Asymmetric ATP binding and hydrolysis activity of the Thermus aquaticus MutS dimer is key to modulation of its interactions with mismatched DNA

Prokaryotic MutS and eukaryotic Msh proteins recognize base pair mismatches and insertions or deletions in DNA and initiate mismatch repair. These proteins function as dimers (and perhaps higher order oligomers) and possess an ATPase activity that is essential for DNA repair. Previous studies of Escherichia coli MutS and eukaryotic Msh2-Msh6 proteins have revealed asymmetry within the dimer with respect to both DNA binding and ATPase activities. We have found the Thermus aquaticus MutS protein amenable to detailed investigation of the nature and role of this asymmetry. Here, we show that (a) in a MutS dimer one subunit (S1) binds nucleotide with high affinity and the other (S2) with 10-fold weaker affinity, (b) S1 hydrolyzes ATP rapidly while S2 hydrolyzes ATP at a 30-50-fold slower rate, (c) mismatched DNA binding to MutS inhibits ATP hydrolysis at S1 but slow hydrolysis continues at S2, and (d) interaction between mismatched DNA and MutS is weakened when both subunits are occupied by ATP but remains stable when S1 is occupied by ATP and S2 by ADP. These results reveal key MutS species in the ATPase pathway; S1(ADP)-S2(ATP) is formed preferentially in the absence of DNA or in the presence of fully matched DNA, while S1(ATP)-S2(ATP) and S1(ATP)-S2(ADP) are formed preferentially in the presence of mismatched DNA. These MutS species exhibit differences in interaction with mismatched DNA that are likely important for the mechanism of MutS action in DNA repair.

Meiotic Recombination: Sealing the Partnership at the Junction

Crossovers ensure proper chromosome segregation in meiosis. A heterodimer of MutS proteins, hMSH4-hMSH5, has recently been found to interact with recombination intermediates in a manner that suggests a mechanism for directing meiotic DNA double strand break repair towards a crossover pathway.

Reversible phase variation in the phnE gene, which is required for phosphonate metabolism in Escherichia coli K-12

It is known that Escherichia coli K-12 is cryptic (Phn-) for utilization of methyl phosphonate (MePn) and that Phn+ variants can be selected for growth on MePn as the sole P source. Variants arise from deletion via a possible slip strand mechanism of one of three direct 8-bp repeat sequences in phnE, which restores function to a component of a putative ABC type transporter. Here we show that Phn+ variants are present at the surprisingly high frequency of >10(-2) in K-12 strains. Amplified-fragment length polymorphism analysis was used to monitor instability in phnE in various strains growing under different conditions. This revealed that, once selection for growth on MePn is removed, Phn+ revertants reappear and accumulate at high levels through reinsertion of the 8-bp repeat element sequence. It appears that, in K-12, phnE contains a high-frequency reversible gene switch, producing phase variation which either allows ("on" form) or blocks ("off" form) MePn utilization. The switch can also block usage of other metabolizable alkyl phosphonates, including the naturally occurring 2-aminoethylphosphonate. All K-12 strains, obtained from collections, appear in the "off" form even when bearing mutations in mutS, mutD, or dnaQ which are known to enhance slip strand events between repetitive sequences. The ability to inactivate the phnE gene appears to be unique to K-12 strains since the B strain is naturally Phn+ and lacks the inactivating 8-bp insertion in phnE, as do important pathogenic strains for which genome sequences are known and also strains isolated recently from environmental sources.

MutS inhibits RecA-mediated strand exchange with platinated DNA substrates

Human cell lines and Escherichia coli dam mutants are sensitive to the cytotoxic action of the anticancer agent, cisplatin. Introduction of mutations disabling DNA mismatch repair into these cell lines renders them resistant to the action of this drug. We used RecA-mediated strand exchange between homologous phiX174 molecules, one that was platinated and the other that was unmodified, to show that strand transfer is decreased in a dose-dependent manner. Transfer was severely decreased at 10 adducts per molecule (5,386 bp) and abolished with 24 adducts. At low levels of adduction, addition of MutS to the reaction further decreases the rate and yield in a dose-dependent manner. MutL addition was without effect even in the presence of MutS. The results suggest that although mismatch repair is beneficial for mutation avoidance, its antirecombination activity on inappropriate substrates can be lethal to the cell.

