Synthetic Genetic Polymers Capable of Heredity and Evolution

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 336; no. 6079; pp. 341 - 344
• Main Authors: Pinheiro, Vitor B., Taylor, Alexander I., Cozens, Christopher, Abramov, Mikhail, Renders, Marleen, Zhang, Su, Chaput, John C., Wengel, Jesper, Peak-Chew, Sew-Yeu, McLaughlin, Stephen H., Herdewijn, Piet, Holliger, Philipp
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 20.04.2012; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Acids; Analytical, structural and metabolic biochemistry; Aptamers, Nucleotide - chemistry; Aptamers, Nucleotide - genetics; Aptamers, Nucleotide - metabolism; Biochemistry; Biological and medical sciences; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Directed Molecular Evolution; DNA; DNA - chemistry; DNA - genetics; DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase - chemistry; DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase - genetics; DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase - metabolism; Evolution; Evolution, Molecular; Evolutionary biology; Evolutionary genetics; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetic inheritance; Genetics; Heredity; Information Storage; Medical genetics; Molecular Mimicry; Nucleic acids; Nucleic Acids - chemistry; Nucleic Acids - genetics; Nucleic Acids - metabolism; Polymers; Polymers - chemistry; Polymers - metabolism; Reverse Transcription; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; RNA - chemistry; RNA - genetics; RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase - chemistry; RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase - metabolism; Templates, Genetic; Transcription, Genetic; Molecular evolution; Genetics
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1217622

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.