Synergistic self-assembly of RNA and DNA molecules (original) (raw)

DNA has recently been used as a programmable 'smart' building block for the assembly of a wide range of nanostructures. It remains difficult, however, to construct DNA assemblies that are also functional. Incorporating RNA is a promising strategy to circumvent this issue as RNA is structurally related to DNA but exhibits rich chemical, structural and functional diversities. However, only a few examples of rationally designed RNA structures have been reported. Herein, we describe a simple, general strategy for the de novo design of nanostructures in which the selfassembly of RNA strands is programmed by DNA strands. To demonstrate the versatility of this approach, we have designed and constructed three different RNA-DNA hybrid branched nanomotifs (tiles), which readily assemble into one-dimensional nanofibres, extended twodimensional arrays and a discrete three-dimensional object. The current strategy could enable the integration of the precise programmability of DNA with the rich functionality of RNA. Molecular self-assembly holds promise as an effective approach for nanoconstruction 1-4. The use of DNA, in particular, has been extensively explored as smart building blocks 5-9. This has led to the successful assembly of many well-defined nanostructures 10-27 , but the question remains of how to prepare functional DNA assemblies. RNA, in contrast, exhibits rich chemical, structural and functional diversities. For example, mRNAs carry information that directs protein syntheses, and rRNAs fold and assemble into ribosomes. Ribozymes catalyse chemical reactions, aptamers can specifically bind to ligands, and microRNAs and siRNAs regulate gene activities. If RNA could be used as building blocks for nanoconstruction, it would be straightforward to incorporate naturally existing structural and functional RNA modalities into self-assembled nanostructures. However, the rational design and assembly of RNA architectures remains a challenge. Only a few examples have been Users may view, print, copy, download and text and data-mine the content in such documents, for the purposes of academic research, subject always to the full Conditions of use: