1
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Shi Z, Li Y, Du X, Liu D, Dong Y. Constructing Stiffness Tunable DNA Hydrogels Based on DNA Modules with Adjustable Rigidity. NANO LETTERS 2024; 24:8634-8641. [PMID: 38950146 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c01870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/03/2024]
Abstract
DNA hydrogel represents a potent material for crafting biological scaffolds, but the toolbox to systematically regulate the mechanical property is still limited. Herein, we have provided a strategy to tune the stiffness of DNA hydrogel through manipulating the rigidity of DNA modules. By introducing building blocks with higher molecular rigidity and proper connecting fashion, DNA hydrogel stiffness could be systematically elevated. These hydrogels showed excellent dynamic properties and biocompatibility, thus exhibiting great potential in three-dimensional (3D) cell culture. This study has offered a systematic method to explore the structure-property relationship, which may contribute to the development of more intelligent and personalized biomedical platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziwei Shi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
| | - Yujie Li
- Engineering Research Center of Advanced Rare Earth Materials, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, P. R. China
| | - Xiuji Du
- CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
| | - Dongsheng Liu
- Engineering Research Center of Advanced Rare Earth Materials, Ministry of Education, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, P. R. China
| | - Yuanchen Dong
- CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
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2
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Laeremans W, Segers M, Voorspoels A, Carlon E, Hooyberghs J. Insights into elastic properties of coarse-grained DNA models: q-stiffness of cgDNA vs cgDNA. J Chem Phys 2024; 160:144105. [PMID: 38591677 DOI: 10.1063/5.0197053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Coarse-grained models have emerged as valuable tools to simulate long DNA molecules while maintaining computational efficiency. These models aim at preserving interactions among coarse-grained variables in a manner that mirrors the underlying atomistic description. We explore here a method for testing coarse-grained vs all-atom models using stiffness matrices in Fourier space (q-stiffnesses), which are particularly suited to probe DNA elasticity at different length scales. We focus on a class of coarse-grained rigid base DNA models known as cgDNA and its most recent version, cgDNA+. Our analysis shows that while cgDNA+ closely follows the q-stiffnesses of the all-atom model, the original cgDNA shows some deviations for twist and bending variables, which are rather strong in the q → 0 (long length scale) limit. The consequence is that while both cgDNA and cgDNA+ give a suitable description of local elastic behavior, the former misses some effects that manifest themselves at longer length scales. In particular, cgDNA performs poorly on twist stiffness, with a value much lower than expected for long DNA molecules. Conversely, the all-atom and cgDNA+ twist are strongly length scale dependent: DNA is torsionally soft at a few base pair distances but becomes more rigid at distances of a few dozen base pairs. Our analysis shows that the bending persistence length in all-atom and cgDNA+ is somewhat overestimated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wout Laeremans
- Soft Matter and Biological Physics, Department of Applied Physics, and Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600MB Eindhoven, Netherlands
- Soft Matter and Biophysics Unit, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
- UHasselt, Faculty of Sciences, Data Science Institute, Theory Lab, Agoralaan, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Midas Segers
- Soft Matter and Biophysics Unit, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Aderik Voorspoels
- Soft Matter and Biophysics Unit, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Enrico Carlon
- Soft Matter and Biophysics Unit, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jef Hooyberghs
- UHasselt, Faculty of Sciences, Data Science Institute, Theory Lab, Agoralaan, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium
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3
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Yang M, Zhang S, Zheng Z, Zhang P, Liang Y, Tang S. Employing bimodal representations to predict DNA bendability within a self-supervised pre-trained framework. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:e33. [PMID: 38375921 PMCID: PMC11014357 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae099] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/21/2024] Open
Abstract
The bendability of genomic DNA, which measures the DNA looping rate, is crucial for numerous biological processes of DNA. Recently, an advanced high-throughput technique known as 'loop-seq' has made it possible to measure the inherent cyclizability of DNA fragments. However, quantifying the bendability of large-scale DNA is costly, laborious, and time-consuming. To close the gap between rapidly evolving large language models and expanding genomic sequence information, and to elucidate the DNA bendability's impact on critical regulatory sequence motifs such as super-enhancers in the human genome, we introduce an innovative computational model, named MIXBend, to forecast the DNA bendability utilizing both nucleotide sequences and physicochemical properties. In MIXBend, a pre-trained language model DNABERT and convolutional neural network with attention mechanism are utilized to construct both sequence- and physicochemical-based extractors for the sophisticated refinement of DNA sequence representations. These bimodal DNA representations are then fed to a k-mer sequence-physicochemistry matching module to minimize the semantic gap between each modality. Lastly, a self-attention fusion layer is employed for the prediction of DNA bendability. In conclusion, the experimental results validate MIXBend's superior performance relative to other state-of-the-art methods. Additionally, MIXBend reveals both novel and known motifs from the yeast. Moreover, MIXBend discovers significant bendability fluctuations within super-enhancer regions and transcription factors binding sites in the human genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minghao Yang
- Bioscience and Biomedical Engineering Thrust, System Hub, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511466, China
| | - Shichen Zhang
- Bioscience and Biomedical Engineering Thrust, System Hub, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511466, China
| | - Zhihang Zheng
- Bioscience and Biomedical Engineering Thrust, System Hub, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511466, China
| | - Pengfei Zhang
- Bioscience and Biomedical Engineering Thrust, System Hub, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511466, China
| | - Yan Liang
- School of Artificial Intelligence, South China Normal University, Foshan 528225, China
| | - Shaojun Tang
- Bioscience and Biomedical Engineering Thrust, System Hub, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511466, China
- Division of Life Science, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong SAR 999077, China
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4
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Dohnalová H, Matoušková E, Lankaš F. Temperature-dependent elasticity of DNA, RNA, and hybrid double helices. Biophys J 2024; 123:572-583. [PMID: 38340722 PMCID: PMC10938081 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.01.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Nucleic acid double helices in their DNA, RNA, and DNA-RNA hybrid form play a fundamental role in biology and are main building blocks of artificial nanostructures, but how their properties depend on temperature remains poorly understood. Here, we report thermal dependence of dynamic bending persistence length, twist rigidity, stretch modulus, and twist-stretch coupling for DNA, RNA, and hybrid duplexes between 7°C and 47°C. The results are based on all-atom molecular dynamics simulations using different force field parameterizations. We first demonstrate that unrestrained molecular dynamics can reproduce experimentally known mechanical properties of the duplexes at room temperature. Beyond experimentally known features, we also infer the twist rigidity and twist-stretch coupling of the hybrid duplex. As for the temperature dependence, we found that increasing temperature softens all the duplexes with respect to bending, twisting, and stretching. The relative decrease of the stretch moduli is 0.003-0.004/°C, similar for all the duplex variants despite their very different stretching stiffness, whereas RNA twist stiffness decreases by 0.003/°C, and smaller values are found for the other elastic moduli. The twist-stretch couplings are nearly unaffected by temperature. The stretching, bending, and twisting stiffness all include an important entropic component. Relation of our results to the two-state model of DNA flexibility is discussed. Our work provides temperature-dependent elasticity of nucleic acid duplexes at the microsecond scale relevant for initial stages of protein binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hana Dohnalová
- Department of Informatics and Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Praha 6, Czech Republic
| | - Eva Matoušková
- Department of Informatics and Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Praha 6, Czech Republic
| | - Filip Lankaš
- Department of Informatics and Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Praha 6, Czech Republic.
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5
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Back G, Walther D. Predictions of DNA mechanical properties at a genomic scale reveal potentially new functional roles of DNA flexibility. NAR Genom Bioinform 2023; 5:lqad097. [PMID: 37954573 PMCID: PMC10632188 DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqad097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Mechanical properties of DNA have been implied to influence many of its biological functions. Recently, a new high-throughput method, called loop-seq, which allows measuring the intrinsic bendability of DNA fragments, has been developed. Using loop-seq data, we created a deep learning model to explore the biological significance of local DNA flexibility in a range of different species from different kingdoms. Consistently, we observed a characteristic and largely dinucleotide-composition-driven change of local flexibility near transcription start sites. In the presence of a TATA-box, a pronounced peak of high flexibility can be observed. Furthermore, depending on the transcription factor investigated, flanking-sequence-dependent DNA flexibility was identified as a potential factor influencing DNA binding. Compared to randomized genomic sequences, depending on species and taxa, actual genomic sequences were observed both with increased and lowered flexibility. Furthermore, in Arabidopsis thaliana, mutation rates, both de novo and fixed, were found to be associated with relatively rigid sequence regions. Our study presents a range of significant correlations between characteristic DNA mechanical properties and genomic features, the significance of which with regard to detailed molecular relevance awaits further theoretical and experimental exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georg Back
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, Potsdam-Golm 14476, Germany
| | - Dirk Walther
- Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Mühlenberg 1, Potsdam-Golm 14476, Germany
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6
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Hanif W, Yadav I, Hasan E, Alsulaiman D. Programmable all-DNA hydrogels based on rolling circle and multiprimed chain amplification products. APL Bioeng 2023; 7:046106. [PMID: 37901137 PMCID: PMC10613091 DOI: 10.1063/5.0169063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Soft, biocompatible, and tunable materials offer biomedical engineers and material scientists programmable matrices for a variety of biomedical applications. In this regard, DNA hydrogels have emerged as highly promising biomaterials that offer programmable self-assembly, superior biocompatibility, and the presence of specific molecular identifiable structures. Many types of DNA hydrogels have been developed, yet the programmability of the DNA building blocks has not been fully exploited, and further efforts must be directed toward understanding how to finely tune their properties in a predictable manner. Herein, we develop physically crosslinked all-DNA hydrogels with tunable morphology and controllable biodegradation, based on rolling circle amplification and multiprimed chain amplification products. Through molecular engineering of the DNA sequences and their nano-/microscale architectures, the precursors self-assemble in a controlled manner to produce soft hydrogels in an efficient, cost-effective, and highly tunable manner. Notably, we develop a novel DNA microladder architecture that serves as a framework for modulating the hydrogel properties, including over an order of magnitude change in pore size and up to 50% change in biodegradation rate. Overall, we demonstrate how the properties of this DNA-based biomaterial can be tuned by modulating the amounts of rigid double-stranded DNA chains compared to flexible single-stranded DNA chains, as well as through the precursor architecture. Ultimately, this work opens new avenues for the development of programmable and biodegradable soft materials in which DNA functions not only as a store of genetic information but also as a versatile polymeric biomaterial and molecularly engineered macroscale scaffold.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wildan Hanif
- Division of Physical Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Indresh Yadav
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Erol Hasan
- Division of Physical Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
| | - Dana Alsulaiman
- Division of Physical Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal 23955-6900, Saudi Arabia
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7
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Chen YT, Yang H, Chu JW. Mechanical codes of chemical-scale specificity in DNA motifs. Chem Sci 2023; 14:10155-10166. [PMID: 37772098 PMCID: PMC10529945 DOI: 10.1039/d3sc01671d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023] Open
Abstract
