Investigating the Assembly of Bacterial Encapsulins for the Efficient Engineering of Nanoscale Bioreactors

在这个博士项目中，Ballinger先生将使用已建立的模块化合成生物学平台生产一系列本地和异源封装系统。与华莱士实验室合作，将选择一系列工业生物催化靶标酶进行包埋，并确定包埋对稳定性和活性的影响。然后将使用几种结构质谱学方法的组合来监测这些封装系统的组装。自然质谱学和离子迁移率质谱学技术允许观察和表征完整的封装系统(3)。通过将这项技术与Clarke Lab(4)开发的快速混合技术相结合，我们将观察到胶囊的逐步组装。这些研究将概述在这些系统中有效包裹蛋白质的参数，并提供一个框架来生产设计的包裹酶。

In this PhD project Mr Ballinger will produce a series of native and heterologous encapsulated systems using an established modular synthetic biology platform. In collaboration with the Wallace Lab, a series of industrial biocatalytic target enzymes will be chosen for encapsulation and the effect of encapsulation on stability and activity will be determined. The assembly of these encapsulated systems will then be monitored using a combination of several structural mass spectrometry approaches. Native mass spectrometry and ion mobility mass spectrometry techniques allow the observation and characterisation of intact encapsulin systems (3). By combining this technology with rapid mixing techniques, developed in the Clarke Lab (4), we will observe encapsulin stepwise assembly. These studies will outline the parameters for efficient encapsulation of proteins in these systems and providing a framework to produce designed encapsulated enzymes.