At left, cells glow red to indicate that the detection system has been successfully delivered. The system was designed to produce green fluorescence in cells carrying a viral DNA sequence, as seen at right. Credit: Shimyn Slomovic
Biological engineers have developed a modular system of proteins that can detect a particular DNA sequence in a cell and then trigger a specific response, such as cell death. They needed to link these zinc fingers’ DNA-binding capability with a consequence – either turning on a fluorescent protein to reveal that the target DNA is present or generating another type of action inside the cell.
They used an”intein” – a short protein that can be inserted into a larger protein, splitting it into two pieces...
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