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Computational genes: a tool for molecular diagnosis and therapy of aberrant mutational phenotype.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: A finite state machine manipulating information-carrying DNA strands can be used to perform autonomous molecular-scale computations at the cellular level. RESULTS: We propose a new finite state machine able to detect and correct aberrant molecular phenotype given by mutated genetic transcripts. The aberrant mutations trigger a cascade reaction: specific molecular markers as input are released and induce a spontaneous self-assembly of a wild type protein or peptide, while the mutational disease phenotype is silenced. We experimentally demostrated in in vitro translation system that a viable protein can be autonomously assembled. CONCLUSION: Our work demostrates the basic principles of computational genes and particularly, their potential to detect mutations, and as a response thereafter administer an output that suppresses the aberrant disease phenotype and/or restores the lost physiological function.

SUBMITTER: Martinez-Perez IM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2175521 | biostudies-literature | 2007

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Computational genes: a tool for molecular diagnosis and therapy of aberrant mutational phenotype.

Martínez-Pérez Israel M IM Zhang Gong G Ignatova Zoya Z Zimmermann Karl-Heinz KH

BMC bioinformatics 20070928

<h4>Background</h4>A finite state machine manipulating information-carrying DNA strands can be used to perform autonomous molecular-scale computations at the cellular level.<h4>Results</h4>We propose a new finite state machine able to detect and correct aberrant molecular phenotype given by mutated genetic transcripts. The aberrant mutations trigger a cascade reaction: specific molecular markers as input are released and induce a spontaneous self-assembly of a wild type protein or peptide, while ...[more]

PMID: 17903261

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Computational genes: a tool for molecular diagnosis and therapy of aberrant mutational phenotype.

Publications

Computational genes: a tool for molecular diagnosis and therapy of aberrant mutational phenotype.

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