Title
Functional Assemblies Emerging in Complex Mixtures of Peptides and Nucleic Acid‐Peptide Chimeras
Author
Gonen Ashkenasy, Agata Chotera, Hava Sadihov, Rivka Cohen-Luria, Pierre-Alain Monnard
Year
2018
Journal
Chemistry - A European Journal
Abstract
Striking synergy between nucleic acids and proteins is exhibited in living cells. Whether such mutual activity can be performed using simple supramolecular nucleic‐acid‐peptide (NA‐pep) architectures remains a mystery. To shed light on this question, we studied the emergence of a primitive synergy in assemblies of short DNA‐peptide chimeras. Specifically, we characterized multiple structures forming along gradual mixing trajectory, in which a peptide solution was seeded with increasing amounts of NA‐pep chimeras. We report on the systematic change from β‐sheet‐peptide‐based fibrillar architectures into the spherical structures formed by the conjugates. Remarkably, we find that through forming onion‐like structures, the conjugates exhibit increased DNA hybridization stability and bind small molecules more efficiently than the peptides or DNA alone. A brief discussion highlights the implications of our findings for the production of new materials and for research on the origin of life.
Instrument
J-815
Keywords
Circular dichroism, Secondary structure, DNA structure, Biochemistry