Wright M C, Joyce G F
Department of Chemistry, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
Science. 1997 Apr 25;276(5312):614-7. doi: 10.1126/science.276.5312.614.
A population of RNA molecules that catalyze the template-directed ligation of RNA substrates was made to evolve in a continuous manner in the test tube. A simple serial transfer procedure was used to achieve approximately 300 successive rounds of catalysis and selective amplification in 52 hours. During this time, the population size was maintained against an overall dilution of 3 x 10(298). Both the catalytic rate and amplification rate of the RNAs improved substantially as a consequence of mutations that accumulated during the evolution process. Continuous in vitro evolution makes it possible to maintain laboratory "cultures" of catalytic molecules that can be perpetuated indefinitely.
使一群能催化RNA底物进行模板导向连接反应的RNA分子在试管中持续进化。采用一种简单的连续转移程序，在52小时内实现了约300轮连续的催化和选择性扩增。在此期间，群体规模得以维持，以抵抗3×10²⁹⁸的总体稀释。由于在进化过程中积累的突变，RNA的催化速率和扩增速率都有了显著提高。连续的体外进化使得维持催化分子的实验室“培养物”成为可能，这些“培养物”可以无限期延续。
