Engineering in Life Sciences最新文献

A molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor integrated with conversion factor T strategy for rapid and selective determination of lutein esters in marigold extracts. 结合转换因子T策略的分子印迹电化学传感器用于万寿菊提取物中叶黄素酯的快速、选择性测定。

IF 4.1 4区生物学

Engineering in Life Sciences Pub Date : 2026-08-24 eCollection Date: 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.48130/els-0026-0010

Ziyu Zhu, Benshu Chen, Aiqin Luo, Yong Cong, Wei Li, Liquan Sun, Axin Liang

{"title":"A molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor integrated with conversion factor T strategy for rapid and selective determination of lutein esters in marigold extracts.","authors":"Ziyu Zhu, Benshu Chen, Aiqin Luo, Yong Cong, Wei Li, Liquan Sun, Axin Liang","doi":"10.48130/els-0026-0010","DOIUrl":"10.48130/els-0026-0010","url":null,"abstract":"Establishing a comprehensive analytical method capable of accurately reflecting the composition of major lutein esters and enabling their rapid quantification is essential for the quality evaluation of marigold products. In this study, the major lutein esters present in marigolds were first identified by HPLC-MS, and a novel 'conversion factor T' strategy was established. Using lutein dipalmitate as the reference marker, the contents of other major lutein esters were calculated based on their relative conversion factors. To further simplify the analytical procedure, a molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor based on conductive Ni3(HITP)2-MOF was developed for the rapid determination of lutein dipalmitate. The introduction of Ni3(HITP)2-MOF enhanced the electrode conductivity by approximately fourfold compared with the bare electrode. The sensor exhibited a wide linear range of 0.01-100 μM and a low detection limit of 8.20 nM toward lutein dipalmitate. Four major lutein esters, namely lutein dimyristate, lutein myristate-palmitate, lutein dipalmitate, and lutein palmitate-stearate, were quantified, and the corresponding conversion factors (T d , T m , and T p ) were determined as 0.903, 0.964, and 1.035, respectively. The proposed strategy integrates rapid electrochemical sensing with conversion factor analysis, enabling indirect quantification of multiple lutein esters from a single target analyte. Furthermore, the method was successfully applied to the quality evaluation of marigold extracts and commercial eye care products, demonstrating its potential for rapid routine analysis and quality control.","PeriodicalId":11678,"journal":{"name":"Engineering in Life Sciences","volume":"26 8","pages":"e010"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13599645/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149037050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Transposon engineering of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for allantoin-inducible cordycepin production. 尿囊素诱导型酿酒酵母生产虫草素的转座子工程。

IF 4.1 4区生物学

Engineering in Life Sciences Pub Date : 2026-08-24 eCollection Date: 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.48130/els-0026-0009

Chaoqun Tang, Junyi Wang, Xueyi Luo, Haofeng Chen, Yang Zhang, Jifeng Yuan

{"title":"Transposon engineering of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for allantoin-inducible cordycepin production.","authors":"Chaoqun Tang, Junyi Wang, Xueyi Luo, Haofeng Chen, Yang Zhang, Jifeng Yuan","doi":"10.48130/els-0026-0009","DOIUrl":"10.48130/els-0026-0009","url":null,"abstract":"Cordycepin is a high-value bioactive compound with significant therapeutic potential. In this study, we report a transposon-based genome engineering strategy for establishing an allantoin-inducible cordycepin production platform in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We first optimized the allantoin-inducible system by refining the culture medium's components to improve cell growth and achieved an approximately 50-fold on/off ratio after reaching a plateau, thereby enhancing the robustness of engineered yeast strains. Next, a multiselection marker transposon system was implemented to achieve combinatorial integration of cordycepin biosynthetic genes (cns1/cns2) into the yeast genome. Engineered yeast strains obtained from the combinatorial library displayed varying cordycepin titers. Among them, one engineered strain produced up to 135 mg/L cordycepin, which is significantly higher than that achieved by the episomal plasmid-based strain. This work demonstrated a transposon-based workflow for combinatorial pathway optimization, which will be of particular interest for future microbial cell factory design.","PeriodicalId":11678,"journal":{"name":"Engineering in Life Sciences","volume":"26 8","pages":"e009"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13599640/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149037146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Reconstruction of de novo verazine biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and computational analysis of cholesterol-binding geometry for 22R hydroxylation by VcCYP90B27 to dissect the cyclopamine biosynthetic pathway. 重建酿酒酵母从头合成维拉嗪的过程及VcCYP90B27对22R羟基化的胆固醇结合几何结构的计算分析，以剖析环巴胺的生物合成途径。

