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Sep 4, 2026

Scientists expand genetic alphabet from 4 to 8 letters in functioning system

UC San Diego researchers demonstrated that a key cellular enzyme can accurately read an eight-letter genetic alphabet, doubling the four DNA letters used by all known life on Earth, with potential applications in synthetic biology and medicine.

Sep 4, 2026·2 sources

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▪Researchers at the University of California San Diego demonstrated that Escherichia coli RNA polymerase can accurately read and transcribe an expanded, eight-letter genetic alphabet
▪The study demonstrating the transcription of the eight-letter genetic alphabet was published on September 2, 2026, in Nature Communications and led by Dong Wang, PhD, of UC San Diego
▪The structural snapshots revealed that Escherichia coli RNA polymerase recognizes synthetic DNA letters through the same biochemical and structural signals as natural base pairs

Topics

Molecular biology Genetic engineering Synthetic biology