Integrated requirement of non-specific and sequence-specific DNA binding in Myc-driven transcription.

Eukaryotic transcription factors recognize specific DNA sequence motifs, but are also endowed with generic, non-specific DNA-binding activity. How these binding modes are integrated to determine select transcriptional outputs remains unresolved. We addressed this question by site-directed mutagenesis of the Myc transcription factor. Impairment of non-specific DNA backbone contacts caused pervasive loss of genome interactions and gene regulation, associated with increased intra-nuclear mobility of the Myc protein in murine cells. In contrast, a mutant lacking base-specific contacts retained DNA-binding and mobility profiles comparable to those of the wild-type protein, but failed to recognize its consensus binding motif (E-box) and could not activate Myc-target genes. Incidentally, this mutant gained weak affinity for an alternative motif, driving aberrant activation of different genes. Altogether, our data show that non-specific DNA binding is required to engage onto genomic regulatory regions; sequence recognition in turn contributes to transcriptional activation, acting at distinct levels: stabilization and positioning of Myc onto DNA, and-unexpectedly-promotion of its transcriptional activity. Hence, seemingly pervasive genome interaction profiles, as detected by ChIP-seq, actually encompass diverse DNA-binding modalities, driving defined, sequence-dependent transcriptional responses.

Calcium-Mediated In Vitro Transfection Technique of Oligonucleotides with Broad Chemical Modification Compatibility.

Oligonucleotide drugs (ODs) have gained increasing attention owing to their promising therapeutic potential. One major obstacle that ODs have been facing is the lack of appropriate in vitro validation systems that can predict in vivo activity and toxicity. We have devised a transfection method called CEM (Ca2+-enrichment method), where the simple enrichment of calcium ion with calcium chloride in culture medium potentiates the activity of various types of naked oligonucleotides including gapmers, siRNA, and phosphorodiamidate morpholino antisense oligonucleotides (PMO) in many cultured cell lines with limited cytotoxicity. We here describe a precise procedure of the method. Besides the benefit of the CEM's predictive power to accurately estimate in vivo activity of ODs of your interest in drug discovery and development settings, this cost-efficient, easy-to-access method can be a robust laboratory technique to modulate gene expressions with ODs with a variety of mechanisms of action.

Meta-DNA structures.

DNA origami has emerged as a highly programmable method to construct customized objects and functional devices in the 10-100 nm scale. Scaling up the size of the DNA origami would enable many potential applications, which include metamaterial construction and surface-based biophysical assays. Here we demonstrate that a six-helix bundle DNA origami nanostructure in the submicrometre scale (meta-DNA) could be used as a magnified analogue of single-stranded DNA, and that two meta-DNAs that contain complementary 'meta-base pairs' can form double helices with programmed handedness and helical pitches. By mimicking the molecular behaviours of DNA strands and their assembly strategies, we used meta-DNA building blocks to form diverse and complex structures on the micrometre scale. Using meta-DNA building blocks, we constructed a series of DNA architectures on a submicrometre-to-micrometre scale, which include meta-multi-arm junctions, three-dimensional (3D) polyhedrons, and various 2D/3D lattices. We also demonstrated a hierarchical strand-displacement reaction on meta-DNA to transfer the dynamic features of DNA into the meta-DNA. This meta-DNA self-assembly concept may transform the microscopic world of structural DNA nanotechnology.

2-Amino-1,3-benzothiazole-6-carboxamide Preferentially Binds the Tandem Mismatch Motif r(UY:GA).

RNA helices are often punctuated with non-Watson-Crick features that may be targeted by chemical compounds, but progress toward identifying such compounds has been slow. We embedded a tandem UU:GA mismatch motif (5'-UG-3':5'-AU-3') within an RNA hairpin stem to identify compounds that bind the motif specifically. The three-dimensional structure of the RNA hairpin and its interaction with a small molecule identified through virtual screening are presented. The G-A mismatch forms a sheared pair upon which the U-U base pair stacks. The hydrogen bond configuration of the U-U pair involves O2 of the U adjacent to the G and O4 of the U adjacent to the A. The G-A and U-U pairs are flanked by A-U and G-C base pairs, respectively, and the stability of the mismatch is greater than when the motif is within the context of other flanking base pairs or when the 5'-3' orientation of the G-A and U-U pairs is swapped. Residual dipolar coupling constants were used to generate an ensemble of structures against which a virtual screen of 64480 small molecules was performed. The tandem mismatch was found to be specific for one compound, 2-amino-1,3-benzothiazole-6-carboxamide, which binds with moderate affinity but extends the motif to include the flanking A-U and G-C base pairs. The finding that the affinity for the UU:GA mismatch is dependent on flanking sequence emphasizes the importance of the motif context and potentially increases the number of small noncanonical features within RNA that can be specifically targeted by small molecules.

