Directed Evolution of Acoustic Reporter Genes Using High-Throughput Acoustic Screening.

ABSTRACT: A major challenge in the fields of biological imaging and synthetic biology is noninvasively visualizing the functions of natural and engineered cells inside opaque samples such as living animals. One promising technology that addresses this limitation is ultrasound (US), with its penetration depth of several cm and spatial resolution on the order of 100 μm. Within the past decade, reporter genes for US have been introduced and engineered to link cellular functions to US signals via heterologous expression in commensal bacteria and mammalian cells. These acoustic reporter genes (ARGs) represent a novel class of genetically encoded US contrast agent, and are based on air-filled protein nanostructures called gas vesicles (GVs). Just as the discovery of fluorescent proteins was followe

SUBMITTER: Hurt RC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11264329 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature