Abstract:
:The complexity of even the simplest known life forms makes efforts to synthesize living cells from inanimate components seem like a daunting task. However, recent progress toward the creation of synthetic cells, ranging from simple protocells to artificial cells approaching the complexity of bacteria, suggests that the synthesis of life is now a realistic goal. Protocell research, fueled by advances in the biophysics of primitive membranes and the chemistry of nucleic acid replication, is providing new insights into the origin of cellular life. Parallel efforts to construct more complex artificial cells, incorporating translational machinery and protein enzymes, are providing information about the requirements for protein-based life. We discuss recent advances and remaining challenges in the synthesis of artificial cells, the possibility of creating new forms of life distinct from existing biology, and the promise of this research for gaining a deeper understanding of the nature of living systems.
journal_name
Annu Rev Biochemjournal_title
Annual review of biochemistryauthors
Blain JC,Szostak JWdoi
10.1146/annurev-biochem-080411-124036subject
Has Abstractpub_date
2014-01-01 00:00:00pages
615-40eissn
0066-4154issn
1545-4509journal_volume
83pub_type
杂志文章,评审abstract::Prenylation is a class of lipid modification involving covalent addition of either farnesyl (15-carbon) or geranylgeranyl (20-carbon) isoprenoids to conserved cysteine residues at or near the C-terminus of proteins. Known prenylated proteins include fungal mating factors, nuclear lamins, Ras and Ras-related GTP-bindin...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.bi.65.070196.001325
更新日期:1996-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::The relationship between protein dynamics and function is a subject of considerable contemporary interest. Although protein motions are frequently observed during ligand binding and release steps, the contribution of protein motions to the catalysis of bond making/breaking processes is more difficult to probe and veri...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev-biochem-051710-133623
更新日期:2013-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Mitochondria are essential organelles with numerous functions in cellular metabolism and homeostasis. Most of the >1,000 different mitochondrial proteins are synthesized as precursors in the cytosol and are imported into mitochondria by five transport pathways. The protein import machineries of the mitochondrial membr...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev-biochem-060815-014352
更新日期:2017-06-20 00:00:00
abstract::My coworkers and I have used animal viruses and their interaction with host cells to investigate cellular processes difficult to study by other means. This approach has allowed us to branch out in many directions, including membrane protein characterization, endocytosis, secretion, protein folding, quality control, an...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1146/annurev-biochem-011320-103928
更新日期:2020-06-20 00:00:00
abstract::Several genes have been identified for monogenic disorders that variably resemble Parkinson's disease. Dominant mutations in the gene encoding alpha-synuclein enhance the propensity of this protein to aggregate. As a consequence, these patients have a widespread disease with protein inclusion bodies in several brain a...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.74.082803.133400
更新日期:2005-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Inactivation of the transcription factor p53, through either direct mutation or aberrations in one of its many regulatory pathways, is a hallmark of virtually every tumor. In recent years, screening for p53 activators and a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of oncogenic perturbations of p53 function hav...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev-biochem-060815-014710
更新日期:2016-06-02 00:00:00
abstract::Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 is a complex retrovirus encoding 15 distinct proteins. Substantial progress has been made toward understanding the function of each protein, and three-dimensional structures of many components, including portions of the RNA genome, have been determined. This review describes the fun...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.67.1.1
更新日期:1998-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::The existence and function of actin in the nucleus has been hotly debated for forty years. Recently, beta-actin was found to be a component of mammalian SWI/SNF-like BAF chromatin remodeling complexes and still more recently other SWI/SNF-related chromatin remodeling complexes in yeast, flies, and man. Although the fu...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.71.110601.135507
更新日期:2002-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Homologous recombination (HR) serves to eliminate deleterious lesions, such as double-stranded breaks and interstrand crosslinks, from chromosomes. HR is also critical for the preservation of replication forks, for telomere maintenance, and chromosome segregation in meiosis I. As such, HR is indispensable for the main...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.77.061306.125255
更新日期:2008-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Telomeres are essential for genome stability in all eukaryotes. Changes in telomere functions and the associated chromosomal abnormalities have been implicated in human aging and cancer. Telomeres are composed of repetitive sequences that can be maintained by telomerase, a complex containing a reverse transcriptase (h...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.73.071403.160049
更新日期:2004-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::A childhood fascination with animals, plants, and insects was aided and abetted by many giants, beginning with my parents. The Bronx High School of Science and the City College of New York (CCNY) made a solid and priceless grounding in chemistry and biology available free of charge. Abe Mazur at CCNY revealed the wond...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 传,历史文章,杂志文章
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.72.081902.140918
更新日期:2003-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Multistep chemical reactions are increasingly seen as important in a growing number of complex biotransformations. Covalently attached prosthetic groups or swinging arms, and their associated protein domains, are essential to the mechanisms of active-site coupling and substrate channeling in a number of the multifunct...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.69.1.961
更新日期:2000-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::The lipid A moiety of lipopolysaccharide forms the outer monolayer of the outer membrane of most gram-negative bacteria. Escherichia coli lipid A is synthesized on the cytoplasmic surface of the inner membrane by a conserved pathway of nine constitutive enzymes. Following attachment of the core oligosaccharide, nascen...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.76.010307.145803
更新日期:2007-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Alterations of chromatin structure have been shown to be crucial for response to cell signaling and for programmed gene expression in development. Posttranslational histone modifications influence changes in chromatin structure both directly and by targeting or activating chromatin-remodeling complexes. Histone modifi...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev-biochem-061809-175347
