Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 336, Issue 6079, Pages 341-344Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1217622
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Funding
- MRC [U105178804]
- European Union [FP6-STREP-029092 NEST]
- European Science Foundation
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) UK [09-EuroSYNBIO-OP-013]
- European Research Council [ERC-2010-AdG_20100317]
- Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (GOA/IDO)
- BBSRC [BB/I004793/1] Funding Source: UKRI
- MRC [MC_U105178804] Funding Source: UKRI
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [BB/I004793/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- Medical Research Council [MC_U105178804] Funding Source: researchfish
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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.
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