Nanomaterials
Many silicatein mutants together make better nanoceria
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Evolving silicatein for ceria biomineralization never yielded one champion sequence; mixed truncated mutants and intact catalytic-triad knockouts still mineralize, implying synergistic mosaicism.
Key findings
Mutant 2.6 made 3.37 nm particles versus 2.46 nm for WT; H165A/S26A still mineralized similarly to WT; sponge silicateins share only 54–73% identity. Truncations of ~171 aa remained functional.
Methodology
Authors fused silicatein to trigger factor, built error-prone libraries, screened E. coli survival-linked mineralisation, and compared in-vitro nanoceria from WT versus mutants by TEM and catalytic-triad alanine mutants.
Limitations
This is not a process-optimised, kilogram-scale green manufacture of ceria, nor proof that mosaicism is how sponges mineralize in vivo.
How this study connects
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