FfAME:org :: Zunyi Yang's Publications

Zunyi Yang's Publications

Recognition of an expanded genetic alphabet by type-II restriction endonucleases and their application to analyze polymerase fidelity.
Chen, F; Yang, ZY; Yan, M; Alvarado, JB; Wang, G; Benner, SA
Nucl. Acids Res. 39 (9) 3949-3961 (2011)
<Abstract>

To explore the possibility of using restriction enzymes in a synthetic biology based on artificially expanded genetic information systems (AEGIS), 24 type-II restriction endonucleases (REases) were challenged to digest DNA duplexes containing recognition sites where individual Cs and Gs were replaced by the AEGIS nucleotides Z and P [respectively, 6-amino-5-nitro-3-(1'-?-d-2'-deoxyribofuranosyl)-2(1H)-pyridone and 2-amino-8-(1'-?-d-2'-deoxyribofuranosyl)-imidazo[1,2-a]-1,3,5-triazin-4(8H)-one]. These AEGIS nucleotides implement complementary hydrogen bond donor-donor-acceptor and acceptor-acceptor-donor patterns. Results allowed us to classify type-II REases into five groups based on their performance, and to infer some specifics of their interactions with functional groups in the major and minor grooves of the target DNA. For three enzymes among these 24 where crystal structures are available (BcnI, EcoO109I and NotI), these interactions were modeled. Further, we applied a type-II REase to quantitate the fidelity polymerases challenged to maintain in a DNA duplex C:G, T:A and Z:P pairs through repetitive PCR cycles. This work thus adds tools that are able to manipulate this expanded genetic alphabet in vitro, provides some structural insights into the working of restriction enzymes, and offers some preliminary data needed to take the next step in synthetic biology to use an artificial genetic system inside of living bacterial cells.

Synthetic Biology, Tinkering Biology, and Artificial Biology: A Perspective from Chemistry
Benner, SA; Chen, F; Yang, ZY
Chemical Synthetic Biology , ed. Pier Luigi Luisi and Cristiano Chiarabelli , Wiley 69-106 (2011)

Setting the Stage: The History, Chemistry, and Geobiology behind RNA
Benner, SA; Kim, HJ; Yang, ZY
RNA Worlds: From Life's Origins to Diversity in Gene Regulation , ed. John F. Atkins, Raymond F. Gesteland, Thomas R. Cech , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 7-19 (2011)

Amplification, Mutation, and Sequencing of a Six-Letter Synthetic Genetic System
Yang, Z; Chen, F; Alvarado, JB; Benner, SA
J. Am. Chem. Soc. 133 (38) 15105-15112 (2011) dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja204910n
<Abstract>

The next goals in the development of a synthetic biology that uses artificial genetic systems will require chemistry-biology combinations that allow the amplification of DNA containing any number of sequential and nonsequential nonstandard nucleotides. This amplification must ensure that the nonstandard nucleotides are not unidirectionally lost during PCR amplification (unidirectional loss would cause the artificial system to revert to an all-natural genetic system). Further, technology is needed to sequence artificial genetic DNA molecules. The work reported here meets all three of these goals for a sixletter artificially expanded genetic information system (AEGIS) that comprises four standard nucleotides (G, A, C, and T) and two additional nonstandard nucleotides (Z and P). We report polymerases and PCR conditions that amplify a wide range of GACTZP DNA sequences having multiple consecutive unnatural synthetic genetic components with low (0.2% per theoretical cycle) levels of mutation. We demonstrate that residual mutation processes both introduce and remove unnatural nucleotides, allowing the artificial genetic system to evolve as such, rather than revert to a wholly natural system. We then show that mechanisms for these residual mutation processes can be exploited in a strategy to sequence "six-letter" GACTZP DNA. These are all not yet reported for any other synthetic genetic system.

Expanded Genetic Alphabets in the Polymerase Chain Reaction
Yang, ZY; Chen, F; Chamberlin, SG; Benner, SA
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 49 (1) 177-180 (2010)

Design of a novel molecular beacon: modification of the stem with artificially genetic alphabet
Sheng, PP; Yang, ZY; Kim, YM; Wu, YR; Tan, WH; Benner, SA
Chem. Comm. (41) 5128-5130 (2008)
<Abstract>

A molecular beacon that incorporates components of an artificially expanded genetic information system (AEGIS) in its stem is shown not to be opened by unwanted stem invasion by adventitious standard DNA; this should improve the "darkness" of the beacon in real-world applications.

Synthetic Biology for Improved Personalized Medicine
Benner, SA; Hoshika, S; Sukeda, M; Hutter, D; Leal, NA; Yang, ZY; Chen, F
Nucleic Acids Symp. Ser. 52 (1) 243-244 (2008) doi: 10.1093/nass/nrn123
<Abstract>

Tools to re-sequence the genomes of individual patients having well described medical histories is the first step required to connect genetic information to diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. There is little doubt that in the future, genomics will influence the choice of therapies for individual patients based on their specific genetic inheritance, as well as the genetic defects that led to disease. Cost is the principle obstacle preventing the realization of this vision. Unless the interesting parts of a patient genome can be resequenced for less than $10,000 (as opposed to $100,000 or more), it will be difficult to start the discovery process that will enable this vision. While instrumentation and biology are important to reducing costs, the key element to cost-effective personalized genomic sequencing will be new chemical reagents that deliver capabilities that are not available from standard DNA. Scientists at the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution and the Westheimer Institute have developed several of these, which will be the topic of this talk.

