| SELECTION INVITRO OF SINGLE-STRANDED-DNA MOLECULES THAT FOLD INTO SPECIFIC LIGAND-BINDING STRUCTURES |
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| Author(s): ELLINGTON AD, SZOSTAK JW |
| Source: NATURE Volume: 355 Issue: 6363 Pages: 850-852 Published: FEB 27 1992 |
| Times Cited: 201 References: 12 |
| Abstract: WE have isolated a set of ligand-binding DNA sequences from a large pool of random sequence DNAs by selection and amplification in vitro, using similar methods to those described for the isolation of ligand-binding RNAs 1. The ligand-DNA interactions are both sequence- and ligand-specific, and are dependent on proper folding of the single-stranded DNA. Some ligands led to the isolation of more DNA sequences than RNA sequences, and vice versa. Analysis of individual sequences reveals that ligand binding is DNA-specific; RNAs of identical sequence could not interact with the same ligands. Ligand-binding DNAs might be more suitable than RNAs as potential pharmacological reagents 2-4 because of the greater stability of DNA. The apparent primacy of RNA in the early evolution of life 5-7 may have been due to its availability rather than to its functional superiority. |
| Document Type: Article |
| Language: English |
| Reprint Address: ELLINGTON, AD (reprint author), MASSACHUSETTS GEN HOSP, DEPT MOLEC BIOL, BOSTON, MA 02114 USA |
| Publisher: MACMILLAN MAGAZINES LTD, PORTERS SOUTH, 4 CRINAN ST, LONDON, ENGLAND N1 9XW |
| Subject Category: Multidisciplinary Sciences |
| IDS Number: HF636 |
| ISSN: 0028-0836 |