RNA can be genetically engineered to allow scientists to program the actions of a cell, according to a research team from the University of Warwick. This technique could be used to fight disease in humans as well as make plants more resilient to disease and pests.
Professor Alfonso Jaramillo, who is part of the Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre, says that RNA can be produced and organized into tailor-made sequences of commands, similar to computer code, which feed specific instructions into cells, programming them to do what they are instructed.
In the study published in Nucleic Acids Research last month, the researchers modeled all possible RNA sequence interactions on a computer, and then constructed the DNA encoding the optimal RNA designs, to be validated on bacteria cells in the laboratory.
After inducing the bacterial cells to produce the genetically engineered RNA sequences, the researchers observed that they had altered the gene expression of the cells according to the RNA program, demonstrating that cells can be programmed with pre-defined RNA commands, in the manner of a computer's microprocessor.
"The capabilities of RNA molecules to interact in a predictable manner, and with alternative conformations, has allowed us to engineer networks of molecular switches that could be made to process arbitrary orders encoded in RNA, Jaramillo explains.
Image: RNA sequence of command. Image courtesy of Professor Jaramillo/University of Warwick