Novel complex MAD phasing and RNase H structural insights using selenium oligonucleotides.

The crystal structures of protein-nucleic acid complexes are commonly determined using selenium-derivatized proteins via MAD or SAD phasing. Here, the first protein-nucleic acid complex structure determined using selenium-derivatized nucleic acids is reported. The RNase H-RNA/DNA complex is used as an example to demonstrate the proof of principle. The high-resolution crystal structure indicates that this selenium replacement results in a local subtle unwinding of the RNA/DNA substrate duplex, thereby shifting the RNA scissile phosphate closer to the transition state of the enzyme-catalyzed reaction. It was also observed that the scissile phosphate forms a hydrogen bond to the water nucleophile and helps to position the water molecule in the structure. Consistently, it was discovered that the substitution of a single O atom by a Se atom in a guide DNA sequence can largely accelerate RNase H catalysis. These structural and catalytic studies shed new light on the guide-dependent RNA cleavage.

Synthesis and crystallographic analysis of 5-Se-thymidine DNAs.

We investigated the possibility of the interaction of 5-CH(3) of thymidine and its 5'-phosphate backbone (C-H...O(-)-PO(3) interaction) in DNA via the insertion of the atomic probe (a selenium atom) into the exo-5-position of thymidine (5-Se-T). 5-Se-T was synthesized for the first time, via Mn(OAc)(3) assisted electrophilic addition of CH(3)SeSeCH(3) to 3',5'-di-O-benzoyl-2'-deoxyuridine. The 5-Se-T phosphoramidite was subsequently synthesized and incorporated into DNA in over 99% coupling yield. Biophysical and structural investigations of the 5-Se-T DNAs revealed that the Se-modified and nonmodified DNAs are virtually identical. In addition, the crystallographic analysis of a 5-Se-T DNA strongly suggests a hydrogen-bond formation between the 5-CH(3) and 5'-phosphate groups (CH(3)...PO(4)(-) interaction).

Selenium derivatization of nucleic acids for crystallography.

The high-resolution structure of the DNA (5'-GTGTACA-C-3') with the selenium derivatization at the 2'-position of T2 was determined via MAD and SAD phasing. The selenium-derivatized structure (1.28 A resolution) with the 2'-Se modification in the minor groove is isomorphorous to the native structure (2.0 A). To directly compare with the conventional bromine derivatization, we incorporated bromine into the 5-postion of T4, determined the bromine-derivatized DNA structure at 1.5 A resolution, and found that the local backbone torsion angles and solvent hydration patterns were altered in the structure with the Br incorporation in the major groove. Furthermore, while the native and Br-derivatized DNAs needed over a week to form reasonable-size crystals, we observed that the Se-derivatized DNAs grew crystals overnight with high-diffraction quality, suggesting that the Se derivatization facilitated the crystal formation. In addition, the Se-derivatized DNA sequences crystallized under a broader range of buffer conditions, and generally had a faster crystal growth rate. Our experimental results indicate that the selenium derivatization of DNAs may facilitate the determination of nucleic acid X-ray crystal structures in phasing and high-quality crystal growth. In addition, our results suggest that the Se derivatization can be an alternative to the conventional Br derivatization.