1
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Heel SV, Breuker K. Investigating the Intramolecular Competition of Different RNA Binding Motifs for Neomycin B by Native Top-Down Mass Spectrometry. Chempluschem 2024; 89:e202400178. [PMID: 38758051 DOI: 10.1002/cplu.202400178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2024] [Revised: 04/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
The ongoing search for small molecule drugs that target ribonucleic acids (RNA) is complicated by a limited understanding of the principles that govern RNA-small molecule interactions. Here we have used stoichiometry-resolved native top-down mass spectrometry (MS) to study the binding of neomycin B to small model hairpin RNAs, an unstructured RNA, and a viral RNA construct. For 15-22 nt model RNAs with hairpin structure, we found that neomycin B binding to hairpin loops relies on interactions with both the nucleobases and the 2'-OH groups, and that a simple 5' or 3' overhang can introduce an additional binding motif. For a 47 nt RNA construct derived from stem IA of the human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) rev response element (RRE) RNA, native top-down MS identified four different binding motifs, of which the purine-rich internal loop showed the highest affinity for neomycin B. Stoichiometry-resolved binding site mapping by native top-down MS allows for a new perspective on binding specificity, and has the potential to reveal unexpected principles of small molecule binding to RNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Viola Heel
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80/82, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Kathrin Breuker
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80/82, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria
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2
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Toews S, Wacker A, Faison EM, Duchardt-Ferner E, Richter C, Mathieu D, Bottaro S, Zhang Q, Schwalbe H. The 5'-terminal stem-loop RNA element of SARS-CoV-2 features highly dynamic structural elements that are sensitive to differences in cellular pH. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:7971-7986. [PMID: 38842942 PMCID: PMC11260494 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 07/23/2024] Open
Abstract
We present the nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) solution structure of the 5'-terminal stem loop 5_SL1 (SL1) of the SARS-CoV-2 genome. SL1 contains two A-form helical elements and two regions with non-canonical structure, namely an apical pyrimidine-rich loop and an asymmetric internal loop with one and two nucleotides at the 5'- and 3'-terminal part of the sequence, respectively. The conformational ensemble representing the averaged solution structure of SL1 was validated using NMR residual dipolar coupling (RDC) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data. We show that the internal loop is the major binding site for fragments of low molecular weight. This internal loop of SL1 can be stabilized by an A12-C28 interaction that promotes the transient formation of an A+•C base pair. As a consequence, the pKa of the internal loop adenosine A12 is shifted to 5.8, compared to a pKa of 3.63 of free adenosine. Furthermore, applying a recently developed pH-differential mutational profiling (PD-MaP) approach, we not only recapitulated our NMR findings of SL1 but also unveiled multiple sites potentially sensitive to pH across the 5'-UTR of SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Toews
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
| | - Anna Wacker
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
| | - Edgar M Faison
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC27599, USA
| | - Elke Duchardt-Ferner
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
| | - Christian Richter
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
| | - Daniel Mathieu
- Bruker BioSpin GmbH, Ettlingen, Baden-Württemberg 76275, Germany
| | - Sandro Bottaro
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark
| | - Qi Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC27599, USA
| | - Harald Schwalbe
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
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3
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Riveros II, Yildirim I. Prediction of 3D RNA Structures from Sequence Using Energy Landscapes of RNA Dimers: Application to RNA Tetraloops. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:4363-4376. [PMID: 38728627 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
Access to the three-dimensional structure of RNA enables an ability to gain a more profound understanding of its biological mechanisms, as well as the ability to design RNA-targeting drugs, which can take advantage of the unique chemical environment imposed by a folded RNA structure. Due to the dynamic and structurally complex properties of RNA, both experimental and traditional computational methods have difficulty in determining RNA's 3D structure. Herein, we introduce TAPERSS (Theoretical Analyses, Prediction, and Evaluation of RNA Structures from Sequence), a physics-based fragment assembly method for predicting 3D RNA structures from sequence. Using a fragment library created using discrete path sampling calculations of RNA dinucleoside monophosphates, TAPERSS can sample the physics-based energy landscapes of any RNA sequence with relatively low computational complexity. We have benchmarked TAPERSS on 21 RNA tetraloops, using a combinatorial algorithm as a proof-of-concept. We show that TAPERSS was successfully able to predict the apo-state structures of all 21 RNA hairpins, with 16 of those structures also having low predicted energies as well. We demonstrate that TAPERSS performs most accurately on GNRA-like tetraloops with mostly stacked loop-nucleotides, while having limited success with more dynamic UNCG and CUYG tetraloops, most likely due to the influence of the RNA force field used to create the fragment library. Moreover, we show that TAPERSS can successfully predict the majority of the experimental non-apo states, highlighting its potential in anticipating biologically significant yet unobserved states. This holds great promise for future applications in drug design and related studies. With discussed improvements and implementation of more efficient sampling algorithms, we believe TAPERSS may serve as a useful tool for a physics-based conformational sampling of large RNA structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Isaac Riveros
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, Florida 33458, United States
| | - Ilyas Yildirim
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, Florida 33458, United States
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4
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Jang SS, Ray KK, Lynall DG, Shepard KL, Nuckolls C, Gonzalez RL. RNA adapts its flexibility to efficiently fold and resist unfolding. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.05.27.595525. [PMID: 38853856 PMCID: PMC11160689 DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.27.595525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
Recent studies have demonstrated that the mechanisms through which biopolymers like RNA interconvert between multiple folded structures are critical for their cellular functions. A major obstacle to elucidating these mechanisms is the lack of experimental approaches that can resolve these interconversions between functionally relevant biomolecular structures. Here, using a nano-electronic device with microsecond time resolution, we dissect the complete set of structural rearrangements executed by an ultra-stable RNA, the UUCG stem-loop, at the single-molecule level. We show that the stem-loop samples at least four conformations along two folding pathways leading to two distinct folded structures, only one of which has been previously observed. By modulating its flexibility, the stem-loop can adaptively select between these pathways, enabling it to both fold rapidly and resist unfolding. This paradigm of stabilization through compensatory changes in flexibility broadens our understanding of stable RNA structures and is expected to serve as a general strategy employed by all biopolymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sukjin S. Jang
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 USA
| | - Korak Kumar Ray
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 USA
| | - David G. Lynall
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 USA
| | - Kenneth L. Shepard
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 USA
| | - Colin Nuckolls
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 USA
| | - Ruben L. Gonzalez
- Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 USA
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5
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Chen X, Wang Y, Xu Z, Cheng ML, Ma QQ, Li RT, Wang ZJ, Zhao H, Zuo X, Li XF, Fang X, Qin CF. Zika virus RNA structure controls its unique neurotropism by bipartite binding to Musashi-1. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1134. [PMID: 36854751 PMCID: PMC9972320 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36838-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/17/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Human RNA binding protein Musashi-1 (MSI1) plays a critical role in neural progenitor cells (NPCs) by binding to various host RNA transcripts. The canonical MSI1 binding site (MBS), A/GU(1-3)AG single-strand motif, is present in many RNA virus genomes, but only Zika virus (ZIKV) genome has been demonstrated to bind MSI1. Herein, we identified the AUAG motif and the AGAA tetraloop in the Xrn1-resistant RNA 2 (xrRNA2) as the canonical and non-canonical MBS, respectively, and both are crucial for ZIKV neurotropism. More importantly, the unique AGNN-type tetraloop is evolutionally conserved, and distinguishes ZIKV from other known viruses with putative MBSs. Integrated structural analysis showed that MSI1 binds to the AUAG motif and AGAA tetraloop of ZIKV in a bipartite fashion. Thus, our results not only identified an unusual viral RNA structure responsible for MSI recognition, but also revealed a role for the highly structured xrRNA in controlling viral neurotropism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Chen
- Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, AMMS, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Yan Wang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology and Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Zhonghe Xu
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology and Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Meng-Li Cheng
- Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, AMMS, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Qing-Qing Ma
- Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, AMMS, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Rui-Ting Li
- Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, AMMS, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Zheng-Jian Wang
- Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, AMMS, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Hui Zhao
- Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, AMMS, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Xiaobing Zuo
- X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL, 60439, USA
| | - Xiao-Feng Li
- Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, AMMS, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Xianyang Fang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology and Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
- Key Laboratory of RNA Biology, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
| | - Cheng-Feng Qin
- Department of Virology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, AMMS, Beijing, 100071, China.
