Scientists show enzyme can read 8 DNA letters, doubling the genetic alphabet

All life on Earth, from bacteria to blue whales, writes its genetic instructions using the same four-letter alphabet. These four DNA bases, usually referred to as A, T, C and G, pair up in predictable ways to store and pass on the information needed for life. Now, researchers at UC San Diego have taken a bold step beyond that universal code. In new experiments, they showed that an existing bacterial enzyme can accurately read and transcribe DNA that includes four additional, synthetic letters, effectively doubling the genetic alphabet. As reported by ScienceDaily, the work shows that the machinery of life can be expanded in the lab without redesigning enzymes from scratch, opening fresh possibilities for synthetic biology, medicine and our understanding of what life could be.The natural four letter codeThe story of life as we know it is written in a language of just four chemical characters.