Wild-type QtEncapsulin (QtEnc) loads protein cargo through a C-terminal cargo-loading peptide and has no affinity for nucleic acids. We engineered the shell with a lumenal RNA-binding peptide (λN⁺) and coupled encapsulation of a dCas9–sgRNA complex to survival of E. coli through a kanamycin-resistance selection. Variants of the shell are diversified in continuous culture with MutaT7.
The pages cover the background, the design of the shell and handles, the mechanism of the selection, the results obtained so far and future work. Sources are listed on the references page.