- Research Unit of Discovery and Tracing of Natural Focus Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100071, China.
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6
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Saon MS, Kirkpatrick CC, Znosko BM. Identification and characterization of RNA pentaloop sequence families. NAR Genom Bioinform 2023; 5:lqac102. [PMID: 36632613 PMCID: PMC9830547 DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqac102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
One of the current methods for predicting RNA tertiary structure is fragment-based homology, which predicts tertiary structure from secondary structure. For a successful prediction, this method requires a library of the tertiary structures of small motifs clipped from previously solved RNA 3D structures. Because of the limited number of available tertiary structures, it is not practical to find structures for all sequences of all motifs. Identifying sequence families for motifs can fill the gaps because all sequences within a family are expected to have similar structural features. Currently, a collection of well-characterized sequence families has been identified for tetraloops. Because of their prevalence and biological functions, pentaloop structures should also be well-characterized. In this study, 10 pentaloop sequence families are identified. For each family, the common and distinguishing structural features are highlighted. These sequence families can be used to predict the tertiary structure of pentaloop sequences for which a solved structure is not available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Sharear Saon
- Department of Chemistry, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO 63103, USA
| | | | - Brent M Znosko
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 314 977 8567; Fax: +1 314 977 2521;
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7
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Structural basis for recognition of transcriptional terminator structures by ProQ/FinO domain RNA chaperones. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7076. [PMID: 36400772 PMCID: PMC9674577 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34875-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The ProQ/FinO family of RNA binding proteins mediate sRNA-directed gene regulation throughout gram-negative bacteria. Here, we investigate the structural basis for RNA recognition by ProQ/FinO proteins, through the crystal structure of the ProQ/FinO domain of the Legionella pneumophila DNA uptake regulator, RocC, bound to the transcriptional terminator of its primary partner, the sRNA RocR. The structure reveals specific recognition of the 3' nucleotide of the terminator by a conserved pocket involving a β-turn-α-helix motif, while the hairpin portion of the terminator is recognized by a conserved α-helical N-cap motif. Structure-guided mutagenesis reveals key RNA contact residues that are critical for RocC/RocR to repress the uptake of environmental DNA in L. pneumophila. Structural analysis and RNA binding studies reveal that other ProQ/FinO domains also recognize related transcriptional terminators with different specificities for the length of the 3' ssRNA tail.
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8
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Sengul MY, MacKerell AD. Accurate Modeling of RNA Hairpins Through the Explicit Treatment of Electronic Polarizability with the Classical Drude Oscillator Force Field. JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL BIOPHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY 2022; 21:461-471. [DOI: 10.1142/s2737416521420060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations play a crucial role in modeling biomolecular systems in which the electrostatic interactions are critical in dictating the structural and dynamical properties. Thus, the treatment of the electrostatic interactions defined in the underlying force field (FF) strongly affects the simulation accuracy. Most FFs use fixed partial atomic charges to include electrostatic interactions, and therefore lack the electronic polarization response, representing an intrinsic limitation. To address this limitation, polarizable FFs have been developed that treat atomic polarizabilities explicitly. Here we present the application of the all-atom polarizable (Drude) and non-polarizable (CHARMM) nucleic acid FFs in RNA hairpin systems to investigate the impact of polarization on structural properties, dipole moment distributions, and cation interactions. Results show that the presence of polarizability in the FF significantly improves the stabilization of RNA hairpin structure. As expected, the distributions of dipole moments show more fluctuations when simulated using the polarizable FF, with the variation in dipoles contributing to the stabilization of the structures of the loop regions of the RNAs. Contact map analyses between the bases and cations show that the variation of the ion distribution around the entire hairpin is larger for the polarizable FF and the cations occupy the outer hydration shell to a greater extent. The presented results indicate the importance of the explicit treatment of electronic polarizability in molecular simulations of RNA, including in non-canonical regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mert Y. Sengul
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA
| | - Alexander D. MacKerell
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA
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9
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Zerze GH, Piaggi PM, Debenedetti PG. A Computational Study of RNA Tetraloop Thermodynamics, Including Misfolded States. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:13685-13695. [PMID: 34890201 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c08038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
An important characteristic of RNA folding is the adoption of alternative configurations of similar stability, often referred to as misfolded configurations. These configurations are considered to compete with correctly folded configurations, although their rigorous thermodynamic and structural characterization remains elusive. Tetraloop motifs found in large ribozymes are ideal systems for an atomistically detailed computational quantification of folding free energy landscapes and the structural characterization of their constituent free energy basins, including nonnative states. In this work, we studied a group of closely related 10-mer tetraloops using a combined parallel tempering and metadynamics technique that allows a reliable sampling of the free energy landscapes, requiring only knowledge that the stem folds into a canonical A-RNA configuration. We isolated and analyzed unfolded, folded, and misfolded populations that correspond to different free energy basins. We identified a distinct misfolded state that has a stability very close to that of the correctly folded state. This misfolded state contains a predominant population that shares the same structural features across all tetraloops studied here and lacks the noncanonical A-G base pair in its loop portion. Further analysis performed with biased trajectories showed that although this competitive misfolded state is not an essential intermediate, it is visited in most of the transitions from unfolded to correctly folded states. Moreover, the tetraloops can transition from this misfolded state to the correctly folded state without requiring extensive unfolding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gül H Zerze
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
| | - Pablo M Piaggi
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
| | - Pablo G Debenedetti
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, United States
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10
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Hong X, Zheng J, Xie J, Tong X, Liu X, Song Q, Liu S, Liu S. RR3DD: an RNA global structure-based RNA three-dimensional structural classification database. RNA Biol 2021; 18:738-746. [PMID: 34663179 DOI: 10.1080/15476286.2021.1989200] [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] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The three-dimensional (3D) structure of RNA usually plays an important role in the recognition with RNA-binding protein. Along with the discovering of RNAs, several RNA databases are developed to study the functions of RNA based on sequence, secondary structure, local 3D structural motif and global structure. Based on RNA function and structure, different RNAs are classified and stored in SCOR and DARTS, respectively. The classification of RNA structures is useful in RNA structure prediction and function annotation. However, the SCOR and DARTS are not updated any more. In this study, we present an RNA classification database RR3DD based on RNA fold with the global 3D structural similarity. The RR3DD includes 13,601 RNA chains from PDB and mmCIF format structures which are classified into 780 RNA folds. The RNA chains from PDB and mmCIF format structures are aligned and clustered into 675 and 220 RNA folds, respectively. By analysing the RNA structure in RR3DD, we find that there are 11 clusters with more than 50 members. These clusters include rRNAs, riboswitches, tRNAs and so on. By mapping RR3DD into Rfam, we found that some RNAs without annotation by Rfam can be annotated through structural alignment. For example, we analysed tRNAs and found that tRNA were successfully grouped in RR3DD for which Rfam did not classify them into one family. Finally, we provide a web interface of RR3DD offering functions of browsing RR3DD, annotating RNA 3D structure and finding templates for RNA homology modelling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xu Hong
