Monday 2 April 2018

molecular genetics - Can DNA act as a translation substrate?


I get conflicting answers. One would think if it was true, it would be rather seminal and widely known.



There are papers from Khorana[1], Holland[2], and Bretscher[3] (late 60s) that suggest that it is quite easy in the presence of antibiotics like neomycin.


But more recent papers like this one[4] still openly ask the question, and that the only thing we know is that the initial ribosome binding step is similar between RNA and DNA.


I can't reconcile these papers.



  1. Morgan AR, Wells RD, Khorana HG. 1967. Studies on polynucleotides. LXXIV. Direct translation in vitro of single-stranded DNA-like polymers with repeating nucleotide sequences in the presence of neomycin B. Journal of Molecular Biology, 26(3):477-497, doi:1016.10/0022-2836(67)90316-6.

  2. McCarthy BJ, Holland JJ. 1965. Denatured DNA as a direct template for in vitro protein synthesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 54(3):880-886.

  3. Bretscher MS. 1969. Ribosome Initiation and the Mode of Action of Neomycin in the Direct Translation of Single-Stranded fd DNA. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology, 34:653-651, doi:10.1101/SQB.1969.034.01.075.

  4. Damiana L, Marty-Detravesa C, Winterhalterc M, Fourniera D, Paquereaua L. 2009. Single-strand DNA translation initiation step analyzed by Isothermal Titration Calorimetry. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 385(3): 296-301, doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2009.05.044.




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