FFAME.org :: Steven Benner's Publications

Incorporation of Multiple Sequential Pseudothymidines by DNA Polymerases and Their Impact on DNA Duplex Structure
Havemann, SA Hoshika, S Hutter, D Benner, SA
Nuc. Nuc. Nuc. acids 27 (3) 261-278 (2008)
<Abstract>

In this article, we focus on the synthesis of aryl C-glycosides via Heck coupling. It is organized based on the type of structures used in the assembly of the C-glycosides (also called C-nucleosides) with the following subsections: pyrimidine C-nucleosides, purine C-nucleosides, and monocyclic, bicyclic, and tetracyclic C-nucleosides. The reagents and conditions used for conducting the Heck coupling reactions are discussed. The subsequent conversion of the Heck products to the corresponding target molecules and the application of the target molecules are also described.

Synthesis of pyrophosphates for in vitro selection of catalytic RNA molecules
Kim, HJ Kim, MJ Karalkar, N Hutter, D Benner, SA
Nuc. Nuc. Nuc. acids 27 43-56 (2008)

The resurrection of ribonucleases from mammals: from ecology to medicine
Sassi, SO Benner, SA
Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction, ed. David A. Liberles, Oxford University Press 208-224 (2007)

The early days of paleogenetics: connecting molecules to the planet
Benner, SA
Ancestral Sequence Reconstruction, ed. David A. Liberles, Oxford University Press 3-19 (2007)

The evolution of seminal ribonuclease: Pseudogene reactivation or multiple gene inactivation events?
Sassi, SO Braun, EL Benner, SA
Mol. Biol. Evol. 24 (4) 1012-1024 (2007)
<Abstract>

Two approaches, one novel, are applied to analyze the divergent evolution of ruminant seminal ribonucleases (RNases), paralogs of the well-known pancreatic RNases of mammals. Here, the goal was to identify periods of divergence of seminal RNase under functional constraints, periods of divergence as a pseudogene, and periods of divergence driven by positive selection pressures. The classical approach involves the analysis of nonsynonymous to synonymous replacements ratios (omega) for the branches of the seminal RNase evolutionary tree. The novel approach coupled these analyses with the mapping of substitutions on the folded structure of the protein. These analyses suggest that seminal RNase diverged during much of its history after divergence from pancreatic RNase as a functioning protein, followed by homoplastic inactivations to create pseudogenes in multiple ruminant lineages. Further, they are consistent with adaptive evolution only in the most recent episode leading to the gene in modern oxen. These conclusions contrast sharply with the view, cited widely in the literature, that seminal RNase decayed after its formation by gene duplication into an inactive pseudogene, whose lesions were repaired in a reactivation event. Further, the 2 approaches, omega estimation and mapping of replacements on the protein structure, were compared by examining their utility for establishing the functional status of the seminal RNase genes in 2 deer species. Hog and roe deer share common lesions, which strongly suggests that the gene was inactive in their last common ancestor. In this specific example, the crystallographic approach made the correct implication more strongly than the omega approach. Studies of this type should contribute to an integrated framework of tools to assign functional and nonfunctional episodes to recently created gene duplicates and to understand more broadly how gene duplication leads to the emergence of proteins with novel functions.

Nucleoside alpha-thiotriphosphates, polymerases and the exonuclease III analysis of oligonucleotides containing phosphorothioate linkages
Yang, ZY Sismour, AM Benner, SA
Nucl. Acids Res. 35 (9) 3118-3127 (2007)
<Abstract>

The use of DNA polymerases to incorporate phosphorothioate linkages into DNA, and the use of exonuclease III to determine where those linkages have been incorporated, are re- examined in this work. The results presented here show that exonuclease III degrades single- stranded DNA as a substrate and digests through phosphorothioate linkages having one absolute stereochemistry, assigned ( assuming inversion in the polymerase reaction) as S, but not the other absolute stereochemistry. This contrasts with a general view in the literature that exonuclease III favors double-stranded nucleic acid as a substrate and stops completely at phosphorothioate linkages. Furthermore, not all DNA polymerases appear to accept exclusively the ( R) stereoisomer of nucleoside alpha- thiotriphosphates [ and not the ( S) diastereomer], a conclusion inferred two decades ago by examination of five Family- A polymerases and a reverse transcriptase. This suggests that caution is appropriate when extrapolating the detailed behavior of one polymerase from the behaviors of other polymerases. Furthermore, these results provide constraints on how exonuclease III - thiotriphosphate - polymerase combinations can be used to analyze the behavior of the components of a synthetic biology.

Enzymatic incorporation of a third nucleobase pair
Yang, ZY Sismour, AM Sheng, PP Puskar, NL Benner, SA
Nucl. Acids Res. 35 (13) 4238-4249 (2007)
<Abstract>

DNA polymerases are identified that copy a nonstandard nucleotide pair joined by a hydrogen bonding pattern different from the patterns joining the dA:T and dG:dC pairs. 6-Amino-5-nitro3-(l'-p-D-2'-deoxyribofuranosyl)-2(1H)-pyridone (dZ) implements the non-standard 'small' donordonor-acceptor (pyDDA) hydrogen bonding pattern. 2-Amino-8-(1-beta-D-2'-deoxyribofuranosyl)imidazo[1,2-a]-1,3,5-triazin-4 (8H)-one [dP) implements the 'large' acceptor-acceptor-donor (puAAD) pattern. These nucleobases were designed to present electron density to the minor groove, density hypothesized to help determine specificity for polymerases. Consistent with this hypothesis, both dZTP and dPTP are accepted by many polymerases from both Families A and B. Further, the dZ:dP pair participates in PCR reactions catalyzed by Taq, Vent (exo(-)) and Deep Vent (exo-) polymerases, with 94.4%, 97.5% and 97.5%, respectively, retention per round. The dZ:dP pair appears to be lost principally via transition to a dC:dG pair. This is consistent with a mechanistic hypothesis that deprotonated dZ (presenting a pyDAA pattern) complements dG (presenting a puADD pattern), while protonated dC (presenting a pyDDA pattern) complements dP (presenting a puAAD pattern). This hypothesis, grounded in the Watson-Crick model for nucleobase pairing, was confirmed by studies of the pH-dependence of mismatching. The dZ:dP pair and these polymerases, should be useful in dynamic architectures for sequencing, molecular-, systems- and synthetic-biology.

The origin of proteins and nucleic acids
Ricardo, A Benner, SA
Planets and Life: The Emerging Science of Astrobiology, ed. Woodruff T. Sullivan and John A. Baross, Cambridge University Press 154-173 (2007)

Alien biochemistries
Ward, PD Benner, SA
Planets and Life: The Emerging Science of Astrobiology, ed. Woodruff T. Sullivan and John A. Baross, Cambridge University Press 537-544 (2007)

Molecular Paleoscience: Systems Biology from the Past
Benner, SA Sassi, SO Gaucher, EA
Adv. Enzymol. Relat. Areas Mol. Biol. 75 (2006)

Integrating protein structures and precomputed genealogies in the Magnum database: Examples with cellular retinoid binding proteins
Bradley, ME Benner, SA
BMC Bioinformatics 7 89 (2006)
<Abstract>

Background: When accurate models for the divergent evolution of protein sequences are integrated with complementary biological information, such as folded protein structures, analyses of the combined data often lead to new hypotheses about molecular physiology. This represents an excellent example of how bioinformatics can be used to guide experimental research. However, progress in this direction has been slowed by the lack of a publicly available resource suitable for general use. Results: The precomputed Magnum database offers a solution to this problem for ca. 1,800 full-length protein families with at least one crystal structure. The Magnum deliverables include 1) multiple sequence alignments, 2) mapping of alignment sites to crystal structure sites, 3) phylogenetic trees, 4) inferred ancestral sequences at internal tree nodes, and 5) amino acid replacements along tree branches. Comprehensive evaluations revealed that the automated procedures used to construct Magnum produced accurate models of how proteins divergently evolve, or genealogies, and correctly integrated these with the structural data. To demonstrate Magnum's capabilities, we asked for amino acid replacements requiring three nucleotide substitutions, located at internal protein structure sites, and occurring on short phylogenetic tree branches. In the cellular retinoid binding protein family a site that potentially modulates ligand binding affinity was discovered. Recruitment of cellular retinol binding protein to function as a lens crystallin in the diurnal gecko afforded another opportunity to showcase the predictive value of a browsable database containing branch replacement patterns integrated with protein structures. Conclusion: We integrated two areas of protein science, evolution and structure, on a large scale and created a precomputed database, known as Magnum, which is the first freely available resource of its kind. Magnum provides evolutionary and structural bioinformatics resources that are useful for identifying experimentally testable hypotheses about the molecular basis of protein behaviors and functions, as illustrated with the examples from the cellular retinoid binding proteins.

