Control of branch-site choice by a group II intron.

The branch site of group II introns is typically a bulged adenosine near the 3'-end of intron domain 6. The branch site is chosen with extraordinarily high fidelity, even when the adenosine is mutated to other bases or if the typically bulged adenosine is paired. Given these facts, it has been difficult to discern the mechanism by which the proper branch site is chosen. In order to dissect the determinants for branch-point recognition, new mutations were introduced in the vicinity of the branch site and surrounding domains. Single mutations did not alter the high fidelity for proper branch-site selection. However, several combinations of mutations moved the branch site systematically to new positions along the domain 6 stem. Analysis of those mutants, together with a new alignment of domain 5 and domain 6 sequences, reveals a set of structural determinants that appear to govern branch-site selection by group II introns.

Retrotransposition of a yeast group II intron occurs by reverse splicing directly into ectopic DNA sites.

Group II introns, the presumed ancestors of nuclear pre-mRNA introns, are site-specific retroelements. In addition to "homing" to unoccupied sites in intronless alleles, group II introns transpose at low frequency to ectopic sites that resemble the normal homing site. Two general mechanisms have been proposed for group II intron transposition, one involving reverse splicing of the intron RNA directly into an ectopic DNA site, and the other involving reverse splicing into a site in RNA followed by reverse transcription and integration of the resulting cDNA by homologous recombination. Here, by using an "inverted-site" strategy, we show that the yeast mtDNA group II intron aI1 retrotransposes by reverse splicing directly into an ectopic DNA site. This same mechanism could account for other previously described ectopic transposition events in fungi and bacteria and may have contributed to the dispersal of group II introns into different genes.

Replication and preferential inheritance of hypersuppressive petite mitochondrial DNA.

Wild-type yeast mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is inherited biparentally, whereas mtDNA of hypersuppressive petite mutants is inherited uniparentally in crosses to strains with wild-type mtDNA. Genomes of hypersuppressive petites contain a conserved ori sequence that includes a promoter, but it is unclear whether the ori confers a segregation or replication advantage. Fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis of wild-type and petite mtDNAs in crosses reveals no preferential segregation of hypersuppressive petite mtDNA to first zygotic buds. We identify single-stranded DNA circles and RNA-primed DNA replication intermediates in hypersuppressive petite mtDNA that are absent from non-hypersuppressive petites. Mutating the promoter blocks hypersuppressiveness in crosses to wild-type strains and eliminates the distinctive replication intermediates. We propose that promoter-dependent RNA-primed replication accounts for the uniparental inheritance of hypersuppressive petite mtDNA.

Multiple homing pathways used by yeast mitochondrial group II introns.

The yeast mitochondrial DNA group II introns aI1 and aI2 are retroelements that insert site specifically into intronless alleles by a process called homing. Here, we used patterns of flanking marker coconversion in crosses with wild-type and mutant aI2 introns to distinguish three coexisting homing pathways: two that were reverse transcriptase (RT) dependent (retrohoming) and one that was RT independent. All three pathways are initiated by cleavage of the recipient DNA target site by the intron-encoded endonuclease, with the sense strand cleaved by partial or complete reverse splicing, and the antisense strand cleaved by the intron-encoded protein. The major retrohoming pathway in standard crosses leads to insertion of the intron with unidirectional coconversion of upstream exon sequences. This pattern of coconversion suggests that the major retrohoming pathway is initiated by target DNA-primed reverse transcription of the reverse-spliced intron RNA and completed by double-strand break repair (DSBR) recombination with the donor allele. The RT-independent pathway leads to insertion of the intron with bidirectional coconversion and presumably occurs by a conventional DSBR recombination mechanism initiated by cleavage of the recipient DNA target site by the intron-encoded endonuclease, as for group I intron homing. Finally, some mutant DNA target sites shift up to 43% of retrohoming to another pathway not previously detected for aI2 in which there is no coconversion of flanking exon sequences. This new pathway presumably involves synthesis of a full-length cDNA copy of the inserted intron RNA, with completion by a repair process independent of homologous recombination, as found for the Lactococcus lactis Ll.LtrB intron. Our results show that group II intron mobility can occur by multiple pathways, the ratios of which depend on the characteristics of both the intron and the DNA target site. This remarkable flexibility enables group II introns to use different recombination and repair enzymes in different host cells.

Pentamidine inhibits mitochondrial intron splicing and translation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Pentamidine inhibits in vitro splicing of nuclear group I introns from rRNA genes of some pathogenic fungi and is known to inhibit mitochondrial function in yeast. Here we report that pentamidine inhibits the self-splicing of three group I and two group II introns of yeast mitochondria. Comparison of yeast strains with different configurations of mitochondrial introns (12, 5, 4, or 0 introns) revealed that strains with the most introns were the most sensitive to growth inhibition by pentamidine on glycerol medium. Analysis of blots of RNA from yeast strains grown in raffinose medium in the presence or absence of pentamidine revealed that the splicing of seven group I and two group II introns that have intron reading frames was inhibited by the drug to varying extents. Three introns without reading frames were unaffected by the drug in vivo, and two of these were inhibited in vitro, implying that the drug affects splicing by acting directly on RNA in vitro, but on another target in vivo. Because the most sensitive introns in vivo are the ones whose splicing depends on a maturase encoded by the intron reading frames, we tested pentamidine for effects on mitochondrial translation. We found that the drug inhibits mitochondrial but not cytoplasmic translation in cells at concentrations that inhibit mitochondrial intron splicing. Therefore, pentamidine is a potent and specific inhibitor of mitochondrial translation, and this effect explains most or all of its effects on respiratory growth and on in vivo splicing of mitochondrial introns.

In organello formaldehyde crosslinking of proteins to mtDNA: identification of bifunctional proteins.

The segregating unit of mtDNA is a protein-DNA complex called the nucleoid. In an effort to understand how nucleoid proteins contribute to mtDNA organization and inheritance, we have developed an in organello formaldehyde crosslinking procedure to identify proteins associated with mtDNA. Using highly purified mitochondria, we observed a time-dependent crosslinking of protein to mtDNA as determined by sedimentation through isopycnic cesium chloride gradients. We detected approximately 20 proteins crosslinked to mtDNA and identified 11, mostly by mass spectrometry. Among them is Abf2p, an abundant, high-mobility group protein that is known to function in nucleoid morphology, and in mtDNA transactions. In addition to several other proteins with known DNA binding properties or that function in mtDNA maintenance, we identified other mtDNA-associated proteins that were not anticipated, such as the molecular chaperone Hsp60p and a Krebs cycle protein, Kgd2p. Genetic experiments indicate that hsp60-ts mutants have a petite-inducing phenotype at the permissive temperature and that a kgd2Delta mutation increases the petite-inducing phenotype of an abf2Delta mutation. Crosslinking and DNA gel shift experiments show that Hsp60p binds to single-stranded DNA with high specificity for the template strand of a putative origin of mtDNA replication. These data identify bifunctional proteins that participate in the stability of rho(+) mtDNA.

The numbers of individual mitochondrial DNA molecules and mitochondrial DNA nucleoids in yeast are co-regulated by the general amino acid control pathway.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is inherited as a protein-DNA complex (the nucleoid). We show that activation of the general amino acid response pathway in rho(+) and rho(-) petite cells results in an increased number of nucleoids without an increase in mtDNA copy number. In rho(-) cells, activation of the general amino acid response pathway results in increased intramolecular recombination between tandemly repeated sequences of rho(-) mtDNA to produce small, circular oligomers that are packaged into individual nucleoids, resulting in an approximately 10-fold increase in nucleoid number. The parsing of mtDNA into nucleoids due to general amino acid control requires Ilv5p, a mitochondrial protein that also functions in branched chain amino acid biosynthesis, and one or more factors required for mtDNA recombination. Two additional proteins known to function in mtDNA recombination, Abf2p and Mgt1p, are also required for parsing mtDNA into a larger number of nucleoids, although expression of these proteins is not under general amino acid control. Increased nucleoid number leads to increased mtDNA transmission, suggesting a mechanism to enhance mtDNA inheritance under amino acid starvation conditions.

