{"id":2646,"date":"2026-09-07T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/?p=2646"},"modified":"2026-09-07T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T15:00:00","slug":"rna-polymerase-reads-eight-letter-dna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/en\/2026\/09\/07\/rna-polymerase-reads-eight-letter-dna\/","title":{"rendered":"Eight-Letter DNA: A Natural Enzyme Reads the Expanded Code"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"netgu-2077234420\" class=\"netgu-before-content netgu-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6258556257245998\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6258556257245998\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"3494115342\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A team at the University of California San Diego has shown that one of the cell&#8217;s most essential enzymes accurately reads an artificially expanded DNA built from eight letters instead of four. The work appeared on 2 September 2026 in <em>Nature Communications<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">RNA polymerase recognizes synthetic bases like natural ones<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The genetic code of all known life uses four letters: A, T, G and C. So-called hachimoji DNA (Japanese for &#8220;eight letters&#8221;) adds four synthetic bases that form two extra pairs. The group led by Professor Dong Wang of the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences tested whether RNA polymerase from the bacterium <em>Escherichia coli<\/em> could process this expanded code. That enzyme reads DNA and rewrites it into RNA, the first step of every gene expression.<\/p><div id=\"netgu-1395510754\" class=\"netgu-content netgu-entity-placement\"><aside class=\"deals-top deals-top--compact\">\n\n\t\t\t<h3 class=\"deals-top__title\">Top-Deals<\/h3>\n\t\n\t\t\t<ul class=\"deals-top__list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/ml2u-226-watch-face-fuer-wearos-im-google-play-store\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/10\/deal-3-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">ML2U 226 Watch Face f\u00fcr WearOS im Google Play Store<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">Gratis<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<s>1.39 \u20ac<\/s>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-discount\">-100%<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t55\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/star-citizen-twitch-drops-deko-fuer-den-hangar\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/10\/source-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">Star Citizen Twitch Drops \u2013 Deko f\u00fcr den Hangar<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">Gratis<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t55\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/moon-knight-digital-watch-face-fuer-wear-os-4\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/09\/deal-27-150x150.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">MOON KNIGHT Digital Watch Face f\u00fcr Wear OS 4+<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">Gratis<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<s>0.89 \u20ac<\/s>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-discount\">-100%<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t55\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/battlefield-6-code-fuer-spielerkartenhintergrund-und-titel\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/10\/battlefield-6-how-to-redeem-codes-asset-code-9-2026_de-150x150.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">Battlefield 6 \u2013 Code f\u00fcr Spielerkartenhintergrund und Titel<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">Gratis<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t55\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"deals-top__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"deals-top__link\" href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/de\/deals\/train-sim-world-7-starter-pack-kostenlos-fuer-ps4-ps5-xbox-pc\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img class=\"deals-top__image\" src=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/09\/capsule_616x353-11-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"52\" height=\"52\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__name\">Train Sim World 7: Starter Pack kostenlos f\u00fcr PS4, PS5, Xbox, PC<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__price\">Gratis<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"deals-top__temperature\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t55\u00b0\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"deals-top__more\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/netguide.io\/deals\/\">Alle Deals ansehen \u2192<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Using high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy, the researchers visualized how the enzyme grips the synthetic letters atom by atom. The finding: the polymerase recognizes the synthetic bases through the same chemical and structural signals as the natural ones and transcribes them precisely. This provides the first structural evidence that cells can process synthetic genetic information with their own machinery.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The team sees applications in custom-built biological systems and in new diagnostics and therapeutics. For now it remains foundational lab research; practical use of expanded genetics is a long way off. A companion study from the same group on hydrophobic base pairs appeared in <em>PNAS<\/em> in August 2026.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sources: <a href=\"https:\/\/today.ucsd.edu\/story\/breakthrough-helps-expand-genetic-alphabet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UC San Diego<\/a> &middot; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/ncomms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nature Communications<\/a><\/p><div id=\"netgu-2730196523\" class=\"netgu-after-content netgu-entity-placement\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-6258556257245998\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6258556257245998\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"4559785002\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UC San Diego researchers show that RNA polymerase from E. coli transcribes a synthetic eight-letter DNA just as accurately as life&#8217;s natural four-letter code.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_affilinode_tracking":"","_affilinode_autolink_off":false,"_affilinode_rating":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1710],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wissenschaft-en"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2646"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2656,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646\/revisions\/2656"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/netguide.io\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}