Analysis of transitions at two-fold redundant sites in mammalian genomes. Transition redundant approach-to-equilibrium (TREx) distance metrics
Li, T Chamberlin, SG Caraco, MD Liberles, DA Gaucher, EA Benner, SA
BMC Evol. Biol. 6 25 (2006)
<Abstract>

Background: The exchange of nucleotides at synonymous sites in a gene encoding a protein is believed to have little impact on the fitness of a host organism. This should be especially true for synonymous transitions, where a pyrimidine nucleotide is replaced by another pyrimidine, or a purine is replaced by another purine. This suggests that transition redundant exchange ( TREx) processes at the third position of conserved two-fold codon systems might offer the best approximation for a neutral molecular clock, serving to examine, within coding regions, theories that require neutrality, determine whether transition rate constants differ within genes in a single lineage, and correlate dates of events recorded in genomes with dates in the geological and paleontological records. To date, TREx analysis of the yeast genome has recognized correlated duplications that established a new metabolic strategies in fungi, and supported analyses of functional change in aromatases in pigs. TREx dating has limitations, however. Multiple transitions at synonymous sites may cause equilibration and loss of information. Further, to be useful to correlate events in the genomic record, different genes within a genome must suffer transitions at similar rates. Results: A formalism to analyze divergence at two fold redundant codon systems is presented. This formalism exploits two-state approach-to-equilibrium kinetics from chemistry. This formalism captures, in a single equation, the possibility of multiple substitutions at individual sites, avoiding any need to "correct" for these. The formalism also connects specific rate constants for transitions to specific approximations in an underlying evolutionary model, including assumptions that transition rate constants are invariant at different sites, in different genes, in different lineages, and at different times. Therefore, the formalism supports analyses that evaluate these approximations. Transitions at synonymous sites within two-fold redundant coding systems were examined in the mouse, rat, and human genomes. The key metric (f(2)), the fraction of those sites that holds the same nucleotide, was measured for putative ortholog pairs. A transition redundant exchange ( TREx) distance was calculated from f(2) for these pairs. Pyrimidine-pyrimidine transitions at these sites occur approximately 14% faster than purine-purine transitions in various lineages. Transition rate constants were similar in different genes within the same lineages; within a set of orthologs, the f(2) distribution is only modest overdispersed. No correlation between disparity and overdispersion is observed. In rodents, evidence was found for greater conservation of TREx sites in genes on the X chromosome, accounting for a small part of the overdispersion, however. Conclusion: The TREx metric is useful to analyze the history of transition rate constants within these mammals over the past 100 million years. The TREx metric estimates the extent to which silent nucleotide substitutions accumulate in different genes, on different chromosomes, with different compositions, in different lineages, and at different times.

Application of DETECTER, an Evolutionary Genomic Tool to Analyze Genetic Variation, to the Cystic Fibrosis Gene Family
Gaucher, EA DeKee, DW Benner, SA
BMC Genomics 7 44 (2006)
<Abstract>

Background: The medical community requires computational tools that distinguish genetic differences having phenotypic impact within the vast number of mutations that do not. Tools that do this will become increasingly important for those seeking to use human genome sequence data to predict disease, make prognoses, and customize therapy to individual patients.
Results: An approach, termed DETECTER, is proposed to identify sites in a protein sequence where amino acid replacements are likely to have a significant effect on phenotype, including causing genetic disease. This approach uses a model-dependent tool to estimate the normalized replacement rate at individual sites in a protein sequence, based on a history of those sites extracted from an evolutionary analysis of the corresponding protein family. This tool identifies sites that have higher-than-average, average, or lower- than-average rates of change in the lineage leading to the sequence in the population of interest. The rates are then combined with sequence data to determine the likelihoods that particular amino acids were present at individual sites in the evolutionary history of the gene family. These likelihoods are used to predict whether any specific amino acid replacements, if introduced at the site in a modern human population, would have a significant impact on fitness. The DETECTER tool is used to analyze the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene family.
Conclusions: In this system, DETECTER retrodicts amino acid replacements associated with the cystic fibrosis disease with greater accuracy than alternative approaches. While this result validates this approach for this particular family of proteins only, the approach may be applicable to the analysis of polymorphisms generally, including SNPs in a human population.

2-Hydroxymethylboronate as a Reagent To Detect Carbohydrates: Application to the Analysis of the Formose Reaction
Ricardo, A Frye, F Carrigan, MA Tipton, JD Powell, DH Benner, SA
J. Org. Chem. 71 (25) 9503-9505 (2006)
<Abstract>

2-Hydroxymethylphenylboronate is described as a reagent that converts neutral 1,2-diols, as found in simple carbohydrates, into 1:1 anionic complexes that are easily detected by Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. The value of this reagent was demonstrated through its application to analyze complex mixtures of carbohydrates formed in the formose process, often cited as a way that biologically significant carbohydrates might have been generated from formaldehyde under prebiotic conditions. Coupled with isotope studies, the reagent shows that the simplest autocatalytic cycle for the consumption of formaldehyde in this process cannot account for the bulk consumption of formaldehyde.

Dynamic assembly of primers on nucleic acid templates
Leal, NA Sukeda, M Benner, SA
Nucl. Acids Res. 34 4702-4710 (2006)
<Abstract>

A strategy is presented that uses dynamic equlibria to assemble in situ composite DNA polymerase primers, having lengths of 14 or 16 nt, from DNA fragments that are 6 or 8 nt in length. In this implementation, the fragments are transiently joined under conditions of dynamic equilibrium by an imine linker, which has a dissociation constant of 1 µM. If a polymerase is able to extend the composite, but not the fragments, it is possible to prime the synthesis of a target DNA molecule under conditions where two useful specificities are combined: (i) single nucleotide discrimination that is characteristic of short oligonucleotide duplexes (four to six nucleobase pairs in length), which effectively excludes single mismatches, and (ii) an overall specificity of priming that is characteristic of long (14 to 16mers) oligonucleotides, potentially unique within a genome. We report here the screening of a series of polymerases that combine an ability not to accept short primer fragments with an ability to accept the long composite primer held together by an unnatural imine linkage. Several polymerases were found that achieve this combination, permitting the implementation of the dynamic combinatorial chemical strategy.

Artificially expanded genetic information system: a new base pair with an alternative hydrogen bonding pattern
Yang, ZY Hutter, D Sheng, PP Sismour, AM Benner, SA
Nucl. Acids Res. 34 (21) 6095-6101 (2006)
<Abstract>

To support efforts to develop a 'synthetic biology' based on an artificially expanded genetic information system (AEGIS), we have developed a route to two components of a non-standard nucleobase pair, the pyrimidine analog 6-amino-5-nitro-3-(1'-beta-D-2'-deoxyribofuranosyl)-2(1H)-pyridone (dZ) and its Watson-Crick complement, the purine analog 2-amino-8-(1'-beta-D-2'-deoxyribofuranosyl)-imidazo[1,2-a]-1,3,5-triazin -4(8H)-one (dP). These implement the pyDDA:puAAD hydrogen bonding pattern (where 'py' indicates a pyrimidine analog and 'pu' indicates a purine analog, while A and D indicate the hydrogen bonding patterns of acceptor and donor groups presented to the complementary nucleobases, from the major to the minor groove). Also described is the synthesis of the triphosphates and protected phosphoramidites of these two nucleosides. We also describe the use of the protected phosphoramidites to synthesize DNA oligonucleotides containing these AEGIS components, verify the absence of epimerization of dZ in those oligonucleotides, and report some hybridization properties of the dZ:dP nucleobase pair, which is rather strong, and the ability of each to effectively discriminate against mismatches in short duplex DNA.

A review: Synthesis of aryl C-glycosides via the heck coupling reaction
Wellington, KW Benner, SA
Nuc. Nuc. Nuc. acids 25 (12) 1309-1333 (2006)
<Abstract>

In this article, we focus on the synthesis of aryl C-glycosides via Heck coupling. It is organized based on the type of structures used in the assembly of the C-glycosides (also called C-nucleosides) with the following subsections: pyrimidine C-nucleosides, purine C-nucleosides, and monocyclic, bicyclic, and tetracyclic C-nucleosides. The reagents and conditions used for conducting the Heck coupling reactions are discussed. The subsequent conversion of the Heck products to the corresponding target molecules and the application of the target molecules are also described.

Desorption/ionization on porous silicon mass spectrometry studies on pentose-borate complexes
Li, Q Ricardo, A Benner, SA Winefordner, JD Powell, DH
Anal. Chem. 77 (14) 4503-4508 (2005)
<Abstract>

Desorption/ionization on porous silicon mass spectrometry (DIOS-MS) was used to investigate the binding affinities between aldopentose isomers and boron. Boron has been recognized for its importance in pentose synthesis and stabilization in prebiotic conditions. Boron may also account for the fact that ribose, among other aldopentoses, is the favored building block in RNA synthesis. This research started with the detection of aldopentoses in the positive mode through cationization and the aldopentose-borate complexes in the negative mode. Then two competition schemes, one using a pentose structure analogue and the other using C-13-labeled ribose, were designed to compare the relative binding affinities of four aldopentoses (xylose, lyxose, arabinose, and ribose) to boron. Both approaches determined the binding preference to be ribose > lyxose > arabinose > xylose. This work illustrates the potential of DIOS-MS in the analyses of nonvolatile, small molecules in delicate chemical equilibria. Without externally introduced matrices, background signals are not a limiting factor. Furthermore, the possible dramatic change of pH associated with the matrix introduction, which may disturb the equilibria of interest, is avoided.

Phylogenomic approaches to common problems encountered in the analysis of low copy repeats: The sulfotransferase IA gene family example
Bradley, ME Benner, SA
BMC Evol. Biol. 5 22 (2005)
<Abstract>

Background: Blocks of duplicated genomic DNA sequence longer than 1000 base pairs are known as low copy repeats (LCRs). Identified by their sequence similarity, LCRs are abundant in the human genome, and are interesting because they may represent recent adaptive events, or potential future adaptive opportunities within the human lineage. Sequence analysis tools are needed, however, to decide whether these interpretations are likely, whether a particular set of LCRs represents nearly neutral drift creating junk DNA, or whether the appearance of LCRs reflects assembly error. Here we investigate an LCR family containing the sulfotransferase (SULT) IA genes involved in drug metabolism, cancer, hormone regulation, and neurotransmitter biology as a first step for defining the problems that those tools must manage. Results: Sequence analysis here identified a fourth sulfotransferase gene, which may be transcriptionally active, located on human chromosome 16. Four regions of genomic sequence containing the four human SULTIA paralogs defined a new LCR family. The stem hominoid SULTIA progenitor locus was identified by comparative genomics involving complete human and rodent genomes, and a draft chimpanzee genome. SULTIA expansion in hominoid genomes was followed by positive selection acting on specific protein sites. This episode of adaptive evolution appears to be responsible for the dopamine sulfonation function of some SULT enzymes. Each of the conclusions that this bioinformatic analysis generated using data that has uncertain reliability (such as that from the chimpanzee genome sequencing project) has been confirmed experimentally or by a "finished" chromosome 16 assembly, both of which were published after the submission of this manuscript. Conclusion: SULTIA genes expanded from one to four copies in hominoids during intra-chromosomal LCR duplications, including (apparently) one after the divergence of chimpanzees and humans. Thus, LCRs may provide a means for amplifying genes (and other genetic elements) that are adaptively useful. Being located on and among LCRs, however, could make the human SULTIA genes susceptible to further duplications or deletions resulting in 'genomic diseases' for some individuals. Pharmacogenomic studies of SULTIAsingle nucleotide polymorphisms, therefore, should also consider examining SULTIA copy number variability when searching for genotype-phenotype associations. The latest duplication is, however, only a substantiated hypothesis; an alternative explanation, disfavored by the majority of evidence, is that the duplication is an artifact of incorrect genome assembly.

Synthetic biology
Sismour, AM Benner, SA
Expert Opin. Biol. Ther. 5 (11) 1409-1414 (2005)
<Abstract>

Chemistry is a broadly powerful discipline in contemporary science because it has the ability to create new forms of the matter that it studies. By doing so, chemistry can test models that connect molecular structure to behaviour without having to rely on what nature has provided. This creation, known as synthesis', began to be applied to living systems in the 1980s as recombinant DNA technologies allowed biologists to deliberately change the molecular structure of the microbes that they studied, and automated chemical synthesis of DNA became widely available to support these activities. The impact of the information that has emerged has made biologists aware of a truism that has long been known in chemistry: synthesis drives discovery and understanding in ways that analysis cannot. Synthetic biology is now setting an ambitious goal: to recreate in artificial systems the emergent properties found in natural biology. By doing so, it is advancing our understanding of the molecular basis of genetics in ways that analysis alone cannot. More practically, it has yielded artificial genetic systems that improve the healthcare of some 400,000 Americans annually. Synthetic biology is now set to take the next step, to create artificial Darwinian systems by direct construction. Supported by the National Science Foundation as part of its Chemical Bonding program, this work cannot help but generate clarity in our understanding of how biological systems work.

Planetary systems biology
Benner, SA Ricardo, A
Mol. Cell 17 (4) 471-472 (2005)
<Abstract>

Combining paleogenetics, protein engineering, synthetic biology, and metabolic modeling, a planetary biology perspective is brought to bear on adaptive evolutionary events in ancient bacteria.

The use of thymidine analogs to improve the replication of an extra DNA base pair: a synthetic biological system
Sismour, AM Benner, SA
Nucl. Acids Res. 33 5640-5646 (2005)
<Abstract>

Synthetic biology based on a six-letter genetic alphabet that includes the two non-standard nucleobases isoguanine (isoG) and isocytosine (isoC), as well as the standard A, T, G and C, is known to suffer as a consequence of a minor tautomeric form of isoguanine that pairs with thymine, and therefore leads to infidelity during repeated cycles of the PCR. Reported here is a solution to this problem. The solution replaces thymidine triphosphate by 2-thiothymidine triphosphate (2-thioTTP). Because of the bulk and hydrogen bonding properties of the thione unit in 2-thioT, 2-thioT does not mispair effectively with the minor tautomer of isoG. To test whether this might allow PCR amplification of a six-letter artificially expanded genetic information system, we examined the relative rates of misincorporation of 2-thioTTP and TTP opposite isoG using affinity electrophoresis. The concentrations of isoCTP and 2-thioTTP were optimal to best support PCR amplification using thermostable polymerases of a six-letter alphabet that includes the isoC-isoG pair. The fidelity-per-round of amplification was found to be approximately 98% in trial PCRs with this six-letter DNA alphabet. The analogous PCR employing TTP had a fidelity-per-round of only approximately 93%. Thus, the A, 2-thioT, G, C, isoC, isoG alphabet is an artificial genetic system capable of Darwinian evolution.

Resurrecting ancestral alcohol dehydrogenases from yeast
Thomson, JM Gaucher, EA Burgan, MF De Kee, DW Li, T Aris, JP Benner, SA
Nature Genet. 37 (6) 630-635 (2005)
<Abstract>

Modern yeast living in fleshy fruits rapidly convert sugars into bult ethanol through pyruvate. Pyruvate loses carbon dioxide to become acetaldehyde, which is reduced by alcohol dehydrogenase 1 (Adh1) to ethanol, which accumulates. Yeast later consumes the accumulated ethanol, exploiting Adh2, an Adh1 homolog differing by 24 (of 348) amino acids. Because many microorganisms cannot grow in ethanol, accumulated ethanol may help yeast defend resources in the fruit. We report here the reconstruction of the last common ancestor of Adh1 and Adh2, called AdhA. The kinetic behavior of AdhA suggests that it was optimized to make (not consume) ethanol. This is consistent with the hypothesis that before the Adh1-Adh2 duplication, yeast did not accumulate ethanol for later consumption but rather used AdhA to recycle NADH generated in the glycolytic pathway. Silent nucleotide dating suggests that the Adh1-Adh2 duplication occurred near the time of duplication of several other proteins involved in the accumulation of ethanol, possibly in the Cretaceous age when fleshy fruits arose. These results help to connect the chemical behavior of these enzymes through systems analysis to a time of global ecosystem change, a small but useful step towards a planetary systems biology.

Synthetic Biology
Sismour, AM Benner, SA
Nat. Rev. Genet. 6 533-543 (2005)
<Abstract>

Synthetic biologists come in two broad classes. One uses unnatural molecules to reproduce emergent behaviours from natural biology, with the goal of creating artificial life. The other seeks interchangeable parts from natural biology to assemble into systems that function unnaturally. Either way, a synthetic goal forces scientists to cross uncharted ground to encounter and solve problems that are not easily encountered through analysis. This drives the emergence of new paradigms in ways that analysis cannot easily do. Synthetic biology has generated diagnostic tools that improve the care of patients with infectious diseases, as well as devices that oscillate, creep and play tic-tac-toe.

Understanding nucleic acids using synthetic chemistry
Benner, SA
Acc. Chem. Res. 37 (10) 784-797 (2004)
<Abstract>

This Account describes work done in these laboratories that has used synthetic, physical organic, and biological chemistry to understand the roles played by the nucleobases, sugars, and phosphates of DNA in the molecular recognition processes central to genetics. The number of nucleobases has been increased from 4 to 12, generating an artificially expanded genetic information system. This system is used today in the clinic to monitor the levels of HIV and hepatitis C viruses in patients, helping to manage patient care. Work with uncharged phosphate replacements suggests that a repeating charge is a universal feature of genetic molecules operating in water and will be found in extraterrestrial life (if it is ever encountered). The use of ribose may reflect prebiotic processes in the presence of borate-containing minerals, which stabilize ribose formed from simple organic precursors. A new field, synthetic biology, is emerging on the basis of these experiments, where chemistry mimics biological processes as complicated as Darwinian evolution.

