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Hu Y, Liu J, Ke Y, Wang B, Lim JYC, Dong Z, Long Y, Willner I. Oligo-Adenine and Cyanuric Acid Supramolecular DNA-Based Hydrogels Exhibiting Acid-Resistance and Physiological pH-Responsiveness. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024. [PMID: 38769743 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c03834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
Expanding the functions and applications of DNA by integrating noncanonical bases and structures into biopolymers is a continuous scientific effort. An adenine-rich strand (A-strand) is introduced as functional scaffold revealing, in the presence of the low-molecular-weight cofactor cyanuric acid (CA, pKa 6.9), supramolecular hydrogel-forming efficacies demonstrating multiple pH-responsiveness. At pH 1.2, the A-strand transforms into a parallel A-motif duplex hydrogel cross-linked by AH+-H+A units due to the protonation of adenine (pKa 3.5). At pH 5.2, and in the presence of coadded CA, a helicene-like configuration is formed between adenine and protonated CA, generating a parallel A-CA triplex cross-linked hydrogel. At pH 8.0, the hydrogel undergoes transition into a liquid state by deprotonation of CA cofactor units and disassembly of A-CA triplex into its constituent components. Density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations, supporting the structural reconfigurations of A-strand in the presence of CA, are performed. The sequential pH-stimulated hydrogel states are rheometrically characterized. The hydrogel framework is loaded with fluorescein-labeled insulin, and the pH-stimulated release of insulin from the hydrogel across the pH barriers present in the gastrointestinal tract is demonstrated. The results provide principles for future application of the hydrogel for oral insulin administration for diabetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuwei Hu
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Republic of Singapore
| | - Jia Liu
- State Key Laboratory Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, P. R. China
| | - Yujie Ke
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Republic of Singapore
| | - Binju Wang
- State Key Laboratory Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, P. R. China
| | - Jason Y C Lim
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Republic of Singapore
| | - Zhaogang Dong
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), 2 Fusionopolis Way, Innovis #08-03, Singapore 138634, Republic of Singapore
| | - Yi Long
- Electronic Engineering Department, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, P. R. China
| | - Itamar Willner
- Institute of Chemistry, The Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
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2
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Sawant AA, Tripathi S, Galande S, Rajamani S. A Prebiotic Genetic Nucleotide as an Early Darwinian Ancestor for Pre-RNA Evolution. ACS OMEGA 2024; 9:18072-18082. [PMID: 38680342 PMCID: PMC11044211 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c09949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Prebiotic genetic nucleotides (PGNs) often outcompete canonical alphabets in the formation of nucleotides and subsequent RNA oligomerization under early Earth conditions. This indicates that the early genetic code might have been dominated by pre-RNA that contained PGNs for information transfer and catalysis. Despite this, deciphering pre-RNAs' capacity to acquire function and delineating their evolutionary transition to a canonical RNA World has remained under-researched in the origins of life (OoL) field. We report the synthesis of a prebiotically relevant nucleotide (BaTP) containing the noncanonical nucleobase barbituric acid. We demonstrate the first instance of its enzymatic incorporation into an RNA, using a T7 RNA polymerase. BaTP's incorporation into baby spinach aptamer allowed it to retain its overall secondary structure and function. Finally, we also demonstrate faithful transfer of information from the pre-RNA-containing BaTP to DNA, using a high-fidelity RNA-dependent DNA polymerase, alluding to how selection pressures and complexities could have ensued during the molecular evolution of the early genetic code.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anupam A. Sawant
- Department
of Biology, Indian Institute of Science
Education and Research (IISER) Pune, Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pune, Maharashtra 411008, India
| | - Sneha Tripathi
- Department
of Biology, Indian Institute of Science
Education and Research (IISER) Pune, Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pune, Maharashtra 411008, India
| | - Sanjeev Galande
- Department
of Biology, Indian Institute of Science
Education and Research (IISER) Pune, Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pune, Maharashtra 411008, India
- Center
of Excellence in Epigenetics, Department of Life Sciences, School
of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar Institution
of Eminence, Gautam Buddha
Nagar, Uttar Pradesh 201314, India
| | - Sudha Rajamani
- Department
of Biology, Indian Institute of Science
Education and Research (IISER) Pune, Dr Homi Bhabha Road, Pune, Maharashtra 411008, India
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3
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Schuster GB, Hud NV, Alenaizan A. Structural and Thermodynamic Control of Supramolecular Polymers and DNA Assemblies with Cyanuric Acid: Influence of Substituents and Intermolecular Interactions. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:10758-10767. [PMID: 36502412 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c05934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the interactions and thermodynamic parameters that govern the structure and stability of supramolecular polymers is challenging because of their flexible nature and high sensitivity to weak intermolecular interactions. The application of both experimental and computational analyses reveals the role that substituents on cyanuric acid (Cy), and other nitrogen-containing heterocycles, play in the formation of novel helical supramolecular structures. In this report, we focus on how noncovalent interactions, including steric and stacking interactions, modulate the structural and physical properties of these assemblies. In-depth analyses and several examples of critical steric and electrostatic effects provide insight into the relationship between intermolecular interactions of Cy with nucleic acids and the structure and thermodynamic stability of the supramolecular polymers they form.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary B Schuster
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Nicholas V Hud
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Asem Alenaizan
- Chemistry Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
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4
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Alenaizan A. Helicene Structure between DNA and Cyanuric Acid: The Role of Noncovalent Interactions. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:8508-8514. [PMID: 36244003 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c04664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
The self-assembly between DNA and small organic molecules can expand the structural space of and introduce novel functionalities to DNA nanomaterials. In particular, it was demonstrated that poly(adenosine) DNA self-assembles with cyanuric acid (CA) to form a triplex helical structure. Previous molecular dynamics simulations showed that the DNA-CA assemblies adopt a novel noncovalent helicene structure that has a continuous helical hydrogen bond network. This article explores why the assemblies adopt the helicene geometry instead of an alternative planar hexameric rosette geometry. Analysis of the hydrogen bonding and stacking interaction energies indicates that constraining the system to the hexameric rosette geometry strains the hydrogen bonds without significantly improving the interaction energy. Molecular dynamics simulations for the assemblies between adenosine nucleosides and CA confirm that the formation of helicene structure is primarily driven by base-pair interactions and not because of the DNA backbone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asem Alenaizan
- Chemistry Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran31261, Saudi Arabia
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5
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Prebiotic synthesis of noncanonical nucleobases under plausible alkaline hydrothermal conditions. Sci Rep 2022; 12:15140. [PMID: 36071125 PMCID: PMC9452575 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19474-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Herein, the potential of alkaline hydrothermal environments for the synthesis of possible ancestral pre-RNA nucleobases using cyanide as a primary source of carbon and nitrogen is described. Water cyanide polymerizations were assisted by microwave radiation to obtain high temperature and a relatively high pressure (MWR, 180 °C, 15 bar) and were also carried out using a conventional thermal system (CTS, 80 °C, 1 bar) to simulate subaerial and aerial hydrothermal conditions, respectively, on the early Earth. For these syntheses, the initial concentration of cyanide and the diffusion effects were studied. In addition, it is well known that hydrolysis conditions are directly related to the amount and diversity of organic molecules released from cyanide polymers. Thus, as a first step, we studied the effect of several hydrolysis procedures, generally used in prebiotic chemistry, on some of the potential pre-RNA nucleobases of interest, together with some of their isomers and/or deamination products, also presumably formed in these complex reactions. The results show that the alkaline hydrothermal scenarios with a relatively constant pH are good geological scenarios for the generation of noncanonical nucleobases using cyanide as a prebiotic precursor.
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6
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Alenaizan A. Structural Analysis of the Poly(thymidine)-Melamine Assembly. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:6948-6954. [PMID: 36027577 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c04665] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Hydrogen bonding between the DNA nucleobases and small organic molecules, such as melamine, is a new strategy for the design of novel DNA materials. Poly(thymidine) DNA and melamine self-assemble into a duplex structure containing two antiparallel DNA strands hydrogen bonded to central melamine units. In this Article, molecular dynamics simulations rationalize the observed antiparallel duplex structure. Alternative duplex and triplex structures with parallel and antiparallel strand orientations are shown to be unstable because of the increase in unfavorable interactions between the DNA backbones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asem Alenaizan
- Chemistry Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia 31261
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7
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Krishnamurthy R, Goldman AD, Liberles DA, Rogers KL, Tor Y. Nucleobases in Meteorites to Nucleobases in RNA and DNA? J Mol Evol 2022; 90:328-331. [PMID: 35960316 DOI: 10.1007/s00239-022-10069-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
Nucleic acids likely played a foundational role in the origin of life. However, the prebiotic chemistry of nucleoside and nucleotide synthesis has proved challenging on a number of fronts. The recent discovery of both pyrimidine and purine nucleobases in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites has garnered much attention from both the popular press and the scientific community. Here, we discuss these findings in the context of nucleoside/nucleotide prebiotic chemistry. We consider that the main challenge of prebiotic nucleoside synthesis, that of nucleosidic bond formation, is not addressed by the identification nucleobases in meteorites. We further discuss issues of selection that arise from the observation that such meteorites contain both canonical and non-canonical nucleobases. In sum, we argue that, despite the major analytical achievement of identifying and characterizing nucleobases in meteorites, this observation does little to advance our understanding of the prebiotic chemistry that could have led to the first genetic molecules that gave rise to us.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy
- Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA. .,NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | - Aaron D Goldman
- Department of Biology, Oberlin College and Conservatory, Oberlin, OH, USA.,Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - David A Liberles
- Department of Biology and Center for Computational Genetics and Genomics, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Karyn L Rogers
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Rensselaer Astrobiology Research and Education Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA
| | - Yitzhak Tor
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
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Abstract
In the mid-twentieth century, multiple Nobel Prizes rewarded discoveries of a seemingly universal set of molecules and interactions that collectively defined the chemical basis for life. Twenty-first-century science knows that every detail of this Central Dogma of Molecular Biology can vary through either biological evolution, human engineering (synthetic biology) or both. Clearly the material, molecular basis of replicating, evolving entities can be different. There is far less clarity yet for what constitutes this set of possibilities. One approach to better understand the limits and scope of moving beyond life's central dogma comes from those who study life's origins. RNA, proteins and the genetic code that binds them each look like products of natural selection. This raises the question of what step(s) preceded these particular components? Answers here will clarify whether any discrete point in time or biochemical evolution will objectively merit the label of life's origin, or whether life unfolds seamlessly from the non-living universe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Freeland
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA
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9
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Kovalenko SP. On the Origin of Genetically Coded Protein Synthesis. RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF BIOORGANIC CHEMISTRY 2021. [DOI: 10.1134/s1068162021060121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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10
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Lachance-Brais C, Hennecker CD, Alenaizan A, Luo X, Toader V, Taing M, Sherrill CD, Mittermaier AK, Sleiman HF. Tuning DNA Supramolecular Polymers by the Addition of Small, Functionalized Nucleobase Mimics. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:19824-19833. [PMID: 34783562 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c08972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Nucleobase mimicking small molecules able to reconfigure DNA are a recently discovered strategy that promises to extend the structural and functional diversity of nucleic acids. However, only simple, unfunctionalized molecules such as cyanuric acid and melamine have so far been used in this approach. In this work, we show that the addition of substituted cyanuric acid molecules can successfully program polyadenine strands to assemble into supramolecular fibers. Unlike conventional DNA nanostructure functionalization, which typically end-labels DNA strands, our approach incorporates functional groups into DNA with high density using small molecules and results in new DNA triple helices coated with alkylamine or alcohol units that grow into micrometer-long fibers. We find that small changes in the small molecule functional group can result in large structural and energetic variation in the overall assembly. A combination of circular dichroism, atomic force microscopy, molecular dynamics simulations, and a new thermodynamic method, transient equilibrium mapping, elucidated the molecular factors behind these large changes. In particular, we identify substantial DNA sugar and phosphate group deformations to accommodate a hydrogen bond between the phosphate and the small-molecule functional groups, as well as a critical chain length of the functional group which switches this interaction from intra- to interfiber. These parameters allow the controlled formation of hierarchical, hybrid DNA assemblies simply through the addition and variation of small, functionalized molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christopher D Hennecker
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, QC H3A0B8, Canada
| | - Asem Alenaizan
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
| | - Xin Luo
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, QC H3A0B8, Canada
| | - Violeta Toader
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, QC H3A0B8, Canada
| | - Monica Taing
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, QC H3A0B8, Canada
| | - C David Sherrill
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332-0400, United States
| | - Anthony K Mittermaier
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, QC H3A0B8, Canada
| | - Hanadi F Sleiman
- Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, QC H3A0B8, Canada
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11
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Fialho DM, Karunakaran SC, Greeson KW, Martínez I, Schuster GB, Krishnamurthy R, Hud NV. Depsipeptide Nucleic Acids: Prebiotic Formation, Oligomerization, and Self-Assembly of a New Proto-Nucleic Acid Candidate. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:13525-13537. [PMID: 34398608 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c02287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
The mechanism by which informational polymers first formed on the early earth is currently unknown. The RNA world hypothesis implies that RNA oligomers were produced prebiotically, before the emergence of enzymes, but the demonstration of such a process remains challenging. Alternatively, RNA may have been preceded by an earlier ancestral polymer, or proto-RNA, that had a greater propensity for self-assembly than RNA, with the eventual transition to functionally superior RNA being the result of chemical or biological evolution. We report a new class of nucleic acid analog, depsipeptide nucleic acid (DepsiPNA), which displays several properties that are attractive as a candidate for proto-RNA. The monomers of depsipeptide nucleic acids can form under plausibly prebiotic conditions. These monomers oligomerize spontaneously when dried from aqueous solutions to form nucleobase-functionalized depsipeptides. Once formed, these DepsiPNA oligomers are capable of complementary self-assembly and are resistant to hydrolysis in the assembled state. These results suggest that the initial formation of primitive, self-assembling, informational polymers on the early earth may have been relatively facile if the constraints of an RNA-first scenario are relaxed.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Fialho
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Suneesh C Karunakaran
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Katherine W Greeson
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Isaac Martínez
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Gary B Schuster
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy
- NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.,Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, United States
| | - Nicholas V Hud
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States.,NSF-NASA Center for Chemical Evolution, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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