Pna Research Paper

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Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNAs) are a class of compounds that mimic DNA and bind complementary to single strand DNA (ssDNA) and RNA. Currently, the only PNAs observed on Earth are created artificially. However, it has been hypothesized that PNAs were precursors to DNA and RNA. PNAs are important to the field of astrobiology because they may be an alternative information molecule that life elsewhere in the galaxy uses.
Information molecules are molecules that all life forms, from viruses to humans, use for the passage of genetic information from one generation to the next. Information molecules are also provide the instructions for cell functions [1]. On Earth, two types of information molecules are used. There are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). DNA is a double-helical structure that is transcribed by RNA and in turn translated into proteins. Protein molecules carry out all cellular functions. This is central dogma of biology on Earth. However, synthetically made PNAs have shown that DNA and RNA are not the only information molecules that can exist. …show more content…

An important characteristic of PNAs is their backbone. The backbone of DNA is a deoxyribose-phosphodiester. This backbone is somewhat weak because it is negatively charged. In comparison, the backbone of PNAs is neutral, allowing for stronger binding [1]. In fact, PNA binds more strongly to DNA and RNA than DNA itself does. Chemically, PNAs are related to both proteins and DNA. Additionally, PNAs were not difficult to synthesize and are chemically stable. It was found that when PNAs bind to DNA they are efficient and have high sequence selectivity

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