Barry L Stoddard

Abstract Investigating and manipulating cellular events requires precise control of protein function. To enable control over cellular processes, we set out to design a chemically induced dimerization (CID) system consisting of a de novo-designed ligand and protein pair. Here, we describe the design of a C2 symmetric membrane-permeable macrocyclic peptide and a cognate protein homodimer which binds the macrocycle through a large interface with both chains.

Abstract Natural photosystems couple light harvesting to charge separation using a ‘special pair’ of chlorophyll molecules that accepts excitation energy from the antenna and initiates an electron-transfer cascade.

In 2016, Nucleic Acids Research (NAR) assembled a special collection of studies, published in its pages over the preceding five-years, that described the biology and use of CRISPR/Cas systems. The 79 manuscripts presented in that collection included 37 studies that described the evolution, genetics, and mechanisms of CRISPR defense systems and an almost equal number of studies describing their development and application for gene modification and genome engineering.