ATP increases the affinity between MutS ATPase domains. Implications for ATP hydrolysis and conformational changes

MutS is the key protein of the Escherichia coli DNA mismatch repair system. It recognizes mispaired and unpaired bases and has intrinsic ATPase activity. ATP binding after mismatch recognition by MutS serves as a switch that enables MutL binding and the subsequent initiation of mismatch repair. However, the mechanism of this switch is poorly understood. We have investigated the effects of ATP binding on the MutS structure. Crystallographic studies of ATP-soaked crystals of MutS show a trapped intermediate, with ATP in the nucleotide-binding site. Local rearrangements of several residues around the nucleotide-binding site suggest a movement of the two ATPase domains of the MutS dimer toward each other. Analytical ultracentrifugation experiments confirm such a rearrangement, showing increased affinity between the ATPase domains upon ATP binding and decreased affinity in the presence of ADP. Mutations of specific residues in the nucleotide-binding domain reduce the dimer affinity of the ATPase domains. In addition, ATP-induced release of DNA is strongly reduced in these mutants, suggesting that the two activities are coupled. Hence, it seems plausible that modulation of the affinity between ATPase domains is the driving force for conformational changes in the MutS dimer. These changes are driven by distinct amino acids in the nucleotide-binding site and form the basis for long-range interactions between the ATPase domains and DNA-binding domains and subsequent binding of MutL and initiation of mismatch repair.

A MutS-based protein chip for detection of DNA mutations

This paper describes a new protein chip method for detection of single-base mismatches and unpaired bases of DNA, using a genetic fusion molecular system Trx-His6-Linker peptide-Strep-tagII-Linker peptide-MutS (THLSLM). The THLSLM coding sequence was constructed by attaching Strep-tag II and mutS gene to pET32a (+) sequentially with insertion of a linker peptide coding sequence before and behind Strep-tagII gene, respectively. THLSLM was expressed in E. coli AD494 (DE3) and purified using Ni(2+)-chelation affinity resin. THLSLM retained both mismatch recognition activity and streptavidin binding affinity. THLSLM was then immobilized on the chip matrix coated with streptavidin through the Strep-tag II-streptavidin binding reaction. The resulting protein chip was used to detect the mismatched and unpaired mutations in the synthesized oligonucleotides, as well as a single-base mutation in rpoB gene from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, with high specificity. The method could potentially serve as a platform to develop the high-throughput technology for screening and analysis of genetic mutations.

Apoptotic signaling in response to a single type of DNA lesion, O(6)-methylguanine

Until now, it has been difficult to establish exactly how a specific DNA lesion signals apoptosis because each DNA damaging agent produces a collection of distinct DNA lesions and produces damage in RNA, protein, and lipids. We have developed a system in human cells that focuses on the response to a single type of DNA lesion, namely O(6)-methylguanine (O(6)MeG). We dissect the signaling pathways involved in O(6)MeG-induced apoptosis, a response dependent on the MutSalpha heterodimer that is normally involved in DNA mismatch repair. O(6)MeG triggers robust activation of caspases associated with both death receptor- and mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis. Despite this, O(6)MeG/MutSalpha-triggered apoptosis is only partly dependent on caspase activation; moreover, it is mediated solely by mitochondrial signaling and not at all by death receptor signaling. Finally, while Bcl-2 and Bcl-x(L), negative regulators of mitochondrial-regulated apoptosis, could effectively block O(6)MeG/MutSalpha-dependent apoptosis, they were unable to prevent the cells from ultimately dying.

Emergence of phenotypic variants upon mismatch repair disruption in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

MutS is part of the bacterial mismatch repair system that corrects point mutations and small insertions/deletions that fail to be proof-read by DNA polymerase activity. In this work it is shown that the disruption of theP. aeruginosa mutSgene generates the emergence of diverse colony morphologies in contrast with its parental wild-type strain that displayed monomorphic colonies. Interestingly, two of themutSmorphotypes emerged at a high frequency and in a reproducible way and were selected for subsequent characterization. One of them displayed a nearly wild-type morphology while the other notably showed, compared with the wild-type strain, increased production of pyocyanin and pyoverdin, lower excretion of LasB protease and novel motility characteristics, mainly related to swarming. Furthermore, it was reproducibly observed that, after prolonged incubation in liquid culture, the pigmented variant consistently emerged from themutSwild-type-like variant displaying a reproducible event. It is also shown that theseP. aeruginosa mutSmorphotypes not only displayed an increase in the frequency of antibiotic-resistant mutants, as described for clinicalP. aeruginosamutator isolates, but also generated mutants whose antibiotic-resistant levels were higher than those measured from spontaneous resistant mutants derived from wild-type cells. It was also found that both morphotypes showed a decreased cytotoxic capacity compared to the wild-type strain, leading to the emergence of invasive variants. By using mutated versions of a tetracycline resistance gene, themutSmutant showed a 70-fold increase in the reversion frequency of a +1 frameshift mutation with respect to its parental wild-type strain, allowing the suggestion that the phenotypical diversity generated in themutSpopulation could be produced in part by frameshift mutations. Finally, since morphotypical diversification has also been described in clinical isolates, the possibility that thismutSdiversification was related to the high frequency hypermutability observed inP. aeruginosaCF isolates is discussed.

Signaling from DNA mispairs to mismatch-repair excision sites despite intervening blockades

Mismatch-repair (MMR) systems promote genomic stability by correction of DNA replication errors. Thus, MMR proteins--prokaryotic MutS and MutL homodimers or their MutSalpha and MutLalpha heterodimer homologs, plus accessory proteins--specifically couple mismatch recognition to nascent-DNA excision. In vivo excision-initiation signals--specific nicks in some prokaryotes, perhaps growing 3' ends or Okazaki-fragment 5' ends in eukaryotes--are efficiently mimicked in vitro by nicks or gaps in exogenous DNA substrates. In some models for recognition-excision coupling, MutSalpha bound to mismatches is induced by ATP hydrolysis, or simply by binding of ATP, to slide along DNA to excision-initiation sites, perhaps in association with MutLalpha and accessory proteins. In other models, MutSalpha.MutLalpha complexes remain fixed at mismatches and contact distant excision sites by DNA looping. To challenge the hypothesis that recognition complexes remain fixed, we placed biotin-streptavidin blockades between mismatches and pre-existing nicks. In human nuclear extracts, mismatch efficiently provoked the initiation of excision despite the intervening barriers, as predicted. However, excision progress and therefore mismatch correction were prevented.

In vitro and in vivo modulations of benzo[c]phenanthrene-DNA adducts by DNA mismatch repair system

Benzo[c]phenanthrene dihydrodiol epoxide (B[c] PhDE) is well known as an important environmental chemical carcinogen that preferentially modifies DNA in adenine residues. However, the molecular mechanism by which B[c]PhDE induces tumorigenesis is not fully understood. In this report, we demonstrate that DNA mismatch repair (MMR), a genome maintenance system, plays an important role in B[c]PhDE-induced carcinogensis by promoting apoptosis in cells treated with B[c]PhDE. We show that purified human MMR recognition proteins, MutS(alpha) and MutSbeta, specifically recognized B[c]PhDE-DNA adducts. Cell lines proficient in MMR exhibited several-fold more sensitivity to killing than cell lines defective in either MutS(alpha) or MutL(alpha) by B[c]PhDE; the nature of this sensitivity was shown to be due to increased apoptosis. Additionally, wild-type mice exposed to B[c]PhDE had intestinal crypt cells that underwent apoptosis significantly more often than intestinal crypt cells found in B[c]PhDE-treated Msh2(-/-) or Mlh1(-/-) mice. These findings, combined with previous studies, suggest that the MMR system may serve as a general sensor for chemical-caused DNA damage to prevent damaged cells from mutagenesis and carcinogenesis by promoting apoptosis.

Identification of factors influencing strand bias in oligonucleotide-mediated recombination in Escherichia coli

Recombinogenic engineering methodology, also known as recombineering, utilizes homologous recombination to create targeted changes in cellular DNA with great specificity and flexibility. In Escherichia coli, the Red recombination system from bacteriophage lambda has been used successfully to modify both plasmid and chromosomal DNA in a highly efficient manner, using either a linear double-stranded DNA fragment or a synthetic single-stranded oligonucleotide (SSO). The current model for Red/SSO-mediated recombination involves the SSO first annealing to a transient, single-stranded region of DNA before being incorporated into the chromosome or plasmid target. It has been observed previously, in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes, that mutations in the two strands of the DNA double helix are 'corrected' by complementary SSOs with differing efficiencies. Here we investigate further the factors that influence the strand bias as well as the overall efficiency of Red/SSO-mediated recombination in E.coli. We show that the direction of DNA replication and the nature of the SSO-encoded mismatch are the main factors dictating the recombinational strand bias. However, the influence that the SSO-encoded mismatch exerts upon the recombinational strand bias is abolished in E.coli strains that are defective in mismatch repair (MMR). This reflects the fact that different base-base mispairs are corrected by the mutS/H/L-dependent MMR pathway with differing efficiencies. Furthermore, our data indicate that transcription has negligible influence on the strand bias. These results demonstrate for the first time that the interplay between DNA replication and MMR has a major effect on the efficiency and strand bias of Red/SSO-mediated recombination in E.coli.

Differential Requirement for Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen in 5′ and 3′ Nick-directed Excision in Human Mismatch Repair

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is involved in mammalian mismatch repair at a step prior to or at mismatch excision, but the molecular mechanism of this process is not fully understood. To examine the role of PCNA in mismatch-provoked and nick-directed excision, orientation-specific mismatch removal of heteroduplexes with a pre-existing nick was monitored in human nuclear extracts supplemented with the PCNA inhibitor protein p21. We show here that, whereas 3' nick-directed mismatch excision was completely inhibited by low concentrations of p21 or a p21 C-terminal fusion protein, 5' nick-directed excision was only partially blocked under the same conditions. No further reduction of the 5' excision was detected when a much higher concentration of p21 C-terminal protein was used. These results suggest the following. (i) There is a differential requirement for PCNA in 3' and 5' nick-directed excision; and (ii) 5' nick-directed excision is conducted by a manner either dependent on or independent of PCNA. Our in vitro reconstitution experiments indeed identified a 5' nick-directed excision pathway that is dependent on PCNA, hMutSalpha, and a partially purified fraction from a HeLa nuclear extract.

Directly fishing out subtle mutations in genomic DNA with histidine-tagged Thermus thermophilus MutS

Tth MutS, a mismatch repair protein from Thermus thermophilus, was reported to effectively recognize all eight possible types of base pair mismatches and insertions or deletions up to three base pairs at a wide temperature range up to 60 degrees C. Here a procedure for directly fishing out subtle unknown mutations in bacterial genome with Tth MutS was described. Wild type genomic DNA and mutant one were mixed, digested with restriction enzymes, denatured and re-annealed. Hetero-duplex DNA carrying mispaired bases were bound to Tth MutS and recovered through Ni-NTA His-Bind((R)) Resin. The recovered DNA was cloned into plasmids, producing a mini-library with inserts of the mutated regions. Further DNA sequencing and genetic complementation demonstrated that the method was extremely efficient in fishing out the mutations from total genomic DNA. Using this method, the mutations existed in a Psedomonas aeruginosa mutant strain were screened, indicating that A/G transitions at nt 181 and nt 314 in chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (catB7) gene conferred this strain with a high chloramphenicol dosage resistant. Compared with those reported previously, this protocol can screen the mixed mutations more easily.

Intact mutS in laboratory-derived and clinical glycopeptide-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus strains

The mutS gene of the methyl-directed mismatch repair system was sequenced in 10 parent and glycopeptide-intermediate Staphylococcus aureus strains. The mutS gene was intact in all strains studied. Hence, mutations in this gene had played no role in the development of vancomycin resistance in these strains.

Mutations in the DNA mismatch repair proteins MutS and MutL of oxazolidinone-resistant or -susceptible Enterococcus faecium

Mutations in mutS and mutL, which encode DNA mismatch repair (MMR) proteins, can confer hypermutator phenotypes and may facilitate the emergence of mutational antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Linezolid-resistant enterococci (LRE) rarely emerge during therapy and contain mutations in 23S rRNA genes. As enterococci with defective MMR could be prone to the development of oxazolidinone resistance mutations, we investigated 13 clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecium, including 2 LRE, for mutations in mutSL. A 4,944-bp fragment spanning mutSL was sequenced from two pairs of linezolid-resistant (MICs, 64 micro g/ml) and linezolid-susceptible (MICs, 2 micro g/ml) E. faecium isolates (one pair from Austria and one pair from the United Kingdom) identical by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The pairs represented distinct strains in which linezolid resistance had emerged during therapy. The MutSL peptides of all four isolates had amino acid substitutions compared with the sequence of E. faecium strain DO (used for genome sequencing). These were Val352Ile (one pair of isolates only) and Met628Leu in MutS and Leu387Pro, Tyr406Phe, Thr415Ser, Phe427Leu, and Phe565Ile in MutL. The significance of these changes remains unknown; these isolates did not show a demonstrable hypermutator phenotype. The same substitutions were found in two of nine geographically diverse linezolid-susceptible enterococcal isolates; the other seven isolates had MutSL sequences identical to that of strain DO. Multilocus sequence typing revealed that all isolates with alternate MutSL peptides belonged to a distinct lineage of a prevalent E. faecium clonal complex, designated CC17. Further studies are needed to investigate the prevalence of these MutSL mutations and their possible roles in the emergence of E. faecium strains resistant to oxazolidinones and other antibiotic classes.

Nitrogen-regulated hypermutator strain of Synechococcus sp. for use in in vivo artificial evolution

Artificially evolved variants of proteins with roles in photosynthesis may be selected most conveniently by using a photosynthetic organism, such as a cyanobacterium, whose growth depends on the function of the target protein. However, the limited transformation efficiency of even the most transformable cyanobacteria wastes much of the diversity of mutant libraries of genes produced in vitro, impairing the coverage of sequence space. This highlights the advantages of an in vivo approach for generating diversity in the selection organism itself. We constructed two different hypermutator strains of Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7942 by insertionally inactivating or nutritionally repressing the DNA mismatch repair gene, mutS. Inactivation of mutS greatly increases the mutation rate of the cyanobacterium's genes, leading to an up-to-300-fold increase in the frequency of resistance to the antibiotics rifampin and spectinomycin. In order to control the rate of mutation and to limit cellular damage resulting from prolonged hypermutation, we placed the uninterrupted mutS gene in the cyanobacterial chromosome under the transcriptional control of the cyanobacterial nirA promoter, which is repressed in the presence of NH(4)(+) as an N source and derepressed in its absence. By removing or adding this substrate, hypermutation was activated or repressed as required. As expected, hypermutation caused by repression in PnirA-mutS transformants led to an accumulation of spectinomycin resistance mutations during growth.

DNA mismatch repair: molecular mechanisms and biological function

DNA mismatch repair (MMR) guards the integrity of the genome in virtually all cells. It contributes about 1000-fold to the overall fidelity of replication and targets mispaired bases that arise through replication errors, during homologous recombination, and as a result of DNA damage. Cells deficient in MMR have a mutator phenotype in which the rate of spontaneous mutation is greatly elevated, and they frequently exhibit microsatellite instability at mono- and dinucleotide repeats. The importance of MMR in mutation avoidance is highlighted by the finding that defects in MMR predispose individuals to hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer. In addition to its role in postreplication repair, the MMR machinery serves to police homologous recombination events and acts as a barrier to genetic exchange between species.

