Discerna Technologies
•  Ribosome Display

Conducted entirely in vitro , Ribosome Display is used to create libraries of diverse gene sequences encoding functional proteins. Such proteins can be readily displayed, selected and manipulated through their physical association with the genes encoding them. Freedom from the constraints of cell-based systems allows enormous libraries of diverse sequences to be generated, maximising the chances of identifying a functionally relevant protein as a product lead.

Libraries of sequences displayed on ribosomes can be selectively manipulated to give rise to proteins with improved functional characteristics. Cycles of error-prone DNA synthesis to introduce sequence mutation, followed by selection and screening of modified proteins, provides an efficient route to the molecular evolution of genes and optimisation of the proteins they encode.

Discerna has pioneered a Ribosome Display system that maximises the speed and efficiency with which novel proteins can be displayed, selected and evolved.

The Discerna Ribosome Display process has three distinct advantages over existing methodologies

•  Speed and Efficiency Post-translational detachment of protein from the ribosome is prevented by deletion of the stop codon. Retaining the protein in a complex with its encoding messenger RNA (mRNA) allows all stages of the display, selection and evolution of proteins to be carried out in a simple, streamlined fashion.

•  Simplified Chemistry Selection of a displayed protein through its specific binding to a target provides associated mRNA as a template for further DNA synthesis by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR. The uniqueness of Discerna's transcription-translation method avoids disrupting the complexes before carrying out this process.

•  Improved Product Yield Discerna has developed a novel, single primer-based method for application to RT-PCR which improves the efficiency of DNA recovery in the transcription-translation process

Discerna conducts Ribosome Display in eukaryotic systems, using rabbit reticulocyte extracts to transcribe and translate complexes in a completely cell-free fashion. This approach avoids many of the limitations on library size experienced with cell-based systems.