Johns Hopkins University researchers have found a new way to join two unrelated proteins to create a molecular switch where which one biochemical partner controls the activity of the other.

“Last year, we reported that we’d used protein engineering techniques to make a molecular switch, putting together two proteins that normally had nothing to do with one another, but the switching properties of that version were insufficient for many applications,” said the research team’s Marc Ostermeier. “With the new technique, we’ve produced a molecular switch that’s over 10 times more effective. When we introduce this switch into bacteria, it transforms them into a working sensor.”

John Hopkins University news release