Quantitative analysis of a RNA-cleaving DNA catalyst obtained via in vitro selection
Carrigan, MA Ricardo, A Ang, DN Benner, SA
Biochemistry 43 (36) 11446-11459 (2004)
<Abstract>

In vitro selections performed in the presence of Mg2+ generated DNA sequences capable of cleaving an internal ribonucleoside linkage. Several of these, surprisingly, displayed intermolecular catalysis and catalysis independent of Mg2+, features that the selection protocol was not explicitly designed to select. A detailed physical organic analysis was applied to one of these DNAzymes, termed 614. First, the progress curve for the reaction was dissected to identify factors that prevented the molecule from displaying clean first-order transformation kinetics and 100% conversion. Several factors were identified and quantitated, including (a) competitive intra- and intermolecular rate processes, (b) alternative reactive and unreactive conformations, and (c) mutations within the catalyst. Other factors were excluded, including "approach to equilibrium" kinetics and product inhibition. The possibility of complementary strand inhibition was demonstrated but was shown to not be a factor under the conditions of these experiments. The rates of the intra- and intermolecular processes were compared, and saturation models for the intermolecular process were built. The rate-limiting step for the intermolecular reaction was found to be the association/ folding of the enzyme with the substrate and not the cleavage step. The DNAzyme 614 is more active in trans than in cis and more active at temperatures below the selection temperature than at the selection temperature. Many of these properties have not been reported in similar systems; these results therefore expand the phenomenology known for this class of DNA-based catalysts. A brief survey of other catalysts arising from this selection found other Mg2+-independent DNAzymes and provided a preliminary view of the ruggedness of the landscape, relating function to structure in sequence space. Hypotheses are suggested to account for the fact that a selection in the presence of Mg2+ did not exploit this Mg2+. This study of a specific catalytically active DNAzyme is an example of studies that will be necessary generally to permit in vitro selection to help us understand the distribution of function in sequence space.

The planetary biology of cytochrome P450 aromatases
Gaucher, EA Graddy, LG Li, T Simmen, RC Simmen, FA Schreiber, DR Liberles, DA Janis, CM Benner, SA
BMC Biology 2 (1) 19 (2004)
<Abstract>

BACKGROUND: Joining a model for the molecular evolution of a protein family to the paleontological and geological records (geobiology), and then to the chemical structures of substrates, products, and protein folds, is emerging as a broad strategy for generating hypotheses concerning function in a post-genomic world. This strategy expands systems biology to a planetary context, necessary for a notion of fitness to underlie (as it must) any discussion of function within a biomolecular system.
RESULTS: Here, we report an example of such an expansion, where tools from planetary biology were used to analyze three genes from the pig Sus scrofa that encode cytochrome P450 aromatases-enzymes that convert androgens into estrogens. The evolutionary history of the vertebrate aromatase gene family was reconstructed. Transition redundant exchange silent substitution metrics were used to interpolate dates for the divergence of family members, the paleontological record was consulted to identify changes in physiology that correlated in time with the change in molecular behavior, and new aromatase sequences from peccary were obtained. Metrics that detect changing function in proteins were then applied, including KA/KS values and those that exploit structural biology. These identified specific amino acid replacements that were associated with changing substrate and product specificity during the time of presumed adaptive change. The combined analysis suggests that aromatase paralogs arose in pigs as a result of selection for Suoidea with larger litters than their ancestors, and permitted the Suoidea to survive the global climatic trauma that began in the Eocene.
CONCLUSIONS: This combination of bioinformatics analysis, molecular evolution, paleontology, cladistics, global climatology, structural biology, and organic chemistry serves as a paradigm in planetary biology. As the geological, paleontological, and genomic records improve, this approach should become widely useful to make systems biology statements about high-level function for biomolecular systems.

Multiplexed genetic analysis using an expanded genetic alphabet
Johnson, SC Marshall, DJ Harms, G Miller, CM Sherrill, CB Beaty, EL Lederer, SA Roesch, EB Madsen, G Hoffman, GL Laessig, RH Kopish, GJ Baker, MW Benner, SA Farrell, PM Prudent, JR
Clin. Chem. 50 (11) 2019-2027 (2004)
<Abstract>

Background: All states require some kind of testing for newborns, but the policies are far from standardized. In some states, newborn screening may include genetic tests for a wide range of targets, but the costs and complexities of the newer genetic tests inhibit expansion of newborn screening. We describe the development and technical evaluation of a multiplex platform that may foster increased newborn genetic screening. Methods: MultiCode(R) PLx involves three major steps: PCR, target-specific extension, and liquid chip decoding. Each step is performed in the same reaction vessel, and the test is completed in similar to3 h. For site-specific labeling and room-temperature decoding, we use an additional base pair constructed from isoguanosine and isocytidine. We used the method to test for mutations within the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene. The developed test was performed manually and by automated liquid handling. Initially, 225 samples with a range of genotypes were tested retrospectively with the method. A prospective study used samples from >400 newborns. Results: In the retrospective study, 99.1% of samples were correctly genotyped with no incorrect calls made. In the perspective study, 95% of the samples were correctly genotyped for all targets, and there were no incorrect calls. Conclusions: The unique genetic multiplexing platform was successfully able to test for 31 targets within the CFTR gene and provides accurate genotype assignments in a clinical setting. (C) 2004 American Association for Clinical Chemistry.

Is there a common chemical model for life in the universe?
Benner, SA Ricardo, A Carrigan, MA
Curr. Op. Chem Biol. 8 (6) 672-689 (2004)
<Abstract>

A review of organic chemistry suggests that life, a chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution, may exist in a wide range of environments. These include non-aqueous solvent systems at low temperatures, or even supercritical dihydrogen-helium mixtures. The only absolute requirements may be a thermodynamic disequilibrium and temperatures consistent with chemical bonding. A solvent system, availability of elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, certain thermodynamic features of metabolic pathways, and the opportunity for isolation, may also define habitable environments. If we constrain life to water, more specific criteria can be proposed, including soluble metabolites, genetic materials with repeating charges, and a well defined temperature range.

Expanding the genetic alphabet: Pyrazine nucleosides that support a donor-donor-acceptor hydrogen-bonding pattern
von Krosigk, U Benner, SA
Helv. Chim. Acta 87 (6) 1299-1324 (2004)
<Abstract>

The 6-aminopyrazin-2(1H)-one, when incorporated as a pyrimidine-base analog into an oligonucleotide chain, presents a H-bond donor- donor- acceptor pattern to a complementary DNA or RNA strand. When paired with the corresponding acceptor-acceptor-donor purine in oligonucleotides, the heterocycle selectively contributes to the stability of the duplex, presumably by forming a base pair of Watson-Crick geometry joined by a nonstandard H-bonding pattern, expanding the genetic alphabet. Reported here is a short, high yielding, beta-D-selective synthesis of a 6-aminopyrazin-2(l H) -one nucleoside via the glycine riboside derivative 28. The key steps include a Wittig-Horner reaction of an appropriately protected ribose derivative (Scheme 10, 19 --> 21) followed by a Michael-like ring closure (Scheme 12, 30 --> la and 32 --> 1b). Thus, a variety of pyrazine nucleosides (Scheme 73) including the target 6-aminopyrazin-2(1H)-one riboside la, and its 5-methyl derivative 1b, 6-amino-5-methylpyrazin-2(1H)-one riboside, are obtained.

Empirical analysis of protein insertions and deletions determining parameters for the correct placement of gaps in protein sequence alignments
Chang, MSS Benner, SA
J. Mol. Biol. 341 (2) 617-631 (2004)
<Abstract>

To understand how protein segments are inserted and deleted during divergent evolution, a set of pairwise alignments contained exactly one gap, and therefore arising from the first insertion-deletion (indel) event in the time separating the homologs, was examined. The alignments showed that "structure breaking" amino acids (PGDNS) were preferred within and flanking gapped regions, as are two residues with hydrophilic side-chains (QE) that frequently occur at the surface of protein folds. Conversely, hydrophobic residues (FMILYVW) occur infrequently within and flanking the gapped region. These preferences are modestly different in protein pairs separated by an episode of adaptive evolution, than in pairs diverging under strong functional constraints. Surprisingly, regions near an indel have not evolved more rapidly than the sequence pair overall, showing no evidence that an indel event must be compensated by local amino acid replacement. The gap-lengths are best approximated by a Zipfian distribution, with the probability of a gap of length L decreasing as a function of L-1.8. These features are largely independent of the length of the gap and the extent of divergence (measured by both silent and non-silent sequence changes) separating the two proteins. Surprisingly, amino acid repeats were discovered in more than a third of the polypeptide segments in and around the gap. These correspond to repeats in the DNA sequence. This suggests that a signature of the mechanism by which indels occur in the DNA sequence remains in the encoded protein sequences. These data suggest specific tools to score gap placement in an alignment. They also suggest tools that distinguish true indels from gaps created by mistaken gene finding, including under-predicted and overpredicted introns. By providing mechanisms to identify errors, the tools will enhance the value of genome sequence databases in support of integrated paleogenomics strategies used to extract functional information in a post-genomic environment.

Artificial genetic systems: Exploiting the "aromaticity" formalism to improve the tautomeric ratio for isoguanosine derivatives
Martinot, TA Benner, SA
J. Org. Chem. 69 (11) 3972-3975 (2004)
<Abstract>

The tautomerism of 2'-deoxy-7-deaza-isoguanosine (2) was studied and compared to that of 2'-deoxyisoguanosine (1). The fixed N-1-methyl (8) and O-methyl (4) derivatives were synthesized to represent the pure extremes of each tautomer. The replacement of the imidazole ring in 1 with a pyrrole ring in 2 makes the keto form in the latter more favored by 2 orders of magnitude (K-TAUT for 2 approximate to 10(3), as opposed to K-TAUT for 1 approximate to 10).