Group II intron reverse transcriptase in yeast mitochondria. Stabilization and regulation of reverse transcriptase activity by the intron RNA.

Group II introns encode reverse transcriptases that function in both intron mobility and RNA splicing. The proteins bind specifically to unspliced precursor RNA to promote splicing, and then remain associated with the excised intron to form a DNA endonuclease that mediates intron mobility by target DNA-primed reverse transcription. Here, immunoblotting and UV cross-linking experiments show that the reverse transcriptase activity encoded by the yeast mtDNA group II intron aI2 is associated with an intron-encoded protein of 62 kDa (p62). p62 is bound tightly to endogenous RNAs in mitochondrial ribonucleoprotein particles, and the reverse transcriptase activity is rapidly and irreversibly lost when the protein is released from the endogenous RNAs by RNase digestion. Non-denaturing gel electrophoresis and activity assays show that the aI2 reverse transcriptase is associated predominantly with the excised intron RNA, while a smaller amount is associated with unspliced precursor RNA, as expected from the role of the protein in RNA splicing. Although the reverse transcriptase in wild-type yeast strains is bound tightly to endogenous RNAs, it is regulated so that it does not copy these RNAs unless a suitable DNA oligonucleotide primer or DNA target site is provided. Certain mutations in the intron-encoded protein or RNA circumvent this regulation and activate reverse transcription of endogenous RNAs in the absence of added primer. Although p62 is bound to unspliced precursor RNA in position to initiate cDNA synthesis in the 3' exon, the major template for target DNA-primed reverse transcription in vitro is the reverse-spliced intron RNA, as found previously for aI1. Together, our results show that binding to intron-containing RNAs stabilizes and regulates the activity of p62.

Photocrosslinking of 4-thio uracil-containing RNAs supports a side-by-side arrangement of domains 5 and 6 of a group II intron.

Previous studies suggested that domains 5 and 6 (D5 and D6) of group II introns act together in splicing and that the two helical structures probably do not interact by helix stacking. Here, we characterized the major Mg2+ ion- and salt-dependent, long-wave UV light-induced, intramolecular crosslinks formed in 4-thiouridine-containing D56 RNA from intron 5gamma (aI5gamma) of the COXI gene of yeast mtDNA. Four major crosslinks were mapped and found to result from covalent bonds between nucleotides separating D5 from D6 [called J(56)] and residues of D6 near and including the branch nucleotide. These findings are extended by results of similar experiments using 4-thioU containing D56 RNAs from a mutant allele of aI5gamma and from the group IIA intron, aI1. Trans-splicing experiments show that the crosslinked wild-type aI5gamma D56 RNAs are active for both splicing reactions, including some first-step branching. An RNA containing the 3-nt J(56) sequence and D6 of aI5gamma yields one main crosslink that is identical to the most minor of the crosslinks obtained with D56 RNA, but in this case in a cation-independent fashion. We conclude that the interaction between J(56) and D6 is influenced by charge repulsion between the D5 and D6 helix backbones and that high concentrations of cations allow the helices to approach closely under self-splicing conditions. The interaction between J(56) and D6 appears to be a significant factor establishing a side-by-side (i.e., not stacked) orientation of the helices of the two domains.

More than one way to splice an RNA: branching without a bulge and splicing without branching in group II introns.

Domain 6 (D6) of group II introns contains a bulged adenosine that serves as the branch-site during self-splicing. In addition to this adenosine, other structural features in D6 are likely to contribute to the efficiency of branching. To understand their role in promoting self-splicing, the branch-site and surrounding nucleotides were mutagenized. Detailed kinetic analysis on the self-splicing efficiency of the mutants revealed several interesting features. First, elimination of the branch-site does not preclude efficient splicing, which takes place instead through a hydrolytic first step. Second, pairing of the branch-site does not eliminate branching, particularly if the adenosine is involved in a mispair. Third, the G-U pairs that often surround group II intron branch-points contribute to the efficiency of branching. These results suggest that there is a strong driving force for promoting self-splicing by group II introns, which employ a versatile set of different mechanisms for ensuring that splicing is successful. In addition, the behavior of these mutants indicates that a bulged adenosine per se is not the important determinant for branch-site recognition in group II introns. Rather, the data suggest that the branch-site adenosine is recognized as a flipped base, a conformation that can be promoted by a variety of different substructures in RNA and DNA.

