DNA polymerase activity on synthetic N3'→P5' phosphoramidate DNA templates.

ABSTRACT: Genetic polymers that could plausibly govern life in the universe might inhabit a broad swath of chemical space. A subset of these genetic systems can exchange information with RNA and DNA and could therefore form the basis for model protocells in the laboratory. N3'→P5' phosphoramidate (NP) DNA is defined by a conservative linkage substitution and has shown promise as a protocellular genetic material, but much remains unknown about its functionality and fidelity due to limited enzymatic tools. Conveniently, we find widespread NP-DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity among reverse transcriptases, an observation consistent with structural studies of the RNA-like conformation of NP-DNA duplexes. Here, we analyze the consequences of this unnatural template linkage on the kinetics and fidelity

SUBMITTER: Lelyveld VS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6755091 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature