Oligonucleotide

Oligonucleotides are short DNA or RNA molecules, oligomers, that have a wide range of applications in genetic testing, research, and forensics. Commonly made in the laboratory by solid-phase chemical synthesis,[1] these small fragments of nucleic acids can be manufactured as single-stranded molecules with any user-specified sequence, and so are vital for artificial gene synthesis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA sequencing, molecular cloning and as molecular probes. In nature, oligonucleotides are usually found as small RNA molecules that function in the regulation of gene expression (e.g. microRNA),[2] or are degradation intermediates derived from the breakdown of larger nucleic acid molecules.

Oligonucleotides are characterized by the sequence of nucleotide residues that make up the entire molecule. The length of the oligonucleotide is usually denoted by "-mer" (from Greek meros, "part"). For example, an oligonucleotide of six nucleotides (nt) is a hexamer, while one of 25 nt would usually be called a "25-mer". Oligonucleotides readily bind, in a sequence-specific manner, to their respective complementary oligonucleotides, DNA, or RNA to form duplexes or, less often, hybrids of a higher order. This basic property serves as a foundation for the use of oligonucleotides as probes for detecting specific sequences of DNA or RNA. Examples of procedures that use oligonucleotides include DNA microarrays, Southern blots, ASO analysis,[3] fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), PCR, and the synthesis of artificial genes.

Oligonucleotides are composed of 2'-deoxyribonucleotides (oligodeoxyribonucleotides), which can be modified at the backbone or on the 2' sugar position to achieve different pharmacological effects. These modifications give new properties to the oligonucleotides and make them a key element in antisense therapy.[4][5]

  1. ^ Yang J, Stolee JA, Jiang H, Xiao L, Kiesman WF, Antia FD, et al. (October 2018). "Solid-Phase Synthesis of Phosphorothioate Oligonucleotides Using Sulfurization Byproducts for in Situ Capping". The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 83 (19): 11577–11585. doi:10.1021/acs.joc.8b01553. PMID 30179468. S2CID 52157806.
  2. ^ Qureshi A, Thakur N, Monga I, Thakur A, Kumar M (1 January 2014). "VIRmiRNA: a comprehensive resource for experimentally validated viral miRNAs and their targets". Database. 2014: bau103. doi:10.1093/database/bau103. PMC 4224276. PMID 25380780.
  3. ^ Monga I, Qureshi A, Thakur N, Gupta AK, Kumar M (2017). "ASPsiRNA: A Resource of ASP-siRNAs Having Therapeutic Potential for Human Genetic Disorders and Algorithm for Prediction of Their Inhibitory Efficacy". G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics. 7 (9): 2931–2943. doi:10.1534/g3.117.044024. PMC 5592921. PMID 28696921.
  4. ^ Weiss, B., ed. (1997). Antisense Oligodeoxynucleotides and Antisense RNA : Novel Pharmacological and Therapeutic Agents. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press
  5. ^ Weiss B, Davidkova G, Zhou LW (1999). "Antisense RNA gene therapy for studying and modulating biological processes". Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. 55 (3): 334–58. doi:10.1007/s000180050296. PMC 11146801. PMID 10228554. S2CID 9448271.