Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Reflections of a Darwinian Engineer

  • Mini Review
  • Published:
Journal of Molecular Evolution Aims and scope Submit manuscript

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Bartel DP, Szostak JW (1993) Isolation of new ribozymes from a large pool of random sequences. Science 261:1411–1417

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beaudry AA, Joyce GF (1992) Directed evolution of an RNA enzyme. Science 257:635–641

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bock LC, Griffin LC, Latham JA, Vermaas EH, Toole JJ (1992) Selection of single-stranded DNA molecules that bind and inhibit human thrombin. Nature 355:564–566

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cadwell RC, Joyce GF (1992) Randomization of genes by PCR mutagenesis. PCR Methods Appl 2:28–33

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Connell GJ, Illangesekare M, Yarus M (1993) Three small ribooligonucleotides with specific arginine sites. Biochemistry 32:5497–5502

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ekland EH, Bartel DP (1996) RNA-catalysed RNA polymerization using nucleoside triphosphates. Nature 382:373–376

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ellington AD, Szostak JW (1990) In vitro selection of RNA molecules that bind specific ligands. Nature 346:818–822

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Famulok M, Szostak JW (1992) Stereospecific recognition of tryptophan agarose by in vitro selected RNA. J Am Chem Soc 114:3990–3991

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Garbesi A, Capobianco ML, Colonna FP, Tondelli L, Arcamone F, Manzini G, Hilbers CW, Aelen JM, Blommers MJ (1993) L-DNAs as potent antimessenger oligonucleotides: a reassessment. Nucleic Acids Res 21:4159–4165

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert W (1986) The RNA world. Nature 319:618

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guatelli JC, Whitfield KM, Kwoh DY, Barringer KJ, Richman DD, Gingeras TR (1990) Isothermal, in vitro amplification of nucleic acids by a multienzyme reaction modeled after retroviral replication. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 87:1874–1878

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jellinek D, Lynott CK, Rifkin DB, Janjić N (1993) High-affinity RNA ligands to basic fibroblast growth factor inhibit receptor binding. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 90:11227–11231

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Joyce GF (1989) Amplification, mutation, and selection of catalytic RNA. Gene 82:83–87

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Joyce GF (1999) The counterforce. Curr Biol 9:R500–R501

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Joyce GF, Inoue T (1989) A novel technique for the rapid preparation of mutant RNAs. Nucleic Acids Res 17:711–722

    PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kunkel TA, Schaaper RM, Loeb LA (1983) Depurination-induced infidelity of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis with purified deoxyribonucleic acid replication proteins in vitro. Biochemistry 22:2378–2384

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lin Y, Qiu Q, Gill SC, Jayasena SD (1994) Modified RNA sequence pools in in vitro selection. Nucleic Acids Res 22:5229–5234

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lincoln TA, Joyce GF (2009) Self-sustained replication of an RNA enzyme. Science 323:1229–1232

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mills DR, Peterson RL, Spiegelman S (1967) An extracellular Darwinian experiment with a self-duplicating nucleic acid molecule. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 58:217–224

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oliphant AR, Nussbaum AL, Struhl K (1986) Cloning of random-sequence oligodeoxynucleotides. Gene 44:177–183

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pinheiro V, Taylor A, Cozens C, Abramov M, Renders M, Zhang S, Chaput JC, Wengel J, Peak-Chew S, McLaughlin S, Herdewijn P, Holliger P (2012) Synthetic genetic polymers capable of heredity and evolution. Science 336:341–344

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pynchon T (1973) Gravity’s rainbow. Viking Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson DL, Joyce GF (1990) Selection in vitro of an RNA enzyme that specifically cleaves single-stranded DNA. Nature 344:467–468

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sczepanski JT, Joyce GF (2013) Binding of a structured D-RNA molecule by an L-RNA aptamer. J Am Chem Soc 35:13290–13293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sczepanski JT, Joyce GF (2014) A cross-chiral RNA polymerase ribozyme. Nature 515:440–442

    Article  PubMed Central  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shearman CW, Loeb LA (1983) On the fidelity of DNA replication: specificity of nucleotide substitution by intercalating agents. J Biol Chem 258:4477–4484

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tarasow TM, Tarasow SL, Eaton BE (1997) RNA-catalysed carbon–carbon bond formation. Nature 389:54–57

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tuerk C, Gold L (1990) Systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment: RNA ligands to bacteriophage T4 DNA polymerase. Science 249:505–510

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wells JA, Vasser M, Powers DB (1985) Cassette mutagenesis: an efficient method for generation of multiple mutations at defined sites. Gene 34:315–323

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wochner A, Attwater J, Coulson A, Holliger P (2011) Ribozyme-catalyzed transcription of an active ribozyme. Science 332:209–212

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wright MC, Joyce GF (1997) Continuous in vitro evolution of catalytic function. Science 276:614–617

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yu H, Zhang S, Chaput JC (2012) Darwinian evolution of an alternative genetic system provides support for TNA as an RNA progenitor. Nat Chem 4:183–187

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by NASA (Grant No. NNX14AK15G) and the Simons Foundation (Grant No. SCOL287624).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA

    Gerald F. Joyce

Authors
  1. Gerald F. Joyce
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gerald F. Joyce.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The author declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Joyce, G.F. Reflections of a Darwinian Engineer. J Mol Evol 81, 146–149 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-015-9724-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-015-9724-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation