Prof. John Charles Chaput 

Abstract: The birth of biotechnology marked a defining moment in American science that launched a multi-billion-dollar industry built on the concept that enzymes found in nature could be used to improve human health. This relatively simple idea revolutionized medicine by providing the tools need to synthesize, sequence, and manipulate DNA with exquisite precision. The panoply of applications that have emerged because of recombinant DNA technology—the core scientific discovery that fuelled the revolution—represent the vanguard of drug discovery and personalized medicine. Now, some forty-years later, we have begun asking the question: What discoveries could we make or what new technologies could we develop if we are no longer constrained to the natural genetic polymers of life? This talk will focus on the rise of artificial genetic systems, commonly referred to as XNAs, where X denotes a genetic polymer other than DNA and RNA. I will illustrate cases where natural enzymes have been redesigned by directed evolution to synthesize, propagate, and evolve artificial genetic polymers with backbone structures that are distinct from those found in nature. I will then demonstrate how XNAs are beginning to drive new applications in synthetic biology, biotechnology, and medicine.