- School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Jinfang Zheng
- School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Juan Xie
- School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Xiaoxue Tong
- School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Xudong Liu
- School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Qi Song
- Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Sen Liu
- Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, China
| | - Shiyong Liu
- School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China
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11
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Elghondakly A, Wu CH, Klupt S, Goodson J, Winkler WC. A NusG Specialized Paralog That Exhibits Specific, High-Affinity RNA-Binding Activity. J Mol Biol 2021; 433:167100. [PMID: 34119489 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2021.167100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Revised: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 06/05/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Bacterial NusG associates with RNA polymerase (RNAP) through its N-terminal domain, while the C-terminal domain (CTD) forms dynamic interactions with Rho, S10, NusB and NusA to affect transcription elongation. While virtually all bacteria encode for a core NusG, many also synthesize paralogs that transiently bind RNAP to alter expression of targeted genes. Yet, despite the importance of the genes they regulate, most of the subfamilies of NusG paralogs (e.g., UpxY, TaA, ActX and LoaP) have not been investigated in depth. Herein, we discover that LoaP requires a small RNA hairpin located within the 5' leader region of its targeted operons. LoaP binds the RNA element with nanomolar affinity and high specificity, in contrast to other NusG proteins, which have not been shown to exhibit RNA-binding activity. These data reveal a sequence feature that can be used to identify LoaP-regulated operons. This discovery also expands the repertoire of macromolecular interactions exhibited by the NusG CTD during transcription elongation to include an RNA ligand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amr Elghondakly
- The University of Maryland, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Chih Hao Wu
- The University of Maryland, Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Steven Klupt
- The University of Maryland, Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Jonathan Goodson
- The University of Maryland, Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Wade C Winkler
- The University of Maryland, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College Park, MD, United States; The University of Maryland, Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, College Park, MD, United States.
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12
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Bottaro S, Bussi G, Lindorff-Larsen K. Conformational Ensembles of Noncoding Elements in the SARS-CoV-2 Genome from Molecular Dynamics Simulations. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:8333-8343. [PMID: 34039006 PMCID: PMC8188756 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c01094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The 5' untranslated region (UTR) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) genome is a conserved, functional and structured genomic region consisting of several RNA stem-loop elements. While the secondary structure of such elements has been determined experimentally, their three-dimensional structures are not known yet. Here, we predict structure and dynamics of five RNA stem loops in the 5'-UTR of SARS-CoV-2 by extensive atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, more than 0.5 ms of aggregate simulation time, in combination with enhanced sampling techniques. We compare simulations with available experimental data, describe the resulting conformational ensembles, and identify the presence of specific structural rearrangements in apical and internal loops that may be functionally relevant. Our atomic-detailed structural predictions reveal a rich dynamics in these RNA molecules, could help the experimental characterization of these systems, and provide putative three-dimensional models for structure-based drug design studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandro Bottaro
- Structural
Biology and NMR Laboratory & Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for
Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
| | - Giovanni Bussi
- Scuola
Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), Via Bonomea 265, 34136, Trieste, Italy
| | - Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
- Structural
Biology and NMR Laboratory & Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for
Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
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13
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Song Z, Gremminger T, Singh G, Cheng Y, Li J, Qiu L, Ji J, Lange MJ, Zuo X, Chen SJ, Zou X, Boris-Lawrie K, Heng X. The three-way junction structure of the HIV-1 PBS-segment binds host enzyme important for viral infectivity. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:5925-5942. [PMID: 33978756 PMCID: PMC8191761 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Revised: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
HIV-1 reverse transcription initiates at the primer binding site (PBS) in the viral genomic RNA (gRNA). Although the structure of the PBS-segment undergoes substantial rearrangement upon tRNALys3 annealing, the proper folding of the PBS-segment during gRNA packaging is important as it ensures loading of beneficial host factors. DHX9/RNA helicase A (RHA) is recruited to gRNA to enhance the processivity of reverse transcriptase. Because the molecular details of the interactions have yet to be defined, we solved the solution structure of the PBS-segment preferentially bound by RHA. Evidence is provided that PBS-segment adopts a previously undefined adenosine-rich three-way junction structure encompassing the primer activation stem (PAS), tRNA-like element (TLE) and tRNA annealing arm. Disruption of the PBS-segment three-way junction structure diminished reverse transcription products and led to reduced viral infectivity. Because of the existence of the tRNA annealing arm, the TLE and PAS form a bent helical structure that undergoes shape-dependent recognition by RHA double-stranded RNA binding domain 1 (dsRBD1). Mutagenesis and phylogenetic analyses provide evidence for conservation of the PBS-segment three-way junction structure that is preferentially bound by RHA in support of efficient reverse transcription, the hallmark step of HIV-1 replication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenwei Song
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Thomas Gremminger
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Gatikrushna Singh
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Yi Cheng
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
- Institute for Data Science and Informatics, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Jun Li
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
- Institute for Data Science and Informatics, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Liming Qiu
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
- Institute for Data Science and Informatics, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
- Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Juan Ji
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
| | - Margaret J Lange
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Xiaobing Zuo
- X-Ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL, 60439, USA
| | - Shi-Jie Chen
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
- Institute for Data Science and Informatics, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Xiaoqin Zou
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
- Institute for Data Science and Informatics, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
- Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, University Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
| | - Kathleen Boris-Lawrie
- Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Xiao Heng
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA
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14
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Zakrevsky P, Calkins E, Kao YL, Singh G, Keleshian VL, Baudrey S, Jaeger L. In vitro selected GUAA tetraloop-binding receptors with structural plasticity and evolvability towards natural RNA structural modules. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:2289-2305. [PMID: 33524109 PMCID: PMC7913685 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Revised: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
