Aptamers and the RNA World, Past and Present
Larry Gold1,2, Nebojsa Janjic2, Thale Jarvis2, Dan Schneider2, Jeffrey J. Walker2, Sheri K. Wilcox2 and Dom Zichi2
-Author Affiliations
1Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309
2SomaLogic, Boulder, Colorado 80301
Correspondence: lgold@somalogic.com
SUMMARY
Aptamers and the SELEX process were discovered over two decades ago. These discoveries have spawned a productive academic and commercial industry. The collective results provide insights into biology, past and present, through an in vitro evolutionary exploration of the nature of nucleic acids and their potential roles in ancient life. Aptamers have helped usher in an RNA renaissance. Here we explore some of the evolution of the aptamer field and the insights it has provided for conceptualizing an RNA world, from its nascence to our current endeavor employing aptamers in human proteomics to discover biomarkers of health and disease.
Copyright © 2010 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved
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