Accounting for long-range correlations in genome-wide simulations of large cohorts.

Coalescent simulations are widely used to examine the effects of evolution and demographic history on the genetic makeup of populations. Thanks to recent progress in algorithms and data structures, simulators such as the widely-used msprime now provide genome-wide simulations for millions of individuals. However, this software relies on classic coalescent theory and its assumptions that sample sizes are small and that the region being simulated is short. Here we show that coalescent simulations of long regions of the genome exhibit large biases in identity-by-descent (IBD), long-range linkage disequilibrium (LD), and ancestry patterns, particularly when the sample size is large. We present a Wright-Fisher extension to msprime, and show that it produces more realistic distributions of IBD, LD, and ancestry proportions, while also addressing more subtle biases of the coalescent. Further, these extensions are more computationally efficient than state-of-the-art coalescent simulations when simulating long regions, including whole-genome data. For shorter regions, efficiency can be maintained via a hybrid model which simulates the recent past under the Wright-Fisher model and uses coalescent simulations in the distant past.

Identification of a novel, internal tRNA-derived RNA fragment as a new prognostic and screening biomarker in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, using an innovative quantitative real-time PCR assay.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is one of the most common types of leukemia in adults. Several studies have identified various prognostic biomarkers in CLL. In this study, we investigated the potential value of an internal fragment of the tRNAs bearing the Glycine anticodon CCC (i-tRF-GlyCCC), which is a small non-coding RNA, as a prognostic and screening biomarker in CLL. For this purpose, blood samples were collected from 90 CLL patients and 43 non-leukemic blood donors. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated, total RNA was extracted and in-vitro polyadenylated, and first-strand cDNA was synthesized using an oligo-dT-adaptor primer. A real-time quantitative PCR assay was developed and applied for the quantification of i-tRF-GlyCCC in our samples. The biostatistical analysis revealed that i-tRF-GlyCCC levels are significantly lower in PBMCs of CLL patients, compared to PBMCs of non-leukemic controls, and that i-tRF-GlyCCC could be considered as a screening biomarker. Kaplan-Meier overall survival (OS) analysis revealed reduced OS for CLL patients with positive i-tRF-GlyCCC expression (P = 0.001). Multivariate Cox regression confirmed its independent unfavorable prognostic power with regard to OS. In conclusion, i-tRF-GlyCCC may constitute a promising molecular biomarker in CLL, for screening and prognostic purposes.

Controlling aggregation of cholesterol-modified DNA nanostructures.

DNA nanotechnology allows for the design of programmable DNA-built nanodevices which controllably interact with biological membranes and even mimic the function of natural membrane proteins. Hydrophobic modifications, covalently linked to the DNA, are essential for targeted interfacing of DNA nanostructures with lipid membranes. However, these hydrophobic tags typically induce undesired aggregation eliminating structural control, the primary advantage of DNA nanotechnology. Here, we study the aggregation of cholesterol-modified DNA nanostructures using a combined approach of non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, dynamic light scattering, confocal microscopy and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. We show that the aggregation of cholesterol-tagged ssDNA is sequence-dependent, while for assembled DNA constructs, the number and position of the cholesterol tags are the dominating factors. Molecular dynamics simulations of cholesterol-modified ssDNA reveal that the nucleotides wrap around the hydrophobic moiety, shielding it from the environment. Utilizing this behavior, we demonstrate experimentally that the aggregation of cholesterol-modified DNA nanostructures can be controlled by the length of ssDNA overhangs positioned adjacent to the cholesterol. Our easy-to-implement method for tuning cholesterol-mediated aggregation allows for increased control and a closer structure-function relationship of membrane-interfacing DNA constructs - a fundamental prerequisite for employing DNA nanodevices in research and biomedicine.

Sperm RNA code programmes the metabolic health of offspring.

Mammalian sperm RNA is increasingly recognized as an additional source of paternal hereditary information beyond DNA. Environmental inputs, including an unhealthy diet, mental stresses and toxin exposure, can reshape the sperm RNA signature and induce offspring phenotypes that relate to paternal environmental stressors. Our understanding of the categories of sperm RNAs (such as tRNA-derived small RNAs, microRNAs, ribosomal RNA-derived small RNAs and long non-coding RNAs) and associated RNA modifications is expanding and has begun to reveal the functional diversity and information capacity of these molecules. However, the coding mechanism endowed by sperm RNA structures and by RNA interactions with DNA and other epigenetic factors remains unknown. How sperm RNA-encoded information is decoded in early embryos to control offspring phenotypes also remains unclear. Complete deciphering of the 'sperm RNA code' with regard to metabolic control could move the field towards translational applications and precision medicine, and this may lead to prevention of intergenerational transmission of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus susceptibility.

Sequence environment of BMP-dependent activating elements controls transcriptional responses to Dpp signaling in Drosophila.

Intercellular signaling pathways activate transcription factors, which, along with tissue-specific co-factors, regulate expression of target genes. Responses to TGFß/BMP signals are mediated by Smad proteins, which form complexes and accumulate in the nucleus to directly bind and regulate enhancers of BMP targets upon signaling. In Drosophila, gene activation by BMP signaling often requires, in addition to direct input by Smads, the signal-dependent removal of the transcriptional repressor Brk. Previous studies on enhancers of BMP-activated genes have defined a BMP-responsive motif, the AE, which integrates activatory and repressive input by the Smad complex and Brk, respectively. Here, we address whether sequence variations within the core AE sequences might endow the motif with additional properties accounting for qualitative and quantitative differences in BMP responses, including tissue specificity of transcriptional activation and differential sensitivity to Smad and Brk inputs. By analyzing and cross-comparing three distinct BMP-responsive enhancers from the genes wit and Dad in two different epithelia, the wing imaginal disc and the follicular epithelium, we demonstrate that differences in the AEs contribute neither to the observed tissue-restriction of BMP responses nor to differences in the utilization of the Smad and Brk branches for transcriptional activation. Rather, our results suggest that the cis-environment of the BMP-response elements not only dictates tissue specificity but also differential sensitivity to the two BMP mediators.

When one becomes many-Alternative splicing in ß-cell function and failure.

Pancreatic ß-cell dysfunction and death are determinant events in type 1 diabetes (T1D), but the molecular mechanisms behind ß-cell fate remain poorly understood. Alternative splicing is a post-transcriptional mechanism by which a single gene generates different mRNA and protein isoforms, expanding the transcriptome complexity and enhancing protein diversity. Neuron-specific and certain serine/arginine-rich RNA binding proteins (RBP) are enriched in ß-cells, playing crucial roles in the regulation of insulin secretion and ß-cell survival. Moreover, alternative exon networks, regulated by inflammation or diabetes susceptibility genes, control key pathways and processes for the correct function and survival of ß-cells. The challenge ahead of us is to understand the precise role of alternative splicing regulators and splice variants on ß-cell function, dysfunction and death and develop tools to modulate it.

Sequence-dependent DNA condensation as a driving force of DNA phase separation.

The physical properties of DNA have been suggested to play a central role in spatio-temporal organization of eukaryotic chromosomes. Experimental correlations have been established between the local nucleotide content of DNA and the frequency of inter- and intra-chromosomal contacts but the underlying physical mechanism remains unknown. Here, we combine fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements, precipitation assays, and molecular dynamics simulations to characterize the effect of DNA nucleotide content, sequence, and methylation on inter-DNA association and its correlation with DNA looping. First, we show that the strength of DNA condensation mediated by poly-lysine peptides as a reduced model of histone tails depends on the DNA's global nucleotide content but also on the local nucleotide sequence, which turns out to be qualitatively same as the condensation by spermine. Next, we show that the presence and spatial arrangement of C5 methyl groups determines the strength of inter-DNA attraction, partially explaining why RNA resists condensation. Interestingly, multi-color single molecule FRET measurements reveal strong anti-correlation between DNA looping and DNA-DNA association, suggesting that a common biophysical mechanism underlies them. We propose that the differential affinity between DNA regions of varying sequence pattern may drive the phase separation of chromatin into chromosomal subdomains.

