Work

N2′→P3′ Phosphoramidate Glycerol Nucleic Acid as a Potential Alternative Genetic System

Year: 2009

Type: article

Abstract: Glycerol nucleic acid (GNA) is an interesting base-pairing system with an acyclic, three-carbon backbone. In the present study, GNA analogues with N2'-->P3' phosphoramidate linkages (npGNA) have been synthesized and their base-pairing properties examined. Thermal denaturation and circular dichroism studies show that npGNA can form stable duplexes with itself and with GNA. Furthermore, we show that npGNA can be assembled by template-directed ligation of 3'-imidazole-activated-2'-amino GNA dinucleotides. These results suggest that npGNA is a potential candidate for a self-replicating system based upon phosphoramidate linkages.

Source: Journal of the American Chemical Society

DOI: 10.1021/ja809069b

Authors: Jesse J. Chen, Xin Cai, Jack W. Szostak

Institutions: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital

Language: English

Topic: DNA and Nucleic Acid Chemistry

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,500

Funder: Howard Hughes Medical Institute