Formation of a DNA mismatch repair complex mediated by ATP

The mismatch repair proteins, MutS and MutL, interact in a DNA mismatch and ATP-dependent manner to activate downstream events in repair. Here, we assess the role of ATP binding and hydrolysis in mismatch recognition by MutS and the formation of a ternary complex involving MutS and MutL bound to a mismatched DNA. We show that ATP reduces the affinity of MutS for mismatched DNA and that the modulation of DNA binding affinity by nucleotide is even more pronounced for MutS E694A, a protein that binds ATP but is defective for ATP hydrolysis. Despite the ATP hydrolysis defect, E694A, like WT MutS, undergoes rapid, ATP-dependent dissociation from a DNA mismatch. Furthermore, MutS E694A retains the ability to interact with MutL on mismatched DNA. The recruitment of MutL to a mismatched DNA by MutS is also observed for two mutant MutL proteins, E29A, defective for ATP hydrolysis, and R266A, defective for DNA binding. These results suggest that ATP binding in the absence of hydrolysis is sufficient to trigger formation of a MutS sliding clamp. However, recruitment of MutL results in the formation of a dynamic ternary complex that we propose is the intermediate that signals subsequent repair steps requiring ATP hydrolysis.

Mechanism of 5'-directed excision in human mismatch repair

We have developed a purified system that supports mismatch-dependent 5'-->3' excision. In the presence of RPA, ATP, and a mismatch, MutSalpha activates 5'-->3' excision by EXOI, and excision terminates after removal of the mispair. MutSalpha confers high processivity on EXOI, and termination is due to RPA-dependent displacement of this processive complex from the helix and a weak ability of EXOI to reload at the RPA-bound gap in the product, as well as MutSalpha- and MutLalpha-dependent suppression of EXOI activity in the absence of a mismatch cofactor. As observed in the purified system, excision directed by a 5' strand break in HeLa nuclear extract can proceed in the absence of MutLalpha or PCNA, although 3' excision in the extract system requires both proteins.

Protein–DNA interaction: impedance study of MutS binding to a DNA mismatch

MutS binding to a double-stranded DNA containing a single nucleotide mismatch can be conveniently monitored by impedance spectroscopy and represents the first step in developing an electrochemical binding essay for single nucleotide mismatch detection.

Detection of Point Mutation and Insertion Mutations in DNA Using a Quartz Crystal Microbalance and MutS, a Mismatch Binding Protein

MutS protein is a mismatch binding protein that recognizes mispaired and unpaired base(s) in DNA. In this study, we incorporate the MutS protein-based mutation recognition into quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements for DNA single-base substitution mutation and 1-4 base(s) insertion (or deletion) mutation detection. The method involves the immobilization of single-stranded probe DNA on a QCM surface, the hybridization of target DNA to form homoduplex or heteroduplex DNA, and finally the application of MutS protein for the mutation recognition. By measuring the MutS binding signal, DNA containing a T:G mismatch or unpaired base(s) is(are) discriminated against perfectly matched DNA at target concentrations ranging from 1nM to 5 microM. Furthermore, the QCM damping behavior upon MutS-DNA complex formation is studied using a Network Analyzer. The measured motional resistance changes per coupled MutS unit mass (deltaR/deltaf) are found to be indicative of the viscoelastic or structural properties of the bound protein, corresponding to different binding mechanisms. In addition, the deltaR/deltaf values vary remarkably when the MutS protein binds at different distances away from the QCM surface. Thus, these values can be used as a "fingerprint" for MutS mismatch recognition and also used to quantitatively locate the mutation site.

Hydrolytically Deficient MutS E694A Is Defective in the MutL-dependent Activation of MutH and in the Mismatch-dependent Assembly of the MutS · MutL · Heteroduplex Complex

The roles of ATP binding and hydrolysis by MutS in mismatch repair are poorly understood. MutS E694A, in which Glu-694 of the Walker B motif is substituted with alanine, is defective in hydrolysis of bound ATP and has been reported to support MutL-dependent activation of the MutH d(GATC) endonuclease in a trans DNA activation assay (Junop, M. S., Obmolova, G., Rausch, K., Hsieh, P., and Yang, W. (2001) Mol. Cell 7, 1-12). Because the MutH trans activation assay used in these previous studies was characterized by high background and low efficiency, we have re-evaluated the activities of MutS E694A. In contrast to native MutS, which can be isolated in a nucleotide-free form, purified MutS E694A contains 1.0 mol of bound ATP per dimer equivalent, and substoichiometric levels of bound ADP (0.08-0.58 mol/dimer), consistent with the suggestion that the ADP.MutS.ATP complex comprises a significant fraction of the protein in solution (Bjornson, K. P. and Modrich, P. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 18557-18562). In the presence of Mg2+, endogenous ATP is hydrolyzed with a rate constant of 0.12 min-1 at 30 degrees C, and hydrolysis yields a protein that displays increased specificity for heteroduplex DNA. As observed with wild type MutS, ATP can promote release of MutS E694A from a mismatch. However, the mutant protein is defective in the methyl-directed, mismatch- and MutL-dependent cis activation of MutH endonuclease on a 6.4-kilobase pair heteroduplex, displaying only 1 to 2% of the activity of wild type MutS. The mutant protein also fails to support normal assembly of the MutS.MutL.DNA ternary complex. Although a putative ternary complex can be observed in the presence of MutS E694A, assembly of this structure displays little if any dependence on a mismatched base pair.

