Fungus Power: A New Way to Make Proteins

Did you know that some fungi can help make proteins really quickly and easily? Out of 22 different types of filamentous fungi studied, 12 showed potential for cell-free protein synthesis. This means they can create proteins outside of a living cell. Pretty cool, right? The fungus Neurospora crassa was found to be the best at this job. Researchers discovered that changing how these fungi are grown and their lysates (cell juice) are prepared can greatly improve how well proteins are made. For example, adding certain nutrients to the growth medium boosted protein production by a lot. For the fungus Neurospora crassa, the yield of firefly luciferase protein increased by 25 times, and green fluorescent protein by 17 times. This fungal method also successfully produced an enzyme called unspecific peroxygenase (UPO) from different fungi. This discovery opens up new ways to quickly and cheaply make enzymes, like UPOs, in large amounts. Imagine scientists being able to optimize how proteins are made or even tweak their properties. This fungal method has real potential for making protein synthesis more efficient and accessible.