IF 4.1 4区生物学

Engineering in Life Sciences Pub Date : 2026-08-12 eCollection Date: 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.48130/els-0026-0008

Chang Li, Quanwei Yu, Fang Yue, Xizi Wang, Yazhou Zhao, Jianfeng Zhang, Wei Song, Zheyong Xue

{"title":"Reconstruction of de novo verazine biosynthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and computational analysis of cholesterol-binding geometry for 22R hydroxylation by VcCYP90B27 to dissect the cyclopamine biosynthetic pathway.","authors":"Chang Li, Quanwei Yu, Fang Yue, Xizi Wang, Yazhou Zhao, Jianfeng Zhang, Wei Song, Zheyong Xue","doi":"10.48130/els-0026-0008","DOIUrl":"10.48130/els-0026-0008","url":null,"abstract":"Cyclopamine, a typical isosteroidal alkaloid identified as a hedgehog pathway inhibitor, serves as a crucial molecular scaffold for the semi-synthesis of drugs treating nevoid basal cell carcinoma. Verazine is a key intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway of cyclopamine. In this study, we reconstructed the biosynthetic pathway of verazine in engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY-SQ1, obtaining a strain that produced verazine with a yield of 265.38 μg/L. Furthermore, during a 1,000-ns classical MD trajectory, cholesterol retained a broadly consistent heme-facing pose within VcCYP90B27. The modeled pro-R C22 hydrogen remained closer to the heme Fe center on average than the pro-S hydrogen (4.01 vs 4.65 Å), revealing a persistent orientational bias in the bound ensemble. MM-GBSA and contact analyses further indicated that hydrophobic packing around the steroid scaffold and side chain may help maintain this asymmetric presentation. This research not only lays a foundation for the biosynthesis of cyclopamine and other steroidal alkaloids, but also provides a structural rationale for how cholesterol recognition by VcCYP90B27 may contribute to the observed 22R hydroxylation and identifies candidate residues for experimental evaluation.","PeriodicalId":11678,"journal":{"name":"Engineering in Life Sciences","volume":"26 8","pages":"e008"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13599646/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149037143","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Integrative modeling of cold and light signaling in tomato: unraveling the transcriptional network governing cold acclimation. 番茄冷和光信号的综合建模：揭示控制冷驯化的转录网络。

IF 4.1 4区生物学

Engineering in Life Sciences Pub Date : 2026-08-12 eCollection Date: 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.48130/els-0026-0007

Jian-Ping Tao, Ting Huang, Zhi-Hang Hu, Chen Chen, Hui Liu, Xiong You, Ai-Sheng Xiong

{"title":"Integrative modeling of cold and light signaling in tomato: unraveling the transcriptional network governing cold acclimation.","authors":"Jian-Ping Tao, Ting Huang, Zhi-Hang Hu, Chen Chen, Hui Liu, Xiong You, Ai-Sheng Xiong","doi":"10.48130/els-0026-0007","DOIUrl":"10.48130/els-0026-0007","url":null,"abstract":"The integration of light and cold signaling is critical for cold acclimation in plants, but the regulatory complexity of the underlying transcriptional network remains poorly understood. To systematically dissect this interplay in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), we constructed a computational model that merges the core cold-responsive inducer of CBF expression 1 (ICE1)-C-repeat binding factor (CBF)-cold regulated factors (COR) pathway with light-sensitive modules, including the constitutive photomorphogenic 1 (COP1)-elongated hypocotyl 5 (HY5)-MYB domain protein 15 (MYB15) cascade and the phytochrome-phytochrome interacting factor 4 (PIF4)-GA-INSENSITIVE 4 (GIA4) regulatory axis. Simulations successfully reproduced the experimentally observed gene expression dynamics across different photoperiods and revealed that phytochrome activity is co-modulated by both light quality and temperature. Our model predicts that a low red/far-red ratio enhances the expression of CBF, whereas cold treatment stabilizes phyA and phyB proteins, jointly promoting cold tolerance. Additionally, the PIF4-GAI4 negative feedback loop is shown to generate sustained oscillations in SlPIF4's expression, and the cold-responsive gene SlCOR413 is predicted to exhibit low-temperature-induced oscillatory behavior. This integrative framework provides a systems-level tool for dissecting light-cold crosstalk and offers a basis for rationally engineering cold tolerance in horticultural crops through targeted modulation of transcriptional networks.","PeriodicalId":11678,"journal":{"name":"Engineering in Life Sciences","volume":"26 8","pages":"e007"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13599643/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149037062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Engineering 3D adipose cell models by support bath bioprinting of mature adipocytes in gellan gum hydrogels. 在结冷胶水凝胶中支持成熟脂肪细胞的水浴生物打印，建立工程三维脂肪细胞模型。

