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Recreating the lost RNA World of primordial life
Illuminating the hidden RNA World of modern life
Please write to us for papers behind paywalls
Please write to us for papers behind paywalls
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH
At the University of Notre Dame
At the University of Notre Dame
2025
2025
^indicates co-corresponding authors
RNA Mango-based sensors for lead
Annyesha Biswas and Saurja DasGupta
Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 2025, Advance Article, https://doi.org/10.1039/D5OB00765H. LINK
Potentially prebiotic isocyanide activation chemistry drives RNA assembly
Stephanie J. Zhang, Xiwen Jia, Saurja DasGupta^ and Jack W. Szostak^
Chemical Communication, 2025, Advance Article, https://doi.org/10.1039/D5CC03937A. LINK
2024
2024
Synthetic antibodies for accelerated RNA crystallography
Saurja DasGupta
WIREs RNA, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1002/wrna.1869. LINK
Natural soda lakes provide compatible conditions for RNA and membrane function that could have enabled the origin of lifeZachary R. Cohen, Dian Ding, Lijun Zhou, Saurja DasGupta, Sebastian Haas, Kimberly P. Sinclair, Zoe R. Todd, Roy A. Black, Jack W. Szostak, and David C. Catling PNAS Nexus, 2024, 3, 1-9. LINK
At Massachusetts General Hospital (as a Postdoctoral Researcher)
At Massachusetts General Hospital (as a Postdoctoral Researcher)
2022
2022
^ indicates undergraduate researcher
Frontiers in Prebiotic Chemistry and Early Earth Environments
Ulrich F. Muller, James Elsila, Dustin Trail, Saurja DasGupta, Claudia-Corina Giese, Craig R. Walton, Zachary R. Cohen, Tomislav Stolar, Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy, Timothy W. Lyons, Karyn L. Rogers, Loren D. Williams
Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres, 2022, 52, 165-181. LINK
REVERSE: a user-friendly web server for analyzing next-generation sequencing data from in vitro selection/evolution experiments
Zoe Weiss^ and Saurja DasGupta
Nucleic Acids Research, 2022, 50, W1, W639–W650. LINK
2020
2020
Molecular Crowding and RNA Catalysis
Saurja DasGupta
Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2020, 18,7724-7739. LINK
PH.D. & POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH
PH.D. & POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH
2024
2024
^indicates co-corresponding authors
Evolution of the substrate specificity of an RNA ligase ribozyme from phosphorimidazole to triphosphate activation
Saurja DasGupta^, Zoe Weiss, Collin Nisler, and Jack W. Szostak^
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U. S. A., 2024, 121, e2407325121. LINK
2023
2023
* indicates joint first authors ^indicates co-corresponding authors
RNA-catalyzed RNA ligation within prebiotically-plausible model protocells
Saurja DasGupta*, Stephanie J. Zhang*, Merrick P. Smela, and Jack W. Szostak
Chemistry - A European Journal, 2023, e202301376. LINK
Molecular crowding facilitates ribozyme-catalyzed RNA assembly
Saurja DasGupta^, Stephanie J. Zhang, and Jack W. Szostak^
ACS Central Science, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1021/acscentsci.3c00547. LINK
2022
2022
* indicates joint first authors
Nonenzymatic assembly of active chimeric ribozymes from aminoacylated RNA oligonucleotides
Aleksandar Radakovic*, Saurja DasGupta*, Tom H Wright, Harry RM Aitken and Jack W Szostak
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U. S. A., 2022, 119, e2116840119. LINK
Structural basis for substrate binding and catalysis by a self-alkylating ribozyme Daniel Krochmal, Yaming Shao, Nan-Sheng Li, Saurja DasGupta, Sandip A. Shelke, Deepak Koirala, Joseph A. Piccirilli Nature Chemical Biology, 2022, 18, 376-384. LINK
2021
2021
^indicates co-corresponding authors
The hammerhead self-cleaving motif as a precursor to complex endonucleolytic ribozymes
Saurja DasGupta, Kamila Nykiel and Joseph A. Piccirilli
RNA, 2021, 27, 1017-1024. LINK
The Varkud Satellite Ribozyme: A Thirty-Year Journey through Biochemistry, Crystallography, and Computation
Saurja DasGupta^ and Joseph A. Piccirilli^
Accounts of Chemical Research, 2021, 54, 2591-2602. LINK
2020
2020
*indicates joint first authors
In vitro selection of ribozyme ligases that use prebiotically plausible 2-aminoimidazole–activated substrates
Travis Walton*, Saurja DasGupta*, Daniel Duzdevich, Seung Soo Oh, Jack W. Szostak
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U. S. A., 2020, 117, 5741-5748. LINK. Eureka Alert.
2019
2019
*indicates joint first authors
Hachimoji DNA and RNA: A genetic system with eight building blocks
Shuichi Hoshika*, Nicole A. Leal*, Myong-Jung Kim*, Myong-Sang Kim, Nilesh B. Karalkar, Hyo-Joong Kim, Alison M. Bates, Norman E. Watkins, Holly A. SantaLucia, Adam J. Meyer, Saurja DasGupta, Joseph A. Piccirilli, Andrew D. Ellington, John SantaLucia, Millie M. Georgiadis, Steven A. Benner
Science, 2019, 363, 884-887. LINK. Media Impact.
2018
2018
*indicates joint first authors
Affinity maturation of a portable Fab–RNA module for chaperone-assisted RNA crystallography
Deepak Koirala*, Sandip A. Shelke*, Marcel Dupont, Stormy Ruiz, Saurja DasGupta, Lucas J. Bailey, Steven A. Benner, Joseph A. Piccirilli
Nucleic Acids Research, 2018, 46, 2624-2635. LINK.
2017
2017
Structural basis for substrate helix remodeling and cleavage loop activation in the Varkud Satellite ribozyme
Saurja DasGupta, Nikolai B. Suslov, Joseph A. Piccirilli
Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2017, 139, 9591-9597. LINK.
2016
2016
Laboratory evolution of artificially expanded DNA gives redesignable aptamers that target the toxic form of anthrax protective antigen
Elisa Biondi, Joshua D. Lane, Debasis Das, Saurja DasGupta, Joseph A. Piccirilli, Shuichi Hoshika, Kevin M. Bradley, Bryan A. Krantz, Steven A. Benner
Nucleic Acids Research, 2016, 44, 9565-9577. LINK.
2015
2015
*indicates joint first authors
Crystal structure of the Varkud satellite ribozyme
Nikolai B Suslov*, Saurja DasGupta*, Hao Huang, James R, Fuller, David M. J. Lilley, Phoebe A. Rice, Joseph A. Piccirilli
Nature Chemical Biology, 2015, 11, 840-846. LINK. News & Views.
Spinach RNA aptamer detects lead (II) with high selectivity
Saurja DasGupta, Sandip A. Shelke, Nan-Sheng Li, , Joseph A. Piccirilli
Chemical Communications, 2015, 51, 9034-9037. LINK.
OPINION ARTICLES
OPINION ARTICLES
My lockdown literature-review challenge
Nature, 2021. LINK.
The language gap: Hidden struggles of the non-native speaker
ASBMB Today, 2020. LINK.
How memorable melodies can make your research sing
Nature, 2020. LINK. C&EN story.
Pseudoscience - in Theory and Practice: A Reply to Shanta and Muni’s ‘Why Biology is Beyond Physical Sciences?
Advances in Life Sciences, 2016, 6, 39-44. LINK. Blog adaptation.
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