How could you chemically detect peptide nucleic acid?

  • Thread starter Thread starter pattylou
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Acid
Click For Summary
SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the chemical detection of peptide nucleic acid (PNA), which is theorized to be a primordial genetic material. It is established that PNA has not been observed in nature and is believed to have been a transitional genetic material before RNA and DNA. The key to distinguishing PNA from DNA and RNA lies in targeting the unique amide bonds in PNA's backbone, which can be broken by proteases, unlike the phosphodiester linkages in RNA and DNA. This specificity allows for potential in vitro reactions that could selectively identify PNA.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) structure and function
  • Knowledge of biochemical reactions involving proteases and nucleases
  • Familiarity with organic chemistry concepts, particularly amide bonds
  • Basic principles of molecular biology regarding genetic material
NEXT STEPS
  • Research methods for synthesizing peptide nucleic acid (PNA)
  • Explore the role of proteases in biochemical reactions
  • Investigate techniques for distinguishing between nucleic acids using chemical reactions
  • Learn about the structural differences between PNA, RNA, and DNA
USEFUL FOR

Biochemists, molecular biologists, and researchers interested in the origins of genetic material and the chemical properties of nucleic acids.

pattylou
Messages
305
Reaction score
0
Peptide nucleic acid has been hypothesised as the primordial genetic material:

Nelson, KE, M Levy, and SL Miller. 2000. Proc Natl Acad Sci 97(8):3868-3871. Peptide Nucleic Acids rather than RNA may have been the First Genetic Material.

Nielson, PE. 1993. Orig Life Evol Biosph 23(5-6):323-327. Peptide nucleic acid (PNA): a model structure for the primordial genetic material?

It has never been seen in nature (although it has not been looked for, as far as I know) and it is usually thought that PNA was a transitory genetic material to be replaced by RNA and finally DNA.

The structure of synthetic PNA, and how it base pairs with DNA (which allows a comparison of the structure of PNA to DNA) is shown here (also a general structure of a polypeptide is shown.):

http://employees.csbsju.edu/hjakubowski/classes/ch331/bind/peptideNA.gif

My biochemistry and organic chemistry are weak. It seems that there must be a way to chemically distinguish PNA from protein and DNA. Like, some in vitro reaction that would work with PNA but not the others. Can anyone help me figure out what this reaction might be?

edit: The bases are attached to the backbone via amide bonds in PNA. Could these bonds be chemically broken - releasing the bases - in some way, a way that wouldn't relese bases from the phosphodiester backbone in RNA or DNA?
 
Last edited:
Chemistry news on Phys.org
As you indicated, the easiest way to distinguish PNA from DNA or RNA is to target the backbone. DNAse and RNAse will break down those respective nucleic acid polymers into their nucleotide constituents, but will not touch PNA. Conversely, proteases will break the amide bonded backbone of PNA but not the phosphate ester linkages of the other nucleic acids.
 

Similar threads

Pursuing a PhD in Chemical Biology?
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Could We Build Unnatural Forms of Life?
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
6K
Fortran FORTRAN- How to read a non-uniformly formatted text file
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
4K