Anthropic Identifies Enzyme System With DNA Repeats as Scientists Urge Further Testing

Anthropic has identified an enzyme system associated with repeating DNA sequences through an AI-assisted research programme, according to the company and The Verge. The finding has prompted scientific interest, alongside questions about its biological function and the extent of Claude’s role in the discovery.

Anthropic calls the system array-associated reverse transcriptases, or ART. It occurs mainly in bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, and combines a reverse transcriptase, a neighbouring partner gene and an array of regularly spaced DNA repeats.

Reverse transcriptases copy RNA into DNA, Anthropic explained. The company acknowledged that the underlying enzyme had appeared in earlier studies, but said Claude appeared to be the first to identify its associated repeat array and an additional protein whose function remains unknown.

Both Anthropic and The Verge described similarities between the repeat arrangement and CRISPR. However, Anthropic said ART’s primary function remains undetermined. The Verge reported that the work has not demonstrated gene editing and has not been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

According to Anthropic, researchers gave Claude a broad instruction to search a large DNA database for interesting reverse transcriptases. Roughly 950 agents searched for 21 hours, using 210 million tokens. The company said the agents gathered more than 200,000 reverse transcriptases, identified 3,500 candidate systems and selected 20 for detailed reports.

The Verge described the search as selecting 3,500 reverse transcriptases before narrowing the selection to 20. Anthropic’s account distinguished those candidate systems from the larger collection of enzymes examined.

Anthropic said one agent noticed repeated DNA sequences beside an unusual reverse transcriptase gene. It measured the repeats and their spacing, compared the arrangement with known systems and searched scientific literature before submitting its findings for human review.

Human scientists subsequently analysed and tested the system in the laboratory, according to both accounts. Anthropic said initial experiments showed that the repeat array produces distinct short RNA sequences. Further experiments are underway to establish how ART works.

The company introduced the finding alongside its life sciences research group and laboratory. Anthropic said the group formed in spring 2026 and that all physical laboratory work is performed by people. Its Bay Area facility operates at biosafety levels BSL-1 and BSL-2 and does not handle pathogens capable of infecting humans.

Scientific responses combined interest with caution. Anthropic quoted CRISPR researcher Feng Zhang, a professor at MIT and the Broad Institute, welcoming further investigation. The Verge reported that University of Minnesota associate professor Aaron Engelhart considered the results preliminary and said they did not establish gene editing or explain the mechanism.

The Verge also reported a challenge from Mario Rodríguez Mestre, who said his unpublished doctoral research described the same viral signatures. Mestre said he had used Claude extensively and entered unpublished research into his private account. He explicitly said he could not demonstrate that Anthropic deliberately took his work. The Verge reported that Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment.

Other researchers distinguished large-scale pattern detection from establishing useful biological knowledge. According to The Verge, King’s College London professor Gustavo Sudre saw greater autonomy in Claude’s search, while University of Texas at Austin professor Ilya Finkelstein emphasised the importance of expert guidance.

Anthropic said it had released a preprint to share the early findings. Establishing the system’s function and whether it has practical biotechnology applications remains the subject of laboratory investigation, according to the company and The Verge.

Sources

• The Verge: Anthropic’s biolab made a discovery it’s comparing to Crispr
• Claude discovers a novel enzyme system with CRISPR-like repeats