Engineering a Nickase on the Homing Endonuclease I-DmoI Scaffold.

Homing endonucleases are useful tools for genome modification because of their capability to recognize and cleave specifically large DNA targets. These endonucleases generate a DNA double strand break that can be repaired by the DNA damage response machinery. The break can be repaired by homologous recombination, an error-free mechanism, or by non-homologous end joining, a process susceptible to introducing errors in the repaired sequence. The type of DNA cleavage might alter the balance between these two alternatives. The use of "nickases" producing a specific single strand break instead of a double strand break could be an approach to reduce the toxicity associated with non-homologous end joining by promoting the use of homologous recombination to repair the cleavage of a single DNA break. Taking advantage of the sequential DNA cleavage mechanism of I-DmoI LAGLIDADG homing endonuclease, we have developed a new variant that is able to cut preferentially the coding DNA strand, generating a nicked DNA target. Our structural and biochemical analysis shows that by decoupling the action of the catalytic residues acting on each strand we can inhibit one of them while keeping the other functional.

BuD, a helix-loop-helix DNA-binding domain for genome modification.

DNA editing offers new possibilities in synthetic biology and biomedicine for modulation or modification of cellular functions to organisms. However, inaccuracy in this process may lead to genome damage. To address this important problem, a strategy allowing specific gene modification has been achieved through the addition, removal or exchange of DNA sequences using customized proteins and the endogenous DNA-repair machinery. Therefore, the engineering of specific protein-DNA interactions in protein scaffolds is key to providing `toolkits' for precise genome modification or regulation of gene expression. In a search for putative DNA-binding domains, BurrH, a protein that recognizes a 19 bp DNA target, was identified. Here, its apo and DNA-bound crystal structures are reported, revealing a central region containing 19 repeats of a helix-loop-helix modular domain (BurrH domain; BuD), which identifies the DNA target by a single residue-to-nucleotide code, thus facilitating its redesign for gene targeting. New DNA-binding specificities have been engineered in this template, showing that BuD-derived nucleases (BuDNs) induce high levels of gene targeting in a locus of the human haemoglobin ß (HBB) gene close to mutations responsible for sickle-cell anaemia. Hence, the unique combination of high efficiency and specificity of the BuD arrays can push forward diverse genome-modification approaches for cell or organism redesign, opening new avenues for gene editing.

Structure of the AvrBs3-DNA complex provides new insights into the initial thymine-recognition mechanism.

Transcription activator-like effectors contain a DNA-binding domain organized in tandem repeats. The repeats include two adjacent residues known as the repeat variable di-residue, which recognize a single base pair, establishing a direct code between the dipeptides and the target DNA. This feature suggests this scaffold as an excellent candidate to generate new protein-DNA specificities for biotechnological applications. Here, the crystal structure of AvrBs3 (residues 152-895, molecular mass 82 kDa) in complex with its target DNA sequence is presented, revealing a new mode of interaction with the initial thymine of the target sequence, together with an analysis of both the binding specificity and the thermodynamic properties of AvrBs3. This study quantifies the affinity and the specificity between AvrBs3 and its target DNA. Moreover, in vitro and in vivo analyses reveal that AvrBs3 does not show a strict nucleotide-binding preference for the nucleotide at the zero position of the DNA, widening the number of possible sequences that could be targeted by this scaffold.