Engineering the Genetic Code

Nediljko Budisa is a group leader at the Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried near Munich (Germany). He studied Chemistry and Biology at the University of Zagreb (Croatia) before joining the group of Nobel Prize Winner Robert Huber at Martinsried to obtain his PhD degree. During postdoctoral work with R. Huber and L. Moroder he led an independent research team in protein engineering. In 2004, Dr. Budisa received the BioFuture Award of the German Federal Ministry for Research and Education.

• INTRODUCTIONClassical Approaches for Protein ModificationProtein Total SynthesisBasic Definitions and TaxonomyHISTORY OF AN EXPANDED AMINO ACID REPERTOIRECell-free Synthesis of ProteinsNoncanonical Amino Acids as Tools for Studying MetabolismGenetic Code EngineeringBASIC FEATURES OF THE CELLULAR TRANSLATION APPARATUSRibosome-mediated Protein SynthesistRNAs and tRNA SynthetasesTranslational ProofreadingRibosomal Decoding, Codon Bias and Translational FidelityContext-dependent RecodingPost-translational ModificationsGENETIC CODE ORGANISATION AND PROTEIN STRUCTUREThe Universal Genetic CodeNatural Variations in Codon AssignmentCodon Reassignment and Codon AmbiguityREPROGRAMMING THE CELLULAR TRANSLATION MACHINERYEnzyme Specificity and Code InterpretationReassigning Coding and Non-Coding UnitsIn vitro Chemical and Enzymatic tRNA AminoacylationNovel Codon-Anticodon Base PairsStop Codon TakoverSuppression-Based MethodsFuture ApproachesIMPLICATIONS AND INSIGHTSEvolution of the Amino Acid RepertoireArtificial Genetic SystemsDe novo Design of OrganismsChances and RisksAPPLICATIONS FOR REPROGRAMMED CELLULAR TRANSLATIONGenetically Encoded Protein Surface DiversityApplications in Structural BiologyAtomic MutationsProtein Folding, Stability and DesignTailoring Protein SpectroscopyProtein-based SensorsApplications in BiomedicineNoncanonical Amino Acids with Neurological Activity

"In his book, Nediljko Budisa covers this highly interdisciplinary field and allows people not directly involved in protein engineering to get acquainted and up-to-date with the most recent and exciting developments. The book, which is the first of its kind dedicated entirely to this area of research, provides a comprehensive overview of the field. The book comprises seven chapters and has a clear structure supported by a multitude of fine illustrations, thus making the book a good read for those interested in protein engineering. ... Moreover, an excellent update on protein translation in general is given, which is useful for students and newcomers in the field. (...) The book provides an excellent introduction for first-time readers to the field of genetic-code engineering and, as stated on the back of the book, this is 'essential reading to all molecular life scientists who want to stay ahead in their research'." ChemBioChem "The numerous examples illustrate the new prospects that are opened up by genetic code engineering. We can expect novel proteins with properties that cannot be foreseen in detail, when one considers that, even for polypeptides based on the 20 proteinogenic amino acids, the rules of folding are still not known."Angewandte Chemie International Edition