Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Physical Sciences, Chemistry, Multidisciplinary, Chemistry, chemical evolution, chlorouracil, DNA, nucleic acids, xenobiology, ESCHERICHIA-COLI K-12, RNA, BROMODEOXYURIDINE, SELECTION, TOLERANT, MUTANTS, THYMINE, GROWTH, ACID, Bacteria, DNA, Bacterial, Escherichia coli, Evolution, Chemical, Evolution, Molecular, Genome, Bacterial, Uracil, 03 Chemical Sciences, Organic Chemistry, 34 Chemical sciences

Abstract:

Automated selection was used to evolve an Escherichia coli strain unable to synthesize thymine nucleotides into a chemically modified organism whose DNA genome is composed of adenine, cytosine, guanine, and an artificial base, the thymine analogue 5-chlorouracil. Evolving cells were initially observed as irregular filaments and progressively recovered the appearance of short rods typical of wild-type E. coli (see picture). Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.