From 1D sequence to 3D chromatin dynamics and cellular functions: a phase separation perspective.

The high-order chromatin structure plays a non-negligible role in gene regulation. However, the mechanism, especially the sequence dependence for the formation of varied chromatin structures in different cells remains to be elucidated. As the nucleotide distributions in human and mouse genomes are highly uneven, we identified CGI (CpG island) forest and prairie genomic domains based on CGI densities of a species, dividing the genome into two sequentially, epigenetically, and transcriptionally distinct regions. These two megabase-sized domains also spatially segregate to different extents in different cell types. Forests and prairies show enhanced segregation from each other in development, differentiation, and senescence, meanwhile the multi-scale forest-prairie spatial intermingling is cell-type specific and increases in differentiation, helping to define cell identity. We propose that the phase separation of the 1D mosaic sequence in space serves as a potential driving force, and together with cell type specific epigenetic marks and transcription factors, shapes the chromatin structure in different cell types. The mosaicity in genome of different species in terms of forests and prairies could relate to observations in their biological processes like development and aging. In this way, we provide a bottoms-up theory to explain the chromatin structural and epigenetic changes in different processes.

Glu571 of PheT plays a pivotal role in the thermal stability of Escherichia coli PheRS enzyme.

As of date the two temperature sensitive mutations isolated in pheST operon include pheS5 (G293 →A293 ) and pheT354. Recently, we reported that G673 of pheS defines a hot spot for intragenic suppressors of pheS5. In this investigation, in 13 independent experiments, a collection of temperature sensitive mutants were isolated by localized mutagenesis. Complementation using clones bearing pheS+ , pheT+ , and pheS+ T+ indicated that 34 mutants could harbor lesion(s) in pheS and four could be in pheT and one mutant might be a double mutant. Surprisingly, all the 34 pheS mutants harbored the very same (G293 →A293 ) transition mutation as present in the classical pheS5 mutant. Most unexpectedly, the four pheT mutants isolated harbored the same G1711 →A1711 transition, a mutation which is hitherto unreported. Since all the four pheT mutants were defined by the same G1711 →A1711 base change, we believe that getting other mutations could be hard hitting and therefore it is proposed that G1711 itself could be a "hot spot" for emergence of Ts mutations in pheT and similarly G293 itself could be a "hot spot" for Ts lesions in pheS. These results clearly imply a vital role for Glutamic acid571 (Glu571 ) of PheT and reinforce criticality of Glycine98 (Gly98 ) of PheS in the thermal stability of PheRS enzyme.

Conserved properties of dentate gyrus neurogenesis across postnatal development revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing.

The dentate gyrus of the hippocampus is a brain region in which neurogenesis persists into adulthood; however, the relationship between developmental and adult dentate gyrus neurogenesis has not been examined in detail. Here we used single-cell RNA sequencing to reveal the molecular dynamics and diversity of dentate gyrus cell types in perinatal, juvenile, and adult mice. We found distinct quiescent and proliferating progenitor cell types, linked by transient intermediate states to neuroblast stages and fully mature granule cells. We observed shifts in the molecular identity of quiescent and proliferating radial glia and granule cells during the postnatal period that were then maintained through adult stages. In contrast, intermediate progenitor cells, neuroblasts, and immature granule cells were nearly indistinguishable at all ages. These findings demonstrate the fundamental similarity of postnatal and adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus and pinpoint the early postnatal transformation of radial glia from embryonic progenitors to adult quiescent stem cells.

Variation in single-nucleotide sensitivity of eCLIP derived from reverse transcription conditions.

