1
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Lin G, Barnes CO, Weiss S, Dutagaci B, Qiu C, Feig M, Song J, Lyubimov A, Cohen AE, Kaplan CD, Calero G. Structural basis of transcription: RNA Polymerase II substrate binding and metal coordination at 3.0 Å using a free-electron laser. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.22.559052. [PMID: 37790421 PMCID: PMC10543002 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.22.559052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Catalysis and translocation of multi-subunit DNA-directed RNA polymerases underlie all cellular mRNA synthesis. RNA polymerase II (Pol II) synthesizes eukaryotic pre-mRNAs from a DNA template strand buried in its active site. Structural details of catalysis at near atomic resolution and precise arrangement of key active site components have been elusive. Here we present the free electron laser (FEL) structure of a matched ATP-bound Pol II, revealing the full active site interaction network at the highest resolution to date, including the trigger loop (TL) in the closed conformation, bonafide occupancy of both site A and B Mg2+, and a putative third (site C) Mg2+ analogous to that described for some DNA polymerases but not observed previously for cellular RNA polymerases. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the structure indicate that the third Mg2+ is coordinated and stabilized at its observed position. TL residues provide half of the substrate binding pocket while multiple TL/bridge helix (BH) interactions induce conformational changes that could propel translocation upon substrate hydrolysis. Consistent with TL/BH communication, a FEL structure and MD simulations of the hyperactive Rpb1 T834P bridge helix mutant reveals rearrangement of some active site interactions supporting potential plasticity in active site function and long-distance effects on both the width of the central channel and TL conformation, likely underlying its increased elongation rate at the expense of fidelity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guowu Lin
- Department of Structural Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh PA 15261 USA
| | - Christopher O Barnes
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena CA 91125 USA
| | - Simon Weiss
- Department of Structural Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh PA 15261 USA
| | - Bercem Dutagaci
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI 48824 USA
| | - Chenxi Qiu
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA 02115 USA
| | - Michael Feig
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI 48824 USA
| | - Jihnu Song
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Artem Lyubimov
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Aina E Cohen
- Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Craig D Kaplan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh PA 15260 USA
| | - Guillermo Calero
- Department of Structural Biology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh PA 15261 USA
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2
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Chung C, Verheijen BM, Navapanich Z, McGann EG, Shemtov S, Lai GJ, Arora P, Towheed A, Haroon S, Holczbauer A, Chang S, Manojlovic Z, Simpson S, Thomas KW, Kaplan C, van Hasselt P, Timmers M, Erie D, Chen L, Gout JF, Vermulst M. Evolutionary conservation of the fidelity of transcription. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1547. [PMID: 36941254 PMCID: PMC10027832 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36525-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Accurate transcription is required for the faithful expression of genetic information. However, relatively little is known about the molecular mechanisms that control the fidelity of transcription, or the conservation of these mechanisms across the tree of life. To address these issues, we measured the error rate of transcription in five organisms of increasing complexity and found that the error rate of RNA polymerase II ranges from 2.9 × 10-6 ± 1.9 × 10-7/bp in yeast to 4.0 × 10-6 ± 5.2 × 10-7/bp in worms, 5.69 × 10-6 ± 8.2 × 10-7/bp in flies, 4.9 × 10-6 ± 3.6 × 10-7/bp in mouse cells and 4.7 × 10-6 ± 9.9 × 10-8/bp in human cells. These error rates were modified by various factors including aging, mutagen treatment and gene modifications. For example, the deletion or modification of several related genes increased the error rate substantially in both yeast and human cells. This research highlights the evolutionary conservation of factors that control the fidelity of transcription. Additionally, these experiments provide a reasonable estimate of the error rate of transcription in human cells and identify disease alleles in a subunit of RNA polymerase II that display error-prone transcription. Finally, we provide evidence suggesting that the error rate and spectrum of transcription co-evolved with our genetic code.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire Chung
- School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Bert M Verheijen
- School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Zoe Navapanich
- School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Eric G McGann
- School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Sarah Shemtov
- School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Guan-Ju Lai
- School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Payal Arora
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Atif Towheed
- Children's hospital of Philadelphia, Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Suraiya Haroon
- Children's hospital of Philadelphia, Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Agnes Holczbauer
- Children's hospital of Philadelphia, Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Sharon Chang
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Zarko Manojlovic
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Stephen Simpson
- College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
| | - Kelley W Thomas
- College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA
| | - Craig Kaplan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Peter van Hasselt
- Department of Metabolic Disease, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Marc Timmers
- Department of Urology, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK) Partner Site Freiburg, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Dorothy Erie
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Lin Chen
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jean-Franćois Gout
- Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA
| | - Marc Vermulst
- School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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3
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Romero Romero ML, Landerer C, Poehls J, Toth‐Petroczy A. Phenotypic mutations contribute to protein diversity and shape protein evolution. Protein Sci 2022; 31:e4397. [PMID: 36040266 PMCID: PMC9375231 DOI: 10.1002/pro.4397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Revised: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Errors in DNA replication generate genetic mutations, while errors in transcription and translation lead to phenotypic mutations. Phenotypic mutations are orders of magnitude more frequent than genetic ones, yet they are less understood. Here, we review the types of phenotypic mutations, their quantifications, and their role in protein evolution and disease. The diversity generated by phenotypic mutation can facilitate adaptive evolution. Indeed, phenotypic mutations, such as ribosomal frameshift and stop codon readthrough, sometimes serve to regulate protein expression and function. Phenotypic mutations have often been linked to fitness decrease and diseases. Thus, understanding the protein heterogeneity and phenotypic diversity caused by phenotypic mutations will advance our understanding of protein evolution and have implications on human health and diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Luisa Romero Romero
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics Dresden Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden Dresden Germany
| | - Cedric Landerer
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics Dresden Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden Dresden Germany
| | - Jonas Poehls
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics Dresden Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden Dresden Germany
| | - Agnes Toth‐Petroczy
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics Dresden Germany
- Center for Systems Biology Dresden Dresden Germany
- Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life TU Dresden Dresden Germany
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4
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Miropolskaya N, Petushkov I, Esyunina D, Kulbachinskiy A. Suppressor mutations in Escherichia coli RNA polymerase alter transcription initiation but do not affect translesion RNA synthesis in vitro. J Biol Chem 2022; 298:102099. [PMID: 35667439 PMCID: PMC9254596 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2021] [Revised: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) coordinates transcription with DNA repair and replication. Many RNAP mutations have pleiotropic phenotypes with profound effects on transcription-coupled processes. One class of RNAP mutations (rpo*) has been shown to suppress mutations in regulatory factors responsible for changes in gene expression during stationary phase or starvation, as well as in factors involved in the restoration of replication forks after DNA damage. These mutations were suggested to affect the ability of RNAP to transcribe damaged DNA and to decrease the stability of transcription complexes, thus facilitating their dislodging during DNA replication and repair, although this was not explicitly demonstrated. Here, we obtained nine mutations of this class located around the DNA/RNA binding cleft of E. coli RNAP and analyzed their transcription properties in vitro. We found that these mutations decreased promoter complex stability to varying degrees and all decreased the activity of rRNA promoters. However, they did not have strong effects on elongation complex stability. Some mutations were shown to stimulate transcriptional pauses or decrease intrinsic RNA cleavage by RNAP, but none altered the ability of RNAP to transcribe DNA templates containing damaged nucleotides. Thus, we conclude that the suppressor phenotypes of the mutations are unlikely to result from direct effects on DNA lesion recognition by RNAP but may be primarily explained by changes in transcription initiation. Further analysis of the effects of these mutations on the genomic distribution of RNAP and its interactions with regulatory factors will be essential for understanding their diverse phenotypes in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nataliya Miropolskaya
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia
| | - Ivan Petushkov
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia
| | - Daria Esyunina
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia.
| | - Andrey Kulbachinskiy
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", Moscow, Russia.
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5
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Novarina D, Rosas Bringas FR, Rosas Bringas OG, Chang M. High-throughput replica-pinning approach to screen for yeast genes controlling low-frequency events. STAR Protoc 2022; 3:101082. [PMID: 35059655 PMCID: PMC8760548 DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2021.101082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a leading model system for genome-wide screens, but low-frequency events (e.g., point mutations, recombination events) are difficult to detect with existing approaches. Here, we describe a high-throughput screening technique to detect low-frequency events using high-throughput replica pinning of high-density arrays of yeast colonies. This approach can be used to screen genes that control any process involving low-frequency events for which genetically selectable reporters are available, e.g., spontaneous mutations, recombination, and transcription errors. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to (Novarina et al., 2020a, 2020b).
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniele Novarina
- European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713 AV Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Fernando R. Rosas Bringas
- European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713 AV Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Omar G. Rosas Bringas
- European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713 AV Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Michael Chang
- European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, A. Deusinglaan 1, 9713 AV Groningen, the Netherlands
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6
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Anagnostou M, Chung C, McGann E, Verheijen B, Kou Y, Chen L, Vermulst M. Transcription errors in aging and disease. TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE OF AGING 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tma.2021.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
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7
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Dysbiosis individualizes the fitness effect of antibiotic resistance in the mammalian gut. Nat Ecol Evol 2020; 4:1268-1278. [PMID: 32632259 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-1235-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2019] [Accepted: 06/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
In the absence of antibiotics, it is essential that antibiotic resistance has a fitness cost for microorganisms if suspending antibiotics treatment is to be a useful strategy for reducing antibiotic resistance. However, the cost of antibiotic resistance within the complex ecosystem of the mammalian gut is not well understood. Here, using mice, we show that the same antibiotic resistance mutation can reduce fitness in one host, while being neutral or even increasing fitness in other hosts. Such antagonistic pleiotropy is shaped by the microbiota because resistance in germ-free mice is consistently costly across all hosts, and the host-specific effect on antibiotic resistance is reduced in hosts with similar microbiotas. Using an eco-evolutionary model of competition for resources, we identify a general mechanism that underlies between-host variation and predicts that the dynamics of compensatory evolution of resistant bacteria should be host specific, a prediction that was supported by experimental evolution in vivo. The microbiome of each human is close to unique, and our results suggest that the short-term cost of resistances and their long-term within-host evolution are also highly personalized, a finding that may contribute to the observed variable outcome of withdrawing antibiotics to reduce resistance levels.
