Large-scale production of palindrome DNA fragments

Reconstitution and Purification of Nucleosomes with Recombinant Histones and Purified DNA

Nucleosomes are substrates for a broad range of factors, including those involved in transcription or chromosome maintenance/reorganization and enzymes that covalently modify histones. Given the heterogeneous nature of nucleosomes in vivo (i.e., varying histone composition, post-translational modifications, DNA sequence register), understanding the specificity and activities of chromatin-interacting factors has required in vitro studies using well-defined nucleosome substrates. Here, we provide detailed methods for large-scale PCR preparation of DNA, assembly of nucleosomes from purified DNA and histones, and purification of DNA and mononucleosomes. Such production of well-defined nucleosomes for biochemical and biophysical studies is key for studying numerous proteins and protein complexes that bind and/or alter nucleosomes and for revealing inherent characteristics of nucleosomes. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Large-scale PCR amplification of DNA Basic Protocol 2: DNA and nucleosome purification using a Bio-Rad Mini Prep Cell/Prep Cell Basic Protocol 3: Nucleosome reconstitution via linear gradient salt dialysis.

Crystallization of the yeast MATalpha2/MCM1/DNA ternary complex: general methods and principles for protein/DNA cocrystallization

We describe our efforts to crystallize binary MCM1/DNA and ternary MATalpha2/MCM1/DNA complexes, including the unsuccessful attempts to crystallize MCM1/DNA complexes and the successful design of DNA crystal packing that resulted in high-resolution crystals of the MATalpha2/MCM1/DNA complex. We detail general procedures useful for preparing protein/DNA cocrystals, including improved methods for producing and purifying DNA-binding proteins and DNA fragments, for purifying protein/DNA complexes, and for controlling pH conditions during crystallization. We also describe the rational design of DNA for protein/DNA cocrystallization attempts, based on our analysis of how straight and bent DNA with single base-pair overhangs can pack end-to-end in a crystal.

Comparative analyses of the secondary structures of synthetic and intracellular yeast MFA2 mRNAs

The overall folded (global) structure of mRNA may be critical to translation and turnover control mechanisms, but it has received little experimental attention. Presented here is a comparative analysis of the basic features of the global secondary structure of a synthetic mRNA and the same intracellular eukaryotic mRNA by dimethyl sulfate (DMS) structure probing. Synthetic MFA2 mRNA of Saccharomyces cerevisiae first was examined by using both enzymes and chemical reagents to determine single-stranded and hybridized regions; RNAs with and without a poly(A) tail were compared. A folding pattern was obtained with the aid of the MFOLD program package that identified the model that best satisfied the probing data. A long-range structural interaction involving the 5' and 3' untranslated regions and causing a juxtaposition of the ends of the RNA, was examined further by a useful technique involving oligo(dT)-cellulose chromatography and antisense oligonucleotides. DMS chemical probing of A and C nucleotides of intracellular MFA2 mRNA was then done. The modification data support a very similar intracellular structure. When low reactivity of A and C residues is found in the synthetic RNA, approximately 70% of the same sites are relatively more resistant to DMS modification in vivo. A slightly higher sensitivity to DMS is found in vivo for some of the A and C nucleotides predicted to be hybridized from the synthetic structural model. With this small mRNA, the translation process and mRNA-binding proteins do not block DMS modifications, and all A and C nucleotides are modified the same or more strongly than with the synthetic RNA.

Design of a combinatorial oligonucleotide library containing all possible hexamer palindromes: PCR synthesis and application for identifying restriction cleavage sites

An algorithm for designing a combinatorial library comprehensively representing all hexamer palindrome sequences at uniquely defined sites is described. The expected size for such a library of 64 possible hexamer palindromes is 384 bases, which is reduced to 266 bases spread over 8 oligonucleotides through a linear overlap of rationally selected hexamer palindromes. The single stranded oligonucleotides of the designed sets were chemically synthesized and converted into corresponding duplex dimers using PCR primer-dimer method. The utility of these duplex oligomers for identifying cleavage sites of restriction enzymes recognizing hexamer palindromes has been demonstrated using some representative enzymes. The library is also useful for screening restriction enzymes with tetramer cleavage sites and identifying the "star" sites of restriction enzymes. The sets of oligonucleotides with high information content, though designed for direct and unambiguous characterization of cleavage sites of isolated restriction enzymes, have potential applications as templates for characterizing sequence selective binding and interaction of small molecules nucleic acid.