Enzymatic protein fusions with 100% product yield.

Abstract

The protein ligase Connectase can be used to fuse proteins to small molecules, solid carriers, or other proteins. Compared to other protein ligases, it offers greater substrate specificity, higher catalytic efficiency, and catalyzes no side reactions. However, its reaction is reversible, resulting in only 50% fusion product from two equally abundant educts. Here, we present a simple method to reliably obtain 100% fusion product in 1:1 conjugation reactions. This method is efficient for protein-protein or protein-peptide fusions at the N- or C-termini. It enables the generation of defined and completely labeled antibody conjugates with one fusion partner on each chain. The reaction requires short incubation times with small amounts of enzyme and is effective even at low substrate concentrations and at low temperatures. With these characteristics, it presents a valuable new tool for bioengineering.