RIBOSOMES, THE PROTEIN MAKERS – NOW, PRODUCES POLYMERS 

The value of polymers is manifested in their vital use as building blocks in material and life sciences. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polynucleic acid, but its polymeric nature in materials and technological applications is often overlooked due to an impression that RNA is seemingly unstable. Recent findings that certain modifications can make RNA resistant to RNase degradation while retaining its authentic folding property and biological function and the discovery of ultra-thermostable RNA motifs have adequately addressed the concerns of RNA instability. (1)

RNA can serve as a unique polymeric material to build varieties of nanostructures including nanoparticles, polygons, arrays, bundles, membrane, and microsponges that have potential applications in biomedical and material sciences. There more than a thousand publications on RNA nanostructures have been published in diverse fields, indicating a remarkable increase of interest in the emerging field of RNA nanotechnology. (2)

The ribosome is the protein-making factory of the cell is now made to indulge in creating designers polymers. This polymer would be stronger and more flexible. These materials can be used in life-saving drugs. A team of Yale chemists has taken a closer step in bringing out this kind of polymer. The ribosome possesses a capacity to insert the novel building blocks of polymers. It is inserted at the beginning of a protein sequence. (3)

 The ribosome can begin protein synthesis with molecules. For example, Kevlar or the precursors to important antibiotics. Ribosomes stick out amino acids in order to make long polymer chains. These chains are folded into unique structures which are the proteins in the living cell. The sequence of amino acids is encoded genetically and decoded by the ribosome. Many researchers were spending nearly decades together in figuring out how to introduce novel amino acids into proteins. (4)

This study has proved that the ribosome itself can create bonds between amino acids and completely unrelated chemicals. Unexpectedly, the ribosome certainly did not evolve to begin protein synthesis in this way but it is expected to coax the ribosome to synthesize chains of unnatural polymers. The ribosome synthesized polymers are based on genetically encoded instructions and these unnatural polymers can be programmed in the same way that the cell programs protein synthesis.

The future is overseen by using these tools to generate novel fabrics. These fabrics would comprise of the sheerness of nylon and strength of Kevlar or new therapeutics. One molecule introduced to the ribosome is a precursor to valuable natural products. These as already served as the basis for several antibiotics and cholesterol-lowering drugs. The mission of the Center for Genetically Encoded Materials (C-GEM) is to make chemical polymers that possess a defined sequence and length from living cells. It is really great to see the design novel in synthetic pathways for new or difficult-to-make molecules and polymers. (5)

Also read, World’s First Living Organism With Fully Redesigned DNA