RESUMO
G-quadruplexes (G4s) form throughout the genome and influence important cellular processes. Their deregulation can challenge DNA replication fork progression and threaten genome stability. Here, we demonstrate an unexpected role for the double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) translocase helicase-like transcription factor (HLTF) in responding to G4s. We show that HLTF, which is enriched at G4s in the human genome, can directly unfold G4s in vitro and uses this ATP-dependent translocase function to suppress G4 accumulation throughout the cell cycle. Additionally, MSH2 (a component of MutS heterodimers that bind G4s) and HLTF act synergistically to suppress G4 accumulation, restrict alternative lengthening of telomeres, and promote resistance to G4-stabilizing drugs. In a discrete but complementary role, HLTF restrains DNA synthesis when G4s are stabilized by suppressing primase-polymerase (PrimPol)-dependent repriming. Together, the distinct roles of HLTF in the G4 response prevent DNA damage and potentially mutagenic replication to safeguard genome stability.
Assuntos
DNA Primase , Replicação do DNA , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA , Quadruplex G , Instabilidade Genômica , Proteína 2 Homóloga a MutS , Fatores de Transcrição , Humanos , Fatores de Transcrição/metabolismo , Fatores de Transcrição/genética , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/metabolismo , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/genética , Proteína 2 Homóloga a MutS/metabolismo , Proteína 2 Homóloga a MutS/genética , DNA Primase/metabolismo , DNA Primase/genética , Homeostase do Telômero , Dano ao DNA , Células HEK293 , Enzimas Multifuncionais/metabolismo , Enzimas Multifuncionais/genética , DNA Polimerase Dirigida por DNARESUMO
CRISPR-Cas9 is a powerful gene-editing technology; however, off-target activity remains an important consideration for therapeutic applications. We have previously shown that force-stretching DNA induces off-target activity and hypothesized that distortions of the DNA topology in vivo, such as negative DNA supercoiling, could reduce Cas9 specificity. Using single-molecule optical-tweezers, we demonstrate that negative supercoiling λ-DNA induces sequence-specific Cas9 off-target binding at multiple sites, even at low forces. Using an adapted CIRCLE-seq approach, we detect over 10,000 negative-supercoiling-induced Cas9 off-target double-strand breaks genome-wide caused by increased mismatch tolerance. We further demonstrate in vivo that directed local DNA distortion increases off-target activity in cells and that induced off-target events can be detected during Cas9 genome editing. These data demonstrate that Cas9 off-target activity is regulated by DNA topology in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that cellular processes, such as transcription and replication, could induce off-target activity at previously overlooked sites.
Assuntos
Sistemas CRISPR-Cas , Edição de Genes , Genoma , DNA/genética , Pinças ÓpticasRESUMO
Homologous recombination (HR) is an essential DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair mechanism, which is frequently inactivated in cancer. During HR, RAD51 forms nucleoprotein filaments on RPA-coated, resected DNA and catalyzes strand invasion into homologous duplex DNA. How RAD51 displaces RPA and assembles into long HR-proficient filaments remains uncertain. Here, we employed single-molecule imaging to investigate the mechanism of nematode RAD-51 filament growth in the presence of BRC-2 (BRCA2) and RAD-51 paralogs, RFS-1/RIP-1. BRC-2 nucleates RAD-51 on RPA-coated DNA, whereas RFS-1/RIP-1 acts as a "chaperone" to promote 3' to 5' filament growth via highly dynamic engagement with 5' filament ends. Inhibiting ATPase or mutation in the RFS-1 Walker box leads to RFS-1/RIP-1 retention on RAD-51 filaments and hinders growth. The rfs-1 Walker box mutants display sensitivity to DNA damage and accumulate RAD-51 complexes non-functional for HR in vivo. Our work reveals the mechanism of RAD-51 nucleation and filament growth in the presence of recombination mediators.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Caenorhabditis elegans/genética , Caenorhabditis elegans/genética , Proteínas de Transporte/genética , DNA de Helmintos/genética , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/genética , Rad51 Recombinase/genética , Reparo de DNA por Recombinação , Animais , Caenorhabditis elegans/metabolismo , Proteínas de Caenorhabditis elegans/metabolismo , Proteínas de Transporte/metabolismo , Quebras de DNA de Cadeia Dupla , DNA de Helmintos/metabolismo , Proteínas de Ligação a DNA/metabolismo , Regulação da Expressão Gênica , Chaperonas Moleculares/genética , Chaperonas Moleculares/metabolismo , Mutação , Ligação Proteica , Rad51 Recombinase/metabolismo , Proteína de Replicação A/genética , Proteína de Replicação A/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais , Imagem Individual de MoléculaRESUMO
Cells use homology-dependent DNA repair to mend chromosome breaks and restore broken replication forks, thereby ensuring genome stability and cell survival. DNA break repair via homology-based mechanisms involves nuclease-dependent DNA end resection, which generates long tracts of single-stranded DNA required for checkpoint activation and loading of homologous recombination proteins Rad52/51/55/57. While recruitment of the homologous recombination machinery is well characterized, it is not known how its presence at repair loci is coordinated with downstream re-synthesis of resected DNA We show that Rad51 inhibits recruitment of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), the platform for assembly of the DNA replication machinery, and that unloading of Rad51 by Srs2 helicase is required for efficient PCNA loading and restoration of resected DNA As a result, srs2Δ mutants are deficient in DNA repair correlating with extensive DNA processing, but this defect in srs2Δ mutants can be suppressed by inactivation of the resection nuclease Exo1. We propose a model in which during re-synthesis of resected DNA, the replication machinery must catch up with the preceding processing nucleases, in order to close the single-stranded gap and terminate further resection.
