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ABSTRACT: The emerging field of synthetic genetics provides an opportunity to explore the structural and functional properties of synthetic genetic polymers by in vitro selection. Limiting this process, however, is the availability of enzymes that allow for the synthesis and propagation of genetic information present in unnatural nucleic acid sequences. Here, we report the development of a transcription and reverse-transcription system that can replicate unnatural genetic polymers composed of threose nucleic acids (TNA). TNA is a potential progenitor of RNA in which the natural ribose sugar found in RNA has been replaced with an unnatural threose sugar. Using commercial polymerases that recognize TNA, we demonstrate that an unbiased three-letter and two different biased four-letter genetic alphabets replicate in vitro with high efficiency and high overall fidelity. We validated the replication system by performing one cycle of transcription, selection, reverse transcription, and amplification on a library of 10 DNA templates and observed ∼380-fold enrichment after one round of selection for a biotinylated template. We further show that TNA polymers are stable to enzymes that degrade DNA and RNA. These results provide the methodology needed to evolve biologically stable aptamers and enzymes for exobiology and molecular medicine.
Journal of the American Chemical Society 03/2013; 135(9):3583-91. · 9.91 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This unit describes the chemical synthesis of α-L-threofuranosyl nucleic acid (TNA) triphosphates for thymidine (T), guanosine (G), cytidine (C), and the diaminopurine (D) analog of adenosine and their incorporation into TNA oligonucleotides by enzyme-mediated polymerization of a DNA primer-template complex. Starting from suitably protected threofuranosyl nucleosides, TNA triphosphates are synthesized in a single-pot reaction and purified by ion-exchange and HPLC chromatography. Purified TNA triphosphates are diluted into stock solutions and used as substrates for the synthesis of TNA oligonucleotides. Oligonucleotide synthesis is accomplished using Therminator DNA polymerase, a commercial variant of the 9(o)N DNA polymerase bearing the A485L mutation. Curr. Protoc. Nucleic Acid Chem. 52:4.54.1-4.54.17. © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Current protocols in nucleic acid chemistry / edited by Serge L. Beaucage ... [et al.] 03/2013; Chapter 4:Unit4.54.
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ABSTRACT: Threose nucleic acid (TNA) is an artificial genetic polymer in which the natural ribose sugar found in RNA has been replaced with an unnatural threose sugar. TNA can be synthesized enzymatically using Therminator DNA polymerase to copy DNA templates into TNA. Here, we expand the substrate repertoire of Therminator DNA polymerase to include threofuranosyl adenine 3'-triphsophate (tATP). We chemically synthesized tATP by two different methods from the 2'-O-acetyl derivative. Enzyme-mediated polymerization reveals that tATP functions as an efficient substrate for Therminator DNA polymerase, indicating that tATP can replace the diaminopurine analogue (tDTP) in TNA transcription reactions.
Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters 01/2013; · 2.65 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: For over 20 years, laboratories around the world have been applying the principles of Darwinian evolution to isolate DNA and RNA molecules with specific ligand-binding or catalytic activities. This area of synthetic biology, commonly referred to as in vitro genetics, is made possible by the availability of natural polymerases that can replicate genetic information in the laboratory. Moving beyond natural nucleic acids requires organic chemistry to synthesize unnatural analogues and polymerase engineering to create enzymes that recognize artificial substrates. Progress in both of these areas has led to the emerging field of synthetic genetics, which explores the structural and functional properties of synthetic genetic polymers by in vitro evolution. This review examines recent advances in the Darwinian evolution of artificial genetic polymers and their potential downstream applications in exobiology, molecular medicine, and synthetic biology.
Chemistry & biology 11/2012; 19(11):1360-71. · 6.52 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This unit describes the preparation of dimethoxytrityl (DMTr)-protected α-L-threofuranosyl nucleic acid (TNA) phosphoramidite monomers for A, C, G, T, and diaminopurine, as well as their incorporation into TNA oligonucleotides by solid-phase synthesis. Starting from commercially available L-ascorbic acid, the protected threofuranosyl sugar is obtained in four steps. Vorbrüggen-Hilbert-Johnson glycosylation affords the desired threofuranosyl nucleosides, which are converted to their corresponding DMTr-protected phosphoramidite nucleosides in four additional steps. Phosphoramidite monomers are then used to construct TNA oligonucleotides by solid-phase synthesis using a standard DNA synthesizer. Curr. Protoc. Nucleic Acid Chem. 50:4.51.1-4.51.26. © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Current protocols in nucleic acid chemistry / edited by Serge L. Beaucage ... [et al.] 09/2012; Chapter 4:Unit4.51.
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ABSTRACT: What a pentaplexing situation: Isoguanine (iG) is an isomer of guanine, where the positions of the C2 amino group and the C6 carboxy group are swapped. iG can self-assemble into pentads in the presence of alkali metal cations. Cs(+) ions were found to stabilize a pentaplex of d(T(iG)(4) T). Solution NMR studies of this pentaplex in the presence of Cs(+) ions (or Na(+) , K(+) , Rb(+) , or NH(4) (+) cations) demonstrate its stability and structure.
