Synthetic Heredity Molecules Emulate DNA

Summary:
Philipp Holliger and a team of scientists have created synthetic molecules called XNA (xenonucleic acid) that can evolve and pass information like DNA. There are six forms of XNA molecules with substitutions for deoxyribose in their backbone. XNA still requires DNA to make copies, along with the help of engineered enzymes that can read XNA and create a complementary strand of DNA. Scientists have also created enzymes that can do the opposite to make XNA. The molecules can also evolve, and the scientists selected one of the molecules, called HNA, to be able to attach to target molecules. At first, most of the HNA molecules were not very effective. Scientists used DNA to replicate those that attached well. After a few generations, the molecules were much more effective. XNA can be more stable than DNA and can withstand acidic environments better. Also, molecules that damage DNA will not recognize XNA, and not have the same effect. All of this makes it likely that XNA could be used instead of DNA in drugs and vaccines, as well as a tool in biotechnology.

Relevance:
This new molecule is a product of biotechnology, which we studied. It is designed to function much like DNA, and we learned about nucleic acids. Our past few units have been focused on genes and heredity, and this molecule could serve as a form of genetic material. Also, XNA evolves through artificial selection, which we have studied.

Article by Rachel Ehrenberg
Posted April 19, 2012
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/340076/description/Synthetic_heredity_molecules_emulate_DNA