GNRA tetraloop-binding receptor interactions are key components in the macromolecular assembly of a variety of functional RNAs. In nature, there is an apparent bias for GAAA/11nt receptor and GYRA/helix interactions, with the former interaction being thermodynamically more stable than the latter. While past in vitro selections allowed isolation of novel GGAA and GUGA receptors, we report herein an in vitro selection that revealed several novel classes of specific GUAA receptors with binding affinities comparable to those from natural GAAA/11nt interactions. These GUAA receptors have structural homology with double-locked bulge RNA modules naturally occurring in ribosomal RNAs. They display mutational robustness that enables exploration of the sequence/phenotypic space associated to GNRA/receptor interactions through epistasis. Their thermodynamic self-assembly fitness landscape is characterized by a rugged neutral network with possible evolutionary trajectories toward natural GNRA/receptor interactions. High throughput sequencing analysis revealed synergetic mutations located away from the tertiary interactions that positively contribute to assembly fitness. Our study suggests that the repertoire of GNRA/receptor interactions is much larger than initially thought from the analysis of natural stable RNA molecules and also provides clues for their evolution towards natural GNRA/receptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Zakrevsky
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9510, USA
| | - Erin Calkins
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9510, USA
| | - Yi-Ling Kao
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9510, USA
| | - Gurkeerat Singh
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9510, USA
| | - Vasken L Keleshian
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9510, USA
| | - Stephanie Baudrey
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9510, USA
| | - Luc Jaeger
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Biomolecular Science and Engineering Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9510, USA
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15
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Richardson KE, Kirkpatrick CC, Znosko BM. RNA CoSSMos 2.0: an improved searchable database of secondary structure motifs in RNA three-dimensional structures. DATABASE-THE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL DATABASES AND CURATION 2020; 2020:5707338. [PMID: 31950189 PMCID: PMC6966092 DOI: 10.1093/database/baz153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2019] [Revised: 11/12/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
The RNA Characterization of Secondary Structure Motifs, RNA CoSSMos, database is a freely accessible online database that allows users to identify secondary structure motifs among RNA 3D structures and explore their structural features. RNA CoSSMos 2.0 now requires two closing base pairs for all RNA loop motifs to create a less redundant database of secondary structures. Furthermore, RNA CoSSMos 2.0 represents an upgraded database with new features that summarize search findings and aid in the search for 3D structural patterns among RNA secondary structure motifs. Previously, users were limited to viewing search results individually, with no built-in tools to compare search results. RNA CoSSMos 2.0 provides two new features, allowing users to summarize, analyze and compare their search result findings. A function has been added to the website that calculates the average and representative structures of the search results. Additionally, users can now view a summary page of their search results that reports percentages of each structural feature found, including sugar pucker, glycosidic linkage, hydrogen bonding patterns and stacking interactions. Other upgrades include a newly embedded NGL structural viewer, the option to download the clipped structure coordinates in *.pdb format and improved NMR structure results. RNA CoSSMos 2.0 is no longer simply a search engine for a structure database; it now has the capability of analyzing, comparing and summarizing search results. Database URL: http://rnacossmos.com
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine E Richardson
- Saint Louis University, Department of Chemistry, 3501 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103 USA
| | - Charles C Kirkpatrick
- Saint Louis University, Department of Chemistry, 3501 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103 USA
| | - Brent M Znosko
- Saint Louis University, Department of Chemistry, 3501 Laclede Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63103 USA
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16
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Halder A, Kumar S, Valsson O, Reddy G. Mg 2+ Sensing by an RNA Fragment: Role of Mg 2+-Coordinated Water Molecules. J Chem Theory Comput 2020; 16:6702-6715. [PMID: 32941038 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.0c00589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
RNA molecules selectively bind to specific metal ions to populate their functional active states, making it important to understand their source of ion selectivity. In large RNA systems, metal ions interact with the RNA at multiple locations, making it difficult to decipher the precise role of ions in folding. To overcome this complexity, we studied the role of different metal ions (Mg2+, Ca2+, and K+) in the folding of a small RNA hairpin motif (5'-ucCAAAga-3') using unbiased all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. The advantage of studying this system is that it requires specific binding of a single metal ion to fold to its native state. We find that even for this small RNA, the folding free energy surface (FES) is multidimensional as different metal ions present in the solution can simultaneously facilitate folding. The FES shows that specific binding of a metal ion is indispensable for its folding. We further show that in addition to the negatively charged phosphate groups, the spatial organization of electronegative nucleobase atoms drives the site-specific binding of the metal ions. Even though the binding site cannot discriminate between different metal ions, RNA folds efficiently only in a Mg2+ solution. We show that the rigid network of Mg2+-coordinated water molecules facilitates the formation of important interactions in the transition state. The other metal ions such as K+ and Ca2+ cannot facilitate the formation of such interactions. These results allow us to hypothesize possible metal-sensing mechanisms in large metalloriboswitches and also provide useful insights into the design of appropriate collective variables for studying large RNA molecules using enhanced sampling methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antarip Halder
- Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
| | - Sunil Kumar
- Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
| | - Omar Valsson
- Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Govardhan Reddy
- Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India
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17
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Bottaro S, Nichols PJ, Vögeli B, Parrinello M, Lindorff-Larsen K. Integrating NMR and simulations reveals motions in the UUCG tetraloop. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:5839-5848. [PMID: 32427326 PMCID: PMC7293013 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2020] [Revised: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
We provide an atomic-level description of the structure and dynamics of the UUCG RNA stem-loop by combining molecular dynamics simulations with experimental data. The integration of simulations with exact nuclear Overhauser enhancements data allowed us to characterize two distinct states of this molecule. The most stable conformation corresponds to the consensus three-dimensional structure. The second state is characterized by the absence of the peculiar non-Watson-Crick interactions in the loop region. By using machine learning techniques we identify a set of experimental measurements that are most sensitive to the presence of non-native states. We find that although our MD ensemble, as well as the consensus UUCG tetraloop structures, are in good agreement with experiments, there are remaining discrepancies. Together, our results show that (i) the MD simulation overstabilize a non-native loop conformation, (ii) eNOE data support its presence with a population of ≈10% and (iii) the structural interpretation of experimental data for dynamic RNAs is highly complex, even for a simple model system such as the UUCG tetraloop.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandro Bottaro
- Atomistic Simulations Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Parker J Nichols
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Beat Vögeli
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Michele Parrinello
- Atomistic Simulations Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy
| | - Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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18
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Černý J, Božíková P, Svoboda J, Schneider B. A unified dinucleotide alphabet describing both RNA and DNA structures. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:6367-6381. [PMID: 32406923 PMCID: PMC7293047 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2020] [Revised: 04/11/2020] [Accepted: 04/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
By analyzing almost 120 000 dinucleotides in over 2000 nonredundant nucleic acid crystal structures, we define 96+1 diNucleotide Conformers, NtCs, which describe the geometry of RNA and DNA dinucleotides. NtC classes are grouped into 15 codes of the structural alphabet CANA (Conformational Alphabet of Nucleic Acids) to simplify symbolic annotation of the prominent structural features of NAs and their intuitive graphical display. The search for nontrivial patterns of NtCs resulted in the identification of several types of RNA loops, some of them observed for the first time. Over 30% of the nearly six million dinucleotides in the PDB cannot be assigned to any NtC class but we demonstrate that up to a half of them can be re-refined with the help of proper refinement targets. A statistical analysis of the preferences of NtCs and CANA codes for the 16 dinucleotide sequences showed that neither the NtC class AA00, which forms the scaffold of RNA structures, nor BB00, the DNA most populated class, are sequence neutral but their distributions are significantly biased. The reported automated assignment of the NtC classes and CANA codes available at dnatco.org provides a powerful tool for unbiased analysis of nucleic acid structures by structural and molecular biologists.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiří Černý
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, CZ-252 50 Vestec, Prague-West, Czech Republic
| | - Paulína Božíková
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, CZ-252 50 Vestec, Prague-West, Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Svoboda
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, CZ-252 50 Vestec, Prague-West, Czech Republic
| | - Bohdan Schneider
- Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, BIOCEV, CZ-252 50 Vestec, Prague-West, Czech Republic
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19
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A reversible RNA on-switch that controls gene expression of AAV-delivered therapeutics in vivo. Nat Biotechnol 2019; 38:169-175. [PMID: 31873216 PMCID: PMC7008088 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-019-0357-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2018] [Accepted: 11/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Widespread use of gene therapy technologies is limited in part by the lack of small genetic switches with wide dynamic ranges that control transgene expression without the requirement of additional protein components1-5. In this study, we engineered a class of type III hammerhead ribozymes to develop RNA switches that are highly efficient at cis-cleaving mammalian mRNAs and showed that they can be tightly regulated by a steric-blocking antisense oligonucleotide. Our variant ribozymes enabled in vivo regulation of adeno-associated virus (AAV)-delivered transgenes, allowing dose-dependent and up to 223-fold regulation of protein expression over at least 43 weeks. To test the potential of these reversible on-switches in gene therapy for anemia of chronic kidney disease6, we demonstrated regulated expression of physiological levels of erythropoietin with a well-tolerated dose of the inducer oligonucleotide. These small, modular and efficient RNA switches may improve the safety and efficacy of gene therapies and broaden their use.
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20
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Richardson KE, Adams MS, Kirkpatrick CC, Gohara DW, Znosko BM. Identification and Characterization of New RNA Tetraloop Sequence Families. Biochemistry 2019; 58:4809-4820. [PMID: 31714066 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.9b00535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
There is an abundance of RNA sequence information available due to the efforts of sequencing projects. However, current techniques implemented to solve the tertiary structures of RNA, such as NMR and X-ray crystallography, are difficult and time-consuming. Therefore, biophysical techniques are not able to keep pace with the abundance of sequence information available. Because of this, there is a need to develop quick and efficient ways to predict RNA tertiary structure from sequence. One promising approach is to identify structural patterns within previously solved 3D structures and apply these patterns to new sequences. RNA tetraloops are one of the most common naturally occurring secondary structure motifs. Here, we use RNA Characterization of Secondary Structure Motifs (CoSSMos), Dissecting the Spatial Structure of RNA (DSSR), and a bioinformatic approach to search for and characterize tertiary structure patterns among tetraloops. Not surprising, we identified the well-known GNRA and UNCG tetraloops, as well as the previously identified RNYA tetraloop. However, some previously identified characteristics of these families were not observed in this data set, and some new characteristics were identified. In addition, we also identified and characterized three new tetraloop sequence families: YGAR, UGGU, and RMSA. This new structural information sheds light on the tertiary structure of tetraloops and contributes to the efforts of RNA tertiary structure prediction from sequence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine E Richardson
- Department of Chemistry , Saint Louis University , Saint Louis , Missouri 63103 , United States
| | - Miranda S Adams
- Department of Chemistry , Saint Louis University , Saint Louis , Missouri 63103 , United States
| | - Charles C Kirkpatrick
- Department of Chemistry , Saint Louis University , Saint Louis , Missouri 63103 , United States
| | - David W Gohara
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Saint Louis University , Saint Louis , Missouri 63103 , United States
| | - Brent M Znosko
- Department of Chemistry , Saint Louis University , Saint Louis , Missouri 63103 , United States
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21
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Meyer M, Walbott H, Oliéric V, Kondo J, Costa M, Masquida B. Conformational adaptation of UNCG loops upon crowding. RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2019; 25:1522-1531. [PMID: 31427457 PMCID: PMC6795143 DOI: 10.1261/rna.072694.119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/01/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
If the A-form helix is the major structural motif found in RNA, the loops that cap them constitute the second most important family of motifs. Among those, two are overrepresented, GNRA and UNCG tetraloops. Recent surveys of RNA structures deposited in the PDB show that GNRA and UNCG tetraloops can adopt tertiary folds that are very different from their canonical conformations, characterized by the presence of a U-turn of a Z-turn, respectively. Crystallographic data from both a lariat-capping (LC) ribozyme and a group II intron ribozyme reveal that a given UUCG tetraloop can adopt a distinct fold depending on its structural environment. Specifically, when the crystal packing applies relaxed constraints on the loop, the canonical Z-turn conformation is observed. In contrast, a highly packed environment induces "squashing" of the tetraloop by distorting its sugar-phosphate backbone in a specific way that expels the first and fourth nucleobases out of the loop, and falls in van der Waals distance of the last base pair of the helix, taking the place of the pair formed between the first and fourth residues in Z-turn loops. The biological relevance of our observations is supported by the presence of similarly deformed loops in the highly packed environment of the ribosome and in a complex between a dsRNA and a RNase III. The finding that Z-turn loops change conformation under higher molecular packing suggests that, in addition to their demonstrated role in stabilizing RNA folding, they may contribute to the three-dimensional structure of RNA by mediating tertiary interactions with distal residues.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hélène Walbott
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette cedex, France
| | - Vincent Oliéric
- Paul Scherrer Institute, Swiss Light Source, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
| | - Jiro Kondo
- Department of Materials and Life Sciences, Sophia University, 7-1 Kioi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, 102-8554 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Maria Costa
- Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette cedex, France
| | - Benoît Masquida
- UMR7156 GMGM Université de Strasbourg - CNRS, 67084 Strasbourg, France
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22