Probing minor groove recognition contacts by DNA polymerases and reverse transcriptases using 3-deaza-2 '-deoxyadenosine
Hendrickson, CL Devine, KG Benner, SA
Nucl. Acids Res. 32 (7) 2241-2250 (2004)
<Abstract>

Standard nucleobases all present electron density as an unshared pair of electrons to the minor groove of the double helix. Many heterocycles supporting artificial genetic systems lack this electron pair. To determine how different DNA polymerases use the pair as a substrate specificity determinant, three Family A polymerases, three Family B polymerases and three reverse transcriptases were examined for their ability to handle 3-deaza-2'-deoxyadenosine (c(3)dA), an analog of 2'-deoxyadenosine lacking the minor groove electron pair. Different polymerases differed widely in their interaction with c(3)dA. Most notably, Family A and Family B polymerases differed in their use of this interaction to exploit their exonuclease activities. Significant differences were also found within polymerase families. This plasticity in polymerase behavior is encouraging to those wishing to develop a synthetic biology based on artificial genetic systems. The differences also suggest either that Family A and Family B polymerases do not share a common ancestor, that minor groove contact was not used by that ancestor functionally or that this contact was not sufficiently critical to fitness to have been conserved as the polymerase families diverged. Each interpretation is significant for understanding the planetary biology of polymerases.

PCR amplification of DNA containing non-standard base pairs by variants of reverse transcriptase from Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1
Sismour, AM Lutz, S Park, JH Lutz, MJ Boyer, PL Hughes, SH Benner, SA
Nucl. Acids Res. 32 728-735 (2004)
<Abstract>

As the next step towards generating a synthetic biology from artificial genetic information systems, we have examined variants of HIV reverse transcriptase (RT) for their ability to synthesize duplex DNA incorporating the non-standard base pair between 2,4-diaminopyrimidine (pyDAD), a pyrimidine presenting a hydrogen bond 'donor-acceptor-donor' pattern to the complementary base, and xanthine (puADA), a purine presenting a hydrogen bond 'acceptor-donor-acceptor' pattern. This base pair fits the Watson-Crick geometry, but is joined by a pattern of hydrogen bond donor and acceptor groups different from those joining the GC and AT pairs. A variant of HIV-RT where Tyr 188 is replaced by Leu, has emerged from experiments where HIV was challenged to grow in the presence of drugs targeted against the RT, such as L-697639, TIBO and nevirapine. These drugs bind at a site near, but not in, the active site. This variant accepts the pyDAD-puADA base pair significantly better than wild type HIV-RT, and we used this as a starting point. A second mutation, E478Q, was introduced into the Y188L variant, in the event that the residual nuclease activity observed is due to the RT, and not a contaminant. The doubly mutated RT incorporated the non-standard pair with sufficient fidelity that the variant could be used to amplify oligonucleotides containing pyDAD and puADA through several rounds of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) without losing the non-standard base pair. This is the first time where DNA containing non-standard base pairs with alternative hydrogen bonding patterns has been amplified by a full PCR. This work also illustrates a research strategy that combines in clinico pre-evolution of proteins followed by rational design to obtain an enzyme that meets a particular technological specification.

2 '-deoxycytidines carrying amino and thiol functionality: Synthesis and incorporation by vent (exo(-)) polymerase
Roychowdhury, A Illangkoon, H Hendrickson, CL Benner, SA
Org. Lett. 6 (4) 489-492 (2004)
<Abstract>

The synthesis of 2'-deoxycytidine nucleosides bearing amino and thiol groups appended to the 5-position of the nucleobase via a butynyl linker is described. The corresponding triphosphates were then synthesized from the nucleoside and incorporated into oligonucleotides by Vent (exo(-)) DNA polymerase. The ability of Vent (exo(-)) polymerase to amplify oligonucleotides containing these functionalized cytidine derivatives in a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was demonstrated for the amino-functionalized derivative.

Borate minerals stabilize ribose
Ricardo, A Carrigan, MA Olcott, AN Benner, SA
Science 303 (5655) 196-196 (2004)

Redesigning genetics
Benner, SA
Science 306 (5296) 625-626 (2004)

Interpretive proteomics - finding biological meaning in genome and proteome databases
Benner, SA
Adv. Enz. Reg. 43 (12) 271-359 (2003)

The NASA astrobiology roadmap
Marais, DJD Allamandola, LJ Benner, SA Boss, AP Deamer, D Falkowski, PG Farmer, JD Hedges, SB Jakosky, BM Knoll, AH Liskowsky, DR Meadows, VS Meyer, MA Pilcher, CB Nealson, KH Spormann, AM Trent, JD Turner, WW Woolf, NJ Yorke, HW
Astrobiology 3 (2) 219-235 (2003)
<Abstract>

The NASA Astrobiology Roadmap provides guidance for research and technology development across the NASA enterprises that encompass the space, Earth, and biological sciences. The ongoing development of astrobiology roadmaps embodies the contributions of diverse scientists and technologists from government, universities, and private institutions. The Roadmap addresses three basic questions: How does life begin and evolve, does life exist elsewhere in the universe, and what is the future of life on Earth and beyond? Seven Science Goals outline the following key domains of investigation: understanding the nature and distribution of habitable environments in the universe, exploring for habitable environments and life in our own solar system, understanding the emergence of life, determining how early life on Earth interacted and evolved with its changing environment, understanding the evolutionary mechanisms and environmental limits of life, determining the principles that will shape life in the future, and recognizing signatures of life on other worlds and on early Earth. For each of these goals, Science Objectives outline more specific high-priority efforts for the next 3-5 years. These 18 objectives are being integrated with NASA strategic planning.

First PCR amplification of DNA containing a nonstandard base pair A.
Lutz, S Park, JH Benner, SA
Biochemistry 42 (28) 8598-8598 (2003)

Evolutionary, structural and biochemical evidence for a new interaction site of the leptin obesity protein
Gaucher, EA Miyamoto, MM Benner, SA
Genetics 163 (4) 1549-1553 (2003)
<Abstract>

The Leptin protein is central to the regulation of energy metabolism in mammals. By integrating evolutionary, structural, and biochemical information, a surface segment, outside of its known receptor contacts, is predicted as a second interaction site that may help to further define its roles in energy balance and its functional differences between humans and other mammals.

A direct synthesis of nucleoside analogs homologated at the 3 '- and 5 '-positions
Schmidt, J Eschgfaller, B Benner, SA
Helv. Chim. Acta 86 (9) 2937-2958 (2003)
<Abstract>

A new route is presented to prepare analogs of nucleosides homologated at the 3'- and 5'-positions. This route, applicable to both the D- and L-enantiomeric forms, is suitable for the preparation of monomeric bis-homonucleosides needed for the synthesis of oligonucleotide analogs. It begins with the known monobenzyl ether 3 of pent-2-yne-1,5-diol, which is reduced to alkenol 4. Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation of 4, followed by opening of the epoxide 5 with allylmagnesium bromide, gives a mixture of diols 6 and 7 Protection of the primary alcohol as a silyl ether followed by treatment with OsO4, NalO(4), and mild acid in MeOH, followed by reduction, yields (2R,3R) {{[(tert-butyl)diphenylsilyl]oxy}methyl}tetrahydro-2-(2-hydroxyethyl)-5- methoxyfuran (=methyl 3-{{[(tert-butyl)diphenylsilyl]oxy}methyl}-2 3,5-trideoxy-alpha/beta-D-erythro-hexafuranoside: 10) (Scheme 1). Protected nucleobases are added to this skeleton with the aid of trimethylsilyl triflate (Scheme 2). The o-toluoyl (2-MeC6H4CO) and p-anisoyl (4-MeOC6H4CO) groups were used to protect the exocyclic amino group of cytosine. The bis-homonucleoside analogs 11 and 14a are then converted to monothiol derivatives suitable for coupling (Schemes 3 and 4) to oligonucleotide analogs with bridging S-atoms. This synthesis replaces a much longer synthesis for analogous nucleoside analogs that begins with diacetoneglucose (= 1,2:5,6-di-O-isopropylideneglucose), with the stereogenic centers in the final products derived from the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation. The new route is useful for large-scale synthesis of these building blocks for the synthesis of oligonucleotide analogs.

Synthesis and properties of oligodeoxynucleotide analogs with bis(methylene) sulfone bridges
Eschgfaller, B Schmidt, JG Konig, M Benner, SA
Helv. Chim. Acta 86 (9) 2959-2997 (2003)
<Abstract>

A convergent, solution-phase synthesis was developed for the bis(methylene) sulfone-bridged oligodeoxynucleotide analogs (SNA) 5'-d(HOCH2-Tso(2)Tso(2)Tso(2)Cso(2)Tso(2)Tso(2)Tso(2)T-CH2SO3-)-3' (35b) and 5'-d(HOCH2-Tso(2)Tso(2)Tso(2)Tso(2)Tso(2)Tso(2)Tso(2)T-CH2SO3-)-3' (34c) (SO2 corresponds to CH2SO2CH2 instead of OP(=O)(O-)(O). In these, the phosphodiester linkages are replaced by non-ionic bis(methylene) sulfone linkers. The general strategy involved convergent coupling of 3',5'-bishomo-beta-D-deoxyribonucleotide analogs functionalized at the 6'-end (=CH2-C(5')) as bromides or mesylates and at the CH2-C(3') position as thiols. with the resulting thioether being oxidized to the corresponding sulfone. A single charge was introduced at the terminal CH2-C(3') position of the octamers to increase their solubility in water. During the synthesis, it became apparent that the key intermediates generated secondary structures through either folding or aggregation in a variety of solvents. This generated unusual reactivity and was unique for very similar structures. For example, although the dimeric thiol d(BzOCH(2)-Tso(2)C-CH2SH) (14b) was a well-behaved synthetic intermediate, the tetrameric thiol d(TrOCH2-Tso(2)Tso(2)Tso(2)(10)C-CH2SH) derived from the corresponding thioacetate was rapidly converted to a disulfide by very small amounts of oxidant (28 --> 29, Scheme 6). while the analogous tetrameric thiol d(BzOCH(2)-Tso(2)TsTso(2)T-CH2SH) (26), differing only by a single heterocycle, was oxidized much more slowly (Bz = PhCO, Tr = Ph3C, to = 2-MeC6H4CO (at N-4 of dc)). The sequence-dependent reactivity, well known in many classes of natural products (including polypeptides), is not prominent in natural oligonucleotides. These results are discussed in light of the proposal that the repeating negative charge in nucleic acids is key to their ability to serve as genetic molecules, in particular, their capability to support Darwinian evolution. The ability of 5'-d(HOCH2-Tso(2)Tso(2)Tso(2)Cso(2)Tso(2)Tso(2)Tso(2)T-CH2SO3-)-3' (35b) to bind as a third strand to duplex DNA was also examined. No triple-helix-forming propensity was detected in this molecule.

Expanding the genetic alphabet: Non-epimerizing nucleoside with the pyDDA hydrogen-bonding pattern
Hutter, D Benner, SA
J. Org. Chem. 68 (25) 9839-9842 (2003)
<Abstract>

6-Amino-3-(2'-deoxy-beta-D-ribofuranosyl)-5-nitro-1H-pyridin-2-one (4), a C-glycoside exhibiting the nonstandard pgammaDDA hydrogen-bonding pattern, was synthesized via Heck coupling. The nitro group greatly enhances the stability of the nucleoside toward acid-catalyzed epimerization without leading to significant deprotonation of the heterocycle at physiological pH. These results make nucleoside 4 a promising candidate for an expanded genetic alphabet.

Synthetic biology with artificially expanded genetic information systems. From personalized medicine to extraterrestrial life
Benner, SA Hutter, D Sismour, AM
Nucleic Acids Res. Suppl. 3 125-126 (2003)
<Abstract>

Over 15 years ago, the Benner group noticed that the DNA alphabet need not be limited to the four standard nucleotides known in natural DNA. Rather, twelve nucleobases forming six base pairs joined by mutually exclusive hydrogen bonding patterns are possible within the geometry of the Watson-Crick pair (Fig. 1). Synthesis and studies on these compounds have brought us to the threshold of a synthetic biology, an artificial chemical system that does basic processes needed for life (in particular, Darwinian evolution), but with unnatural chemical structures. At the same time, the artificial genetic information systems (AEGIS) that we have developed have been used in FDA-approved commercial tests for managing HIV and hepatitis C infections in individual patients, and in a tool that seeks the virus for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). AEGIS also supports the next generation of robotic probes to search for genetic molecules on Mars, Europa, and elsewhere where NASA probes will travel.

Act natural
Benner, SA
Nature 421 (6919) 118-118 (2003)

Inferring the palaeoenvironment of ancient bacteria on the basis of resurrected proteins
Gaucher, EA Thomson, JM Burgan, MF Benner, SA
Nature 425 (6955) 285-288 (2003)
<Abstract>

Features of the physical environment surrounding an ancestral organism can be inferred by reconstructing sequences(1-9) of ancient proteins made by those organisms, resurrecting these proteins in the laboratory, and measuring their properties. Here, we resurrect candidate sequences for elongation factors of the Tu family (EF-Tu) found at ancient nodes in the bacterial evolutionary tree, and measure their activities as a function of temperature. The ancient EF-Tu proteins have temperature optima of 55-65degreesC. This value seems to be robust with respect to uncertainties in the ancestral reconstruction. This suggests that the ancient bacteria that hosted these particular genes were thermophiles, and neither hyperthermophiles nor mesophiles. This conclusion can be compared and contrasted with inferences drawn from an analysis of the lengths of branches in trees joining proteins from contemporary bacteria(10), the distribution of thermophily in derived bacterial lineages(11), the inferred G+C content of ancient ribosomal RNA(12), and the geological record combined with assumptions concerning molecular clocks(13). The study illustrates the use of experimental palaeobiochemistry and assumptions about deep phylogenetic relationships between bacteria to explore the character of ancient life.

C-5 modified nucleosides: Direct insertion of alkynyl-thio functionality in pyrimidines
Held, HA Roychowdhury, A Benner, SA
Nuc. Nuc. Nuc. acids 22 (4) 391-404 (2003)
<Abstract>

A route is presented to append, in a single step, alkynyl thioesters to the 5-position of a pyrimidine ring of a nucleoside that is unprotected. These products should be useful to support in vitro selection experiments with functionalized DNA.

Nucleobase pairing in Watson-Crick-like genetic expanded information systems
Geyer, CR Battersby, TR Benner, SA
Structure 11 (12) 1485-1498 (2003)
<Abstract>

To guide the design of alternative genetic systems, we measured melting temperatures of DNA duplexes containing matched and mismatched nucleobase pairs from natural and unnatural structures. The pairs were analyzed in terms of structural features, including nucleobase size, number of hydrogen bonds formed, the presence of uncompensated hydrogen bonding functional groups, the nature of the bond joining the nucleobase to the sugar, and nucleobase charge. The results suggest that stability of nucleobase pairs correlates with the number of H-bonds, size complementarity, the presence of uncompensated functional groups, and the presence of charge on a nucleobase. Each of these properties appear to be more significant than the nature of the glycosidic bond and sequence context. The results provide guidelines for constructing stable Watson-Crick like nucleobase pairs with unnatural nucleobases. The experiments also demonstrate that expanded genetic systems can be constructed using size complementary nucleobase pairs that contain three hydrogen bonds.

Phosphates, DNA, and the search for nonterrean life: A second generation model for genetic molecules
Benner, SA Hutter, D
Bioorg. Chem. 30 (1) 62-80 (2002)
<Abstract>

Phosphate groups are found and used widely in biological chemistry. We have asked whether phosphate groups are likely to be important to the functioning of genetic molecules. including DNA and RNA. From observations made on synthetic analogs of DNA and RNA where the phosphates are replaced by nonanionic linking groups, we infer a set of rules that highlight the importance of the phosphodiester backbone for the proper functioning of DNA as a genetic molecule. The polyanionic backbone appears to give DNA the capability of replication following simple rules, and evolving. The polyanionic nature of the backbone appears to be critical to prevent the single strands from folding. permitting them to act as templates, guiding the interaction between two strands to form a duplex in a way that permits simple rules to guide the molecular recognition event, and buffering the sensitivity of its physicochemical properties to changes in sequence. We argue that the feature of a polyelectrolyte (polyanion or polycation) may be required for a "self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution." The polyelectrolyte structure therefore may be a universal signature of life, regardless of its genesis. and unique to living forms as well. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science (USA).

From phosphate to bis(methylene) sulfone: Non-ionic backbone linkers in DNA
Hutter, D Blaettler, MO Benner, SA
Helv. Chim. Acta 85 (9) 2777-2806 (2002)
<Abstract>

Chimeric DNA molecules containing four different linking groups, the natural phosphate, 5'-methylenephosphonate. bis(methylene)phosphinate, and bis(methylene) sulfone (see Fig.1), were directly compared for their ability to form duplexes with complementary DNA and DNA chimeras. From melting temperatures for analogous complementary sequences, general conclusions about the impact of geometric distortion of the internucleotide linkage around the two P-O-C bridges were drawn, as were conclusions about the impact on duplex stability that arises from the removal of the negative charge in the linking group. Each structural perturbation diminished the melting temperature, by ca. -2.5degrees per modification for the 5'-methylenephosphonate, -3.5degrees per modification for the bis(methylene)phosphinate, and -4.5degrees per modification for the bis(methylene) sulfone linker. These results have implications for DNA chemistry including the design of 'antisense' candidates and the proposal of alternative genetic materials in the search for non-terrean life.

Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometric resolution, identification, and screening of non-covalent complexes of Hck Src homology 2 domain receptor and ligands from a 324-member peptide combinatorial library
Wigger, M Eyler, JR Benner, SA Li, WQ Marshall, AG
J. Am. Soc. Mass Spec. 13 (10) 1162-1169 (2002)
<Abstract>

The preferred ligands for the Hck Src homology 2 domain among a combinatorial library containing 324 different peptides were determined in a single experiment involving Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry (MS), electrospray ionization (ESI), stored-waveform inverse Fourier transformation (SWIFT), and infrared multiphoton laser disassociation (IRMPD). These were compared with the results obtained by conventional screening of the peptide library in solution using affinity chromatography. The results reported here show that by combining ESI, FT-ICR MS, SWIFT, and IRMPD, ligands likely to bind under physiological conditions are rapidly and efficiently identified, even from complex library mixtures. In the gas phase some discrimination against hydrophobic ligands could be observed. However, the illustrated feasibility of identifying high affinity ligand via gas-phase screening of complex library mixtures should lead to broad applications in the development of ligands for proteins with interesting biological activity, the first step that must be taken to develop a therapeutic agent.

Detecting compensatory covariation signals in protein evolution using reconstructed ancestral sequences
Fukami-Kobayashi, K Schreiber, DR Benner, SA
J. Mol. Biol. 319 (3) 729-743 (2002)
<Abstract>

When protein sequences divergently evolve under functional constraints, some individual amino acid replacements that reverse the charge (e.g. Lys to Asp) may be compensated by a replacement at a second position that reverses the charge in the opposite direction (e.g. Glu to Arg). When these side-chains are near in space (proximal), such double replacements might be driven by natural selection, if either is selectively disadvantageous, but both together restore fully the ability of the protein to contribute to fitness (are together "neutral"). Accordingly, many have sought to identify pairs of positions in a protein sequence that suffer compensatory replacements, often as a way to identify positions near in space in the folded structure. A "charge compensatory signal" might manifest itself in two ways. First, proximal charge compensatory replacements may occur more frequently than predicted from the product of the probabilities of individual positions suffering charge reversing replacements independently. Conversely, charge compensatory pairs of changes may be observed to occur more frequently in proximal pairs of sites than in the average pair. Normally, charge compensatory covariation is detected by comparing the sequences of extant proteins at the "leaves" of phylogenetic trees. We show here that the charge compensatory signal is more evident when it is sought by examining individual branches in the tree between reconstructed ancestral sequences at nodes in the tree. Here, we find that the signal is especially strong when the positions pairs are in a single secondary structural unit (e.g. ut helix or P strand) that brings the side-chains suffering charge compensatory covariation near in space, and may be useful in secondary structure prediction. Also, "node-node" and "node-leaf" compensatory covariation may be useful to identify the better of two equally parsimonious trees, in a way that is independent of the mathematical formalism used to construct the tree itself. Further, compensatory covariation may provide a signal that indicates whether an episode of sequence evolution contains more or less divergence in functional behavior. Compensatory covariation analysis on reconstructed evolutionary trees may become a valuable tool to analyze genome sequences, and use these analyses to extract biomedically useful information from proteome databases. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oligodeoxyribonucleotide analogues with bridging dimethylene sulfide, sulfoxide, and sulfone groups. Toward a second-generation model of nucleic acid structure
Huang, Z Benner, SA
J. Org. Chem. 67 (12) 3996-4013 (2002)
<Abstract>

Short DNA analogues with bridging dimethylene sulfide, sulfoxide, and sulfone groups replacing the phosphate diesters (S-DNAs) were synthesized from building blocks prepared via two routes, both starting from D-glucose. Building blocks for RNA analogues were prepared by stereoselective introduction of nucleobase into a 2'-acylated ribose analogue. The ribose analogues were converted to deoxyribose analogues by replacement of a 3"-OH group by a thioacetyl unit, followed by photolytic deoxygenation or radical-based 2'-deoxygenation. DNA analogues joined via CH2-S-CH2 units were prepared by S(N)2 displacement of a 6'-mesyl group on one building block using a thiolate nucleophile of another. 4,4'-Dimethoxytrityl protection and deprotection schemes were established for both the thiol and hydroxyl groups. The corresponding sulfoxide DNA analogues were obtained by oxidation with hydrogen peroxide. Sulfone DNA analogues were obtained by oxidation of the sulfide DNA with persulfate or hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a titanium silicate catalyst. The physical properties of several representative oligonucleotide analogues were examined, and interpreted in light of a "second-generation" model for DNA strand-strand recognition, a model that emphasizes the role of the polyanionic backbone in diminishing unwanted tendencies of highly functionalized molecules to form "structure" in solution. Even short sulfide-linked DNA analogues displayed,association properties different from those displayed by standard DNA molecules. Complex formation observed with sulfide-linked tetramers by HPLC study in different solvents suggested that the complex is formed using hydrogen bonding. Sulfone-linked dinucleotides display Watson-Crick behavior; the tetramer, however, displayed self-structure. Self-structure and self-aggregation become more prominent as the length of the oligonucleotide analogues increases. The tendency to self-aggregate can be decreased by adding a charged sulfonate group to the 3"-end of the DNA analogue. Features of the second-generation model are important for many areas of nucleic acid chemistry, from the design of nucleic acid therapeutic agents to the search for life on other planets.

The crystal structure of eEF1A refines the functional predictions of an evolutionary analysis of rate changes among elongation factors
Gaucher, EA Das, UK Miyamoto, MM Benner, SA
Mol. Biol. Evol. 19 (4) 569-573 (2002)

Challenging artificial genetic systems: thymidine analogs with 5-position sulfur functionality
Held, HA Benner, SA
Nucl. Acids Res. 30 (17) 3857-3869 (2002)
<Abstract>

Eight different polymerases, chosen from evolutionary families A (Taq, Tfl, HotTub and Tth) and B (Pfu, Pwo, Vent and Deep Vent), were examined for their ability to incorporate 5-position modified 2'-deoxyuridine derivatives that carry a protected thiol group appended via different linkers containing either three or four carbon atoms. This represents the first attempt to incorporate the thiol functionality into DNA via enzymatic synthesis. Each polymerase-substrate combination was evaluated using a hierarchy of increasingly more difficult challenges, starting with incorporation of a single derivative, proceeding to incorporation of two derivatives at adjacent sites and non-adjacent sites, then examining the ability of the polymerase to accept the derivative within the template, and concluding with a challenge involving PCR. The evaluation of thiol-bearing 2'-deoxyuridine derivatives was then extended to consider their chemical stabilities. Stability was found to be less than satisfactory when the thiol functionality has a 'propargylic' relationship to the unsaturation in the linker. The best polymerase-appendage combination used the polymerase from Pyrococcus woesei (Pwo) and the 5'-tBu-SS-CH2-CH2-Cequivalent toC- linker. This pair supported PCR amplification and therefore should have value in artificial in vitro selection experiments. Indeed, we discovered that Pwo and Pfu preferred the derivative triphosphate over TTP, the natural substrate, in competition studies. These studies confirm an earlier suggestion that membership of an evolutionary family of polymerases is a partial predictor of the ability of the polymerase to accept 5-modified 2'-deoxyuridines. Considerable differences are displayed by different members within a polymerase family, however. This remains curious, as the ability of the polymerase to replicate natural DNA with high fidelity and its propensity to exclude unnatural analogs are presumed to be correlated.

The past as the key to the present: Resurrection of ancient proteins from eosinophils
Benner, SA
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99 (8) 4760-4761 (2002)

Evolution - Planetary biology - Paleontological, geological, and molecular histories of life
Benner, SA Caraco, MD Thomson, JM Gaucher, EA
Science 296 (5569) 864-868 (2002)
<Abstract>

The history of life on Earth is chronicled in the geological strata, the fossil record, and the genomes of contemporary organisms. When examined together, these records help identify metabolic and regulatory pathways, annotate protein sequences, and identify animal models to develop new drugs, among other features of scientific and biomedical interest. Together, planetary analysis of genome and proteome databases is providing an enhanced understanding of how life interacts with the biosphere and adapts to global change.

Ribonucleases in ruminants - Response
Benner, SA
Science 297 (5584) 1122-1122 (2002)

Predicting functional divergence in protein evolution by site-specific rate shifts
Gaucher, EA Gu, X Miyamoto, MM Benner, SA
Trends Biochem. Sci. 27 (6) 315-321 (2002)
<Abstract>

Most modern tools that analyze protein evolution allow individual sites to mutate at constant rates over the history of the protein family. However, Walter Fitch observed in the 1970s that, if a protein changes its function, the mutability of individual sites might also change. This observation is captured in the 'non-homogeneous gamma model', which extracts functional information from gene families by examining the different rates at which individual sites evolve. This model has recently been coupled with structural and molecular biology to identify sites that are likely to be involved in changing function within the gene family. Applying this to multiple gene families highlights the widespread divergence of functional behavior among proteins to generate paralogs and orthologs.

Fluorescent charge-neutral analogue of xanthosine: Synthesis of a 2 '-deoxyribonucleoside bearing a 5-aza-7-deazaxanthine base
Rao, P Benner, SA
J. Org. Chem. 66 (15) 5012-5015 (2001)
<Abstract>

A concise route is described to prepare the 5-aza-7-deazapurine 2 ' -deoxyriboside (4), which presents the puADA hydrogen-bonding pattern, analogous to the hydrogen-bonding pattern presented by 2 ' -deoxyxanthosine (2). The route begins with the commercially available 1-alpha -chloro-2-deoxy-3-5-bistoluoyloxyribofuranose (10), which proves to be a versatile point of entry to beta -2 ' -deoxyribofuranosides. In the first step, 2-nitroimidazole (8) is coupled with 10 to yield intermediate 11. Reduction of the nitro group to an amino group yields 12, which is treated with phenyl isocyanatoformate to complete the nucleobase to yield 13. Removal of the toluoyloxy protecting groups of 13 yields the target nucleoside 4 in 40% overall yield in four steps. In an alternative strategy, convergent coupling of 14 with 10 under basic conditions was attempted but found to yield the heterocycle glycosylated at the undesired position. Compound 13 displays potentially useful fluorescence properties. After excitation at 250 nm, a solution of 13 in MeCN shows a fluorescence emission with a maximum at 410 Dm. Furthermore, 13 is neutral at physiological pH, a property that it shares with natural nucleobases but not xanthosine itself, which is an acid with a pK(a) of ca. 5.6. Furthermore, as part of the design, 4 is made capable of presenting an unshared pair of electrons to the DNA minor groove.

Natural progression
Benner, SA
Nature 409 (6819) 459-459 (2001)

Function-structure analysis of proteins using covarion-based evolutionary approaches: Elongation factors
Gaucher, EA Miyamoto, MM Benner, SA
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 98 (2) 548-552 (2001)
<Abstract>

The divergent evolution of protein sequences from genomic databases can be analyzed by the use of different mathematical models. The most common treat all sites in a protein sequence as equally variable. More sophisticated models acknowledge the fact that purifying selection generally tolerates variable amounts of amino acid replacement at different positions in a protein sequence. In their "stationary" versions, such models assume that the replacement rate at individual positions remains constant throughout evolutionary history. "Nonstationary" covarion versions, however, allow the replacement rate at a position to vary in different branches of the evolutionary tree. Recently, statistical methods have been developed that highlight this type of variation in replacement rates. Here, we show how positions that have variable rates of divergence in different regions of a tree ("covarion behavior"), coupled with analyses of experimental three-dimensional structures, can provide experimentally testable hypotheses that relate individual amino acid residues to specific functional differences in those branches. We illustrate this in the elongation factor family of proteins as a paradigm for applications of this type of analysis in functional genomics generally.

Evolution, language and analogy in functional genomics
Benner, SA Gaucher, EA
Trends in Genetics 17 (7) 414-418 (2001)
<Abstract>

Almost a century ago, Wittgenstein pointed out that theory in science is intricately connected to language. This connection is not a frequent topic in the genomics literature. But a case can be made that functional genomics is today hindered by the paradoxes that Wittgenstein identified. If this is true, until these paradoxes are recognized and addressed, functional genomics will continue to be limited in its ability to extrapolate information from genomic sequences.

Beyond BLAST: Paleogenomics tools to infer function to genetic sequences.
Benner, S Chamberlin, S
Am. J. Hum. Genet. 67 (4) 260-260 (2000)

Synthesis and characterization of oligonucleotides containing 2 '-deoxyxanthosine using phosphoramidite chemistry
Jurczyk, SC Horlacher, J Devined, KG Benner, SA Battersby, TR
Helv. Chim. Acta 83 (7) 1517-1524 (2000)
<Abstract>

Oligodeoxynucleotides containing 2'-deoxyxanthosine (X-d) were synthesized in good yield from a O-2,O-6-bis[2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethyl](NPE)-protected phosphoramidite of X-d. Attempts to synthesize a O-6-monoNPE-protected phosphoramidite resulted in formation of a major by-product. The NPE protecting groups were removed by treatment with oximate ion after other protecting groups were removed with aqueous NH,OH solution. The composition of the synthetic oligonucleotides was verified by enzymatic degradation and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The efficacy of this procedure allowed isolation of oligodeoxynucleotides containing multiple X-d residues.

Evaluation measures of multiple sequence alignments
Gonnet, GH Korostensky, C Benner, S
J. Comp. Bio. 7 (1-2) 261-276 (2000)
<Abstract>

Multiple sequence alignments (MSAs) are frequently used in the study of families of protein sequences or DNA/RNA sequences. They are a fundamental tool for the understanding of the structure, functionality and, ultimately, the evolution of proteins. A new algorithm, the Circular Sum (CS) method, is presented for formally evaluating the quality of an MSA, It is based on the use of a solution to the Traveling Salesman Problem, which identifies a circular tour through an evolutionary tree connecting the sequences in a protein family. With this approach, the calculation of an evolutionary tree and the errors that it mould introduce can be avoided altogether, The algorithm gives an upper bound, the best score that can possibly be achieved by any MSA for a given set of protein sequences. Alternatively, if presented with a specific MSA, the algorithm provides a formal score for the MSA, which serves as an absolute measure of the quality of the MSA, The CS measure yields a direct connection between an MSA and the associated evolutionary tree, The measure can be used as a tool for evaluating different methods for producing MSAs, A brief example of the last application is provided, Because it weights all evolutionary events on a tree identically, but does not require the reconstruction of a tree, the CS algorithm has advantages over the frequently used sum-of-pairs measures for scoring MSAs, which weight some evolutionary events more strongly than others. Compared to other weighted sum-of-pairs measures, it has the advantage that no evolutionary tree must be constructed, because we can find a circular tour without knowing the tree.

Evolutionary history of the uterine serpins
Peltier, MR Raley, LC Liberles, DA Benner, SA Hansen, PJ
J. Exp. Zoo. 288 (2) 165-174 (2000)
<Abstract>

A bioinformatics analysis was conducted on the four members of the uterine serpin (US) family of serpins. Evolutionary analysis of the protein sequences and 86 homologous serpins by maximum parsimony and distance methods indicated that the uterine serpins proteins form a clade distinct from other serpins. Ancestral sequences were reconstructed throughout the evolutionary tree by parsimony. These suggested that some branches suffered a high ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous mutations, suggesting episodes of adaptive evolution within the serpin family. Analysis of the sequences by neutral evolutionary distance methods suggested that the uterine serpins diverged from other serpins prior to the divergence of the mammals from other vertebrates. The porcine uterine serpins are paralogs that diverged from a single common ancestor within the Sus genus after pigs separated from other artiodactyls. The uterine serpins contain several protein kinase C and tyrosine kinase phosphorylation sites. These sites may be important for the lymphocyte-inhibitory activity of OvUS if, Like other basic proteins, OvUS can cross the cell membrane of an activated lymphocyte. Internalized OvUS could serve as an alternative target to protein kinases important for the mitogenic response to antigens. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The missing organic molecules on Mars
Benner, SA Devine, KG Matveeva, LN Powell, DH
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 97 (6) 2425-2430 (2000)
<Abstract>

GC-MS on the Viking 1976 Mars missions did not detect organic molecules on the Martian surface, even those expected from meteorite bombardment. This result suggested that the Martian regolith might hold a potent oxidant that converts all organic molecules to carbon dioxide rapidly relative to the rate at which they arrive. This conclusion is influencing the design of Mars missions. We reexamine this conclusion in light of what is known about the oxidation of organic compounds generally and the nature of organics likely to come to Mars via meteorite. We conclude that nonvolatile salts of benzenecarboxylic acids, and perhaps oxalic and acetic acid, should be metastable intermediates of meteoritic organics under oxidizing conditions. Salts of these organic acids would have been largely invisible to GC-MS, Experiments show that one of these, benzenehexacarboxylic acid (mellitic acid), is generated by oxidation of organic matter known to come to Mars, is rather stable to further oxidation, and would not have been easily detected by the Viking experiments. Approximately 2 kg of meteorite-derived mellitic acid may have been generated per m(2) of Martian surface over 3 billion years. How much remains depends on decomposition rates under Martian conditions, As available data do not require that the surface of Mars be very strongly oxidizing, some organic molecules might be found near the surface of Mars, perhaps in amounts sufficient to be a resource. Missions should seek these and recognize that these complicate the search for organics from entirely hypothetical Martian life.

Functional inferences from reconstructed evolutionary biology involving rectified databases. An evolutionarily-grounded approach to functional genomics.
Benner, SA Chamberlin, SG Liberles, DA Govindarajan, S Knecht, L
Res. MicroBiol. 151 (2) 97-106 (2000)
<Abstract>

If bioinformatics tools are constructed to reproduce the natural, evolutionary history of the biosphere, they offer powerful approaches to some of the most difficult tasks in genomics, including the organization and retrieval of sequence data, the updating of massive genomic databases, the detection of database error, the assignment of introns, the prediction of protein conformation from protein sequences, the detection of distant homologs, the assignment of function to open reading frames, the identification of biochemical pathways from genomic data, and the construction of a comprehensive model correlating the history of biomolecules with the history of planet Earth.

Unite efforts and conquer mysteries of artificial genetics
Benner, SA
Science 290 (5496) 1506-1506 (2000)

Evolutionary, mechanistic, and predictive analyses of the hydroxymethyldihydropterin pyrophosphokinase family of proteins
Gerloff, DL Cannarozzi, GM Joachimiak, M Cohen, FE Schreiber, D Benner, SA
Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 254 (1) 70-76 (1999)
<Abstract>

A prediction has been prepa