Facilitating a new nucleic acid detection platform

DNA phosphorothioate (PT)-modification, with a non-bridging oxygen in the phosphodiester backbone substituted by sulfur, is an epigenetic marker in prokaryotes and is involved in the bacterial defense system, anti-oxidative stress, and gene regulation. PT-modification is specifically recognized by sulfur binding domains (SBDs) of PT-dependent restriction endonucleases, making it a potential tool for enabling biotechnology development. However, the unclear recognition sequence-range of SBDs limits the application.