plant, Thaumatococcus daniellii (Beimett) Benth. Work at Unilever showed that the aqueous extract contains two principal proteins thaumatin I and thaumatin II. Thaumatin I, mol wt 22,209, contains 207 amino acids in a single chain that is cross-linked with eight disulfide bridges. Thaumatin II has the same number of amino acids, but there are five sequence differences. Production of thaumatins via genetic engineering technology has been reported (99). 

With the advances in genetic engineering technology, directed evolution is no longer rocket science. It is a proven technology which opens a fast and relatively inexpensive pathway for developing new biocatalysts [97]. Successful synthetic... 

To evolve useful enzymes, genetic engineering technology has been applied increasingly to improve stability of enzymes, enantioselectivity, extension of substrate specificity for kinetic resolution of racemic compounds. Novel enzymes created by this technique will be available in large quantities and varieties within a next few years. In the near future, a lot of useful enzymes will be on the market and expanding number of chemists can use enzymes more freely than present due to the improvement in the simplification of experimental procedures. 

The polyphenolic adhesive protein of the mussel Mytilus edulis is an unusual protein composed mainly of repetitive decapeptide and hexapeptide sequences. In the mussel, the protein is first produced in a precursor form and is converted to an adhesive by post-translation-al modification. To develop an efficient renewable resource for production of the polyphenolic protein, we have used genetic engineering technology. cDNA sequences encoding portions of the polyphenolic protein were identified and expressed in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. 

Neurohormones are amenable to genetic engineering technology because of their peptidic nature. 

Agalsidase alfa is a human a-galactosidase A produced by genetic engineering technology in a human cell line. Patients can receive agalsidase alfa every other week in a 40-min intravenous infusion at home rather than in a hospital setting. 

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