Regensburg 2019 – wissenschaftliches Programm
Bereiche | Tage | Auswahl | Suche | Aktualisierungen | Downloads | Hilfe
BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 6: Poster I
BP 6.15: Poster
Montag, 1. April 2019, 17:30–19:30, Poster B2
A selection mechanism to emerge the first functional sequences — •Alexandra Kühnlein1, Hannes Mutschler2, Dieter Braun1, and Christof Mast1 — 1Systems Biophysics, Ludwig-Maximilian University Munich — 2MPI of Biochemistry,Martinsried
Life has managed to transfer sequence information on Earth for about 4 billion years despite the high complexity and short lifetime of oligonucleotides and maintained the information against degradation and dilution. To achieve this, life must have had mechanisms for the selection and replication of complex sequences. Contrary to today's biology however, the mechanism must have been simple and driven by physical non-equilibria. A local thermal gradient across a microfluidic pore can overcome the tyranny of the shortest by autonomously driving length selection and accumulation of DNA, thereby fostering more complex sequences. This can lead to hybridization and the formation of hydrogels. We use the sequence dependence and specificity of Watson-Crick base pairing and hydrogel formation to find a physical selection mechanism for DNA sequences. Hybridization and hydrogel formation can break the symmetry in sequence space and select mutually interacting and thus potentially functional sequences. Experimentally, we start with a pool of random ssDNA libraries and quantify the bias of hydrogelation by high throughput sequencing. With increasing selection pressure and modifying the initial library, we will narrow down the pool of functional sequences and see possible replicating function emerge.