Saurja DasGupta

Emergence of diverse ligase reactivities from a single RNA evolution experiment

This study shows that a single RNA evolution experiment generated multiple distinct ligase ribozymes with diverse reactivities, highlighting RNA's catalytic flexibility and evolutionary potential.

A ribozyme ligase that requires a 3' terminal phosphate on its RNA substrate

This paper discovers a ribozyme ligase that specifically catalyzes RNA ligation when the substrate has a 3'-phosphate group, suggesting a role in primordial RNA repair and offering new tools for RNA profiling.

Population dynamics of ribozymes during in vitro selection

The paper tracks ribozyme population dynamics during in vitro selection using high-throughput sequencing data, revealing early convergence on catalytic strategies.

Potentially Prebiotic Isocyanide Activation Chemistry Drives RNA Assembly via both Nonenzymatic and Ribozyme-catalyzed Ligation

This study shows prebiotic isocyanide chemistry activates RNA building blocks, enabling both nonenzymatic and ribozyme-catalyzed RNA ligation, supporting a unified model for RNA assembly on early Earth.

RNA Mango-based Sensors for Lead

This paper develops RNA Mango-based sensors for detecting lead, showing high sensitivity and selectivity with low detection limits.

Evolution of the substrate specificity of an RNA ligase ribozyme from phosphorimidazole- to triphosphate-activation

This study shows that an RNA ligase ribozyme evolved from using phosphorimidazole-activated substrates to triphosphate-activated substrates through neutral mutations, leading to a new structure and function.

REVERSE: A user-friendly web server for analyzing next-generation sequencing data from in vitro selection/evolution experiments

REVERSE provides a web-based tool for rapid analysis of NGS data from in vitro selection/evolution experiments, offering preprocessing and sequence analysis without requiring programming skills.