title: Enzyme-free translation of DNA into sequence-defined synthetic polymers structurally unrelated to nucleic acids.
abstract: The translation of DNA sequences into corresponding biopolymers enables the production, function and evolution of the macromolecules of life. In contrast, methods to generate sequence-defined synthetic polymers with similar levels of control have remained elusive. Here, we report the development of a DNA-templated translation system that enables the enzyme-free translation of DNA templates into sequence-defined synthetic polymers that have no necessary structural relationship with nucleic acids. We demonstrate the efficiency, sequence-specificity and generality of this translation system by oligomerizing building blocks including polyethylene glycol, α-(D)-peptides, and β-peptides in a DNA-programmed manner. Sequence-defined synthetic polymers with molecular weights of 26 kDa containing 16 consecutively coupled building blocks and 90 densely functionalized β-amino acid residues were translated from DNA templates using this strategy. We integrated the DNA-templated translation system developed here into a complete cycle of translation, coding sequence replication, template regeneration and re-translation suitable for the iterated in vitro selection of functional sequence-defined synthetic polymers unrelated in structure to nucleic acids.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hili
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D003062:Codon; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D013698:Templates, Genetic
chemical_list: D003062:Codon; D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids; D011108:Polymers; D004247:DNA