A synthetic molecular system capable of mirror-image genetic replication and transcription

A mirror-image polymerase—a version of African swine fever virus polymerase X made from D-amino acids—has now been chemically synthesized. This polymerase can catalyse template-directed L-DNA replication and transcription from L-DNA into L-RNA. These reactions represent two key steps in the central dogma of molecular biology—but demonstrated using the opposite chirality.