Patent ID: 8557542
Filing Date: 2013-10-15
Classification: C12N,C12P

Abstract:
1. A process for translationally synthesizing a polypeptide having a desired N-terminal structure, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a ribozyme capable of catalyzing the acylation reaction of tRNA; (b) providing an amino acid substrate having a desired structure for use as a substrate for the acylation reaction by the ribozyme; (c) performing an acylation reaction of an initiator tRNA with the amino acid substrate in (b) above using the ribozyme in (a) above to give an initiator tRNA aminoacylated with the amino acid having a desired structure; (d) adding the aminoacylated initiator tRNA obtained in (c) above to a cell-free translation system lacking methionine or methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MetRS) to initiate a translation with the amino acid having a desired structure, thereby giving a polypeptide having a desired N-terminal structure, wherein said amino acid that aminoacylates the initator tRNA in step (c) is a common amino acid other than methionine and is selected from the group consisting of alanine (Ala), valine (Val), leucine (Leu), isoleucine (Ile), proline (Pro), tryptophan (Trp), phenylalanine (Phe), glycine (Gly), serine (Ser), threonine (Thr), tyrosine (Tyr), cysteine (Cys), glutamine (Gln), asparagine (Asn), lysine (Lys), arginine (Arg), histidine (His), aspartate (Asp), and glutamate (Glu), or said amino acid is an unusual amino acid.