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8
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Li W, Lynch M. Universally high transcript error rates in bacteria. eLife 2020; 9:54898. [PMID: 32469307 PMCID: PMC7259958 DOI: 10.7554/elife.54898] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 04/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Errors can occur at any level during the replication and transcription of genetic information. Genetic mutations derived mainly from replication errors have been extensively studied. However, fundamental details of transcript errors, such as their rate, molecular spectrum, and functional effects, remain largely unknown. To globally identify transcript errors, we applied an adapted rolling-circle sequencing approach to Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, and Mesoplasma florum, revealing transcript-error rates 3 to 4 orders of magnitude higher than the corresponding genetic mutation rates. The majority of detected errors would result in amino-acid changes, if translated. With errors identified from 9929 loci, the molecular spectrum and distribution of errors were uncovered in great detail. A G→A substitution bias was observed in M. florum, which apparently has an error-prone RNA polymerase. Surprisingly, an increased frequency of nonsense errors towards the 3' end of mRNAs was observed, suggesting a Nonsense-Mediated Decay-like quality-control mechanism in prokaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiyi Li
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, United States
| | - Michael Lynch
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, United States.,Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States
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9
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Warthi G, Fournier PE, Seligmann H. Systematic Nucleotide Exchange Analysis of ESTs From the Human Cancer Genome Project Report: Origins of 347 Unknown ESTs Indicate Putative Transcription of Non-Coding Genomic Regions. Front Genet 2020; 11:42. [PMID: 32117454 PMCID: PMC7027195 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2020.00042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 01/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) provide an imprint of cellular RNA diversity irrespectively of sequence homology with template genomes. NCBI databases include many unknown RNAs from various normal and cancer cells. These are usually ignored assuming sequencing artefacts or contamination due to their lack of sequence homology with template DNA. Here, we report genomic origins of 347 ESTs previously assumed artefacts/unknown, from the FAPESP/LICR Human Cancer Genome Project. EST template detection uses systematic nucleotide exchange analyses called swinger transformations. Systematic nucleotide exchanges replace systematically particular nucleotides with different nucleotides. Among 347 unknown ESTs, 51 ESTs match mitogenome transcription, 17 and 2 ESTs are from nuclear chromosome non-coding regions, and uncharacterized nuclear genes. Identified ESTs mapped on 205 protein-coding genes, 10 genes had swinger RNAs in several biosamples. Whole cell transcriptome searches for 17 ESTs mapping on non-coding regions confirmed their transcription. The 10 swinger-transcribed genes identified more than once associate with cancer induction and progression, suggesting swinger transformation occurs mainly in highly transcribed genes. Swinger transformation is a unique method to identify noncanonical RNAs obtained from NGS, which identifies putative ncRNA transcribed regions. Results suggest that swinger transcription occurs in highly active genes in normal and genetically unstable cancer cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ganesh Warthi
- Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, APHM, SSA, VITROME, IHU-Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.,IHU-Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Pierre-Edouard Fournier
- Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, APHM, SSA, VITROME, IHU-Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.,IHU-Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Hervé Seligmann
- The National Natural History Collections, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.,Université Grenoble Alpes, Faculty of Medicine, Laboratory AGEIS EA 7407, Team Tools for e-Gnosis Medical & Labcom CNRS/UGA/OrangeLabs Telecoms4Health, La Tronche, France
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10
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Warthi G, Seligmann H. Transcripts with systematic nucleotide deletion of 1-12 nucleotide in human mitochondrion suggest potential non-canonical transcription. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0217356. [PMID: 31120958 PMCID: PMC6532905 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0217356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2019] [Accepted: 05/09/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Raw transcriptomic data contain numerous RNA reads whose homology with template DNA doesn't match canonical transcription. Transcriptome analyses usually ignore such noncanonical RNA reads. Here, analyses search for noncanonical mitochondrial RNAs systematically deleting 1 to 12 nucleotides after each transcribed nucleotide triplet, producing deletion-RNAs (delRNAs). We detected delRNAs in the human whole cell and purified mitochondrial transcriptomes, and in Genbank's human EST database corresponding to systematic deletions of 1 to 12 nucleotides after each transcribed trinucleotide. DelRNAs detected in both transcriptomes mapped along with 55.63% of the EST delRNAs. A bias exists for delRNAs covering identical mitogenomic regions in both transcriptomic and EST datasets. Among 227 delRNAs detected in these 3 datasets, 81.1% and 8.4% of delRNAs were mapped on mitochondrial coding and hypervariable region 2 of dloop. Del-transcription analyses of GenBank's EST database confirm observations from whole cell and purified mitochondrial transcriptomes, eliminating the possibility that detected delRNAs are false positives matches, cytosolic DNA/RNA nuclear contamination or sequencing artefacts. These detected delRNAs are enriched in frameshift-inducing homopolymers and are poor in frameshift-preventing circular code codons (a set of 20 codons which regulate reading frame detection, over- and underrepresented in coding and other frames of genes, respectively) suggesting a motif-based regulation of non-canonical transcription. These findings show that rare non-canonical transcripts exist. Such non canonical del-transcription does increases mitochondrial coding potential and non-coding regulation of intracellular mechanisms, and could explain the dark DNA conundrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ganesh Warthi
- Aix-Marseille Université, IRD, VITROME, Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire Méditerranée-Infection, Marseille, France
| | - Hervé Seligmann
- Aix-Marseille Université, IRD, MEPHI, Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire (IHU) Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France
- The National Natural History Collections, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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11
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Qiu C, Kaplan CD. Functional assays for transcription mechanisms in high-throughput. Methods 2019; 159-160:115-123. [PMID: 30797033 PMCID: PMC6589137 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2019.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Dramatic increases in the scale of programmed synthesis of nucleic acid libraries coupled with deep sequencing have powered advances in understanding nucleic acid and protein biology. Biological systems centering on nucleic acids or encoded proteins greatly benefit from such high-throughput studies, given that large DNA variant pools can be synthesized and DNA, or RNA products of transcription, can be easily analyzed by deep sequencing. Here we review the scope of various high-throughput functional assays for studies of nucleic acids and proteins in general, followed by discussion of how these types of study have yielded insights into the RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) active site as an example. We discuss methodological considerations in the design and execution of these experiments that should be valuable to studies in any system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenxi Qiu
- Department of Medicine, Division of Translational Therapeutics, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Cancer Research Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
| | - Craig D Kaplan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
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12
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Koscielniak D, Wons E, Wilkowska K, Sektas M. Non-programmed transcriptional frameshifting is common and highly RNA polymerase type-dependent. Microb Cell Fact 2018; 17:184. [PMID: 30474557 PMCID: PMC6260861 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-018-1034-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The viral or host systems for a gene expression assume repeatability of the process and high quality of the protein product. Since level and fidelity of transcription primarily determines the overall efficiency, all factors contributing to their decrease should be identified and optimized. Among many observed processes, non-programmed insertion/deletion (indel) of nucleotide during transcription (slippage) occurring at homopolymeric A/T sequences within a gene can considerably impact its expression. To date, no comparative study of the most utilized Escherichia coli and T7 bacteriophage RNA polymerases (RNAP) propensity for this type of erroneous mRNA synthesis has been reported. To address this issue we evaluated the influence of shift-prone A/T sequences by assessing indel-dependent phenotypic changes. RNAP-specific expression profile was examined using two of the most potent promoters, ParaBAD of E. coli and φ10 of phage T7. Results Here we report on the first systematic study on requirements for efficient transcriptional slippage by T7 phage and cellular RNAPs considering three parameters: homopolymer length, template type, and frameshift directionality preferences. Using a series of out-of-frame gfp reporter genes fused to a variety of A/T homopolymeric sequences we show that T7 RNAP has an exceptional potential for generating frameshifts and is capable of slipping on as few as three adenine or four thymidine residues in a row, in a flanking sequence-dependent manner. In contrast, bacterial RNAP exhibits a relatively low ability to baypass indel mutations and requires a run of at least 7 tymidine and even more adenine residues. This difference comes from involvement of various intrinsic proofreading properties. Our studies demonstrate distinct preference towards a specific homopolymer in slippage induction. Whereas insertion slippage performed by T7 RNAP (but not deletion) occurs tendentiously on poly(A) rather than on poly(T) runs, strong bias towards poly(T) for the host RNAP is observed. Conclusions Intrinsic RNAP slippage properties involve trade-offs between accuracy, speed and processivity of transcription. Viral T7 RNAP manifests far greater inclinations to the transcriptional slippage than E. coli RNAP. This possibly plays an important role in driving bacteriophage adaptation and therefore could be considered as beneficial. However, from biotechnological and experimental viewpoint, this might create some problems, and strongly argues for employing bacterial expression systems, stocked with proofreading mechanisms. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12934-018-1034-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dawid Koscielniak
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Ewa Wons
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Karolina Wilkowska
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308, Gdansk, Poland
| | - Marian Sektas
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdansk, Wita Stwosza 59, 80-308, Gdansk, Poland.