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.

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.

One-pot glycosylation (OPG) for the chemical synthesis of oligosaccharides
Yu, B; Yang, ZY; Cao, HZ
Curr. Org. Chem. 9 (2) 179-194 (2005)
<Abstract>

This review provides a comprehensive survey of the "one pot glycosylation" (OPG) strategy for the chemical synthesis of oligosaccharides, covering literatures from the first example reported by Kahne and Raghavan in 1993 through May 2003. The essence of the OPG is to distinguish the reactivity difference of a pair of the glycosylation donors or acceptors so as to carry out two glycosylation steps sequentially without purification of the first-step coupling product. Accordingly, the literature reports are grouped based on the major stereoelectronic factors causing the reactivity differences, those include the "armed-disarmed effect", "orthogonality of leaving groups", "distinguishable acceptors", and "the hybrid". "The hybrid" OPG procedure takes advantage of a combination of the reactivity disparity of a set of the armed-disarmed donors, orthogonal leaving groups, as well as acceptors so as to proceed three or more steps of glycosylation sequentially in one pot. Relevant conception and exploitation of the reactivity differences of the donors and acceptors in the synthesis of oligosaccharides, which finally evolve the OPG or advance parallelly, are briefly described at the beginning.

1 -> 2 Migration and concurrent glycosidation of phenyl 1-thio-alpha-mannopyranosides via 2,3-O-cyclic dioxonium intermediates
Yang, ZY; Cao, HZ; Hu, J; Shan, RL; Yu, B
Tetrahedron 59 (2) 249-254 (2003)
<Abstract>

Treatment of phenyl 2,3-O-cyclic ketene acetal- and 2,3-O-thionocarbonyl-1-thio-mannopyranosides with TMSOTf and MeOTf, respectively, gave the corresponding 2,3-O-cyclic dioxonium intermediates, which proceeded via 1-->2 migration and concurrent glycosidation in the presence of alcohols to provide the corresponding 2-S-phenyl glycosides stereoselectively. While the former donors were too labile, the latter donors have proved superior for the present purpose. The X-ray crystallographic structures of phenyl 4-O-methyl-2,3-O-thiocarbonyl-1-thio-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside (1), a typical donor for the present reaction, and its anomeric azide analogue (6), which could not undergo the present reaction under similar conditions, are provided. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stereoselective synthesis of 2-S-ethyl(phenyl)-2-thio-beta-glucopyranosides via 1,2-migration and concurrent glycosidation of ethyl(phenyl) 2,3-orthoester-1-thio-alpha-mannopyranosides
Yang, ZY; Yu, B
Carbohydr. Res. 333 (2) 105-114 (2001)
<Abstract>

1,2-Migration and concurrent glycosidation of ethyl(phenyl) 2,3-orthoester-1-thio-alpha -D- and L-mannopyranosides under the action of TMSOTf readily afforded the corresponding 2-S-ethyl(phenyl)-2-thio-beta -glucopyranosides ready precursors to 2-deoxy-arabino-hexopyranosides (2-deoxy-beta -glucopyranosides). (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stereoselective synthesis of 2-S-phenyl-2-deoxy-beta-glycosides using phenyl 2,3-O-thionocarbonyl-1-thioglycoside donors via 1,2-migration and concurrent glycosidation
Yu, B; Yang, ZY
Org. Lett. 3 (3) 377-379 (2001)
<Abstract>

[GRAPHICS] 1,2-Migration and concurrent glycosidation of phenyl 2,3-O-thionocarbonyl 1-thio-alpha -L-rhamnopyranosides under the action of methyl trifluoromethanesulfonate (MeOTf) afforded in high yields the 3-O-(methylthio)carbonyl-2-S-phenyl-2,6-dideoxy-beta -L-glucopyranosides ready precursors to the corresponding 2-deoxy-beta -glycosides.

Rearrangement of sugar 1,2-orthoesters to glycosidic products: a mechanistic implication
Yang, ZY; Lin, WB; Yu, B
Carbohydr. Res. 329 (4) 879-884 (2000)
<Abstract>

A novel and expeditious approach to the stereoselective synthesis of 2-S-ethyl(phenyl)-2-deoxy-beta-glycosides, ready precursors to 2-deoxy-beta-glycosides
Yu, B; Yang, ZY
Tet. Lett. 41 (16) 2961-2964 (2000)
<Abstract>

1,2-Migration and concurrent glycosidation of ethyl(phenyl) 2,3-orthoester-1-thio-alpha-1-rhamnopyranosides under the action of TMSOTf readily afforded the corresponding 2-S-ethyl(phenyl)-2-deoxy-beta-glycosides, ready precursors to 2-deoxy-beta-glycosides. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.