DNA bending and unbending by MutS govern mismatch recognition and specificity

DNA mismatch repair is central to the maintenance of genomic stability. It is initiated by the recognition of base-base mismatches and insertion/deletion loops by the family of MutS proteins. Subsequently, ATP induces a unique conformational change in the MutS-mismatch complex but not in the MutS-homoduplex complex that sets off the cascade of events that leads to repair. To gain insight into the mechanism by which MutS discriminates between mismatch and homoduplex DNA, we have examined the conformations of specific and nonspecific MutS-DNA complexes by using atomic force microscopy. Interestingly, MutS-DNA complexes exhibit a single population of conformations, in which the DNA is bent at homoduplex sites, but two populations of conformations, bent and unbent, at mismatch sites. These results suggest that the specific recognition complex is one in which the DNA is unbent. Combining our results with existing biochemical and crystallographic data leads us to propose that MutS: (i) binds to DNA nonspecifically and bends it in search of a mismatch; (ii) on specific recognition of a mismatch, undergoes a conformational change to an initial recognition complex in which the DNA is kinked, with interactions similar to those in the published crystal structures; and (iii) finally undergoes a further conformational change to the ultimate recognition complex in which the DNA is unbent. Our results provide a structural explanation for the long-standing question of how MutS achieves mismatch repair specificity.

Targeting clusters of transferred genes in Thermotoga maritima

We screened a Thermotoga sp. strain RQ2 lambda library for genes present in that strain but absent from the closely related completely sequenced relative Thermotoga maritima strain MSB8, by using probes generated in an earlier genomic subtraction study. Five lambda insert fragments were sequenced, containing, respectively, an archaeal type ATPase operon, rhamnose biosynthetic genes, ORFs with similarity to an arabinosidase, a Thermotoga sp. strain RQ2-specific alcohol dehydrogenase and a novel archaeal Mut-S homologue. All but one of these fragments contained additional Thermotoga sp. strain RQ2-specific sequences not screened for, suggesting that many such strain-specific genes will be found clustered in the genome. Moreover, phylogenetic analyses, phylogenetic distribution and/or G + C content suggests that all the Thermotoga sp. strain RQ2 specific sequences in the sequenced lambda clones have been acquired by lateral gene transfer. We suggest that the use of strain-specific small insert clones obtained by subtractive hybridization to target larger inserts for sequencing is an efficient, economical way to identify environmentally (or clinically) relevant interstrain differences and novel gene clusters, and will be invaluable in comparative genomics.

What is driving the acquisition of mutS and rpoS polymorphisms in Escherichia coli?

Pathogenic and commensal Escherichia coli isolates frequently contain defective alleles of the mutS and rpoS genes, located in a highly polymorphic segment of the chromosome. The environments leading to enrichment of rpoS mutations and the selective advantages of these mutants are becoming apparent. Unexpectedly, rpoS defects occur because of a basic design limitation in cellular regulation. Antagonistic pleiotropy results from the futile competition between different sigma factors associated with the RNA polymerase, and drives the elimination of RpoS (or sigma(S)) in environments requiring high levels of transcription that is dependent on RpoD (or sigma(D) or sigma(70)). Nutrient-limited environments provide an ideal breeding ground for rpoS mutations. By contrast, in other settings, increased stress resistance selects for restoration of rpoS function. Hence extensive polymorphism in the mutS-rpoS region is postulated to result from cycling between environments in which the functional or non-functional genes provide distinct fitness advantages.