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13
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Fritsch C, Gout JFP, Vermulst M. Genome-wide Surveillance of Transcription Errors in Eukaryotic Organisms. J Vis Exp 2018. [PMID: 30272673 DOI: 10.3791/57731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Accurate transcription is required for the faithful expression of genetic information. Surprisingly though, little is known about the mechanisms that control the fidelity of transcription. To fill this gap in scientific knowledge, we recently optimized the circle-sequencing assay to detect transcription errors throughout the transcriptome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Drosophila melanogaster, and Caenorhabditis elegans. This protocol will provide researchers with a powerful new tool to map the landscape of transcription errors in eukaryotic cells so that the mechanisms that control the fidelity of transcription can be elucidated in unprecedented detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clark Fritsch
- Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia; Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Pennsylvania
| | - Jean-Francois Pierre Gout
- Department of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University; Center for Mechanisms of Evolution, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University
| | - Marc Vermulst
- Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia;
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14
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Gout JF, Li W, Fritsch C, Li A, Haroon S, Singh L, Hua D, Fazelinia H, Smith Z, Seeholzer S, Thomas K, Lynch M, Vermulst M. The landscape of transcription errors in eukaryotic cells. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2017; 3:e1701484. [PMID: 29062891 PMCID: PMC5650487 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1701484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2017] [Accepted: 09/21/2017] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Accurate transcription is required for the faithful expression of genetic information. To understand the molecular mechanisms that control the fidelity of transcription, we used novel sequencing technology to provide the first comprehensive analysis of the fidelity of transcription in eukaryotic cells. Our results demonstrate that transcription errors can occur in any gene, at any location, and affect every aspect of protein structure and function. In addition, we show that multiple proteins safeguard the fidelity of transcription and provide evidence suggesting that errors that evade these layers of RNA quality control profoundly affect the physiology of living cells. Together, these observations demonstrate that there is an inherent limit to the faithful expression of the genome and suggest that the impact of mutagenesis on cellular health and fitness is substantially greater than currently appreciated.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Weiyi Li
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Clark Fritsch
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Annie Li
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
| | - Suraiya Haroon
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
| | - Larry Singh
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
| | - Ding Hua
- Protein and Proteomics Core, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
| | - Hossein Fazelinia
- Protein and Proteomics Core, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
| | - Zach Smith
- Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Steven Seeholzer
- Protein and Proteomics Core, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
| | - Kelley Thomas
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA
| | - Michael Lynch
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
- Corresponding author. (M.V.); (M.L.)
| | - Marc Vermulst
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA 19102, USA
- Corresponding author. (M.V.); (M.L.)
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15
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Reid-Bayliss KS, Loeb LA. Accurate RNA consensus sequencing for high-fidelity detection of transcriptional mutagenesis-induced epimutations. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:9415-9420. [PMID: 28798064 PMCID: PMC5584456 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1709166114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcriptional mutagenesis (TM) due to misincorporation during RNA transcription can result in mutant RNAs, or epimutations, that generate proteins with altered properties. TM has long been hypothesized to play a role in aging, cancer, and viral and bacterial evolution. However, inadequate methodologies have limited progress in elucidating a causal association. We present a high-throughput, highly accurate RNA sequencing method to measure epimutations with single-molecule sensitivity. Accurate RNA consensus sequencing (ARC-seq) uniquely combines RNA barcoding and generation of multiple cDNA copies per RNA molecule to eliminate errors introduced during cDNA synthesis, PCR, and sequencing. The stringency of ARC-seq can be scaled to accommodate the quality of input RNAs. We apply ARC-seq to directly assess transcriptome-wide epimutations resulting from RNA polymerase mutants and oxidative stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate S Reid-Bayliss
- Department of Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Lawrence A Loeb
- Department of Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195;
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195
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16
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A Cre Transcription Fidelity Reporter Identifies GreA as a Major RNA Proofreading Factor in Escherichia coli. Genetics 2017; 206:179-187. [PMID: 28341651 PMCID: PMC5419468 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.116.198960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2016] [Accepted: 03/04/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We made a coupled genetic reporter that detects rare transcription misincorporation errors to measure RNA polymerase transcription fidelity in Escherichia coli. Using this reporter, we demonstrated in vivo that the transcript cleavage factor GreA, but not GreB, is essential for proofreading of a transcription error where a riboA has been misincorporated instead of a riboG. A greA mutant strain had more than a 100-fold increase in transcription errors relative to wild-type or a greB mutant. However, overexpression of GreB in ΔgreA cells reduced the misincorporation errors to wild-type levels, demonstrating that GreB at high concentration could substitute for GreA in RNA proofreading activity in vivo.
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17
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Fungtammasan A, Tomaszkiewicz M, Campos-Sánchez R, Eckert KA, DeGiorgio M, Makova KD. Reverse Transcription Errors and RNA-DNA Differences at Short Tandem Repeats. Mol Biol Evol 2016; 33:2744-58. [PMID: 27413049 PMCID: PMC5026258 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msw139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcript variation has important implications for organismal function in health and disease. Most transcriptome studies focus on assessing variation in gene expression levels and isoform representation. Variation at the level of transcript sequence is caused by RNA editing and transcription errors, and leads to nongenetically encoded transcript variants, or RNA–DNA differences (RDDs). Such variation has been understudied, in part because its detection is obscured by reverse transcription (RT) and sequencing errors. It has only been evaluated for intertranscript base substitution differences. Here, we investigated transcript sequence variation for short tandem repeats (STRs). We developed the first maximum-likelihood estimator (MLE) to infer RT error and RDD rates, taking next generation sequencing error rates into account. Using the MLE, we empirically evaluated RT error and RDD rates for STRs in a large-scale DNA and RNA replicated sequencing experiment conducted in a primate species. The RT error rates increased exponentially with STR length and were biased toward expansions. The RDD rates were approximately 1 order of magnitude lower than the RT error rates. The RT error rates estimated with the MLE from a primate data set were concordant with those estimated with an independent method, barcoded RNA sequencing, from a Caenorhabditis elegans data set. Our results have important implications for medical genomics, as STR allelic variation is associated with >40 diseases. STR nonallelic transcript variation can also contribute to disease phenotype. The MLE and empirical rates presented here can be used to evaluate the probability of disease-associated transcripts arising due to RDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arkarachai Fungtammasan
- Integrative Biosciences, Bioinformatics and Genomics Option, Pennsylvania State University Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University Center for Medical Genomics, Pennsylvania State University Huck Institute of Genome Sciences, Pennsylvania State University
| | - Marta Tomaszkiewicz
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University Center for Medical Genomics, Pennsylvania State University
| | - Rebeca Campos-Sánchez
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University Center for Medical Genomics, Pennsylvania State University
| | - Kristin A Eckert
- Center for Medical Genomics, Pennsylvania State University Department of Pathology, The Jake Gittlen Laboratories for Cancer Research, The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
| | - Michael DeGiorgio
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University Center for Medical Genomics, Pennsylvania State University Institute for CyberScience, Pennsylvania State University
| | - Kateryna D Makova
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University Center for Medical Genomics, Pennsylvania State University Huck Institute of Genome Sciences, Pennsylvania State University
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18
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19
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Xu L, Wang W, Chong J, Shin JH, Xu J, Wang D. RNA polymerase II transcriptional fidelity control and its functional interplay with DNA modifications. Crit Rev Biochem Mol Biol 2015; 50:503-19. [PMID: 26392149 DOI: 10.3109/10409238.2015.1087960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Accurate genetic information transfer is essential for life. As a key enzyme involved in the first step of gene expression, RNA polymerase II (Pol II) must maintain high transcriptional fidelity while it reads along DNA template and synthesizes RNA transcript in a stepwise manner during transcription elongation. DNA lesions or modifications may lead to significant changes in transcriptional fidelity or transcription elongation dynamics. In this review, we will summarize recent progress toward understanding the molecular basis of RNA Pol II transcriptional fidelity control and impacts of DNA lesions and modifications on Pol II transcription elongation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Xu
- a Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of California San Diego , La Jolla , CA , USA
| | - Wei Wang
- a Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of California San Diego , La Jolla , CA , USA
| | - Jenny Chong
- a Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of California San Diego , La Jolla , CA , USA
| | - Ji Hyun Shin
- a Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of California San Diego , La Jolla , CA , USA
| | - Jun Xu
- a Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of California San Diego , La Jolla , CA , USA
| | - Dong Wang
- a Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of California San Diego , La Jolla , CA , USA
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20
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Vermulst M, Denney AS, Lang MJ, Hung CW, Moore S, Moseley MA, Mosely AM, Thompson JW, Thompson WJ, Madden V, Gauer J, Wolfe KJ, Summers DW, Schleit J, Sutphin GL, Haroon S, Holczbauer A, Caine J, Jorgenson J, Cyr D, Kaeberlein M, Strathern JN, Duncan MC, Erie DA. Transcription errors induce proteotoxic stress and shorten cellular lifespan. Nat Commun 2015; 6:8065. [PMID: 26304740 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2015] [Accepted: 07/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcription errors occur in all living cells; however, it is unknown how these errors affect cellular health. To answer this question, we monitor yeast cells that are genetically engineered to display error-prone transcription. We discover that these cells suffer from a profound loss in proteostasis, which sensitizes them to the expression of genes that are associated with protein-folding diseases in humans; thus, transcription errors represent a new molecular mechanism by which cells can acquire disease phenotypes. We further find that the error rate of transcription increases as cells age, suggesting that transcription errors affect proteostasis particularly in aging cells. Accordingly, transcription errors accelerate the aggregation of a peptide that is implicated in Alzheimer's disease, and shorten the lifespan of cells. These experiments reveal a previously unappreciated role for transcriptional fidelity in cellular health and aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Vermulst
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA.,Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Ashley S Denney
- School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Denver, Colorado 80217, USA
| | - Michael J Lang
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | - Chao-Wei Hung
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
| | - Stephanie Moore
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
| | - M Arthur Moseley
- Proteomics Core Facility, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
| | - Arthur M Mosely
- Proteomics Core Facility, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
| | - J Will Thompson
- Proteomics Core Facility, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
| | - William J Thompson
- Proteomics Core Facility, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA
| | - Victoria Madden
- Microscopy Services Laboratory, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
| | - Jacob Gauer
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
| | - Katie J Wolfe
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
| | - Daniel W Summers
- Department of Developmental Biology, and Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA
| | - Jennifer Schleit
- Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - George L Sutphin
- Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Suraiya Haroon
- Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Agnes Holczbauer
- Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA
| | - Joanne Caine
- CSIRO, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Parkville 3052, Australia
| | - James Jorgenson
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
| | - Douglas Cyr
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
| | - Matt Kaeberlein
- Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA
| | - Jeffrey N Strathern
- Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, USA
| | - Mara C Duncan
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
| | - Dorothy A Erie
- Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA.,Department of Chemistry, Curriculum in Applied Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
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21
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Satory D, Gordon AJE, Wang M, Halliday JA, Golding I, Herman C. DksA involvement in transcription fidelity buffers stochastic epigenetic change. Nucleic Acids Res 2015; 43:10190-9. [PMID: 26304546 PMCID: PMC4666387 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkv839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2015] [Accepted: 08/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
DksA is an auxiliary transcription factor that interacts with RNA polymerase and influences gene expression. Depending on the promoter, DksA can be a positive or negative regulator of transcription initiation. Moreover, DksA has a substantial effect on transcription elongation where it prevents the collision of transcription and replication machineries, plays a key role in maintaining transcription elongation when translation and transcription are uncoupled and has been shown to be involved in transcription fidelity. Here, we assessed the role of DksA in transcription fidelity by monitoring stochastic epigenetic switching in the lac operon (with and without an error-prone transcription slippage sequence), partial phenotypic suppression of a lacZ nonsense allele, as well as monitoring the number of lacI mRNA transcripts produced in the presence and absence of DksA via an operon fusion and single molecule fluorescent in situ hybridization studies. We present data showing that DksA acts to maintain transcription fidelity in vivo and the role of DksA seems to be distinct from that of the GreA and GreB transcription fidelity factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominik Satory
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Alasdair J E Gordon
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Mengyu Wang
- Verna and Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA Graduate Program in Structural and Computational Biology and Molecular Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jennifer A Halliday
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Ido Golding
- Verna and Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA Graduate Program in Structural and Computational Biology and Molecular Biophysics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Christophe Herman
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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22
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Gordon AJE, Satory D, Halliday JA, Herman C. Lost in transcription: transient errors in information transfer. Curr Opin Microbiol 2015; 24:80-7. [PMID: 25637723 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2015.01.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2014] [Revised: 12/29/2014] [Accepted: 01/10/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Errors in information transfer from DNA to RNA to protein are inevitable. Here, we focus on errors that occur in nascent transcripts during transcription, epimutations. Recent approaches using novel cDNA library preparation and next-generation sequencing begin to directly determine the rate of epimutation and allow analysis of the epimutational spectrum of transcription errors, the type and sequence context of the errors produced in a transcript by an RNA polymerase. The phenotypic consequences of transcription errors have been assessed using both forward and reverse epimutation systems. These studies reveal that transient transcription errors can produce a modification of cell phenotype, partial phenotypic suppression of a mutant allele, and a heritable change in cell phenotype, epigenetic switching in a bistable gene network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alasdair J E Gordon
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Dominik Satory
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jennifer A Halliday
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Christophe Herman
- Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
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23
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You C, Wang J, Dai X, Wang Y. Transcriptional inhibition and mutagenesis induced by N-nitroso compound-derived carboxymethylated thymidine adducts in DNA. Nucleic Acids Res 2015; 43:1012-8. [PMID: 25572317 PMCID: PMC4333421 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gku1391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
N-nitroso compounds represent a common type of environmental and endogenous DNA-damaging agents. After metabolic activation, many N-nitroso compounds are converted into a diazoacetate intermediate that can react with nucleobases to give carboxymethylated DNA adducts such as N3-carboxymethylthymidine (N3-CMdT) and O4-carboxymethylthymidine (O4-CMdT). In this study, we constructed non-replicative plasmids carrying a single N3-CMdT or O4-CMdT, site-specifically positioned in the transcribed strand, to investigate how these lesions compromise the flow of genetic information during transcription. Our results revealed that both N3-CMdT and O4-CMdT substantially inhibited DNA transcription mediated by T7 RNA polymerase or human RNA polymerase II in vitro and in human cells. In addition, we found that N3-CMdT and O4-CMdT were miscoding lesions and predominantly directed the misinsertion of uridine and guanosine, respectively. Our results also suggested that these carboxymethylated thymidine lesions may constitute efficient substrates for transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair in human cells. These findings provided important new insights into the biological consequences of the carboxymethylated DNA lesions in living cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changjun You
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0403, USA
| | - Jianshuang Wang
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0403, USA
| | - Xiaoxia Dai
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0403, USA
| | - Yinsheng Wang
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0403, USA
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24
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You C, Wang P, Dai X, Wang Y. Transcriptional bypass of regioisomeric ethylated thymidine lesions by T7 RNA polymerase and human RNA polymerase II. Nucleic Acids Res 2014; 42:13706-13. [PMID: 25404131 PMCID: PMC4267633 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gku1183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Alkylative damage to DNA can be induced by environmental chemicals, endogenous metabolites and some commonly prescribed chemotherapeutic agents. The regioisomeric N3-, O(2)- and O(4)-ethylthymidine (N3-, O(2)- and O(4)-EtdT, respectively) represent an important class of ethylated DNA lesions. Using nonreplicative double-stranded vectors containing an N3-EtdT, O(2)-EtdT or O(4)-EtdT at a defined site in the template strand, herein we examined the effects of these lesions on DNA transcription mediated by single-subunit T7 RNA polymerase or multisubunit human RNA polymerase II in vitro and in human cells. We found that O(4)-EtdT is highly mutagenic and exclusively induces the misincorporation of guanine opposite the lesion, whereas N3-EtdT and O(2)-EtdT display promiscuous miscoding properties during transcription. In addition, N3-EtdT and O(2)-EtdT were found to inhibit strongly DNA transcription in vitro and in certain human cells. Moreover, N3-EtdT, but not O(2)-EtdT or O(4)-EtdT, is an efficient substrate for transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair. These findings provide new important insights into how these alkylated DNA lesions compromise the flow of genetic information, which may help to understand the risk of these lesions in living cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changjun You
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0403, USA
| | - Pengcheng Wang
- Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0403, USA
| | - Xiaoxia Dai
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0403, USA
| | - Yinsheng Wang
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0403, USA Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521-0403, USA
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25
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A genetic assay for transcription errors reveals multilayer control of RNA polymerase II fidelity. PLoS Genet 2014; 10:e1004532. [PMID: 25232834 PMCID: PMC4168980 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2013] [Accepted: 06/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
We developed a highly sensitive assay to detect transcription errors in vivo. The assay is based on suppression of a missense mutation in the active site tyrosine in the Cre recombinase. Because Cre acts as tetramer, background from translation errors are negligible. Functional Cre resulting from rare transcription errors that restore the tyrosine codon can be detected by Cre-dependent rearrangement of reporter genes. Hence, transient transcription errors are captured as stable genetic changes. We used this Cre-based reporter to screen for mutations of Saccharomyces cerevisiae RPB1 (RPO21) that increase the level of misincorporation during transcription. The mutations are in three domains of Rpb1, the trigger loop, the bridge helix, and in sites involved in binding to TFIIS. Biochemical characterization demonstrates that these variants have elevated misincorporation, and/or ability to extend mispaired bases, or defects in TFIIS mediated editing.
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26
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Xu L, Da L, Plouffe SW, Chong J, Kool E, Wang D. Molecular basis of transcriptional fidelity and DNA lesion-induced transcriptional mutagenesis. DNA Repair (Amst) 2014; 19:71-83. [PMID: 24767259 DOI: 10.1016/j.dnarep.2014.03.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Maintaining high transcriptional fidelity is essential for life. Some DNA lesions lead to significant changes in transcriptional fidelity. In this review, we will summarize recent progress towards understanding the molecular basis of RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcriptional fidelity and DNA lesion-induced transcriptional mutagenesis. In particular, we will focus on the three key checkpoint steps of controlling Pol II transcriptional fidelity: insertion (specific nucleotide selection and incorporation), extension (differentiation of RNA transcript extension of a matched over mismatched 3'-RNA terminus), and proofreading (preferential removal of misincorporated nucleotides from the 3'-RNA end). We will also discuss some novel insights into the molecular basis and chemical perspectives of controlling Pol II transcriptional fidelity through structural, computational, and chemical biology approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liang Xu
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0625, United States
| | - Linati Da
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0625, United States
| | - Steven W Plouffe
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0625, United States
| | - Jenny Chong
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0625, United States
| | - Eric Kool
- Department of Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5080, United States.
| | - Dong Wang
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0625, United States.
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27
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Parks AR, Court C, Lubkowska L, Jin DJ, Kashlev M, Court DL. Bacteriophage λ N protein inhibits transcription slippage by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase. Nucleic Acids Res 2014; 42:5823-9. [PMID: 24711367 PMCID: PMC4027172 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gku203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcriptional slippage is a class of error in which ribonucleic acid (RNA) polymerase incorporates nucleotides out of register, with respect to the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) template. This phenomenon is involved in gene regulation mechanisms and in the development of diverse diseases. The bacteriophage λ N protein reduces transcriptional slippage within actively growing cells and in vitro. N appears to stabilize the RNA/DNA hybrid, particularly at the 5′ end, preventing loss of register between transcript and template. This report provides the first evidence of a protein that directly influences transcriptional slippage, and provides a clue about the molecular mechanism of transcription termination and N-mediated antitermination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam R Parks
- Molecular Control and Genetics Section, Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702-1201, USA
| | - Carolyn Court
- Molecular Control and Genetics Section, Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702-1201, USA
| | - Lucyna Lubkowska
- Molecular Control and Genetics Section, Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702-1201, USA
| | - Ding J Jin
- Molecular Control and Genetics Section, Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702-1201, USA
| | - Mikhail Kashlev
- Molecular Control and Genetics Section, Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702-1201, USA
| | - Donald L Court
- Molecular Control and Genetics Section, Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702-1201, USA
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Belotserkovskii BP, Mirkin SM, Hanawalt PC. DNA sequences that interfere with transcription: implications for genome function and stability. Chem Rev 2013; 113:8620-37. [PMID: 23972098 DOI: 10.1021/cr400078y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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Imashimizu M, Oshima T, Lubkowska L, Kashlev M. Direct assessment of transcription fidelity by high-resolution RNA sequencing. Nucleic Acids Res 2013; 41:9090-104. [PMID: 23925128 PMCID: PMC3799451 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkt698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Cancerous and aging cells have long been thought to be impacted by transcription errors that cause genetic and epigenetic changes. Until now, a lack of methodology for directly assessing such errors hindered evaluation of their impact to the cells. We report a high-resolution Illumina RNA-seq method that can assess noncoded base substitutions in mRNA at 10−4–10−5 per base frequencies in vitro and in vivo. Statistically reliable detection of changes in transcription fidelity through ∼103 nt DNA sites assures that the RNA-seq can analyze the fidelity in a large number of the sites where errors occur. A combination of the RNA-seq and biochemical analyses of the positions for the errors revealed two sequence-specific mechanisms that increase transcription fidelity by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase: (i) enhanced suppression of nucleotide misincorporation that improves selectivity for the cognate substrate, and (ii) increased backtracking of the RNA polymerase that decreases a chance of error propagation to the full-length transcript after misincorporation and provides an opportunity to proofread the error. This method is adoptable to a genome-wide assessment of transcription fidelity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masahiko Imashimizu
- Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, MD 21702, USA and Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 8916-5, Takayama, Ikoma, Nara 630-0192, Japan
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Heritable change caused by transient transcription errors. PLoS Genet 2013; 9:e1003595. [PMID: 23825966 PMCID: PMC3694819 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2013] [Accepted: 05/13/2013] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Transmission of cellular identity relies on the faithful transfer of information from the mother to the daughter cell. This process includes accurate replication of the DNA, but also the correct propagation of regulatory programs responsible for cellular identity. Errors in DNA replication (mutations) and protein conformation (prions) can trigger stable phenotypic changes and cause human disease, yet the ability of transient transcriptional errors to produce heritable phenotypic change ('epimutations') remains an open question. Here, we demonstrate that transcriptional errors made specifically in the mRNA encoding a transcription factor can promote heritable phenotypic change by reprogramming a transcriptional network, without altering DNA. We have harnessed the classical bistable switch in the lac operon, a memory-module, to capture the consequences of transient transcription errors in living Escherichia coli cells. We engineered an error-prone transcription sequence (A9 run) in the gene encoding the lac repressor and show that this 'slippery' sequence directly increases epigenetic switching, not mutation in the cell population. Therefore, one altered transcript within a multi-generational series of many error-free transcripts can cause long-term phenotypic consequences. Thus, like DNA mutations, transcriptional epimutations can instigate heritable changes that increase phenotypic diversity, which drives both evolution and disease.
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Zhou YN, Lubkowska L, Hui M, Court C, Chen S, Court DL, Strathern J, Jin DJ, Kashlev M. Isolation and characterization of RNA polymerase rpoB mutations that alter transcription slippage during elongation in Escherichia coli. J Biol Chem 2013; 288:2700-10. [PMID: 23223236 PMCID: PMC3554936 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m112.429464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2012] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Transcription fidelity is critical for maintaining the accurate flow of genetic information. The study of transcription fidelity has been limited because the intrinsic error rate of transcription is obscured by the higher error rate of translation, making identification of phenotypes associated with transcription infidelity challenging. Slippage of elongating RNA polymerase (RNAP) on homopolymeric A/T tracts in DNA represents a special type of transcription error leading to disruption of open reading frames in Escherichia coli mRNA. However, the regions in RNAP involved in elongation slippage and its molecular mechanism are unknown. We constructed an A/T tract that is out of frame relative to a downstream lacZ gene on the chromosome to examine transcriptional slippage during elongation. Further, we developed a genetic system that enabled us for the first time to isolate and characterize E. coli RNAP mutants with altered transcriptional slippage in vivo. We identified several amino acid residues in the β subunit of RNAP that affect slippage in vivo and in vitro. Interestingly, these highly clustered residues are located near the RNA strand of the RNA-DNA hybrid in the elongation complex. Our E. coli study complements an accompanying study of slippage by yeast RNAP II and provides the basis for future studies on the mechanism of transcription fidelity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Ning Zhou
- From the Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702
| | - Lucyna Lubkowska
- From the Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702
| | - Monica Hui
- From the Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702
| | - Carolyn Court
- From the Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702
| | - Shuo Chen
- From the Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702
| | - Donald L. Court
- From the Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702
| | - Jeffrey Strathern
- From the Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702
| | - Ding Jun Jin
- From the Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702
| | - Mikhail Kashlev
- From the Gene Regulation and Chromosome Biology Laboratory, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702
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Multiple mechanisms contribute to leakiness of a frameshift mutation in canine cone-rod dystrophy. PLoS One 2012; 7:e51598. [PMID: 23251588 PMCID: PMC3520932 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0051598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2012] [Accepted: 11/05/2012] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Mutations in RPGRIP1 are associated with early onset retinal degenerations in humans and dogs. Dogs homozygous for a 44 bp insertion including a polyA29 tract potentially leading to premature truncation of the protein, show cone rod degeneration. This is rapid and blinding in a colony of dogs in which the mutation was characterised but in dogs with the same mutation in the pet population there is very variable disease severity and rate of progression. Objective We hypothesized that this variability must be associated with leakiness of the RPGRIP1 mutation, allowing continued RPGRIP1 production. The study was designed to discover mechanisms that might allow such leakiness. Methods We analysed alternate start sites and splicing of RPGRIP1 transcripts; variability of polyAn length in the insertion and slippage at polyAn during transcription/translation. Results and Significance We observed a low rate of use of alternative start codons having potential to allow forms of transcript not including the insertion, with the possibility of encoding truncated functional RPGRIP1 protein isoforms. Complex alternative splicing was observed, but did not increase this potential. Variable polyAn length was confirmed in DNA from different RPGRIP1−/− dogs, yet polyAn variability did not correspond with the clinical phenotypes and no individual was found that carried a polyAn tract capable of encoding an in-frame variant. Remarkably though, in luciferase reporter gene assays, out-of-frame inserts still allowed downstream reporter gene expression at some 40% of the efficiency of in-frame controls. This indicates a major role of transcriptional or translational frameshifting in RPGRIP1 expression. The known slippage of reverse transcriptases as well as RNA polymerases and thermostable DNA polymerases on oligoA homopolymers meant that we could not distinguish whether the majority of slippage was transcriptional or translational. This leakiness at the mutation site may allow escape from severe effects of the mutation for some dogs.
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Strathern J, Malagon F, Irvin J, Gotte D, Shafer B, Kireeva M, Lubkowska L, Jin DJ, Kashlev M. The fidelity of transcription: RPB1 (RPO21) mutations that increase transcriptional slippage in S. cerevisiae. J Biol Chem 2012; 288:2689-99. [PMID: 23223234 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m112.429506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The fidelity of RNA synthesis depends on both accurate template-mediated nucleotide selection and proper maintenance of register between template and RNA. Loss of register, or transcriptional slippage, is particularly likely on homopolymeric runs in the template. Transcriptional slippage can alter the coding capacity of mRNAs and is used as a regulatory mechanism. Here we describe mutations in the largest subunit of Saccharomyces cerevisiae RNA polymerase II that substantially increase the level of transcriptional slippage. Alleles of RPB1 (RPO21) with elevated slippage rates were identified among 6-azauracil-sensitive mutants and were also isolated using a slippage-dependent reporter gene. Biochemical characterization of polymerase II isolated from these mutants confirms elevated levels of transcriptional slippage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Strathern
- National Cancer Institute, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Frederick, Maryland 21702, USA.
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