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D'Ascenzo L, Vicens Q, Auffinger P. Identification of receptors for UNCG and GNRA Z-turns and their occurrence in rRNA. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 46:7989-7997. [PMID: 29986118 PMCID: PMC6125677 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In contrast to GNRA tetraloop receptors that are common in RNA, receptors for the more thermostable UNCG loops have remained elusive for almost three decades. An analysis of all RNA structures with resolution ≤3.0 Å from the PDB allowed us to identify three previously unnoticed receptors for UNCG and GNRA tetraloops that adopt a common UNCG fold, named ‘Z-turn’ in agreement with our previously published nomenclature. These receptors recognize the solvent accessible second Z-turn nucleotide in different but specific ways. Two receptors participating in a complex network of tertiary interactions are associated with the rRNA UUCG and GAAA Z-turns capping helices H62 and H35a in rRNA large subunits. Structural comparison of fully assembled ribosomes and comparative sequence analysis of >6500 rRNA sequences helped us recognize that these motifs are almost universally conserved in rRNA, where they may contribute to organize the large subunit around the subdomain-IV four-way junction. The third UCCG receptor was identified in a rRNA/protein construct crystallized at acidic pH. These three non-redundant Z-turn receptors are relevant for our understanding of the assembly of rRNA and other long-non-coding RNAs, as well as for the design of novel folding motifs for synthetic biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi D'Ascenzo
- Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Université de Strasbourg, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, 67084 Strasbourg, France.,Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Quentin Vicens
- Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Université de Strasbourg, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, 67084 Strasbourg, France.,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, RNA Bioscience Initiative, University of Colorado, Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Pascal Auffinger
- Architecture et Réactivité de l'ARN, Université de Strasbourg, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire du CNRS, 67084 Strasbourg, France
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23
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Abstract
Xrn1 is a major 5ʹ-3ʹ exoribonuclease involved in the RNA metabolism of many eukaryotic species. RNA viruses have evolved ways to thwart Xrn1 in order to produce subgenomic non-coding RNA that affects the hosts RNA metabolism. The 3ʹ untranslated region of several beny- and cucumovirus RNAs harbors a so-called ‘coremin’ motif that is required for Xrn1 stalling. The structural features of this motif have not been studied in detail yet. Here, by using in vitro Xrn1 degradation assays, we tested over 50 different RNA constructs based on the Beet necrotic yellow vein virus sequence to deduce putative structural features responsible for Xrn1 stalling. We demonstrated that the minimal benyvirus stalling site consists of two hairpins of 3 and 4 base pairs respectively. The 5ʹ proximal hairpin requires a YGAD (Y = U/C, D = G/A/U) consensus loop sequence, whereas the 3ʹ proximal hairpin loop sequence is variable. The sequence of the 10-nucleotide spacer that separates the hairpins is highly conserved and potentially involved in tertiary interactions. Similar coremin motifs were identified in plant virus isolates from other families including Betaflexiviridae, Virgaviridae, Potyviridae and Secoviridae (order of the Picornavirales). We conclude that Xrn1-stalling motifs are more widespread among RNA viruses than previously realized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivar W Dilweg
- a Leiden Institute of Chemistry , Leiden University , Leiden , The Netherlands
| | - Alexander P Gultyaev
- b Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science , Leiden University , Leiden , The Netherlands.,c Department of Viroscience , Erasmus Medical Center , Rotterdam , The Netherlands
| | - René C Olsthoorn
- a Leiden Institute of Chemistry , Leiden University , Leiden , The Netherlands
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24
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Bottaro S, Bussi G, Pinamonti G, Reißer S, Boomsma W, Lindorff-Larsen K. Barnaba: software for analysis of nucleic acid structures and trajectories. RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2019; 25:219-231. [PMID: 30420522 PMCID: PMC6348988 DOI: 10.1261/rna.067678.118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2018] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
RNA molecules are highly dynamic systems characterized by a complex interplay between sequence, structure, dynamics, and function. Molecular simulations can potentially provide powerful insights into the nature of these relationships. The analysis of structures and molecular trajectories of nucleic acids can be nontrivial because it requires processing very high-dimensional data that are not easy to visualize and interpret. Here we introduce Barnaba, a Python library aimed at facilitating the analysis of nucleic acid structures and molecular simulations. The software consists of a variety of analysis tools that allow the user to (i) calculate distances between three-dimensional structures using different metrics, (ii) back-calculate experimental data from three-dimensional structures, (iii) perform cluster analysis and dimensionality reductions, (iv) search three-dimensional motifs in PDB structures and trajectories, and (v) construct elastic network models for nucleic acids and nucleic acids-protein complexes. In addition, Barnaba makes it possible to calculate torsion angles, pucker conformations, and to detect base-pairing/base-stacking interactions. Barnaba produces graphics that conveniently visualize both extended secondary structure and dynamics for a set of molecular conformations. The software is available as a command-line tool as well as a library, and supports a variety of file formats such as PDB, dcd, and xtc files. Source code, documentation, and examples are freely available at https://github.com/srnas/barnaba under GNU GPLv3 license.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandro Bottaro
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory and Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark
- International School for Advanced Studies, 34136 Trieste, Italy
| | - Giovanni Bussi
- International School for Advanced Studies, 34136 Trieste, Italy
| | - Giovanni Pinamonti
- International School for Advanced Studies, 34136 Trieste, Italy
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Sabine Reißer
- International School for Advanced Studies, 34136 Trieste, Italy
| | - Wouter Boomsma
- Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark
| | - Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory and Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark
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25
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Bottaro S, Bussi G, Kennedy SD, Turner DH, Lindorff-Larsen K. Conformational ensembles of RNA oligonucleotides from integrating NMR and molecular simulations. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2018; 4:eaar8521. [PMID: 29795785 PMCID: PMC5959319 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aar8521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2017] [Accepted: 04/05/2018] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
RNA molecules are key players in numerous cellular processes and are characterized by a complex relationship between structure, dynamics, and function. Despite their apparent simplicity, RNA oligonucleotides are very flexible molecules, and understanding their internal dynamics is particularly challenging using experimental data alone. We show how to reconstruct the conformational ensemble of four RNA tetranucleotides by combining atomistic molecular dynamics simulations with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy data. The goal is achieved by reweighting simulations using a maximum entropy/Bayesian approach. In this way, we overcome problems of current simulation methods, as well as in interpreting ensemble- and time-averaged experimental data. We determine the populations of different conformational states by considering several nuclear magnetic resonance parameters and point toward properties that are not captured by state-of-the-art molecular force fields. Although our approach is applied on a set of model systems, it is fully general and may be used to study the conformational dynamics of flexible biomolecules and to detect inaccuracies in molecular dynamics force fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandro Bottaro
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Corresponding author. (S.B.); (K.L.-L.)
| | - Giovanni Bussi
- International School for Advanced Studies, Trieste, Italy
| | - Scott D. Kennedy
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
| | - Douglas H. Turner
- Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
| | - Kresten Lindorff-Larsen
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Corresponding author. (S.B.); (K.L.-L.)
