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  4. Developing alternative genetic systems for structural DNA nanotechnology and Darwinian evolution
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Developing alternative genetic systems for structural DNA nanotechnology and Darwinian evolution

Full metadata

Description

A major goal of synthetic biology is to recapitulate emergent properties of life. Despite a significant body of work, a longstanding question that remains to be answered is how such a complex system arose? In this dissertation, synthetic nucleic acid molecules with alternative sugar-phosphate backbones were investigated as potential ancestors of DNA and RNA. Threose nucleic acid (TNA) is capable of forming stable helical structures with complementary strands of itself and RNA. This provides a plausible mechanism for genetic information transfer between TNA and RNA. Therefore TNA has been proposed as a potential RNA progenitor. Using molecular evolution, functional sequences were isolated from a pool of random TNA molecules. This implicates a possible chemical framework capable of crosstalk between TNA and RNA. Further, this shows that heredity and evolution are not limited to the natural genetic system based on ribofuranosyl nucleic acids. Another alternative genetic system, glycerol nucleic acid (GNA) undergoes intrasystem pairing with superior thermalstability compared to that of DNA. Inspired by this property, I demonstrated a minimal nanostructure composed of both left- and right-handed mirro image GNA. This work suggested that GNA could be useful as promising orthogonal material in structural DNA nanotechnology.

Date Created
2011
Contributors
  • Zhang, Su (Author)
  • Chaut, John C (Thesis advisor)
  • Ghirlanda, Giovanna (Committee member)
  • Yan, Hao (Committee member)
  • Arizona State University (Publisher)
Topical Subject
  • Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • nanotechnology
  • Alternative Genetic System
  • Darwinian Evolution
  • DNA nanotechnology
  • TNA Aptamers
  • Synthetic Biology
  • DNA
  • RNA
  • Evolution (Biology)
Resource Type
Text
Genre
Doctoral Dissertation
Academic theses
Extent
xi, 248 p. : ill. (some col.)
Language
eng
Copyright Statement
In Copyright
Reuse Permissions
All Rights Reserved
Primary Member of
ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Peer-reviewed
No
Open Access
No
Handle
https://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.14291
Statement of Responsibility
by Su Zhang
Description Source
Retrieved on Oct. 24, 2012
Level of coding
full
Note
Partial requirement for: Ph.D., Arizona State University, 2011
Note type
thesis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 178-189)
Note type
bibliography
Field of study: Chemistry
System Created
  • 2012-08-24 06:07:50
System Modified
  • 2021-08-30 01:50:22
  •     
  • 1 year 6 months ago
Additional Formats
  • OAI Dublin Core
  • MODS XML

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