IF 4.1 4区生物学

Engineering in Life Sciences Pub Date : 2026-08-10 eCollection Date: 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.48130/els-0026-0006

Sophia Nowakowski, Franziska B Albrecht, Petra J Kluger

{"title":"Engineering 3D adipose cell models by support bath bioprinting of mature adipocytes in gellan gum hydrogels.","authors":"Sophia Nowakowski, Franziska B Albrecht, Petra J Kluger","doi":"10.48130/els-0026-0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.48130/els-0026-0006","url":null,"abstract":"Mature adipocytes (ACs) are essential for modeling human adipose tissue physiology in vitro, yet their large size, buoyancy, and shear sensitivity make them challenging to incorporate into engineered three-dimensional (3D) constructs. This study introduces an agarose support-bath (SB) extrusion workflow for bioprinting geometrically defined adipose constructs using a gellan gum (GG) bioink. We examined the viscosity of GG solutions and SBs to identify a low-shear printability window suitable for lipid-laden cells. SB printing significantly enhanced filament stability, pore uniformity, and construct accuracy compared to free extrusion. Viability assays showed that ACs remained intact and metabolically active after 3 d post-printing, with minimal membrane damage and maintained unilocular morphology. Immunofluorescence staining revealed uniform lipid-filled cells and expression of perilipin A, while basal and stimulated glycerol release indicated retained metabolic activity. These findings demonstrate that the established SB extrusion protocol enables gentle, precise deposition of ACs using a GG-based bioink. This workflow offers a reproducible and accessible platform for generating physiologically relevant adipose cell models, supporting early-stage biological assessment, preliminary drug testing, and soft tissue engineering.","PeriodicalId":11678,"journal":{"name":"Engineering in Life Sciences","volume":"26 8","pages":"e006"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13599641/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149037129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Synthetic promoters developed through a site-specific integration system enhance antibody expression in fed-batch culture. 通过位点特异性整合系统开发的合成启动子增强了饲料批培养中抗体的表达。

IF 4.1 4区生物学

Engineering in Life Sciences Pub Date : 2026-07-24 eCollection Date: 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.48130/els-0026-0004

Liyun Yue, Hao Li, Songtao Zhou

{"title":"Synthetic promoters developed through a site-specific integration system enhance antibody expression in fed-batch culture.","authors":"Liyun Yue, Hao Li, Songtao Zhou","doi":"10.48130/els-0026-0004","DOIUrl":"10.48130/els-0026-0004","url":null,"abstract":"Constructing expression cell lines using site-specific integration (SSI) technology has become a prominent focus in cell line development (CLD) because of its potential to minimize clonal variation. However, this technology has not yet been widely adopted in commercial biopharmaceutical manufacturing. A major reason is the low yield of SSI-derived cell lines. To improve yield, we designed landing pad locus-specific synthetic promoters by screening for potent transcription factor regulatory elements (TFREs) within an SSI platform. We then combined these TFREs to create novel, strong promoters. All synthetic promoters exhibited reporter expression comparable to that of the CMV promoter, with some up to 20% stronger, despite being only one-third the length of the CMV promoter. When expressing a monospecific antibody, fed-batch titers from these synthetic promoters were up to 45% higher than those from the CMV promoter. We also used synthetic promoters to express a bispecific antibody via SSI. The titer from a pure synthetic promoter combination was ~2.7 g/L, lower than that from an all-CMV promoter combination (~3.8 g/L). These findings demonstrate that established SSI platforms can be used to design efficient context-specific promoters, leading to significant improvements in antibody expression and greatly enhancing the value of SSI applications in CLD.","PeriodicalId":11678,"journal":{"name":"Engineering in Life Sciences","volume":"26 7","pages":"e005"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13599642/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149037068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Regulatory mechanisms and multidimensional applications of blueberry anthocyanins: a review of current gaps and future directions. 蓝莓花青素的调控机制及多维应用研究进展

IF 4.1 4区生物学

Engineering in Life Sciences Pub Date : 2026-07-22 eCollection Date: 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.48130/els-0026-0005

Lingyan Cui, Yingfen Yang, Li Li, Shuai Dong, Libo Liu, Abdul Ghafoor, Qin Yang, Waqar Ahmed

{"title":"Regulatory mechanisms and multidimensional applications of blueberry anthocyanins: a review of current gaps and future directions.","authors":"Lingyan Cui, Yingfen Yang, Li Li, Shuai Dong, Libo Liu, Abdul Ghafoor, Qin Yang, Waqar Ahmed","doi":"10.48130/els-0026-0005","DOIUrl":"10.48130/els-0026-0005","url":null,"abstract":"Blueberries are among the richest fruit sources of anthocyanins, which contribute significantly to fruit quality, flavor, and plant physiology. Anthocyanins also exhibit various health-promoting effects, making them valuable in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. Although the structures of anthocyanins and the general framework of their biosynthesis have been largely elucidated, the precise regulatory mechanisms governing anthocyanin production in blueberries remain incompletely understood. Here, we analyze recent advances in understanding blueberry anthocyanin regulation at the enzymatic pathway level (CHS, CHI, F3H, DFR, ANS) and the genetic level (MYB, bHLH, WD40 transcription factors), with particular emphasis on the roles of environmental factors such as light and temperature. This review also explores the diverse health benefits of blueberry anthocyanins, including their antioxidant properties and potential role in preventing chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disorders, neurodegeneration, and cancer. Furthermore, we discuss practical applications of anthocyanins in food, cosmetics, textiles, and pharmaceuticals, as well as emerging uses in smart packaging. Importantly, we highlight how metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and bioprocess engineering strategies can be leveraged to enhance anthocyanin biosynthesis, stability, and yield in blueberry-based systems. By integrating insights into biosynthetic mechanisms, health impacts, and practical applications, this review provides a comprehensive framework for future research to maximize the potential of blueberry anthocyanins.","PeriodicalId":11678,"journal":{"name":"Engineering in Life Sciences","volume":"26 7","pages":"e004"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13599644/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149037083","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Generating drought- and salt-tolerant tomato germplasm through bioengineering of the ethylene response factor SlERF.J2. 乙烯响应因子SlERF.J2生物工程选育番茄抗旱耐盐种质。

IF 4.1 4区生物学

Engineering in Life Sciences Pub Date : 2026-06-27 eCollection Date: 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.48130/els-0026-0003

Ya-Nan Chen, Si-Yu Huang, Zi-Yi Wang, Yi-Han Sun, Bao-Ying Wang, Jun Gao, Fa-Xiang Wan, Jian-Ping Tao, Jing Zhuang, Guang-Long Wang, Ai-Sheng Xiong

{"title":"Generating drought- and salt-tolerant tomato germplasm through bioengineering of the ethylene response factor SlERF.J2.","authors":"Ya-Nan Chen, Si-Yu Huang, Zi-Yi Wang, Yi-Han Sun, Bao-Ying Wang, Jun Gao, Fa-Xiang Wan, Jian-Ping Tao, Jing Zhuang, Guang-Long Wang, Ai-Sheng Xiong","doi":"10.48130/els-0026-0003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.48130/els-0026-0003","url":null,"abstract":"Drought and salinity are key abiotic constraints limiting the growth, development, and yield of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Ethylene response factors are crucial regulators that govern plants' adaptation to diverse abiotic and biotic stress stimuli. Nevertheless, the exact role of SlERF.J2 in abiotic stress resistance remains unclear. In this study, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 gene-editing technology was used to generate slerf.j2 knockout tomato lines to clarify the biological function of SlERF.J2 in regulating tomato's responses to drought and salt stress. The results revealed that deletion of SlERF.J2 markedly enhanced tomato seedlings' resistance to polyethylene glycol 6000-induced drought, mannitol, and salt stresses. Compared with the wild-type (WT), the knockout lines exhibited significantly increased peroxidase activity and leaf relative water content, as well as markedly decreased contents of hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde. After stress treatment, the expression levels of genes associated with the stress response, flavonoid biosynthesis, chlorophyll biosynthesis, light response, cell division, and hormone biosynthesis in SlERF.J2-edited tomato lines were significantly higher than those in WT plants. A yeast one-hybrid assay confirmed the direct interaction between SlERF.J2 and the SlCPS promoter. Collectively, this study clarifies the important function of SlERF.J2 in regulating drought and salt stress tolerance in tomato, providing genetic resources for tomato breeding.","PeriodicalId":11678,"journal":{"name":"Engineering in Life Sciences","volume":"26 5-6","pages":"e003"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13599428/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149037073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Computational design of 3C-like protease substrate peptide for modular detection of protease activity of coronavirus. 冠状病毒蛋白酶活性模块化检测中3c样蛋白酶底物肽的计算设计。

IF 4.1 4区生物学

Engineering in Life Sciences Pub Date : 2026-06-22 eCollection Date: 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.48130/els-0026-0002

Yuqi Han, Wei Guo, Long Sun, Siyu Du, Feifei Li, Tao Wang, Cheng Zhu

{"title":"Computational design of 3C-like protease substrate peptide for modular detection of protease activity of coronavirus.","authors":"Yuqi Han, Wei Guo, Long Sun, Siyu Du, Feifei Li, Tao Wang, Cheng Zhu","doi":"10.48130/els-0026-0002","DOIUrl":"10.48130/els-0026-0002","url":null,"abstract":"The severity of the recent Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic stresses the importance of analytical and biosensor research aimed at determining and curbing disease severity. It demanded an easy-to-adapt method to reflect the infectivity of viruses. The critical role of 3C-Like protease (3CLPro) in the replication cycle of coronaviruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, highlights its potential as an effective target correlated with viral activities. In this study, we aimed to develop a modular and orthogonal analytical tool for the detection and quantification of the essential protease component of coronaviruses, focusing on the enzymatic activity of the viral 3CLPro, a key component for coronavirus replication. Our approach leveraged the high sequence conservation of 3CLPro across global coronavirus strains, particularly in its substrate recognition pocket, to computationally design optimal substrate peptides. The designed sequences were orthogonal to any natural viral protein sequences. When incorporated into Gluc or FlipGFP proteins, our designs achieved modular gain-of-signal or loss-of-signal detections of 3CLPro expression levels. These antigen-focused molecular tools could facilitate the screening of effective treatments and quantitative visualization of virus-infected cells.","PeriodicalId":11678,"journal":{"name":"Engineering in Life Sciences","volume":"26 5-6","pages":"e002"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13599429/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149037092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Transposon-derived genome editors in plants: from compact nucleases to large-fragment integration and regeneration strategies. 植物转座子衍生的基因组编辑器：从紧凑核酸酶到大片段整合和再生策略。

IF 4.1 4区生物学

Engineering in Life Sciences Pub Date : 2026-06-15 eCollection Date: 2026-01-01 DOI: 10.48130/els-0026-0001

Xuemin Jiao, Wenhua Chen, Zongyou Lv, Wansheng Chen

{"title":"Transposon-derived genome editors in plants: from compact nucleases to large-fragment integration and regeneration strategies.","authors":"Xuemin Jiao, Wenhua Chen, Zongyou Lv, Wansheng Chen","doi":"10.48130/els-0026-0001","DOIUrl":"10.48130/els-0026-0001","url":null,"abstract":"CRISPR/Cas technology has been transformative for genome editing, enabling the precise integration of large DNA fragments-a capability essential for advanced genome (re)writing in plants, such as for trait stacking and pathway engineering. However, several new RNA-guided systems derived from transposable elements (TEs) have shown promise for plant genome editing, thereby enriching the toolkit available for plant engineering. This review comprehensively analyzes these emerging TE-based editors, including OMEGA nucleases (TnpB, IscB, Fanzor), CRISPR-associated transposases (CASTs), and R2 retrotransposon-derived systems. We detail their distinct architectures, evolutionary origins, and unique advantages over traditional Cas9, such as their compact size, simplified guide RNAs, and staggered DNA cleavage. We critically evaluate their nascent applications in plant models, highlighting ongoing challenges in editing efficiency, delivery, and specificity. Notably, CASTs and R2 retrotransposon-derived systems show particular promise for programmable large-fragment DNA integration, offering potential solutions for next-generation plant genome writing applications. We also examine the critical link between genome editing and plant regeneration, discussing phytohormonal and morphogenic regulators (e.g., BBM, WUS), and innovative tissue-culture-free methods, such as Cut-Dip-Budding. By comparing their merits and limitations, we position these systems not as replacements but as complementary tools within an expanding genome-editing toolkit. Integrating optimized TE-based editors with robust regeneration strategies is poised to unlock new frontiers in plant synthetic biology and crop improvement.","PeriodicalId":11678,"journal":{"name":"Engineering in Life Sciences","volume":"26 5-6","pages":"e001"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13599430/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149037105","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0