Group II intron mobility in yeast mitochondria: target DNA-primed reverse transcription activity of aI1 and reverse splicing into DNA transposition sites in vitro.

The retrohoming of the yeast mtDNA intron aI1 occurs by a target DNA-primed reverse transcription (TPRT) mechanism in which the intron RNA reverse splices directly into the recipient DNA and is then copied by the intron-encoded reverse transcriptase. Here, we carried out biochemical characterization of the intron-encoded reverse transcriptase and site-specific DNA endonuclease activities required for this process. We show that the aI1 reverse transcriptase has high TPRT activity in the presence of appropriate DNA target sites, but differs from the closely related reverse transcriptase encoded by the yeast aI2 intron in being unable to use artificial substrates efficiently. Characterization of TPRT products shows that the fully reverse spliced intron RNA is an efficient template for cDNA synthesis, while reverse transcription of partially reverse spliced intron RNA is impeded by the branch point. Novel features of the aI1 reaction include a prominent open-circular product in which cDNAs are incorporated at a nick at the antisense-strand cleavage site. The aI1 endonuclease activity, which catalyzes the DNA cleavage and reverse splicing reactions, is associated with ribonucleoprotein particles containing the intron-encoded protein and the excised intron RNA. As shown for the aI2 endonuclease, both the RNA and protein components are used for DNA target site recognition, but the aI1 protein has less stringent nucleotide sequence requirements for the reverse splicing reaction. Finally, perhaps reflecting this relaxed target specificity, in vitro experiments show that aI1 can reverse splice directly into ectopic mtDNA transposition sites, consistent with the previously suggested possibility that this mechanism is used for ectopic transposition of group II introns in vivo.

Mutant alleles of the MRS2 gene of yeast nuclear DNA suppress mutations in the catalytic core of a mitochondrial group II intron.

Previous studies show that some yeast strains carrying point mutations of domain 5 that block splicing of a mitochondrial group II intron yield spontaneous revertants in which splicing is partially restored by dominant mutations of nuclear genes. Here we cloned and sequenced the suppressor allele of one such gene, and found it to be a missense mutation of the MRS2 gene (MRS2-L232F). The MRS2 gene was first implicated in group II intron splicing by the finding that overexpression of the wild-type gene weakly suppresses the splicing defect of a mutation of another intron. Tetrad analysis showed that independently isolated suppressors of two other domain 5 mutations are also allelles of the MRS2 gene and DNA sequencing identified a new missense mutation in each strain (MRS2-T230I and MRS2-L213M). All three suppressor mutations cause a temperature-sensitive respiration defect that is dominant negative in heterozygous diploids, but those strains splice the mutant intron at the elevated temperature. The three mutations are in a domain of the protein that is likely to be a helix-turn-helix region, so that effects of the mutations on protein-protein interactions may contribute to these phenotypes. These mutations suppress the splicing defect of many, but not all, of the available splicing defective mutations of aI5gamma, including mutations of several intron domains. Protein and RNA blot experiments show that the level of the protein encoded by the MRS2 gene, but not the mRNA, is elevated by these mutations. Interestingly, overexpression of the wild-type protein restores much lower levels of splicing than were obtained with similar elevated levels of the mutated Mrs2 proteins. The splicing phenotypes of these strains suggest a direct role for Mrs2 protein on group II intron splicing, but an indirect effect is not yet ruled out.

The two steps of group II intron self-splicing are mechanistically distinguishable.