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26
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Šponer J, Bussi G, Krepl M, Banáš P, Bottaro S, Cunha RA, Gil-Ley A, Pinamonti G, Poblete S, Jurečka P, Walter NG, Otyepka M. RNA Structural Dynamics As Captured by Molecular Simulations: A Comprehensive Overview. Chem Rev 2018; 118:4177-4338. [PMID: 29297679 PMCID: PMC5920944 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.7b00427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 336] [Impact Index Per Article: 56.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
With both catalytic and genetic functions, ribonucleic acid (RNA) is perhaps the most pluripotent chemical species in molecular biology, and its functions are intimately linked to its structure and dynamics. Computer simulations, and in particular atomistic molecular dynamics (MD), allow structural dynamics of biomolecular systems to be investigated with unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution. We here provide a comprehensive overview of the fast-developing field of MD simulations of RNA molecules. We begin with an in-depth, evaluatory coverage of the most fundamental methodological challenges that set the basis for the future development of the field, in particular, the current developments and inherent physical limitations of the atomistic force fields and the recent advances in a broad spectrum of enhanced sampling methods. We also survey the closely related field of coarse-grained modeling of RNA systems. After dealing with the methodological aspects, we provide an exhaustive overview of the available RNA simulation literature, ranging from studies of the smallest RNA oligonucleotides to investigations of the entire ribosome. Our review encompasses tetranucleotides, tetraloops, a number of small RNA motifs, A-helix RNA, kissing-loop complexes, the TAR RNA element, the decoding center and other important regions of the ribosome, as well as assorted others systems. Extended sections are devoted to RNA-ion interactions, ribozymes, riboswitches, and protein/RNA complexes. Our overview is written for as broad of an audience as possible, aiming to provide a much-needed interdisciplinary bridge between computation and experiment, together with a perspective on the future of the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiří Šponer
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences , Kralovopolska 135 , Brno 612 65 , Czech Republic
| | - Giovanni Bussi
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati , Via Bonomea 265 , Trieste 34136 , Italy
| | - Miroslav Krepl
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences , Kralovopolska 135 , Brno 612 65 , Czech Republic
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science , Palacky University Olomouc , 17. listopadu 12 , Olomouc 771 46 , Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Banáš
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science , Palacky University Olomouc , 17. listopadu 12 , Olomouc 771 46 , Czech Republic
| | - Sandro Bottaro
- Structural Biology and NMR Laboratory, Department of Biology , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen 2200 , Denmark
| | - Richard A Cunha
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati , Via Bonomea 265 , Trieste 34136 , Italy
| | - Alejandro Gil-Ley
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati , Via Bonomea 265 , Trieste 34136 , Italy
| | - Giovanni Pinamonti
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati , Via Bonomea 265 , Trieste 34136 , Italy
| | - Simón Poblete
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati , Via Bonomea 265 , Trieste 34136 , Italy
| | - Petr Jurečka
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science , Palacky University Olomouc , 17. listopadu 12 , Olomouc 771 46 , Czech Republic
| | - Nils G Walter
- Single Molecule Analysis Group and Center for RNA Biomedicine, Department of Chemistry , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan 48109 , United States
| | - Michal Otyepka
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science , Palacky University Olomouc , 17. listopadu 12 , Olomouc 771 46 , Czech Republic
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27
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Poblete S, Bottaro S, Bussi G. A nucleobase-centered coarse-grained representation for structure prediction of RNA motifs. Nucleic Acids Res 2018; 46:1674-1683. [PMID: 29272539 PMCID: PMC5829650 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx1269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2016] [Revised: 12/05/2017] [Accepted: 12/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
We introduce the SPlit-and-conQueR (SPQR) model, a coarse-grained (CG) representation of RNA designed for structure prediction and refinement. In our approach, the representation of a nucleotide consists of a point particle for the phosphate group and an anisotropic particle for the nucleoside. The interactions are, in principle, knowledge-based potentials inspired by the $\mathcal {E}$SCORE function, a base-centered scoring function. However, a special treatment is given to base-pairing interactions and certain geometrical conformations which are lost in a raw knowledge-based model. This results in a representation able to describe planar canonical and non-canonical base pairs and base-phosphate interactions and to distinguish sugar puckers and glycosidic torsion conformations. The model is applied to the folding of several structures, including duplexes with internal loops of non-canonical base pairs, tetraloops, junctions and a pseudoknot. For the majority of these systems, experimental structures are correctly predicted at the level of individual contacts. We also propose a method for efficiently reintroducing atomistic detail from the CG representation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simón Poblete
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, 265, Via Bonomea I-34136 Trieste, Italy
| | - Sandro Bottaro
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, 265, Via Bonomea I-34136 Trieste, Italy
| | - Giovanni Bussi
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, 265, Via Bonomea I-34136 Trieste, Italy
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28
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Groher F, Bofill-Bosch C, Schneider C, Braun J, Jager S, Geißler K, Hamacher K, Suess B. Riboswitching with ciprofloxacin-development and characterization of a novel RNA regulator. Nucleic Acids Res 2018; 46:2121-2132. [PMID: 29346617 PMCID: PMC5829644 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkx1319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2017] [Revised: 12/22/2017] [Accepted: 12/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
RNA molecules play important and diverse regulatory roles in the cell. Inspired by this natural versatility, RNA devices are increasingly important for many synthetic biology applications, e.g. optimizing engineered metabolic pathways, gene therapeutics or building up complex logical units. A major advantage of RNA is the possibility of de novo design of RNA-based sensing domains via an in vitro selection process (SELEX). Here, we describe development of a novel ciprofloxacin-responsive riboswitch by in vitro selection and next-generation sequencing-guided cellular screening. The riboswitch recognizes the small molecule drug ciprofloxacin with a KD in the low nanomolar range and adopts a pseudoknot fold stabilized by ligand binding. It efficiently interferes with gene expression both in lower and higher eukaryotes. By controlling an auxotrophy marker and a resistance gene, respectively, we demonstrate efficient, scalable and programmable control of cellular survival in yeast. The applied strategy for the development of the ciprofloxacin riboswitch is easily transferrable to any small molecule target of choice and will thus broaden the spectrum of RNA regulators considerably.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Groher
- Synthetic Genetic Circuits, Dept. of Biology, TU Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | | | | | - Johannes Braun
- Synthetic Genetic Circuits, Dept. of Biology, TU Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Sven Jager
- Computational Biology and Simulation, Dept. of Biology, TU Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Katharina Geißler
- Synthetic Genetic Circuits, Dept. of Biology, TU Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Kay Hamacher
