Four new DNA bases synthesized
Ever since the beginning of life a couple billion
years ago, genetic information is believed to be stored in the DNA as a string
of only four bases or letters–Guanine (G), Cytosine (C), Adenine (A), and
Thymine (T).
Just recently, researchers have created a DNA that contains not just the four natural bases but also four synthetic ones.
In a study published on February 22, in the journal Science, a research team led by Steven Brenner from the Foundation of Applied Molecular Evolution (FfAME) in the US has synthesized four additional nucleotide bases, namely P, Z, S, and B, wherein P pairs with Z, and S pairs with B. This essentially doubles the “letters” comprising the DNA, and thus increasing the information density over standard DNA.
The DNA system composed of the four natural bases and the four artificial ones is called “hachimoji” DNA (meaning “eight letters” in Japanese). It functions the same as normal DNA, is found to be stable, and can be transcribed into RNA.
However, according to…
Just recently, researchers have created a DNA that contains not just the four natural bases but also four synthetic ones.
In a study published on February 22, in the journal Science, a research team led by Steven Brenner from the Foundation of Applied Molecular Evolution (FfAME) in the US has synthesized four additional nucleotide bases, namely P, Z, S, and B, wherein P pairs with Z, and S pairs with B. This essentially doubles the “letters” comprising the DNA, and thus increasing the information density over standard DNA.
The DNA system composed of the four natural bases and the four artificial ones is called “hachimoji” DNA (meaning “eight letters” in Japanese). It functions the same as normal DNA, is found to be stable, and can be transcribed into RNA.
However, according to…
