FROM OLIGONUCLEOTIDE SHAPES TO GENOMIC SELEX - NOVEL BIOLOGICAL REGULATORY LOOPS

The SELEX method and oligonucleotide combinatorial chemistry discovery process yields high-affinity/high-specificity ligands for virtually a ny molecular target. Typically, the enormous starting libraries used i n the SELEX process contain 10(14)-10(15) sequences, We now ask if the smaller sequences, complexity of extant organisms, and evolutionary h istory provide useful interactions between oligonucleotides and at lea st some unexpected targets. That is, do organisms contain a robust ''l inkage map'' between their oligonucleotides and proteins and/or small molecules that enriches life?