Title: GTL User Facilities
 1GTL User Facilities
- Facility I Production and Characterization of 
Proteins 
Eric J. Ackerman 
 2Genomes to Life Facilities for 21st Century 
Biology
- Facility IProduction and Characterization of 
Proteins  - Use genome data to generate and characterize 
proteins and affinity reagents. 
Facility I 
Facility II 
Facility IV 
Facility III  
 3Facility I Production and Characterization of 
Proteins
- High-throughput production of proteins on 
genome-wide scale  - Produce affinity reagents for each protein 
 - Biophysical characterizations 
 - Reagents, databases, and computational tools 
accessible to the broad scientific community  - Overcomes a principal roadblock to whole-system 
analysis 
  4Exported Products from Facility I
- What will Facility I deliver? 
 - Validated clones and expression protocols for 
proteins  affinity reagents  - Proteins (but not generally exported themselves) 
 - Affinity reagents 
 - Detailed, standardized biophysical 
characterizations 
  5Functions of Facility I
- High-Throughput Production of 
 - Each gene in formats suitable for protein 
expression  - Active, full-length, purified proteins (2 mg 
quantities each, 10-25,000 proteins/year, 6 
genomes/year)  - Protein variants or mutants 
 - Economical affinity reagents for each protein 
 - Biophysical characterizations e.g. solubility, 
disorder  the structure-function paradigm  - Accessible databases  computational tools
 
  6Tracking of Proteins with Affinity Reagents
Library of antibody-like molecules
target
Affinity selection
Affinity reagent
that watches your target as it moves within live 
cells
Select an affinity reagent to the target 
 7Technologies
- Expression Systems 
 - Cell-free E. coli  wheat germ 
 - Cellular E. coli, yeast, etc. 
 - Purification  Stabilization 
 - Affinity Reagents 
 - Single-chain Ab formats 
 - Phage display 
 - Yeast-surface display 
 - Biophysical Characterizations solubility 
fingerprint dye binding measurements, CD, mass 
spectrometry  - Computation to track  improve production, tools 
 
  8Pilots and Challenges
- PILOTS 
 - Cellular Structural Genomics Centers 
 - Cell-free Japan 
 - Yeast-surface  phage-display antibodies 
 - CHALLENGES 
 - Computer tools to make sense of the data, develop 
reliable rules to guide production, 
characterization, labeling sites  - Stability  storage 
 - Membrane  intractable proteins 
 - Disorder 
 - Refolding 
 - Affinity reagents
 
  9Molecular Crowding The Cell is Full of Molecular 
Machines
Biomolecules inside cells are very concentrated, 
400 mg/ml
Trends in Biochemical Sciences 
 10Harnessing Enzymes An Application of Proteins 
Produced in Facility I
Stable enzymes entrapped in nanopores may one day 
be routinely used to inactivate 
pollutants. Enzymes in this environment are 
stable for extended periods of time.
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 11242-3
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory