What is barnase-barstar system?

Answer 1

Barnase is a ribonuclease expressed by the bacterium Bacillus amyloliquifaciens. It degrades RNA at the GpN site and thus chews up all RNA. Barstar is a protein that blocks Barnase activity by binding to its active site making it thus unavailable for RNA degradation. Barnase -Barstar system is being used widely to develop male sterile lines. The Barnase gene in the male sterile plants are expressed under the control of a tapetum specific promoter. Thus expressed Barnase in the tapetum degrades tapetal RNA and makes the pollen sterile. The introduction of the Barstar expressing cassette in this system blocks the Barnase protein and thus restores fertility of the pollen.

Answer 2

The barnase-barstar system is a well-known protein-protein interaction pair used in molecular Biology research. Barnase is a ribonuclease enzyme that is highly toxic to cells, while barstar is its inhibitor protein. Researchers employ this system for controlled cell growth and gene expression studies by regulating the interaction between barnase and barstar.