Artificially Expanded Genetic Information System

{{Short description|Synthetic DNA analog experiment}}

Artificially Expanded Genetic Information System (AEGIS) is a synthetic DNA analog experiment that uses some unnatural base pairs from the laboratories of the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Gainesville, Florida. AEGIS is a NASA-funded project to try to understand how extraterrestrial life may have developed.{{cite news|last1=Lloyd|first1=Robin|title=New Artificial DNA Points to Alien Life|url=http://www.livescience.com/3332-artificial-dna-points-alien-life.html|accessdate=5 July 2016|work=LiveScience|date=February 14, 2009}}

The system uses twelve different nucleobases in its genetic code. These include the four canonical nucleobases found in DNA (adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine) plus eight synthetic nucleobases (S, B, Z, P, V, J, K, and X).{{cite journal|last1=Yang|first1=Z.|last2=Hutter|first2=D.|last3=Sheng|first3=P.|last4=Sismour|first4=A. M.|last5=Benner|first5=S. A.|title=Artificially expanded genetic information system: a new base pair with an alternative hydrogen bonding pattern|journal=Nucleic Acids Research|date=29 October 2006|volume=34|issue=21|pages=6095–6101|doi=10.1093/nar/gkl633|url= |pmid=17074747|pmc=1635279}}{{cite journal|last1=Benner|first1=SA|last2=Hutter|first2=D|last3=Sismour|first3=AM|title=Synthetic biology with artificially expanded genetic information systems. From personalized medicine to extraterrestrial life.|journal=Nucleic Acids Research. Supplement |volume=3|date=1 September 2003|issue=3|pages=125–6|pmid=14510412|doi=10.1093/nass/3.1.125}}{{cite journal|last1=Benner|first1=Steven A.|title=Defining Life|journal=Astrobiology|date=December 2010|volume=10|issue=10|pages=1021–1030|doi=10.1089/ast.2010.0524|bibcode=2010AsBio..10.1021B|pmc=3005285|pmid=21162682}}{{cite news|last1=Klotz|first1=Irene|title=Synthetic life form grows in Florida lab|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/29430688/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113234920/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/29430688/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 13, 2016|accessdate=5 July 2016|work=Science|date=February 27, 2009}} AEGIS includes S:B, Z:P, V:J and K:X base pairs.{{Cite journal |pmc = 4142867|year = 2014|last1 = Bradley|first1 = K. M.|title = OligArch: A software tool to allow artificially expanded genetic information systems (AEGIS) to guide the autonomous self-assembly of long DNA constructs from multiple DNA single strands|journal = Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry|volume = 10|pages = 1826–1833|last2 = Benner|first2 = S. A.|pmid = 25161743|doi = 10.3762/bjoc.10.192}}{{cite journal|title=Structure and stability of different triplets involving artificial nucleobases: clues for the formation of semisynthetic triple helical DNA|journal=Scientific Reports|volume=13|issue=|pages=19246|year=2023|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-46572-4|pmid=|pmc=10630353|doi=10.1038/s41598-023-46572-4|jstor= |last1=Jena |first1=N. R. |last2=Shukla |first2=P. K. |bibcode=2023NatSR..1319246J }}