更新日期:2011-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Mechanisms of chemical reaction can often be predicted by determining the dependence of the lifetime of reaction intermediates on the structure of the reactants. When there is no lifetime in the presence of another reactant or catalyst the reaction proceeds through an enforced concerted mechanism. Noncovalent binding ...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 传,历史文章,杂志文章
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.66.1.1
更新日期:1997-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Endocytic mechanisms control the lipid and protein composition of the plasma membrane, thereby regulating how cells interact with their environments. Here, we review what is known about mammalian endocytic mechanisms, with focus on the cellular proteins that control these events. We discuss the well-studied clathrin-m...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.78.081307.110540
更新日期:2009-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Innate immune receptors respond to common structural patterns in microbial molecules and are called pattern recognition receptors. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play critical roles in the innate immune system by recognizing microbial lipids, carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and proteins. Precise definition of the ligand "pa...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev-biochem-052909-141507
更新日期:2011-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::The maintenance of the eukaryotic genome requires precisely coordinated replication of the entire genome each time a cell divides. To achieve this coordination, eukaryotic cells use an ordered series of steps to form several key protein assemblies at origins of replication. Recent studies have identified many of the p...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.71.110601.135425
更新日期:2002-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Proton transfer in the bacterial RC associated with the reduction of the bound QB to the dihydroquinone is an important step in the energetics of photosynthetic bacteria. The binding of two protons by the quinone is associated with the transfer of the second electron to QB at a rate of ca. 10(3) s-1 (pH 7). Mutation o...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.bi.61.070192.004241
更新日期:1992-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Experimental analysis of enzymatic transition-state structures uses kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) to report on bonding and geometry differences between reactants and the transition state. Computational correlation of experimental values with chemical models permits three-dimensional geometric and electrostatic assign...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev-biochem-061809-100742
更新日期:2011-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Analysis of the human genome reveals that approximately a third of all open reading frames code for proteins that enter the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), demonstrating the importance of this organelle for global protein maturation. The path taken by a polypeptide through the secretory pathway starts with its translocati...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev-biochem-062209-093836
更新日期:2011-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::The rhodopsin crystal structure provides a structural basis for understanding the function of this and other G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The major structural motifs observed for rhodopsin are expected to carry over to other GPCRs, and the mechanism of transformation of the receptor from inactive to active for...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.75.103004.142743
更新日期:2006-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::The past few years have seen exciting advances in understanding the structure and function of catalytic RNA. Crystal structures of several ribozymes have provided detailed insight into the folds of RNA molecules. Models of other biologically important RNAs have been constructed based on structural, phylogenetic, and b...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.69.1.597
更新日期:2000-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::The fastest simple, kinetically two-state protein folds a million times more rapidly than the slowest. Here we review many recent theories of protein folding kinetics in terms of their ability to qualitatively rationalize, if not quantitatively predict, this fundamental experimental observation. ...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.73.011303.073904
更新日期:2004-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::The nanoscale engineering of nucleic acids has led to exciting molecular technologies for high-end biological imaging. The predictable base pairing, high programmability, and superior new chemical and biological methods used to access nucleic acids with diverse lengths and in high purity, coupled with computational to...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev-biochem-060815-014244
更新日期:2016-06-02 00:00:00
abstract::This review focuses on eukaryotic translesion synthesis (TLS) DNA polymerases, and the emphasis is on Saccharomyces cerevisiae and human Y-family polymerases (Pols) eta, iota, kappa, and Rev1, as well as on Polzeta, which is a member of the B-family polymerases. The fidelity, mismatch extension ability, and lesion byp...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.74.082803.133250
更新日期:2005-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::The packaging of chromosomal DNA by nucleosomes condenses and organizes the genome, but occludes many regulatory DNA elements. However, this constraint also allows nucleosomes and other chromatin components to actively participate in the regulation of transcription, chromosome segregation, DNA replication, and DNA rep...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.77.062706.153223
更新日期:2009-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Aerobic life is possible because the molecular structure of oxygen (O2) makes direct reaction with most organic materials at ambient temperatures an exceptionally slow process. Of course, these reactions are inherently very favorable, and they occur rapidly with the release of a great deal of energy at high temperatur...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev-biochem-013118-111529
更新日期:2019-06-20 00:00:00
abstract::The bacterial TolC protein plays a common role in the expulsion of diverse molecules, which include protein toxins and antibacterial drugs, from the cell. TolC is a trimeric 12-stranded alpha/beta barrel, comprising an alpha-helical trans-periplasmic tunnel embedded in the outer membrane by a contiguous beta-barrel ch...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.73.011303.074104
更新日期:2004-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Histone proteins are subject to a host of posttranslational modifications (PTMs) that modulate chromatin structure and function. Such control is achieved by the direct alteration of the intrinsic physical properties of the chromatin fiber or by regulating the recruitment and activity of a host of trans-acting nuclear ...
journal_title:Annual review of biochemistry
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1146/annurev-biochem-060614-034429
更新日期:2015-01-01 00:00:00