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Molecular biology stories

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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Top claims

▪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

Subtopics

Genetic engineering Synthetic biology

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