Genetic system makes worker cells more resilient producers of nanostructures for advanced sensing, therapeutics

Two-step approach creates more sustainable gas vesicle production for nonnative host cells

2026-02-02

(Press-News.org) Gas vesicles are among the largest known protein nanostructures produced and assembled inside microbial cells. These hollow, air-filled cylindrical nanostructures found in certain aquatic microbes have drawn increasing interest from scientists due to their potential for practical applications, including as part of novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools. However, producing gas vesicles is a hard ask for cells in the lab, hindering the development of applications.

In a recent study published in Nature Communications, a team of researchers led by Rice University bioengineer George Lu reports the development of a new genetic regulatory system to improve cell viability during the production of gas vesicles.

“In the past few years, studies have shown that gas vesicles’ ability to reflect sound makes them useful as unique and versatile acoustic reporter systems for biomedical research and clinical applications,” said Lu, an assistant professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing. “However, scientists have had limited success putting them to practical use. Producing the 10 genes required to form the shell of these structures in nonnative bacterial hosts like Escherichia coli causes significant stress for the cells and can even lead to cell death. We developed a new genetic regulatory system that ensures host cells remain healthy while still producing functional nanostructures.”

In complex systems like gas vesicles, cellular stress often arises when multiple proteins are produced and assembled at the same time. To address this challenge, Lu and his team designed a two-stage, dual-inducer system that allows precise control over when and how much of each protein is produced.

“Notably, we found that initiating the expression of assembly factors before producing the primary shell protein prevents the toxicity typically associated with making them simultaneously,” said Zongru Li, a postdoctoral fellow in the Lu lab who conducted most of the work for this project during his time as a graduate student under Lu’s supervision. “Giving the assembly factors a two- to three-hour head start before inducing the shell protein ensures that the cellular machinery required to build the structure is already in place before the bulk structural proteins are introduced.”

This process is like constructing a skyscraper. If all the raw materials — steel and glass — are delivered at the same time the construction crew arrives, the site becomes overcrowded and chaotic, and work stalls. But if the crew first sets up cranes and lays the foundation before the materials are delivered to the site, it allows the project to move forward smoothly without overwhelming the site’s infrastructure.

“By shifting from simultaneous to sequential production, this genetic regulatory system transforms a chaotic assembly process into a well-regulated production pipeline. The result is a healthier host organism and higher yields of gas vesicles,” Lu said. “This approach provides a robust, reliable method to produce gas vesicles for clinical and research applications and can also be adapted to produce other multicomponent protein complexes.”

Other authors involved in this study and their institutional affiliations can be found here. Lu specifically acknowledged the contributions of former Rice undergraduate researcher Sumin Jeong, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering last year. Jeong helped initiate the project and played an instrumental role in its early phase. This work was supported by grants from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, the National Institutes of Health, the Welch Foundation, G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation, the John S. Dunn Foundation and the Open Collective Foundation.

By Raji Natarajan, science writer for the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing

About Rice:

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Texas, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of architecture, business, continuing studies, engineering and computing, humanities, music, natural sciences and social sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. Internationally, the university maintains the Rice Global Paris Center, a hub for innovative collaboration, research and inspired teaching located in the heart of Paris. With 4,776 undergraduates and 4,104 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 7 for best-run colleges by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by the Wall Street Journal and is included on Forbes’ exclusive list of “New Ivies.”

END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New AI model can assist with early warning for coral bleaching risk

2026-02-02

MIAMI — Scientists have created an AI model that forecasts moderate heat stress — a major precursor to coral bleaching — at sites along Florida’s Coral Reef up to six weeks ahead, with predictions generally accurate within one week. The study presents a site-specific, explainable machine-learning framework to support coral scientists and restoration practitioners with local reef management and emergency response planning. “This model gives coral scientists and resource managers advance notice of whether heat stress is likely to occur in a season — and, more importantly, ...

Highly selective asymmetric 1,6-addition of aliphatic Grignard reagents to α,β,γ,δ-unsaturated carbonyl compounds

2026-02-02

Scientists at Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) have successfully realized the highly selective asymmetric 1,6-addition of aliphatic Grignard reagents to α,β,γ,δ-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. This new methodology employs an iron catalyst in combination with a chiral N-heterocyclic carbene ligand, which suppresses undesired side reactions and drives highly regio-, stereo-, and enantioselective alkyl migration. The achievement represents a major advance in organic synthesis, offering new opportunities for drug discovery, materials chemistry, and the fine-chemical sector. In organic chemistry, ...

Black and Latino teens show strong digital literacy

2026-02-02

A study by UC Riverside and USC education scholars found that Black and Latino teens are significantly more adept than their white peers at detecting online disinformation—particularly content related to race and ethnicity. These youth are not only quicker to identify false claims and racist propaganda, but also more likely to verify posts with credible sources and respond with corrective, fact-based content, the study found. According to the researchers, these skills are not being taught. “This ...

Aging brains pile up damaged proteins

2026-02-02

As we age, we begin to lose the connections that wire up our brains—and neuroscientists aren’t sure why. It is increasingly clear, though, that the loss of synapses—the flexible and adaptive relay stations central to our brains’ ability to think, learn, and remember—is central to the rise of cognitive decline and dementia in old age. Now, researchers supported by the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience have discovered clues that may tie synapse loss to another hallmark of brain aging: the declining ability of brain cells to break down and recycle damaged proteins. Published January 21, 2026, in Nature, the study shows ...

Optimizing robotic joints

2026-02-02

Key Takeaways Harvard SEAS researchers have developed a mathematical framework for optimizing the design of rolling contact joints, which are made of rolling surfaces and flexible connectors. To demonstrate their method, they developed a knee-like joint that reduced misalignment by 99% compared with standard mechanisms, and a robotic gripper that could hold three times the weight of a conventionally designed gripper. Consider the marvelous physics of the human knee. The largest hinge joint in the body, it has two rounded bones held together ...

Banning lead in gas worked. The proof is in our hair

2026-02-02

Prior to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, Americans lived in communities awash with lead from industrial sources, paint, water supply pipes and, most significantly, tailpipe emissions. A dangerous neurotoxin that accumulates in human tissues and is linked to developmental deficits in children, environmental lead levels have come way down in the years since, and so have human exposures. The proof is in your hair. An analysis of hair samples conducted by University of Utah scientists show precipitous reductions in lead levels since 1916. “We were able to show through our hair samples what the lead concentrations ...

Air pollution causes social instability in ant colonies

2026-02-02

Markus Knaden's Odor-guided Behavior research group at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology has been studying the effects of ozone on chemical communication in insects for some time. The research team was able to show that increased ozone levels alter the mating signal in fruit flies because ozone breaks down the carbon-carbon double bonds in the insects' sex pheromones. After male flies were exposed to ozone, they were no longer able to distinguish females from other males (see press release Air ...

Why we sleep poorly in new environments: A brain circuit that keeps animals awake

2026-02-02

You check into a hotel and toss and turn all night, but your sleep improves the following night. Scientists at Nagoya University wanted to understand why this happens. Working with mice, they have identified a group of neurons that become active when an animal enters a new environment. These neurons release a molecule called neurotensin that maintains wakefulness. The effect protects them from potential dangers in unknown surroundings. The study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This discovery may explain the "first ...

Some tropical land may experience stronger-than-expected warming under climate change

2026-02-02

Some tropical land regions may warm more dramatically than previously predicted, as climate change progresses, according to a new CU Boulder study that looks millions of years into Earth’s past. Using lake sediments from the Colombian Andes, researchers revealed that when the planet warmed millions of years ago under carbon dioxide levels similar to today’s, tropical land heated up nearly twice as much as the ocean. The study was published February 2 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “The tropics are ...

Detecting early-stage cancers with a new blood test measuring epigenetic instability

2026-02-02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have developed a novel liquid biopsy approach to identify early-stage cancers by measuring the random variation in DNA methylation patterns, rather than the absolute level of those patterns as in other liquid biopsies. The method, which utilizes a new metric called the Epigenetic Instability Index (EII), successfully distinguished — with high accuracy — patients with early-stage lung and breast cancers from healthy individuals. ...

Genetic system makes worker cells more resilient producers of nanostructures for advanced sensing, therapeutics

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: