1
|
Kankia N, Lomidze L, Stevenson S, Musier-Forsyth K, Kankia B. Defined folding pattern of poly(rG) supports inherent ability to encode biological information. Biopolymers 2024:e23615. [PMID: 39004945 DOI: 10.1002/bip.23615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2024] [Revised: 06/14/2024] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
The RNA World hypothesis posits that RNA can represent a primitive life form by reproducing itself and demonstrating catalytic activity. However, this hypothesis is incapable of addressing several major origin-of-life (OoL) questions. A recently described paradox-free alternative OoL hypothesis, the Quadruplex (G4) World, is based on the ability of poly(dG) to fold into a stable architecture with an unambiguous folding pattern using G-tetrads as building elements. Because of the folding pattern of three G-tetrads and single-G loops, dG15 is programmable and has the capability to encode biological information. Here, we address two open questions of the G4 World hypothesis: (1) Does RNA follow the same folding pattern as DNA? (2) How do stable quadruplexes evolve into the present-day system of information transfer, which is based on Watson-Crick base pair complementarity? To address these questions, we systematically studied the thermodynamic and optical properties of both DNA and RNA G15- and G3T (GGGTGGGTGGGTGGG)-derived sequences. Our study revealed that similar to DNA sequences, RNAs adopt quadruplexes with only three G-tetrads. Thus, both poly(dG) and poly(rG) possess inherent ability to fold into 3D quadruplex architecture with strictly defined folding pattern. The study also revealed that despite high stability of both DNA and RNA quadruplexes, they are vulnerable to single-nucleotide substitutions, which drop the thermal stability by ~40°C and can facilitate introduction of the complementarity principle into the G4 World.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nickolas Kankia
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for RNA biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Levan Lomidze
- Institute of Biophysics, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
| | - Skylar Stevenson
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for RNA biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Karin Musier-Forsyth
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for RNA biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Besik Kankia
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Center for RNA biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA
- Institute of Biophysics, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Štambuk N, Konjevoda P, Štambuk A. How ambiguity codes specify molecular descriptors and information flow in Code Biology. Biosystems 2023; 233:105034. [PMID: 37739308 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2023.105034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
The article presents IUPAC ambiguity codes for incomplete nucleic acid specification, and their use in Code Biology. It is shown how to use this nomenclature in order to extract accurate information on different properties of the biological systems. We investigated the use of ambiguity codes, as mathematical and logical operators and truth table elements, for the encoding of amino acids by means of the Standard Genetic Code. It is explained how to use ambiguity codes and truth functions in order to obtain accurate information on different properties of the biological systems. Nucleotide ambiguity codes could be applied to: 1. encoding descriptive information of nucleotides, amino acids and proteins (e.g., of polarity, relative solvent accessibility, atom depth, etc.), and 2. system modelling ranging from standard bioinformatics tools to classic evolutionary models (i.e. from Miyazawa-Jernigan statistical potential to Kimura three-substitution-type model, respectively). It is shown that the algorithms based on IUPAC ambiguity codes, Boolean functions and truth table, Probabilistic Square of Opposition/Semiotic Square and Klein 4-groups-could be used for the bioinformatics analyses and Relational data modelling in natural science. Underlying mathematical, logical and semiotic concepts of interest are presented and addressed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nikola Štambuk
- Centre for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Paško Konjevoda
- Laboratory for Epigenomics, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, HR-10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Albert Štambuk
- Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, Horvaćanski zavoj 15, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kankia B. Which came first: the chicken, the egg, or guanine? RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2023; 29:1317-1324. [PMID: 37286207 PMCID: PMC10573290 DOI: 10.1261/rna.079613.123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
The main goal of the origin of life (OoL) hypothesis is to reconstruct the missing link between the primordial soup and the extant biology. However, the OoL itself is just the initial part of the link representing the bootstrapping operation of Darwinian evolution. The rest of the link is the emergence of the evolution to the present day primary biological system-the ribosome-based translation apparatus. A valid hypothesis must (i) not invoke Darwinian evolution in the bootstrapping and (ii) transform the ab initio life form into the translation apparatus without violating the principle of continuity (i.e., only incremental steps without foresight). Currently, no such hypothesis exists. Here, I discuss the Quadruplex World hypothesis, which fully complies with these requirements and suggests a spontaneous emergence of the ab initio life form. The spontaneity of OoL arises from the physicochemical properties of guanine monomers in a manner of causal determinism: each step of the process (i.e., scaffolding, polymerization, and folding) is caused by the most recent past step such that in the end only the specific 3D architecture forms. The architecture (i) has a length-independent folding pattern; (ii) can play the role of the predecessor of tRNA and single-handedly conduct a primitive form of translation; and (iii) can evolve into the extant translation apparatus without any paradoxes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Besik Kankia
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Center for RNA Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
- Institute of Biophysics, Ilia State University, Tbilisi 0162, Republic of Georgia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Kankia B. Trinity of G-tetrads and origin of translation. Biol Direct 2022; 17:12. [PMID: 35637509 PMCID: PMC9153121 DOI: 10.1186/s13062-022-00327-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The RNA world hypothesis cannot address most of the questions of the origin of life without violating the continuity principle (small Darwinian steps without foresight and miracles). Moreover, the RNA world is an isolated system incapable of accommodating the genetic code and evolving into extant biochemistry. All these problems are rooted in the central assumption of the hypothesis: de novo appearance of the ribozymes, production of which represents a multistep reaction requiring the complementarity principle. Thus, even the basis of the RNA world is at odds with the continuity principle-it uses foresight (multistep reaction) and a miracle (complementarity principle). Can a three-dimensional (3D) architecture, capable of molecular recognition and catalysis, be formed in a single-step reaction without the complementarity or any other preexisting rules? HYPOTHESIS At first glance, the above question sounds rhetoric since the complementarity principle is the essential feature of the RNA world; it turns an RNA polymer into a genetic material. Without it, the RNA world becomes as shapeless and unconvincing as other hypotheses based on the non-hereditary molecules (i.e., protein world). However, it was suggested recently that the quadruplexes could initiate life and take necessary evolutionary steps before the arrival of the complementarity rules. The hypothesis relies on the unique properties of guanines (Gs) to self-assemble into G-tetrads and efficiently polymerize without any external help or preexisting rules. Interestingly, polyG folds into an unusually stable and well-structured monomolecular architecture that uses the quadruplex domain (QD) assembly. The QD has a strictly defined zigzag-like building pattern to accommodate only three G-tetrads. Since both QD architecture and codon length are based on triplets, the inevitable question arises: are they related? Or could QD play the role of the early adapter and determine the codon length? The current paper is an attempt to answer this question. CONCLUSION While without translation apparatus most of the steps of the extant translation are physically impossible, the QD-mediated translation is sterically feasible and can be explained by physicochemical properties of the QD and the amino acids without violating the continuity principle. Astonishingly, the quadruplex world hypothesis can address all the shortcomings of the RNA world, including its most significant challenge-step-by-step evolution from the polymerization of the first polynucleotide to the extant biochemistry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Besik Kankia
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA. .,Institute of Biophysics, Ilia State University, 0162, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Lomidze L, Yang M, Khutsishvili D, Metreveli N, Musier-Forsyth K, Kankia B. Structure of Tetrahelical DNA Homopolymers Supports Quadruplex World Hypothesis. ACS OMEGA 2022; 7:4311-4316. [PMID: 35155924 PMCID: PMC8829921 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c06026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/31/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We previously reported a tetrahelical monomolecular architecture of DNA, tmDNA, which employs G-quartets and an all-parallel GGGTGGGTGGGTGGG (G3T) quadruplex as the repeating unit. Based on thermodynamic and kinetic studies, we proposed that covalently joined (G3T) n units formed an uninterrupted programmable homopolymer; however, structural evidence for the tmDNA architecture was lacking. Here, we used NMR spectroscopy of wild-type and single-inosine-substituted constructs to characterize both monomolecular (G3T)2 and bimolecular quadruplex-Mg-coupled versions of tmDNA. The NMR results support an architecture consisting of uninterrupted stacked G-tetrads in both the monomolecular constructs and bimolecular assemblies. Taken together, these data support the formation of a stable programmable homopolymeric tmDNA architecture, which may have been a precursor to the modern-day Watson-Crick DNA duplex.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Levan Lomidze
- Institute of Biophysics, Ilia State University, Tbilisi 0162, Republic of Georgia
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Mengkun Yang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - David Khutsishvili
- Institute of Biophysics, Ilia State University, Tbilisi 0162, Republic of Georgia
| | - Nunu Metreveli
- Institute of Biophysics, Ilia State University, Tbilisi 0162, Republic of Georgia
| | - Karin Musier-Forsyth
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Besik Kankia
- Institute of Biophysics, Ilia State University, Tbilisi 0162, Republic of Georgia
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Zok T, Kraszewska N, Miskiewicz J, Pielacinska P, Zurkowski M, Szachniuk M. ONQUADRO: a database of experimentally determined quadruplex structures. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:D253-D258. [PMID: 34986600 PMCID: PMC8728301 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab1118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Revised: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
ONQUADRO is an advanced database system that supports the study of the structures of canonical and non-canonical quadruplexes. It combines a relational database that collects comprehensive information on tetrads, quadruplexes, and G4-helices; programs to compute structure parameters and visualise the data; scripts for statistical analysis; automatic updates and newsletter modules; and a web application that provides a user interface. The database is a self-updating resource, with new information arriving once a week. The preliminary data are downloaded from the Protein Data Bank, processed, annotated, and completed. As of August 2021, ONQUADRO contains 1,661 tetrads, 518 quadruplexes, and 30 G4-helices found in 467 experimentally determined 3D structures of nucleic acids. Users can view and download their description: sequence, secondary structure (dot-bracket, classical diagram, arc diagram), tertiary structure (ball-and-stick, surface or vdw-ball model, layer diagram), planarity, twist, rise, chi angle (value and type), loop characteristics, strand directionality, metal ions, ONZ, and Webba da Silva classification (the latter by loop topology and tetrad combination), origin structure ID, assembly ID, experimental method, and molecule type. The database is freely available at https://onquadro.cs.put.poznan.pl/. It can be used on both desktop computers and mobile devices.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tomasz Zok
- Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology, 60-965 Poznan, Poland
| | - Natalia Kraszewska
- Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology, 60-965 Poznan, Poland
| | - Joanna Miskiewicz
- Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology, 60-965 Poznan, Poland
| | - Paulina Pielacinska
- Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology, 60-965 Poznan, Poland
| | - Michal Zurkowski
- Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology, 60-965 Poznan, Poland
| | - Marta Szachniuk
- Institute of Computing Science, Poznan University of Technology, 60-965 Poznan, Poland
- Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, 61-704 Poznan, Poland
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Konjevoda P, Štambuk N. Relational model of the standard genetic code. Biosystems 2021; 210:104529. [PMID: 34464669 DOI: 10.1016/j.biosystems.2021.104529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The genetic code is a set of rules that establishes mapping between triplets in messenger RNA and amino acids in proteins. The most common way to display these rules is the Standard Genetic Code (SGC) table. This paper takes an alternative approach, based on the relational data model by Edgar F. Codd (Commun. ACM, 13:377-387, 1970). The relational model (RM) proposes a distributed storage of data into a collection of tables (called relations), that can be connected by shared communality. Basic elements of the table are rows (called records or tuples), and columns (called fields or attributes). The SGC table, according to the relational data model, represents the so called unnormalized form of a table. Using normalization rules it is possible to subdivide the SGC table into four tables. The rows and columns of single tables are defined by the first and second base and individual tables by the third codon base. The result of this model is an approach to managing genetic code data, represented in terms of tuples and grouped into relations, with table structure and language consistent with first-order (predicate) logic. The RM explains that the final step in the development of the SGC was the adoption of coding function by the third base, which makes an informational/functional unit with the first base, despite the different physical location in a triplet. This enabled the synthesis of specific proteins without ambiguity, in accordance with the concept of ambiguity reduction and five phases of the general model on the origin of biological codes by Marcello Barbieri (BioSystems 181:11-19, 2019).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paško Konjevoda
- Laboratory for Epigenomics, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Nikola Štambuk
- Center for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia.
| |
Collapse
|