Russian scientists have learned to synthesize long DNA fragments

Brief retelling from RIA II

Scientists from the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine named after. D. G. Knorre of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences took a step towards creating a domestic technology for the synthesis of long DNA fragments.

Researchers have described in detail the molecular mechanism of action of certain enzymes, which opens the way to the engineering of effective biocatalysts for the synthesis of extended DNA fragments.

Success in this area is the result of the combined work of several groups of scientists: biochemists, chemists and biotechnologists.

NOVOSIBIRSK, October 7 – RIA Novosti. Scientists from the Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine named after. D.G. Knorre of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences took an important step towards creating a domestic technology for the synthesis of long DNA fragments - a key task of modern synthetic biology, RIA Novosti was told at the scientific institute.

"The ability to efficiently obtain long DNA fragments will allow researchers to create artificial gene constructs. In the future, this may find application in a variety of areas - from the creation of new metabolic pathways to the development of vaccines and diagnostic systems," the report says.

Thus, researchers have described in detail the molecular mechanism of action of certain enzymes, which opens the way to the engineering of effective biocatalysts for the synthesis of extended DNA fragments. The results of the work carried out using a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) were published in leading scientific journals.

The ICBFM SB RAS explained that the synthesis of long DNA molecules is a complex and labor-intensive process. The chemical method currently used allows them to be “stitched” together from short fragments, which leads to errors. Enzymatic synthesis, which makes it possible to obtain long DNA molecules “in one step,” is considered here as a promising alternative. However, for this technology to work effectively, special catalysts are needed.

“Knowledge of the mechanism of action of the enzyme and the peculiarities of the formation of the catalytic state allows us to purposefully engineer a protein molecule in order to accelerate certain stages of interaction,” said Nikita Kuznetsov, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, head of the laboratory of genetic technologies at the Institute of Chemical Biological Physics of the SB RAS.