Reconfiguration of DNA molecular arrays driven by information relay

Abstract

Relaying information on DNA tiles: Arrays of modular DNA units can relay information by transforming their internal shape in response to binding of DNA trigger strands. Song et al. synthesized rectangular arrays of double-stranded DNA (see the Perspective by Yang and Lin). Transient square configurations transform into two stable rectangular structures by pinching across a pair of opposing vertices. Binding of DNA trigger strands causes switching into the alternative stable configuration. The tiles thus create a cascade of transformations along a particular pathway, thereby transmitting information about where binding occurred. Science , this issue p. eaan3377 ; see also p. 352