Synthetic genetic polymers capable of heredity and evolution
Pinheiro, Vitor B. and Taylor, A.I. and Cozens, C. and Abramov, M. and Renders, M. and Zhang, S. and Chaput, J.C. and Wengel, J. and Peak-Chew, S.-Y. and McLaughlin, S.H. and Herdewijn, P. and Holliger, P. (2012) Synthetic genetic polymers capable of heredity and evolution. Science 336 (6079), pp. 341-344. ISSN 0036-8075.
Abstract
Genetic information storage and processing rely on just two polymers, DNA and RNA, yet whether their role reflects evolutionary history or fundamental functional constraints is currently unknown. With the use of polymerase evolution and design, we show that genetic information can be stored in and recovered from six alternative genetic polymers based on simple nucleic acid architectures not found in nature [xeno-nucleic acids (XNAs)]. We also select XNA aptamers, which bind their targets with high affinity and specificity, demonstrating that beyond heredity, specific XNAs have the capacity for Darwinian evolution and folding into defined structures. Thus, heredity and evolution, two hallmarks of life, are not limited to DNA and RNA but are likely to be emergent properties of polymers capable of information storage.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences |
| Research Centres and Institutes: | Structural Molecular Biology, Institute of (ISMB) |
| Depositing User: | Sarah Hall |
| Date Deposited: | 04 Feb 2014 10:48 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:09 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/9150 |
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