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Split Inteins: Nature’s Protein Ligases
Author(s) -
Shah Neel H.,
Muir Tom W.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
israel journal of chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.908
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1869-5868
pISSN - 0021-2148
DOI - 10.1002/ijch.201100094
Subject(s) - intein , protein splicing , chemistry , computational biology , protein function , protein evolution , trans splicing , function (biology) , rna splicing , nanotechnology , genetics , biochemistry , biology , gene , rna , materials science
Split inteins carry out a naturally occurring process known as protein trans ‐splicing, where two protein fragments bind to form a catalytically competent enzyme, then catalyze their own excision and the ligation of their flanking sequences. In the past thirteen years since their discovery, chemists and biologists have utilized split inteins in exogenous contexts for a number of biotechnological applications centered around the formation of native peptide bonds. While many protein trans ‐splicing technologies have emerged and flourished in recent years, several factors still limit their wide‐spread practical use. Here, we discuss the development, applications, and limitations of split intein‐based technologies and propose that further advancement in this field will require a more fundamental understanding of split intein structure and function.