Crosslinking and immunoprecipitation (CLIP) followed by high-throughput sequencing identifies the binding sites of RNA binding proteins on RNAs. The covalent RNA-amino acid adducts produced by UV irradiation can cause premature reverse transcription termination and deletions (referred to as crosslink-induced mutation sites (CIMS)), which may decrease overall cDNA yield but are exploited in state-of-the-art CLIP methods to identify these crosslink sites at single-nucleotide resolution. Here, we show the ratio of both crosslinked base deletions and read-through versus termination are highly dependent on the identity of the reverse transcriptase enzyme as well as on buffer conditions used. AffinityScript and TGIRT showed a lack of deletion of the crosslinked base with other enzymes showing variable rates, indicating that utilization and interpretation of CIMS analysis requires knowledge of the reverse transcriptase enzyme used. Commonly used enzymes, including Superscript III and AffinityScript, show high termination rates in standard magnesium buffer conditions, but show a single base difference in the position of termination for TARDBP motifs. In contrast, manganese-containing buffer promoted read-through at the adduct site. These results validate the use of standard enzymes and also propose alternative enzyme and buffer choices for particularly challenging samples that contain extensive RNA adducts or other modifications that inhibit standard reverse transcription.

Carcinogen susceptibility is regulated by genome architecture and predicts cancer mutagenesis.

The development of many sporadic cancers is directly initiated by carcinogen exposure. Carcinogens induce malignancies by creating DNA lesions (i.e., adducts) that can result in mutations if left unrepaired. Despite this knowledge, there has been remarkably little investigation into the regulation of susceptibility to acquire DNA lesions. In this study, we present the first quantitative human genome-wide map of DNA lesions induced by ultraviolet (UV) radiation, the ubiquitous carcinogen in sunlight that causes skin cancer. Remarkably, the pattern of carcinogen susceptibility across the genome of primary cells significantly reflects mutation frequency in malignant melanoma. Surprisingly, DNase-accessible euchromatin is protected from UV, while lamina-associated heterochromatin at the nuclear periphery is vulnerable. Many cancer driver genes have an intrinsic increase in carcinogen susceptibility, including the BRAF oncogene that has the highest mutation frequency in melanoma. These findings provide a genome-wide snapshot of DNA injuries at the earliest stage of carcinogenesis. Furthermore, they identify carcinogen susceptibility as an origin of genome instability that is regulated by nuclear architecture and mirrors mutagenesis in cancer.

mRNA/protein sequence complementarity and its determinants: The impact of affinity scales.

It has recently been demonstrated that the nucleobase-density profiles of mRNA coding sequences are related in a complementary manner to the nucleobase-affinity profiles of their cognate protein sequences. Based on this, it has been proposed that cognate mRNA/protein pairs may bind in a co-aligned manner, especially if unstructured. Here, we study the dependence of mRNA/protein sequence complementarity on the properties of the nucleobase/amino-acid affinity scales used. Specifically, we sample the space of randomly generated scales by employing a Monte Carlo strategy with a fitness function that depends directly on the level of complementarity. For model organisms representing all three domains of life, we show that even short searches reproducibly converge upon highly optimized scales, implying that the topology of the underlying fitness landscape is decidedly funnel-like. Furthermore, the optimized scales, generated without any consideration of the physicochemical attributes of nucleobases or amino acids, resemble closely the nucleobase/amino-acid binding affinity scales obtained from experimental structures of RNA-protein complexes. This provides support for the claim that mRNA/protein sequence complementarity may indeed be related to binding between the two. Finally, we characterize suboptimal scales and show that intermediate-to-high complementarity can be reached by substantially diverse scales, but with select amino acids contributing disproportionally. Our results expose the dependence of cognate mRNA/protein sequence complementarity on the properties of the underlying nucleobase/amino-acid affinity scales and provide quantitative constraints that any physical scales need to satisfy for the complementarity to hold.

Autocatalytic Sets and RNA Secondary Structure.

The dominant paradigm in origin of life research is that of an RNA world. However, despite experimental progress towards the spontaneous formation of RNA, the RNA world hypothesis still has its problems. Here, we introduce a novel computational model of chemical reaction networks based on RNA secondary structure and analyze the existence of autocatalytic sub-networks in random instances of this model, by combining two well-established computational tools. Our main results are that (i) autocatalytic sets are highly likely to exist, even for very small reaction networks and short RNA sequences, and (ii) sequence diversity seems to be a more important factor in the formation of autocatalytic sets than sequence length. These findings could shed new light on the probability of the spontaneous emergence of an RNA world as a network of mutually collaborative ribozymes.