Angewandte Chemie International Edition 07/2012; 51(32):7952-5. · 13.45 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The pre-RNA world hypothesis postulates that RNA was preceded in the evolution of life by a simpler genetic material, but it is not known if such systems can fold into structures capable of eliciting a desired function. Presumably, whatever chemistry gave rise to RNA would have produced other RNA analogues, some of which may have preceded or competed directly with RNA. Threose nucleic acid (TNA), a potentially natural derivative of RNA, has received considerable interest as a possible RNA progenitor due to its chemical simplicity and ability to exchange genetic information with itself and RNA. Here, we have applied Darwinian evolution methods to evolve, in vitro, a TNA receptor that binds to an arbitrary target with high affinity and specificity. This demonstration shows that TNA has the ability to fold into tertiary structures with sophisticated chemical functions, which provides evidence that TNA could have served as an ancestral genetic system during an early stage of life.
Nature Chemistry 01/2012; 4(3):183-7. · 20.52 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Aptamers are single-stranded nucleic acids that fold into stable three-dimensional structures with ligand binding sites that are complementary in shape and charge to a desired target. Aptamers are generated by an iterative process known as in vitro selection, which permits their isolation from pools of random sequences. While aptamers have been selected to bind a wide range of targets, it is generally thought that these molecules are incapable of discriminating strongly alkaline proteins due to the attractive forces that govern oppositely charged polymers (e.g., polyelectrolyte effect). Histones, eukaryotic proteins that make up the core structure of nucleosomes are attractive targets for exploring the binding properties of aptamers because these proteins have positively charged surfaces that bind DNA through noncovalent sequence-independent interactions. Previous selections by our lab and others have yielded DNA aptamers with high affinity but low specificity to individual histone proteins. Whether this is a general limitation of aptamers is an interesting question with important practical implications in the future development of protein affinity reagents. Here we report the in vitro selection of a DNA aptamer that binds to histone H4 with a K(d) of 13 nM and distinguishes other core histone proteins with 100 to 480-fold selectivity, which corresponds to a ΔΔG of up to 3.4 kcal mol(-1) . This result extends our fundamental understanding of aptamers and their ability to fold into shapes that selectively bind alkaline proteins.
ChemBioChem 11/2011; 12(17):2659-66. · 3.94 Impact Factor
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ChemBioChem 06/2011; 12(12):1813-7. · 3.94 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Very little is known about the evolvability of lead peptides that are isolated from small library screens. Here we begin to explore this question by comparing the directed evolution of two peptides previously isolated from a small library screen to new ligands generated de novo by in vitro selection.
Chemical Communications 11/2010; 46(41):7778-80. · 6.17 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Peptide-oligonucleotide conjugates (POCs) are molecular chimeras composed of a nucleic acid moiety covalently attached to a polypeptide moiety. POCs have been used in numerous applications from therapeutics to nanotechnology, and most recently as combinatorial agents in the assembly of bivalent protein affinity reagents. This unit describes the synthesis and purification of POC molecules using the heterobifunctional crosslinking reagent succinimidyl-4-(N-maleimidomethyl)cyclohexane-1-carboxylate (SMCC), which enables amine-modified oligonucleotides to become covalently linked to cysteine-modified polypeptides. This solution-based protocol consists of a two-step synthesis followed by a single purification step.
Current protocols in nucleic acid chemistry / edited by Serge L. Beaucage ... [et al.] 09/2010; Chapter 4:Unit4.41.
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ABSTRACT: This unit describes a straightforward method for preparing glycerol nucleic acid (GNA) phosphoramidite monomers and oligonucleotide polymers using standard cyanoethyl phosphoramidite chemistry. GNA is an unnatural nucleic acid analog composed of an acyclic three-carbon sugar-phosphate backbone that contains one stereogenic center per repeating unit. GNA has attracted significant attention as a nucleic acid derivative due to its unique ability to form stable Watson-Crick anti-parallel duplex structures with thermal and thermodynamic stabilities rivaling those of natural DNA and RNA. The chemical simplicity of this nucleic acid structure provides access to enantiomerically pure forms of right- and left-handed helical structures that can be used as unnatural building blocks in DNA nanotechnology.
Current protocols in nucleic acid chemistry / edited by Serge L. Beaucage ... [et al.] 09/2010; Chapter 4:Unit4.40.
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ABSTRACT: This review examines acyclic nucleoside analogs as therapeutic agents, potential progenitor candidates to RNA, and novel building blocks for nucleic-acid nanotechnology. Together, these areas of research provide new insights into the structural and functional properties of nucleic acids and suggest new paradigms for nucleic acid self-assembly.
Chemistry & Biodiversity 02/2010; 7(2):245-58. · 1.80 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In vitro selection coupled with directed evolution represents a powerful method for generating nucleic acids and proteins with desired functional properties. Creating high-quality libraries of random sequences is an important step in this process as it allows variants of individual molecules to be generated from a single-parent sequence. These libraries are then screened for individual molecules with interesting, and sometimes very rare, phenotypes. Here, we describe a general method to introduce random nucleotide mutations into a parent sequence that takes advantage of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This protocol reduces mutational bias often associated with error-prone PCR methods and allows the experimenter to control the degree of mutagenesis by controlling the number of gene-doubling events that occur in the PCR reaction. The error-prone PCR method described here was used to optimize a de novo evolved protein for improved folding stability, solubility, and ligand-binding affinity.
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) 01/2010; 634:103-9.
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ABSTRACT: A full understanding of the proteome will require ligands to all of the proteins encoded by genomes. While antibodies represent the principle affinity reagents used to bind proteins, their limitations have created a need for new ligands to large numbers of proteins. Here we propose a general concept to obtain protein affinity reagents that avoids animal immunization and iterative selection steps. Central to this process is the idea that small peptide libraries contain sequences that will bind to independent regions on a protein surface and that these ligands can be combined on synthetic scaffolds to create high affinity bivalent reagents. To demonstrate the feasibility of this approach, an array of 4000 unique 12-mer peptides was screened to identify sequences that bind to nonoverlapping sites on the yeast regulatory protein Gal80. Individual peptide ligands were screened at different distances using a novel DNA linking strategy to identify the optimal peptide pair and peptide pair separation distance required to transform two weaker ligands into a single high affinity protein capture reagent. A synthetic antibody or synbody was created with 5 nM affinity to Gal80 that functions in conventional ELISA and pull-down assays. We validated our synthetic antibody approach by creating a second synbody to human transferrin. In both cases, we observed an increase in binding affinity of approximately 1000-fold (DeltaDeltaG = approximately 4.1 kcal/mol) between the individual peptides and final bivalent synbody construct.
Journal of the American Chemical Society 11/2009; 131(47):17233-41. · 9.91 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: DNA repair enzymes are essential for maintaining the integrity of the DNA sequence. Unfortunately, very little is known about how these enzymes recognize damaged regions along the helix. Structural analysis of cellular repair enzymes bound to DNA reveals that these enzymes are able to recognize DNA in a variety of conformations. However, the prevalence of these deformations in the absence of enzymes remains unclear, as small populations of DNA conformations are often difficult to detect by NMR and X-ray crystallography. Here, we used time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy to examine the conformational dynamics of linear, nicked, gapped, and bulged DNA in the absence of protein enzymes. This analysis reveals that damaged DNA is polymorphic in nature and able to adopt multiple individual conformations. We show that DNA repair intermediates that contain a one-nucleotide gap and bulge have a significant propensity to adopt conformations in which the orphan base resides outside the DNA helix, while DNA structures damaged by a nick or two-nucleotide gap favor intrahelical conformations. Because changes in DNA conformation appear to guide the recognition of DNA repair enzymes, we suggest that the current approach could be used to study the mechanism of DNA repair.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry A 09/2009; 113(35):9585-7. · 2.95 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Histone acetylation plays an important role in the regulation of gene expression. A DNA aptamer generated by in vitro selection to be highly specific for histone H4 protein acetylated at lysine 16 was used as a recognition element for atomic force microscopy-based recognition imaging of synthetic nucleosomal arrays with precisely controlled acetylation. The aptamer proved to be reasonably specific at recognizing acetylated histones, with recognition efficiencies of 60% on-target and 12% off-target. Though this selectivity is much poorer than the >2000:1 equilibrium specificity of the aptamer, it is a large improvement on the performance of a ChIP-quality antibody, which is not selective at all in this application, and it should permit high-fidelity recognition with repeated imaging. The ability to image the precise location of posttranslational modifications may permit nanometer-scale investigation of their effect on chromatin structure.
Biophysical Journal 09/2009; 97(6):1804-7. · 3.65 Impact Factor
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Angewandte Chemie International Edition 09/2009; 48(45):8494-6. · 13.45 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: How primitive enzymes emerged from a primordial pool remains a fundamental unanswered question with important practical implications in synthetic biology. Here we show that a de novo evolved ATP binding protein, selected solely on the basis of its ability to bind ATP, mediates the regiospecific hydrolysis of ATP to ADP when crystallized with 1 equiv of ATP. Structural insights into this reaction were obtained by growing protein crystals under saturating ATP conditions. The resulting crystal structure refined to 1.8 A resolution reveals that this man-made protein binds ATP in an unusual bent conformation that is metal-independent and held in place by a key bridging water molecule. Removal of this interaction using a null mutant results in a variant that binds ATP in a normal linear geometry and is incapable of ATP hydrolysis. Biochemical analysis, including high-resolution mass spectrometry performed on dissolved protein crystals, confirms that the reaction is accelerated in the crystalline environment. This observation suggests that proteins with weak chemical reactivity can emerge from high affinity ligand binding sites and that constrained ligand-binding geometries could have helped to facilitate the emergence of early protein enzymes.
ACS Chemical Biology 07/2009; 4(8):649-58. · 6.45 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Therminator DNA polymerase, a variant of the 9 degrees N DNA polymerase, is shown to synthesize a functional RNA aptamer; thus providing a simple route for making DNA-tagged RNA aptamers for use in DNA nanotechnology.
Chemical Communications 06/2009; · 6.17 Impact Factor
