Juan Dong

Amplified detection of nucleic acid by G-quadruplex based hybridization chain reaction.

A protein-free, isothermal, self-amplified nucleic acid sensing system which was a G-quadruplex integrated hybridization chain reaction (GQ-HCR) system was developed. The G-quadruplex was closed two-thirds in the loop and one-third in the stem of one of the GQ-HCR hairpin probes. In the absence of the target molecule, the GQ-HCR probes stayed as inactive meta-stable hairpin structures and the G-quadruplex was inert. Reversely, the GQ-HCR probes could be cross-opened to start a hybridization chain reaction and the closed G-quadruplex could be released to be free when the GQ-HCR probes came across the target molecule. The GQ-HCR nucleic acid sensing system could detect as low as 7.5 nM ssDNA or RNA by the colorimetric method and 4 nM ssDNA by the fluorometric method. Less than 10 copies of dsDNA template could also be detected when PCR was combined with the GQ-HCR system (PCR+GQ-HCR). Because of these advantages, the GQ-HCR system was also studied for application in visual chip detection to obtain a satisfactory repeatable and specific result.

DNA based identification of medicinal materials in Chinese patent medicines

Chinese patent medicines (CPM) are highly processed and easy to use Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The market for CPM in China alone is tens of billions US dollars annually and some of the CPM are also used as dietary supplements for health augmentation in the western countries. But concerns continue to be raised about the legality, safety and efficacy of many popular CPM. Here we report a pioneer work of applying molecular biotechnology to the identification of CPM, particularly well refined oral liquids and injections. Whats more, this PCR based method can also be developed to an easy to use and cost-effective visual chip by taking advantage of G-quadruplex based Hybridization Chain Reaction. This study demonstrates that DNA identification of specific Medicinal materials is an efficient and cost-effective way to audit highly processed CPM and will assist in monitoring their quality and legality.

Sequence-specific RNA Photocleavage by Single-stranded DNA in Presence of Riboflavin.

Constant efforts have been made to develop new method to realize sequence-specific RNA degradation, which could cause inhibition of the expression of targeted gene. Herein, by using an unmodified short DNA oligonucleotide for sequence recognition and endogenic small molecue, vitamin B2 (riboflavin) as photosensitizer, we report a simple strategy to realize the sequence-specific photocleavage of targeted RNA. The DNA strand is complimentary to the target sequence to form DNA/RNA duplex containing a G•U wobble in the middle. The cleavage reaction goes through oxidative elimination mechanism at the nucleoside downstream of U of the G•U wobble in duplex to obtain unnatural RNA terminal, and the whole process is under tight control by using light as switch, which means the cleavage could be carried out according to specific spatial and temporal requirements. The biocompatibility of this method makes the DNA strand in combination with riboflavin a promising molecular tool for RNA manipulation.

Signal amplification of glucosamine-6-phosphate based on ribozyme glmS.

Ribozyme glmS based isothermal amplification assay is developed for the colorimetric detection of glucosamine-6-phosphate (GlcN6P). Upon binding to the metabolite target GlcN6P, self-cleavage of glmS ribozyme is initiated to release RNA fragment that can trigger the cascade signal amplification to release large amount of G-quadruplex DNAzymes as reporter for colorimetric detection. Given the importance of GlcN6P for cell wall biosynthesis, the glmS riboswitch has become a new drug target for the development of antibiotics. This assay not only offers a convenient detection of GlcN6P with high specificity and sensitivity, but also provides a platform for high-throughput screening of antibiotics based on glmS riboswitches.

Colorimetric PCR-Based microRNA Detection Method Based on Small Organic Dye and Single Enzyme

microRNAs (miRNAs) have been a class of promising disease diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for their important biological functions. However, because of the high homology, interference from precursors (pri-miRNA, pre-miRNA), as well as limitations in the current assay technologies, it poses high demand and challenge for a specific, efficient, and economic miRNA assay method. Here, we propose a new miRNA detection method based on a label-free probe and a small organic dye with sequence dependence, realizing the sequence-specific and colorimetric detection of target miRNA. What is pleasantly surprising, only one enzyme is enough to propel the whole miRNA assay process, greatly simplifying the reaction component and detection process. Together with PCR amplification for the high enough sensitivity and three checks for specificity control, a detection limit of 5 fM was obtained and even one mutation could be discriminated visually. Overall, the new method makes much progress in convenience and economy of PCR-based miRNA assay method so that miRNA assay is going to be more friendly and affordable.

Weigh Biomaterials by Quantifying Species-specific DNA with Real-time PCR

What’s on the label is not what’s in the bottle, from food products to herbal medicinal products (HMPs), economically-motivated biomaterials adulteration is a long-term problem affecting the food and drug industry. Accurate identification of the biomaterial ingredients in processed commodities is highly desirable. In this field, DNA-based techniques have proved to be powerful tools to overcome qualitative challenges. However, is it possible to quantify the weight of biological materials with PCR? Therefore, a basic scientific question needs to be answered: what’s the relationship between DNA content and the mass of biological materials? Is DNA content directly proportional to the mass of biological materials as most of the researchers previously thought? In this study, we firstly found that there exists a linear relation between DNA contents and the weight of biomaterials indeed when the analytical practices are fully controlled. In this case, the mass of targeted biomaterials in the highly processed commercial products can also be calculated by quantifying the species-specific DNA through classic real-time PCR with a good reproducibility.

A general solution for opening double-stranded DNA for isothermal amplification

Nucleic acid amplification is the core technology of molecular biology and genetic engineering. Various isothermal amplification techniques have been developed as alternatives to polymerase chain reaction (PCR). However, most of these methods can only detect single stranded nucleic acid. Herein, we put forward a simple solution for opening double-stranded DNA for isothermal detection methods. The strategy employs recombination protein from E. coli (RecA) to form nucleoprotein complex with single-stranded DNA, which could scan double-stranded template for homologous sites. Then, the nucleoprotein can invade the double-stranded template to form heteroduplex in the presence of ATP, resulting in the strand exchange. The ATP regeneration system could be eliminated by using high concentration of ATP, and the 3′-OH terminal of the invasion strand can be recognized by other DNA modifying enzymes such as DNA polymerase or DNA ligase. Moreover, dATP was found to be a better cofactor for RecA, which make the system more compatible to DNA polymerase. The method described here is a general solution to open dsDNA, serving as a platform to develop more isothermal nucleic acids detection methods for real DNA samples based on it.