Japanese scientists discover a new way to build and edit DNA
A team led by scientists at Nagoya University reported a method that uses silver nanoparticles to cut DNA at precisely chosen locations and create "sticky ends" that allow separate DNA fragments to be joined together. The approach offers an alternative to conventional enzyme-based techniques commonly used in DNA assembly.
DNA assembly is a fundamental tool in modern biotechnology. Scientists use it to construct genes, engineer microorganisms, develop new therapies and study genetic diseases. Existing methods typically rely on enzymes to cut and join DNA, but these approaches can be limited by sequence requirements and reaction efficiency.
The Japanese team designed chemically modified DNA strands containing special cleavage sites. When exposed to silver nanoparticles, these sites can be selectively cut, producing DNA fragments with overhanging ends that can be connected to other pieces of DNA. Unlike previous silver-based approaches, the nanoparticle system allows the DNA products to be recovered efficiently after the reaction.
The researchers found that coating the silver nanoparticles with polyethylene glycol, or PEG, dramatically improved performance. Under optimized conditions, the modified nanoparticles achieved more than 90% DNA cleavage efficiency while operating at relatively moderate temperatures.
In laboratory tests, the scientists successfully joined DNA fragments to create an 848 base pair DNA molecule. They also assembled a DNA sequence encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP), a widely used biological marker, and demonstrated that the assembled DNA could function inside human HeLa cells, where it produced the fluorescent protein.
According to the researchers, the work introduces a previously unexplored use of metal nanoparticles in DNA engineering and could lead to new tools for constructing long DNA sequences. Such capabilities are increasingly important in fields ranging from gene editing and medical research to the development of synthetic organisms.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that researchers were testing a new AI system from Google DeepMind designed to help identify the genetic causes of rare diseases.
