Journal
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
Volume 52, Issue 48, Pages 12498-12508Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201305267
Keywords
non-natural nucleobases; nucleic acids; replication; synthetic biology; Watson-Crick base pairing
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Funding
- German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
- U.S. National Institutes of Health [GM063587, GM072705]
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We describe in this Minireview the synthesis, properties, and applications of artificial genetic sets built from base pairs that are larger than the natural Watson-Crick architecture. Such designed systems are being explored by several research groups to investigate basic chemical questions regarding the functions of the genetic information storage systems and thus of the origin and evolution of life. For example, is the terrestrial DNA structure the only viable one, or can other architectures function as well? Working outside the constraints of purine-pyrimidine geometry provides more chemical flexibility in design, and the added size confers useful properties such as high binding affinity and helix stability as well as fluorescence. These features are useful for the investigation of fundamental biochemical questions as well as in the development of new biotechnological, biomedical, and nanostructural tools and methods.
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