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Engineered Organism Has New Type of DNA

10/14/2011

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Genetically-altered E. coli learned to use 5-chlorouracil as a substitute for thymine in their DNA over just 1,000 generations
Engineered Organism Has New Type of DNA


A newly-engineered bacterium feature deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) that does not include thymine, one of its four basic building blocks. Rather, the nucleotide was replaced with the synthetic unit 5-chlorouracil (c), which is usually toxic for other organisms. 

The four bases that usually make up DNA are adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T). In an international effort, a team of researchers has demonstrated that it is indeed possible to construct new species of bacteria by engineering the very essence of DNA. 

The nucleic acid plays a tremendous role in all known living organisms. It contains the entire collection of genetic instructions that lifeforms use for their correct development and normal functioning. 


In order to conduct this investigation, researchers had to use a unique technology, that allows them to manipulate the evolution of organisms directly. The target lifeforms are being guided in their evolution inside a highly-controlled environment, where researchers control all environment parameters. 

Experts can only afford to conduct such studies on microorganisms, because the latter produce new generation extremely fast. In the new study, microbial cells were exposed to the toxic 5-chlorouracil at sub-lethal levels for prolonged periods of time.

This allowed the cultures to undergo natural selection, with cells more capable of resisting higher concentrations of the chemical being favored in the process. Immunity to the effects of the toxin was achieved through the creation of genetic variants withing the microorganisms' DNA.

In order to keep the selection pressure constant, researchers constantly increased the concentrations of 5-chlorouracil as mutations occurred. Escherichia coli bacteria were then bred with a genetic modification that rendered them unable to synthesize thymine. 

After about 1000 generations, the E. coli learned to use 5-chlorouracil as a substitute for thymine in their DNA. Genetic analysis of the nucleic acid revealed that extensive mutations had taken place to accommodate the important changes, Daily Galaxy reveals. 

Details of the new work appear in a paper entitled “Chemical Evolution of a Bacterium’s Genome,” which is published in the latest issue of the top journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

The research effort was coordinated by expert Rupert Mutzel, from the Freie Universität Berlin Institut für Biologie and Philippe Marlière, of Heurisko USA Inc.

Researchers from the French Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium were also a part of the investigation. 
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Stem Cells Turned into Memory-Retrieving Neurons

3/6/2011

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A particular class of neurons, that is wiped out during the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, has just been derived from human embryonic stem cells by a team of experts in the United States. 

The discovery is groundbreaking, as it could provide researchers with the necessary tools to address this form of dementia in a new way, possibly through transplants performed early on in the condition.

There are multiple types of neurons in the brain, each of them involved in its own function. The class that was targeted in the study plays a critical role in retrieving memories. 

Due to the new achievement, scientists can now grow these nerve cells inside lab dishes, and analyze them in tightly controlled confines. This could help them determine why the cells die when Alzheimer's sets in, LiveScience reports. 

The research team that made the discovery was led by Christopher Bissonnette, who is based at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago. The team leader explains that growing neurons in the lab also provides a way for researchers to investigate new drugs.

“This would not be a cure for Alzheimer's, [but it will] hopefully reverse the memory deficits and symptoms” this form of dementia triggers, the expert adds. A paper detailing the findings appears in the March 4 issue of the esteemed scientific journal Stem Cells.

Speaking about the possibility of implanting stem cell-derived neurons into the brains of dementia patients, the Northwestern team says that this is definitely a possibility. It might even be easier to do so than use other forms of medication.

“The cells would not be recognized as foreign cells by the patient's immune system, and thus would be less likely to be rejected,” Bissonnette explains. There would be no need for immunosuppressive drugs.

At this point, the research team is trying to determine what is the optimum time for inserting these neurons into the brain. They want to learn whether the cells would simply die off like their predecessors did, or if they will survive.

It is possible that inserting new neurons would only make a difference after other drugs are administered, when the disease is already beginning to take a turn for the better.

At this point, scientists simply don't know all this. Further investigations are required in order to understand all the ramifications of this discovery, the team concludes.

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Artificial Proteins Allow Living Cells to Grow

1/8/2011

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Synthetic proteins will enable researchers to create an artificial genome soon
A group of researchers from the Princeton University announces the development of the first artificial proteins, which have been proven to enable the growth of living cells in lab experiments. The groundbreaking achievement could change the face of medicine, experts believe.

What the scientists did was basically construct a number of genetic sequences that have never been identified as occurring in nature. These sequences were then showed capable of producing substances that enabled the survival of cells as if they were produced naturally.

The investigators were led by Princeton University professor of chemistry Michael Hecht, and they were able to design the artificial proteins – a world first – starting from scratch. They were expressed from artificial genes, the team adds, which is an achievement in itself.

These molecules the researchers created are bound to cause quite a stir in the area of synthetic biology, a developing field of research that holds great promise for advancing medicine and biotechnology.

“What we have here are molecular machines that function quite well within a living organism even though they were designed from scratch and expressed from artificial genes,” explains Hecht. 

“This tells us that the molecular parts kit for life need not be limited to parts – genes and proteins – that already exist in nature,” the team leader adds. This type of thinking is precisely the reason why synthetic biology is getting this much attention lately.

Experts are fascinated by the possibility of designing and fabricating the biological components and systems needed to support life from scratch, as a test of their abilities, and also of their understanding of how these systems interact to underlie life. 

Among the primary objectives in synthetic biology today, experts include the design and construction of an artificial genome that will include unique patterns of chemicals, not found in nature. 

“Our work suggests that the construction of artificial genomes capable of sustaining cell life may be within reach,” Hecht explains, quoted by SpaceRef.

Details of the new synthetic proteins were published online in the January 4 issue of the esteemed journal Public Library of Science ONE, a peer-review scientific magazine.

“What I believe is most intriguing about our work is that the information encoded in these artificial genes is completely novel – it does not come from, nor is it significantly related to, information encoded by natural genes, and yet the end result is a living, functional microbe,” adds Michael Fisher.

“It is perhaps analogous to taking a sentence, coming up with brand new words, testing if any of our new words can take the place of any of the original words in the sentence, and finding that in some cases, the sentence retains virtually the same meaning while incorporating brand new words,” he adds.

The expert is one of the coauthors of the PLoS ONE paper. He got his PhD at Princeton in 2010, and is now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California in Berkeley (UCB). The scientist worked with Hecht on the synthetic proteins. 

The group received funds from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) for the investigation.

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