The two transesterification reactions catalyzed by self-splicing group II introns take place in either two active sites or two conformations of a single active site involving rearrangements of the positions of the reacting groups. We have investigated the effects on the rates of the chemical steps of the two reactions due to sulfur substitution of nonbridging oxygens at both the 5' and 3' splice sites as well as the deoxyribose substitution of the ribose 2' hydroxyl group at the 5' splice site. The data suggest that the two active sites differ in their interactions with several of these groups. Specifically, sulfur substitution of the pro-Sp nonbridging oxygen at the 5' splice site reduces the chemical rate of the step one branching reaction by at least 250-fold, whereas substitution of the pro-Sp oxygen at the 3' splice site has only a 4.5-fold effect on the chemical rate of step two. Previous work demonstrated that the Rp phosphorothioate substitutions at both the 5' and 3' splice sites reduced the rate of both steps of splicing to an undetectable level. These results suggest that either two distinct active sites catalyze the two steps or that more significant alterations must be made in a single bifunctional active site to accommodate the two different reactions.

The sorting of mitochondrial DNA and mitochondrial proteins in zygotes: preferential transmission of mitochondrial DNA to the medial bud.

Green fluorescent protein (GFP) was used to tag proteins of the mitochondrial matrix, inner, and outer membranes to examine their sorting patterns relative to mtDNA in zygotes of synchronously mated yeast cells in rho+ x rho0 crosses. When transiently expressed in one of the haploid parents, each of the marker proteins distributes throughout the fused mitochondrial reticulum of the zygote before equilibration of mtDNA, although the membrane markers equilibrate slower than the matrix marker. A GFP-tagged form of Abf2p, a mtDNA binding protein required for faithful transmission of rho+ mtDNA in vegetatively growing cells, colocalizes with mtDNA in situ. In zygotes of a rho+ x rho+ cross, in which there is little mixing of parental mtDNAs, Abf2p-GFP prelabeled in one parent rapidly equilibrates to most or all of the mtDNA, showing that the mtDNA compartment is accessible to exchange of proteins. In rho+ x rho0 crosses, mtDNA is preferentially transmitted to the medial diploid bud, whereas mitochondrial GFP marker proteins distribute throughout the zygote and the bud. In zygotes lacking Abf2p, mtDNA sorting is delayed and preferential sorting is reduced. These findings argue for the existence of a segregation apparatus that directs mtDNA to the emerging bud.

The high mobility group protein Abf2p influences the level of yeast mitochondrial DNA recombination intermediates in vivo.

Abf2p is a high mobility group (HMG) protein found in yeast mitochondria that is required for the maintenance of wild-type (rho+) mtDNA in cells grown on fermentable carbon sources, and for efficient recombination of mtDNA markers in crosses. Here, we show by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis that Abf2p promotes or stabilizes Holliday recombination junction intermediates in rho+ mtDNA in vivo but does not influence the high levels of recombination intermediates readily detected in the mtDNA of petite mutants (rho-). mtDNA recombination junctions are not observed in rho+ mtDNA of wild-type cells but are elevated to detectable levels in cells with a null allele of the MGT1 gene (Deltamgt1), which codes for a mitochondrial cruciform-cutting endonuclease. The level of recombination intermediates in rho+ mtDNA of Deltamgt1 cells is decreased about 10-fold if those cells contain a null allele of the ABF2 gene. Overproduction of Abf2p by >/= 10-fold in wild-type rho+ cells, which leads to mtDNA instability, results in a dramatic increase in mtDNA recombination intermediates. Specific mutations in the two Abf2p HMG boxes required for DNA binding diminishes these responses. We conclude that Abf2p functions in the recombination of rho+ mtDNA.

Functions of the high mobility group protein, Abf2p, in mitochondrial DNA segregation, recombination and copy number in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Previous studies have established that the mitochondrial high mobility group (HMG) protein, Abf2p, of Saccharomyces cerevisiae influences the stability of wild-type (rho+) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and plays an important role in mtDNA organization. Here we report new functions for Abf2p in mtDNA transactions. We find that in homozygous deltaabf2 crosses, the pattern of sorting of mtDNA and mitochondrial matrix protein is altered, and mtDNA recombination is suppressed relative to homozygous ABF2 crosses. Although Abf2p is known to be required for the maintenance of mtDNA in rho+ cells growing on rich dextrose medium, we find that it is not required for the maintenance of mtDNA in p cells grown on the same medium. The content of both rho+ and rho- mtDNAs is increased in cells by 50-150% by moderate (two- to threefold) increases in the ABF2 copy number, suggesting that Abf2p plays a role in mtDNA copy control. Overproduction of Abf2p by > or = 10-fold from an ABF2 gene placed under control of the GAL1 promoter, however, leads to a rapid loss of rho+ mtDNA and a quantitative conversion of rho+ cells to petites within two to four generations after a shift of the culture from glucose to galactose medium. Overexpression of Abf2p in rho- cells also leads to a loss of mtDNA, but at a slower rate than was observed for rho+ cells. The mtDNA instability phenotype is related to the DNA-binding properties of Abf2p because a mutant Abf2p that contains mutations in residues of both HMG box domains known to affect DNA binding in vitro, and that binds poorly to mtDNA in vivo, complements deltaabf2 cells only weakly and greatly lessens the effect of overproduction on mtDNA instability. In vivo binding was assessed by colocalization to mtDNA of fusions between mutant or wild-type Abf2p and green fluorescent protein. These findings are discussed in the context of a model relating mtDNA copy number control and stability to mtDNA recombination.

Domain 5 binds near a highly conserved dinucleotide in the joiner linking domains 2 and 3 of a group II intron.

Photocrosslinking has identified the joiner between domains 2 and 3 [J(23)] as folding near domain 5 (D5), a highly conserved helical substructure of group II introns required for both splicing reactions. D5 RNAs labeled with the photocrosslinker 4-thiouridine (4sU) reacted with highly conserved nucleotides G588 and A589 in J(23) of various intron acceptor transcripts. These conjugates retained some ribozyme function with the lower helix of D5 crosslinked to J(23), so they represent active complexes. One partner of the gamma x gamma' tertiary interaction (A587 x U887) is also in J(23); even though gamma x gamma' is involved in step 2 of the splicing reaction, D5 has not previously been found to approach gamma x gamma'. Similar crosslinking patterns between D5 and J(23) were detected both before and after step 1 of the reaction, indicating that the lower helix of D5 is positioned similarly in both conformations of the active center. Our results suggest that the purine-rich J(23) strand is antiparallel to the D5 strand containing U32 and U33. Possibly, the interaction with J(23) helps position D5 correctly in the ribozyme active site; alternatively, J(23) itself might participate in the catalytic center.

Group II intron splicing in vivo by first-step hydrolysis.

Group I, group II and spliceosomal introns splice by two sequential transesterification reactions. For both spliceosomal and group II introns, the first-step reaction occurs by nucleophilic attack on the 5' splice junction by the 2' hydroxyl of an internal adenosine, forming a 2'-5' phosphodiester branch in the intron. The second reaction joins the two exons with a 3'-5' phosphodiester bond and releases intron lariat. In vitro, group II introns can self-splice by an efficient alternative pathway in which the first-step reaction occurs by hydrolysis. The resulting linear splicing intermediate participates in normal second-step reactions, forming spliced exon and linear intron RNAs. Here we show that the group II intron first-step hydrolysis reaction occurs in vivo in place of transesterification in the mitochondria of yeast strains containing branch-site mutations. As expected, the mutations block branching, but surprisingly still allow accurate splicing. This hydrolysis pathway may have been a step in the evolution of splicing mechanisms.

Mobility of yeast mitochondrial group II introns: engineering a new site specificity and retrohoming via full reverse splicing.

The mobile group II introns aI1 and aI2 of yeast mtDNA encode endonuclease activities that cleave intronless DNA target sites to initiate mobility by target DNA-primed reverse transcription. For aI2, sense-strand cleavage occurs mainly by a partial reverse splicing reaction, whereas for aI1, complete reverse splicing occurs, leading to insertion of the linear intron RNA into double-stranded DNA. Here, we show that aI1 homing and reverse splicing depend on the EBS1 (RNA)/IBS1(DNA) pairing and that target specificity can be changed by compensatory changes in the target site and the donor intron. Using well-marked strains to follow coconversion of flanking DNA, we show that homing occurs by both RT-dependent and -independent pathways. Remarkably, in most RT-dependent events, the reverse spliced intron is the initial template for first-strand cDNA synthesis.