Reasons for Performing the Study
Higuchi and colleagues performed their study to examine the processes of cell-free (CF) synthesis in E. coli and add new information regarding cold-shock proteins’ (CSP) roles and influences. The authors were interested in the impacts of twelve different CSPs on E. coli protein synthesis systems (Higuchi et al., 2020). They examined the effects of adding CSPs on CF protein synthesis, especially the solubility and productivity of proteins expressed by preparative CF reactions taking place at low temperatures. In other words, the reasons for conducting research in E. coli cell extracts revolved around addressing knowledge gaps peculiar to common CSPs’ characteristics, qualities, and impacts on CF synthesis in the case of E. coli.
Hypothesis and Major Results
The hypothetical assumption informing the experiment was formulated rather generally due to the authors’ plans to examine the effects of twelve different CSPs on E. coli CF synthesis. Without specifying expectations for each cold-shock domain family protein to be researched, the authors hypothesized that CSPs would improve CF synthesis in E. coli in low temperatures (Higuchi et al., 2020). The main results partially supported the aforementioned assumption. According to the key outcomes, most of the twelve CSPs under investigation stimulated E. coli CF synthesis to a significant extent, producing improvements in protein yields (Higuchi et al., 2020). Only two of them, CspH and CspD, were found to have inhibitory effects on CF synthesis, thus further clarifying the exceptions from the initial hypothesis (Higuchi et al., 2020). Therefore, the preliminary assumption turned out to be close to reality.
Key Techniques
The authors used a variety of techniques to keep track of CSPs’ influences on CF synthesis and quantify them to draw comparisons between separate CSPs. Using reagents from Japanese life science companies, the researchers implemented informatics analysis, including calculating the Pfam score with the help of the Pfam 32 database (Higuchi et al., 2020). As for the other key techniques, the authors also used multiple regression analysis to process data on green fluorescent protein expression with diverse CSPs. Crucial techniques also included in vitro protein synthesis, subsequent protein purification, enzyme stability/activity assessments, the quantification of mRNA, and the analysis of interactions between the CSPs and the mRNA. Overall, multiple and complex tools were involved in producing the conclusions.
Significance/Implications for Further Research
The article’s and results’ significance is inseparable from their uniqueness and novelty, and the source points to the feasibility of further research on CSPs in relation to E. coli. The source and results matter since the reported experiment is among the first instances in which CspH, CspI, and CspD were expressed in amounts that would facilitate detailed biochemical analyses (Higuchi et al., 2020). Another reason for the study’s significance is the wide scope of this research and the ability to draw conclusions regarding twelve various CSPs at once. It implies the article’s contributions to the global scientific community’s understanding of protein synthesis in E. coli and the details of this process. Regarding pointing to further studies, the results offer evidence to call for further complementation studies to explore the deletion of CSP genes in E. coli (Higuchi et al., 2020). Therefore, the source’s practical importance and knowledge-increasing potential cannot be overstated.
Reasons for Choosing the Article
This article has been selected for review due to its informativeness and the ability to offer a large number of interesting facts regarding E. coli in basic and applied studies. Regarding being interesting, the source contains detailed discussions of E. coli in protein synthesis endeavors, which is a promising field of research with far-going implications for molecular diagnostics (Higuchi et al., 2020). As for informativeness, the article, especially the methods section, features a comprehensive review of tools for mRNA quantification and CSPs analysis (Higuchi et al., 2020). Finally, concerning the clarity of writing, the authors have chosen an adequate internal structure to organize the contents. Nevertheless, the source is intended for professionals with advanced knowledge in the field, making comprehending some passages challenging for the general audience.
Reference
Higuchi, K., Yabuki, T., Ito, M., & Kigawa, T. (2020). Cold shock proteins improve E. coli cell-free synthesis in terms of soluble yields of aggregation-prone proteins. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 117(6), 1628-1639.