StoryResearch
ESM3 designs esmGFP, a novel fluorescent protein from scratch
Scientists used ESM3 to design esmGFP, a novel green fluorescent protein sharing only 58% sequence identity with natural relatives. Design compressed ~500M years of natural evolution into computation, and protein folded correctly producing functional fluorescence.
- esmGFP represents vast evolutionary departure from natural proteins.
- Designed protein fluoresces with ~510 nm peak, similar to natural GFP despite radical sequence differences.
- Models trained on billions of proteins can generate viable new ones without explicit evolutionary guidance.