Abstract

Self-assembly is a powerful means to create new materials and new catalysts. The advantages of biological self-assembly are based on it being highly programmable and prone to multilevel regulation, which can lead to multiple and complex functions. The self-assembly of carboxysomes in cyanobacteria enables the carboxysomes to enrich carbon dioxide in their interior, resulting in the formation of a highly efficient, multiple-enzyme catalytic system. Here, we show that the construction and coexpression of all genes of the β-carboxysome from the cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1 can lead to the production of β-carboxysome-like structures in Escherichia coli. These shell structures were characterized intracellularly and extracellularly by transmission electron microscopy. This work lays a foundation for understanding carboxysome assembly and catalysis and the development of novel carboxysome-based nanomaterials utilizing synthetic biology.

中文翻译：

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大肠杆菌中基于β-羧基体的自组装蛋白质纳米笼的生成和表征

摘要

自组装是创造新材料和新催化剂的有力手段。生物自组装的优势在于它具有高度可编程性，易于进行多级调节，从而产生多种复杂的功能。蓝藻中羧基体的自组装使羧基体能够在其内部富集二氧化碳，从而形成高效的多酶催化系统。在这里，我们展示了来自蓝藻细长嗜热聚球藻BP-1的 β-羧基体的所有基因的构建和共表达可以导致在大肠杆菌中产生 β-羧基体样结构. 通过透射电子显微镜在细胞内和细胞外表征这些壳结构。这项工作为理解羧基体组装和催化以及利用合成生物学开发新型羧基体纳米材料奠定了基础。