Nickolas Chelyapov

A Sticker-Based Model for DNA Computation

We introduce a new model of molecular computation that we call the sticker model. Like many previous proposals it makes use of DNA strands as the physical substrate in which information is represented and of separation by hybridization as a central mechanism. However, unlike previous models, the stickers model has a random access memory that requires no strand extension and uses no enzymes; also (at least in theory), its materials are reusable. The paper describes computation under the stickers model and discusses possible means for physically implementing each operation. Finally, we go on to propose a specific machine architecture for implementing the stickers model as a microprocessor-controlled parallel robotic workstation. In the course of this development a number of previous general concerns about molecular computation (Smith, 1996; Hartmanis, 1995; Linial et al., 1995) are addressed. First, it is clear that general-purpose algorithms can be implemented by DNA-based computers, potentially solving a wide class of search problems. Second, we find that there are challenging problems, for which only modest volumes of DNA should suffice. Third, we demonstrate that the formation and breaking of covalent bonds is not intrinsic to DNA-based computation. Fourth, we show that a single essential biotechnology, sequence-specific separation, suffices for constructing a general-purpose molecular computer. Concerns about errors in this separation operation and means to reduce them are addressed elsewhere (Karp et al., 1995; Roweis and Winfree, 1999). Despite these encouraging theoretical advances, we emphasize that substantial engineering challenges remain at almost all stages and that the ultimate success or failure of DNA computing will certainly depend on whether these challenges can be met in laboratory investigations.

Solution of a Satisfiability Problem on a Gel-Based DNA Computer

We have succeeded in solving an instance of a 6-variable 11-clause 3-SAT problem on a gel-based DNA computer. Separations were performed using probes covalently bound to polyacrylamide gel. During the entire computation, DNA was retained within a single gel and moved via electrophoresis. The methods used appear to be readily automatable and should be suitable for problems of a significantly larger size.

Transmission of human hepatitis C virus from patients in secondary cells for long term culture.

Infection by human hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the principal cause of post-transfusion hepatitis and chronic liver diseases worldwide. A reliable in vitro culture system for the isolation and analysis of this virus is not currently available, and, as a consequence, HCV pathogenesis is poorly understood. We report here the first robust in vitro system for the isolation and propagation of HCV from infected donor blood. This system involves infecting freshly prepared macrophages with HCV and then transmission of macrophage-adapted virus into freshly immortalized B-cells from human fetal cord blood. Using this system, newly isolated HCV have been replicated in vitro in continuous cultures for over 130 weeks. These isolates were also transmitted by cell-free methods into different cell types, including B-cells, T-cells and neuronal precursor cells. These secondarily infected cells also produced in vitro transmissible infectious virus. Replication of HCV-RNA was validated by RT-PCR analysis and by in situ hybridization. Although nucleic acid sequencing of the HCV isolate reported here indicates that the isolate is probably of type 1a, other HCV types have also been isolated using this system. Western blot analysis shows the synthesis of major HCV structural proteins. We present here, for the first time, a method for productively growing HCV in vitro for prolonged periods of time. This method allows studies related to understanding the replication process, viral pathogenesis, and the development of anti-HCV drugs and vaccines.