- Computational Biology and Simulation, Dept. of Biology, TU Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
- Dept. of Physics, Dept. of Computer Science, TU Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Beatrix Suess
- Synthetic Genetic Circuits, Dept. of Biology, TU Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
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29
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Leonard KN, Blose JM. Effects of osmolytes and macromolecular crowders on stable GAAA tetraloops and their preference for a CG closing base pair. PeerJ 2018; 6:e4236. [PMID: 29456882 PMCID: PMC5815330 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.4236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2017] [Accepted: 12/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Osmolytes and macromolecular crowders have the potential to influence the stability of secondary structure motifs and alter preferences for conserved nucleic acid sequences in vivo. To further understand the cellular function of RNA we observed the effects of a model osmolyte, polyethylene glycol (PEG) 200, and a model macromolecular crowding agent, PEG 8000, on the GAAA tetraloop motif. GAAA tetraloops are conserved, stable tetraloops, and are critical participants in RNA tertiary structure. They also have a thermodynamic preference for a CG closing base pair. The thermal denaturation of model hairpins containing GAAA loops was monitored using UV-Vis spectroscopy in the presence and absence of PEG 200 or PEG 8000. Both of the cosolutes tested influenced the thermodynamic preference for a CG base pair by destabilizing the loop with a CG closing base pair relative to the loop with a GC closing base pair. This result also extended to a related DNA triloop, which provides further evidence that the interactions between the loop and closing base pair are identical for the d(GCA) triloop and the GAAA tetraloop. Our results suggest that in the presence of model PEG molecules, loops with a GC closing base pair may retain some preferential interactions with the cosolutes that are lost in the presence of the CG closing base pair. These results reveal that relatively small structural changes could influence how neutral cosolutes tune the stability and function of secondary structure motifs in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaethe N. Leonard
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, State University of New York, The College at Brockport, Brockport, NY, United States of America
| | - Joshua M. Blose
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, State University of New York, The College at Brockport, Brockport, NY, United States of America
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30
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Prostova MA, Deviatkin AA, Tcelykh IO, Lukashev AN, Gmyl AP. Independent evolution of tetraloop in enterovirus oriL replicative element and its putative binding partners in virus protein 3C. PeerJ 2017; 5:e3896. [PMID: 29018627 PMCID: PMC5633025 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2017] [Accepted: 09/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Enteroviruses are small non-enveloped viruses with a (+) ssRNA genome with one open reading frame. Enterovirus protein 3C (or 3CD for some species) binds the replicative element oriL to initiate replication. The replication of enteroviruses features a low-fidelity process, which allows the virus to adapt to the changing environment on the one hand, and requires additional mechanisms to maintain the genome stability on the other. Structural disturbances in the apical region of oriL domain d can be compensated by amino acid substitutions in positions 154 or 156 of 3C (amino acid numeration corresponds to poliovirus 3C), thus suggesting the co-evolution of these interacting sequences in nature. The aim of this work was to understand co-evolution patterns of two interacting replication machinery elements in enteroviruses, the apical region of oriL domain d and its putative binding partners in the 3C protein. Methods To evaluate the variability of the domain d loop sequence we retrieved all available full enterovirus sequences (>6, 400 nucleotides), which were present in the NCBI database on February 2017 and analysed the variety and abundance of sequences in domain d of the replicative element oriL and in the protein 3C. Results A total of 2,842 full genome sequences was analysed. The majority of domain d apical loops were tetraloops, which belonged to consensus YNHG (Y = U/C, N = any nucleotide, H = A/C/U). The putative RNA-binding tripeptide 154–156 (Enterovirus C 3C protein numeration) was less diverse than the apical domain d loop region and, in contrast to it, was species-specific. Discussion Despite the suggestion that the RNA-binding tripeptide interacts with the apical region of domain d, they evolve independently in nature. Together, our data indicate the plastic evolution of both interplayers of 3C-oriL recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria A Prostova
- Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitides, Moscow, Russia
| | - Andrei A Deviatkin
- Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitides, Moscow, Russia
| | - Irina O Tcelykh
- Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitides, Moscow, Russia.,Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexander N Lukashev
- Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitides, Moscow, Russia.,Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
| | - Anatoly P Gmyl
- Chumakov Institute of Poliomyelitis and Viral Encephalitides, Moscow, Russia.,Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.,Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia
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31
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Lee HT, Carr CE, Khutsishvili I, Marky LA. Effect of Loop Length and Sequence on the Stability of DNA Pyrimidine Triplexes with TAT Base Triplets. J Phys Chem B 2017; 121:9175-9184. [PMID: 28875701 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.7b07591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
We report the thermodynamic contributions of loop length and loop sequence to the overall stability of DNA intramolecular pyrimidine triplexes. Two sets of triplexes were designed: in the first set, the C5 loop closing the triplex stem was replaced with 5'-CTnC loops (n = 1-5), whereas in the second set, both the duplex and triplex loops were replaced with a 5'-GCAA or 5'-AACG tetraloop. For the triplexes with a 5'-CTnC loop, the triplex with five bases in the loop has the highest stability relative to the control. A loop length lower than five compromises the strength of the base-pair stacks without decreasing the thermal stability, leading to a decreased enthalpy, whereas an increase in the loop length leads to a decreased enthalpy and a higher entropic penalty. The incorporation of the GCAA loop yielded more stable triplexes, whereas the incorporation of AACG in the triplex loop yielded a less stable triplex due to an unfavorable enthalpy term. Thus, addition of the GCAA tetraloop can cause an increase in the thermodynamics of the triplex without affecting the sequence or melting behavior and may result in an additional layer of genetic regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui-Ting Lee
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center , 986025 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-6025, United States
| | - Carolyn E Carr
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center , 986025 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-6025, United States
| | - Irine Khutsishvili
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center , 986025 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-6025, United States
| | - Luis A Marky
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Nebraska Medical Center , 986025 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-6025, United States
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32
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Mukherjee D, Bhattacharyya D. Intrinsic structural variability in GNRA-like tetraloops: insight from molecular dynamics simulation. J Mol Model 2017; 23:300. [DOI: 10.1007/s00894-017-3470-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2017] [Accepted: 09/10/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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