title: Unnatural base pair systems for sensing and diagnostic applications.
abstract: Expansion of the genetic alphabet by an unnatural base pair system provides a platform for the site-specific, enzymatic incorporation of extra, functional components into nucleic acids. Recently, several unnatural base pairs that exhibit high fidelity and efficiency in PCR have been developed. Functional groups of interest, such as fluorescent dyes, can be linked to the unnatural bases, and the modified base substrates are site-specifically incorporated into nucleic acids by polymerases. Furthermore, unique unnatural base pairs between fluorophore and quencher base analogs have been developed for imaging PCR amplification and as molecular beacons. Here, we describe the recent progress in the development of unnatural base pairs that function in PCR amplification and their applications as sensing and diagnostic tools.
authors.affiliation: RIKEN Systems and Structural Biology Center (SSBC), Yokohama, Japan.
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kimoto
authors.forename: Robert Sidney
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hirao
mesh_terms: D020029:Base Pairing; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000737:chemistry; D003853:Deoxyribonucleosides / Q000737:chemistry*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D006801:Humans; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods*; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D003853:Deoxyribonucleosides; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase