# Tardigrade-Derived Strategy for Low-Cost Storage of Cell-Free Expression Lysates

Article · Meckelburg M, Banlaki I, Gaizauskaite A, Niederholtmeyer H

- Archive id: doi:10.1021/acssynbio.6c00281
- Published: 2026-06-19
- Venue: ACS synthetic biology
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.6c00281
- PMID: 42319881
- PMCID: PMC13386639
- Citations: 0
- Source URL: https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.6c00281
- PDF: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13386639/pdf
- Provenance: europepmc

## Abstract

Cell-free expression systems (CFESs) are increasingly used alongside conventional biotechnological approaches to accelerate early-stage prototyping and are particularly valuable in point-of-use settings. However, their broader adoption remains limited by time- and cost-intensive preparation as well as stringent cryogenic storage requirements. To address this, several studies have explored lyophilization with protective additives to generate stable, solid-state CFES. These approaches had to balance the protection gained with a loss of activity because of the additives. In this study, we present a CFES that contains a tardigrade-derived cytosolic-abundant heat-soluble (CAHS) protein to protect the biosynthetic machinery in lysates from damage during drying. We show that the CAHS protein, without any other additives, preserves protein synthesis activity following low-cost room-temperature desiccation, while unprotected lysates are affected in mRNA synthesis kinetics and translation yields. The diversity of tardigrade-derived protective proteins is a treasure trove for cell-free synthetic biology, in particular, for making CFESs more accessible and portable.

_Abstract reproduced under CC-BY (article license as recorded by Europe PMC; abstract reproduced unmodified apart from markup removal)._

Topics: [Synthetic Biology & Genome Engineering](https://space-kitty.com/topics/synthetic-biology)

Cited in dossiers:
- [Synthetic Biology & Genome Engineering: State of the Field (October 2026)](https://space-kitty.com/dossiers/synthetic-biology)

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