Shukla, Madhura S.Hoshika, ShuichiBenner, Steven A.Georgiadis, Millie M.2023-10-172023-10-172023Shukla MS, Hoshika S, Benner SA, Georgiadis MM. Crystal structures of 'ALternative Isoinformational ENgineered' DNA in B-form. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2023;378(1871):20220028. doi:10.1098/rstb.2022.0028https://hdl.handle.net/1805/36397The first structural model of duplex DNA reported in 1953 by Watson & Crick presented the double helix in B-form, the form that genomic DNA exists in much of the time. Thus, artificial DNA seeking to mimic the properties of natural DNA should also be able to adopt B-form. Using a host-guest system in which Moloney murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase serves as the host and DNA as the guests, we determined high-resolution crystal structures of three complexes including 5'-CTTBPPBBSSZZSAAG, 5'-CTTSSPBZPSZBBAAG and 5'-CTTZZPBSBSZPPAAG with 10 consecutive unnatural nucleobase pairs in B-form within self-complementary 16 bp duplex oligonucleotides. We refer to this ALternative Isoinformational ENgineered (ALIEN) genetic system containing two nucleobase pairs (P:Z, pairing 2-amino-imidazo-[1,2-a]-1,3,5-triazin-(8H)-4-one with 6-amino-5-nitro-(1H)-pyridin-2-one, and B:S, 6-amino-4-hydroxy-5-(1H)-purin-2-one with 3-methyl-6-amino-pyrimidin-2-one) as ALIEN DNA. We characterized both position- and sequence-specific helical, nucleobase pair and dinucleotide step parameters of P:Z and B:S pairs in the context of B-form DNA. We conclude that ALIEN DNA exhibits structural features that vary with sequence. Further, Z can participate in alternative stacking modes within a similar sequence context as captured in two different structures. This finding suggests that ALIEN DNA may have a larger repertoire of B-form structures than natural DNA. This article is part of the theme issue 'Reactivity and mechanism in chemical and synthetic biology'.en-USAttribution 4.0 InternationalALIEN DNACrystal structuresB-form DNAxNAUnnatural DNAArticle