Abstract
The genetic code expansion technology enables the genetic encoding of fluorescent noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) for site-specific fluorescent labeling of proteins. These co-translational and internal fluorescent tags have been harnessed to establish genetically encoded Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) probes for studying protein structural changes and interactions. Here, we describe the protocols for site-specific incorporation of an aminocoumarin-derived fluorescent ncAA into proteins in E. coli and preparation of a fluorescent ncAA-based FRET probe for assaying the activities of deubiquitinases, a key class of enzymes involved in ubiquitination. We also describe the deployment of an in vitro fluorescence assay to screen and analyze small-molecule inhibitors against deubiquitinases.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Committee (GXWD20201231165807007-20200814103057002) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (22277008).
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Li, M., Peng, T. (2023). Genetic Encoding of a Fluorescent Noncanonical Amino Acid as a FRET Donor for the Analysis of Deubiquitinase Activities. In: Tsai, YH., Elsässer, S.J. (eds) Genetically Incorporated Non-Canonical Amino Acids. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2676. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3251-2_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-3251-2_4
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