Open AccessMutations in artificial self-replicating tiles: A step toward Darwinian evolution
Author(s) -
Feng Zhou,
Ruojie Sha,
Heng Ni,
Nadrian C. Seeman,
P. M. Chaikin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2111193118
Subject(s) - exponential growth , replication (statistics) , mutation rate , darwinism , replicate , mutation , dimer , biology , directed evolution , dna replication , synthetic biology , evolutionary biology , biological system , computational biology , genetics , dna , chemistry , physics , mathematics , gene , statistics , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics , virology , mutant
Significance In nature, mutation is the first step of evolution, where it provides the genetic variation for the natural selection to act. Here we take a system of artificial self-replicating tiles, DNA origami, that exhibit templated reproduction. We can generate a small fraction of mutations by introducing a mismatch in hybridization between parent and daughter. We can modify the origami functionality to affect the growth rate of the mutated species, giving it less or more evolutionary advantage, and to become dominant in several generations. The introduction of mutations into an artificial self-replicating system provides new directions for research into self-assembly processes.