Divergence and Convergence: Complexity Emerges in Crystal Engineering from an 8-mer DNA.
Divergence and Convergence: Complexity Emerges in Crystal Engineering from an 8-mer DNA.
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DOI：
10.1021/jacs.3c01941
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发表时间：
2023-05
影响因子：
15
通讯作者：
Jiemin Zhao;Cuizheng Zhang;Brandon Lu;R. Sha;N. Noinaj;C. Mao
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Jiemin Zhao;Cuizheng Zhang;Brandon Lu;R. Sha;N. Noinaj;C. Mao
生物学提供了大量的例子，说明如何用最少数量的积木实现复杂的结构。相反，设计分子系统的结构复杂性是通过增加组成分子的数量来实现的。在这项研究中，DNA链组件通过不同寻常的发散和收敛路径组装成一个高度复杂的晶体结构。这种组装路径为增加结构复杂性的极简主义者提供了一条途径。本研究的最初目的是设计高分辨率的DNA晶体，这是结构DNA纳米技术的主要动机和关键目标。尽管在过去的40年里做出了巨大的努力，工程DNA晶体还没有始终达到高于2.5 Å的分辨率，限制了它们的潜在用途。我们的研究表明，小而对称的构建块通常会产生高分辨率的晶体。在这里，通过遵循这一原则，我们报告了一个前所未有的高分辨率的工程DNA晶体（2.17 Å），由一个单一的DNA成分组装而成：一个8个碱基长的DNA链。该系统有三个独特的特点：(1)它具有非常复杂的结构；(2)相同的DNA链形成两种不同的结构基序，这两种结构基序都被合并到最终的晶体中；(3)组成DNA分子只有8个碱基长的DNA链，这可以说是迄今为止DNA纳米结构中最小的DNA基序。这种高分辨率开启了利用这些DNA晶体在Å水平上精确组织客体分子的可能性，这可能会激发一系列新的研究。
Biology provides plenty of examples on achieving complicated structures out of minimal numbers of building blocks. In contrast, structural complexity of designed molecular systems is achieved by increasing the numbers of component molecules. In this study, the component DNA strand assembles into a highly complex crystal structure via an unusual path of divergence and convergence. This assembly path suggests a route to minimalists for increasing structural complexity. The original purpose of this study is to engineer DNA crystals with high resolution, which is the primary motivation and a key objective for structural DNA nanotechnology. Despite great efforts in the last 40 years, engineered DNA crystals have not yet consistently reached resolution better than 2.5 Å, limiting their potential uses. Our research has shown that small, symmetrical building blocks generally lead to high resolution crystals. Herein, by following this principle, we report an engineered DNA crystal with unprecedented high resolution (2.17 Å) assembled from one single DNA component: an 8-base-long DNA strand. This system has three unique characteristics: (1) It has a very complex architecture, (2) the same DNA strand forms two different structural motifs, both of which are incorporated into the final crystal, and (3) the component DNA molecule is only an 8-base-long DNA strand, which is, arguably, the smallest DNA motif for DNA nanostructures to date. This high resolution opens the possibility of using these DNA crystals to precisely organize guest molecules at the Å level, which could stimulate a range of new investigations.