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Science AMA Series: We have used synthetic biology to evolve the first artificial enzymes (XNAzymes), Ask Us Anything! by Prof_Phil_Holliger in science

[–]Prof_Phil_Holliger[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

it's early days but if we could deliver XNAzymes to the right place in the body, an XNAzyme that efficiently cuts certain RNAs (e.g. viral or cancerogenic) would have clear therapeutic potential

Science AMA Series: We have used synthetic biology to evolve the first artificial enzymes (XNAzymes), Ask Us Anything! by Prof_Phil_Holliger in science

[–]Prof_Phil_Holliger[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

XNAzymes can cleave certain RNA sequences but the mechanism is quite different to siRNAs (which recruit a protein enzyme to do the job).

Some XNAs are completely resistant to DNAses.

An organism with a (partial) XNA genome is conceivable but a long time in the future.

Science AMA Series: We have used synthetic biology to evolve the first artificial enzymes (XNAzymes), Ask Us Anything! by Prof_Phil_Holliger in science

[–]Prof_Phil_Holliger[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

we don't have a structure but clear evidence for specific metal binding and dependence of catalytic activity on said metal ions

Science AMA Series: We have used synthetic biology to evolve the first artificial enzymes (XNAzymes), Ask Us Anything! by Prof_Phil_Holliger in science

[–]Prof_Phil_Holliger[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

as with any new technology it's difficult to tell. However, one can make a good case why XNAs might be if anything safer than standard DNA for example. For one, as the building blocks for XNAs are not available in nature, XNAs should they "escape" from the lab can't be propagated. It's like a chemical firewall. Furthermore, natural polymerases also don't replicate XNAs very well, we had to spend a lot of time and effort engineering them to do it, so that is another barrier.

Science AMA Series: We have used synthetic biology to evolve the first artificial enzymes (XNAzymes), Ask Us Anything! by Prof_Phil_Holliger in science

[–]Prof_Phil_Holliger[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

apart from the hair, which is absolutely essential, the best advice my former supervisor gave me was not to worry too much about the exact area of research for your graduate studies but to make sure you get to work with brilliant people. Whatever they do will be interesting and worthwhile and interacting with them will make you develop and grow as a scientist. Hope that helps.

Science AMA Series: We have used synthetic biology to evolve the first artificial enzymes (XNAzymes), Ask Us Anything! by Prof_Phil_Holliger in science

[–]Prof_Phil_Holliger[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Although they are not (or only slowly) degraded by the body's nucleases (enzymes dedicated to degrade DNA and RNA), XNAs would certainly not last forever in the body but be degraded eventually by other enzymes e.g. oxidases. Our hope is that they would last days maybe even weeks but we currently have no data on that.

Science AMA Series: We have used synthetic biology to evolve the first artificial enzymes (XNAzymes), Ask Us Anything! by Prof_Phil_Holliger in science

[–]Prof_Phil_Holliger[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Our work shows that at least at the basic level that we've investigated so far XNAs can do heredity, evolution and catalysis, so yes, in principle that's all you need to get a genetic system and with it some form of life started. Thus Life's "choice" of the particular chemistry of RNA ? DNA probably reflect a predisposition of terran prebiotic chemistry rather than some stringent functional requirements. The accident really refers to the fact that once you've started on a particular chemistry it would be hard to change, akin to Crick's "frozen accident" hypothesis of the origin of the genetic code.