Phys.org October 4, 2021
The multipart architecture of current DNA-based recording techniques renders them inherently slow and incapable of recording fluctuating signals with subhour frequencies. To address this limitation, a team of researchers in the US (Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, MIT, University of Pennsylvania) developed a simplified system employing a single enzyme, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT), to transduce environmental signals into DNA. TdT adds nucleotides to the 3′-ends of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) in a template-independent manner, selecting bases according to inherent preferences and environmental conditions. By characterizing TdT nucleotide selectivity under different conditions, they showed that TdT can encode various physiologically relevant signals. Considering the average rate of nucleotide incorporation, they showed that the resulting ssDNA functions as a molecular ticker tape. With this method they accurately encoded a temporal record of fluctuations in Co2+ concentration to within 1 min over a 60 min period. This work expands the repertoire of DNA-based recording techniques by developing a novel DNA synthesis-based system that can record temporal environmental signals into DNA with a resolution of minutes…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Graphical abstract. Credit: J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, XXXX, XXX, XXX-XXX, September 30, 2021Â