Assuntos
Dano ao DNA , Enzimas Reparadoras do DNA/metabolismo , DNA/metabolismo , Recombinação Homóloga , Antígeno Nuclear de Célula em Proliferação/metabolismo , Recombinases/metabolismo , Reparo de DNA por Recombinação , Modelos Biológicos , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/enzimologia , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/genética , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/metabolismoRESUMO
Using optical tweezers, we investigate target search and cleavage by CRISPR-Cas12a on force-stretched λ-DNA. Cas12a uses fast, one-dimensional hopping to locate its target. Binding and cleavage occur rapidly and specifically at low forces (≤5 pN), with a 1.8 nm rate-limiting conformational change. Mechanical distortion slows diffusion, increases off-target binding but hinders cleavage.
Assuntos
Proteínas de Bactérias/química , Proteínas Associadas a CRISPR/química , DNA/química , Endodesoxirribonucleases/química , Sistemas CRISPR-Cas , Modelos Moleculares , Pinças ÓpticasRESUMO
Threading intercalators bind DNA with high affinities. Here, we describe single-molecule studies on a cell-permeant luminescent dinuclear ruthenium(II) complex that has been previously shown to thread only into short, unstable duplex structures. Using optical tweezers and confocal microscopy, we show that this complex threads and locks into force-extended duplex DNA in a two-step mechanism. Detailed kinetic studies reveal that an individual stereoisomer of the complex exhibits the highest binding affinity reported for such a mono-intercalator. This stereoisomer better preserves the biophysical properties of DNA than the widely used SYTOX Orange. Interestingly, threading into torsionally constrained DNA decreases dramatically, but is rescued on negatively supercoiled DNA. Given the "light-switch" properties of this complex on binding DNA, it can be readily used as a long-lived luminescent label for duplex or negatively supercoiled DNA through a unique "load-and-lock" protocol.
Assuntos
Complexos de Coordenação/química , Sondas de DNA/química , DNA/análise , Rutênio/química , Estrutura MolecularRESUMO
The discovery of CRISPR/Cas9 as an easily programmable endonuclease heralds a new era of genetic manipulation. With this comes the prospect of novel gene therapy approaches, and the potential to cure previously untreatable genetic diseases. However, reports of spurious off-target editing by CRISPR/Cas9 pose a significant hurdle to realizing this potential. A deeper understanding of the factors that affect Cas9 specificity is vital for development of safe and efficient therapeutics. Here, we describe methods for the use of optical tweezers combined with confocal fluorescence microscopy and microfluidics for the analysis of on- and off-target activity of Cas9 activity.
Assuntos
Sistemas CRISPR-Cas , Edição de Genes , Sistemas CRISPR-Cas/genética , Endonucleases/genética , Edição de Genes/métodos , Terapia Genética/métodos , Imagem Individual de MoléculaRESUMO
Resolution of Holliday junctions is a critical intermediate step of homologous recombination in which junctions are processed by junction-resolving endonucleases. Although binding and cleavage are well understood, the question remains how the enzymes locate their substrate within long duplex DNA. Here we track fluorescent dimers of endonuclease I on DNA, presenting the complete single-molecule reaction trajectory for a junction-resolving enzyme finding and cleaving a Holliday junction. We show that the enzyme binds remotely to dsDNA and then undergoes 1D diffusion. Upon encountering a four-way junction, a catalytically-impaired mutant remains bound at that point. An active enzyme, however, cleaves the junction after a few seconds. Quantitative analysis provides a comprehensive description of the facilitated diffusion mechanism. We show that the eukaryotic junction-resolving enzyme GEN1 also undergoes facilitated diffusion on dsDNA until it becomes located at a junction, so that the general resolution trajectory is probably applicable to many junction resolving enzymes.
Assuntos
DNA Cruciforme , DNA , DNA/metabolismo , Desoxirribonuclease I/metabolismo , Endodesoxirribonucleases/metabolismo , Endonucleases/metabolismo , Resolvases de Junção Holliday/metabolismo , Conformação de Ácido NucleicoRESUMO
Here, we describe a rapid and versatile protocol to generate gapped DNA substrates for single-molecule (SM) analysis using optical tweezers via site-specific Cas9 nicking and force-induced melting. We provide examples of single-stranded (ss) DNA gaps of different length and position. We outline protocols to visualize these substrates by replication protein A-enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (RPA-eGFP) and SYTOX Orange staining using commercially available optical tweezers (C-TRAP). Finally, we demonstrate the utility of these substrates for SM analysis of bidirectional growth of RAD-51-ssDNA filaments. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Belan et al. (2021).
Assuntos
DNA de Cadeia Simples/química , DNA/química , Imagem Individual de Molécula/métodos , Proteínas de Fluorescência Verde/química , Humanos , Imagem Óptica , Pinças Ópticas , Rad51 Recombinase/química , Proteínas Recombinantes/química , Proteína de Replicação A/químicaRESUMO
Sister chromatid cohesion requires cohesin to act as a protein linker to hold chromatids together. How cohesin tethers chromatids remains poorly understood. We have used optical tweezers to visualize cohesin as it holds DNA molecules. We show that cohesin complexes tether DNAs in the presence of Scc2/Scc4 and ATP demonstrating a conserved activity from yeast to humans. Cohesin forms two classes of tethers: a "permanent bridge" resisting forces over 80 pN and a force-sensitive "reversible bridge." The establishment of bridges requires physical proximity of dsDNA segments and occurs in a single step. "Permanent" cohesin bridges slide when they occur in trans, but cannot be removed when in cis. Therefore, DNAs occupy separate physical compartments in cohesin molecules. We finally demonstrate that cohesin tetramers can compact linear DNA molecules stretched by very low force (below 1 pN), consistent with the possibility that, like condensin, cohesin is also capable of loop extrusion.
Assuntos
Trifosfato de Adenosina/química , Proteínas de Ciclo Celular/química , Proteínas Cromossômicas não Histona/química , DNA Fúngico/química , Proteínas de Saccharomyces cerevisiae/química , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/química , Trifosfato de Adenosina/metabolismo , Proteínas de Ciclo Celular/metabolismo , Cromátides/química , Cromátides/metabolismo , Proteínas Cromossômicas não Histona/metabolismo , DNA Fúngico/metabolismo , Humanos , Saccharomyces cerevisiae/metabolismo , Proteínas de Saccharomyces cerevisiae/metabolismo , CoesinasRESUMO
CRISPR/Cas9 is a powerful genome-editing tool, but spurious off-target edits present a barrier to therapeutic applications. To understand how CRISPR/Cas9 discriminates between on-targets and off-targets, we have developed a single-molecule assay combining optical tweezers with fluorescence to monitor binding to λ-DNA. At low forces, the Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 complex binds and cleaves DNA specifically. At higher forces, numerous off-target binding events appear repeatedly at the same off-target sites in a guide-RNA-sequence-dependent manner, driven by the mechanical distortion of the DNA. Using single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer (smFRET) and cleavage assays, we show that DNA bubbles induce off-target binding and cleavage at these sites, even with ten mismatches, as well as at previously identified in vivo off-targets. We propose that duplex DNA destabilization during cellular processes (for example, transcription, replication, etc.) can expose these cryptic off-target sites to Cas9 activity, highlighting the need for improved off-target prediction algorithms.
Assuntos
Bacteriófago lambda/genética , Proteína 9 Associada à CRISPR/metabolismo , Sistemas CRISPR-Cas/genética , Repetições Palindrômicas Curtas Agrupadas e Regularmente Espaçadas/genética , DNA Viral/metabolismo , Clivagem do DNA , DNA Viral/genética , Escherichia coli/virologia , Transferência Ressonante de Energia de Fluorescência , Edição de Genes , Microfluídica , Microscopia Confocal , Pinças Ópticas , RNA Guia de Cinetoplastídeos/genética , Streptococcus pyogenes/enzimologiaRESUMO
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been central to the understanding of metazoan biology. However, C. elegans is but one species among millions and the significance of this important model organism will only be fully revealed if it is placed in a rich evolutionary context. Global sampling efforts have led to the discovery of over 50 putative species from the genus Caenorhabditis, many of which await formal species description. Here, we present species descriptions for 10 new Caenorhabditis species. We also present draft genome sequences for nine of these new species, along with a transcriptome assembly for one. We exploit these whole-genome data to reconstruct the Caenorhabditis phylogeny and use this phylogenetic tree to dissect the evolution of morphology in the genus. We reveal extensive variation in genome size and investigate the molecular processes that underlie this variation. We show unexpected complexity in the evolutionary history of key developmental pathway genes. These new species and the associated genomic resources will be essential in our attempts to understand the evolutionary origins of the C. elegans model.
RESUMO
The CRISPR-Cas9 RNA-guided endonuclease system allows precise and efficient modification of complex genomes and is continuously developed to enhance specificity, alter targeting and add new functional moieties. However, one area yet to be explored is the base chemistry of the associated RNA molecules. Here we show the design and optimisation of hybrid DNA-RNA CRISPR and tracr molecules based on structure-guided approaches. Through careful mapping of the ribose requirements of Cas9, we develop hybrid versions possessing minimal RNA residues, which are sufficient to direct specific nuclease activity in vitro and in vivo with reduced off-target activity. We identify critical regions within these molecules that require ribose nucleotides and show a direct correlation between binding affinity/stability and cellular activity. This is the first demonstration of a non-RNA-guided Cas9 endonuclease and first step towards eliminating the ribose dependency of Cas9 to develop a XNA-programmable endonuclease.