title: Probing structure and function with alternative nucleic acids bearing 2',5'-linked, zwitterionic, and isocytosine-isoguanine components.
abstract: The incorporation of alternative functional components into nucleic acids can provide insight into what molecular features are necessary for an informational macromolecule to be successful. It can also provide a means to improve particular physical characteristics of nucleic acids for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, or probe mechanisms. By testing the fitness of nucleic acid-like molecules derived by structural permutations of RNA, it may also prove possible to trace a path from simple prebiotic precursors to biotic molecules. This article describes the applications of 2',5'-phosphodiester linked, zwitterionic, and base-permuted nucleic acid derivatives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, USA. switzer@citrus.ucr.edu
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Switzer
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Chaput
mesh_terms: D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry; D003596:Cytosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry*; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000737:chemistry; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D006147:Guanine / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D009696:Nucleic Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D011938:Rec A Recombinases / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D009696:Nucleic Acids; C093270:isocytosine; D006147:Guanine; D003596:Cytosine; D004247:DNA; C008183:isoguanine; D011938:Rec A Recombinases