In gene transcription, certain sequences of double-stranded (ds)DNA play a vital role in nucleosome positioning and expression initiation. That dsDNA is deformed to various extents in these processes leads us to ask: Could the genomic DNA also have sequence specificity in its chemical-scale mechanical properties? We approach this question using statistical machine learning to determine the rigidity between DNA chemical moieties. What emerges for the polyA, polyG, TpA, and CpG sequences studied here is a unique trigram that contains the quantitative mechanical strengths between bases and along the backbone. In a way, such a sequence-dependent trigram could be viewed as a DNA mechanical code. Interestingly, we discover a compensatory competition between the axial base-stacking interaction and the transverse base-pairing interaction, and such a reciprocal relationship constitutes the most discriminating feature of the mechanical code. Our results also provide chemical-scale understanding for experimental observables. For example, the long polyA persistence length is shown to have strong base stacking while its complement (polyAc) exhibits high backbone rigidity. The mechanical code concept enables a direct reading of the physical interactions encoded in the sequence which, with further development, is expected to shed new light on DNA allostery and DNA-binding drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Tsao Chen
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Hsinchu 30010 Taiwan Republic of China
| | - Haw Yang
- Department of Chemistry, Princeton University Princeton NJ 08544 USA
| | - Jhih-Wei Chu
- Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Hsinchu 30010 Taiwan Republic of China
- Department of Biological Science and Technology, Institute of Molecular Medicine and Bioengineering, Center for Intelligent Drug Systems and Smart Bio-devices (IDS2B), National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Hsinchu 30010 Taiwan Republic of China
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8
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Zhang Y, He L, Li S. Temperature dependence of DNA elasticity: An all-atom molecular dynamics simulation study. J Chem Phys 2023; 158:094902. [PMID: 36889965 DOI: 10.1063/5.0138940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
Abstract
We used all-atom molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the elastic properties of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). We focused on the influences of temperature on the stretch, bend, and twist elasticities, as well as the twist-stretch coupling, of the dsDNA over a wide range of temperature. The results showed that the bending and twist persistence lengths, together with the stretch and twist moduli, decrease linearly with temperature. However, the twist-stretch coupling behaves in a positive correction and enhances as the temperature increases. The potential mechanisms of how temperature affects dsDNA elasticity and coupling were investigated by using the trajectories from atomistic simulation, in which thermal fluctuations in structural parameters were analyzed in detail. We analyzed the simulation results by comparing them with previous simulation and experimental data, which are in good agreement. The prediction about the temperature dependence of dsDNA elastic properties provides a deeper understanding of DNA elasticities in biological environments and potentially helps in the further development of DNA nanotechnology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yahong Zhang
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
| | - Linli He
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
| | - Shiben Li
- Department of Physics, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang 325035, China
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9
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Gutiérrez Fosado YA, Landuzzi F, Sakaue T. Coarse Graining DNA: Symmetry, Nonlocal Elasticity, and Persistence Length. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2023; 130:058402. [PMID: 36800451 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.130.058402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
While the behavior of double-stranded DNA at mesoscopic scales is fairly well understood, less is known about its relation to the rich mechanical properties in the base-pair scale, which is crucial, for instance, to understand DNA-protein interactions and the nucleosome diffusion mechanism. Here, by employing the rigid base-pair model, we connect its microscopic parameters to the persistence length. Combined with all-atom molecular dynamic simulations, our scheme identifies relevant couplings between different degrees of freedom at each coarse-graining step. This allows us to clarify how the scale dependence of the elastic moduli is determined in a systematic way encompassing the role of previously unnoticed off-site couplings between deformations with different parity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yair Augusto Gutiérrez Fosado
- School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Peter Guthrie Tait Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3FD, United Kingdom
| | - Fabio Landuzzi
- Centro CMP3VdA, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, via Lavoratori Vittime del Col du Mont 28, 11100, Aosta, Italy
| | - Takahiro Sakaue
- Department of Physics and Mathematics, Aoyama Gakuin University, 5-10-1 Fuchinobe, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara-shi, Kanagawa 252-5258, Japan
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10
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Sharma R, Patelli AS, Bruin LD, Maddocks JH. cgNA+web : A visual interface to the cgNA+ sequence-dependent statistical mechanics model of double-stranded nucleic acids. J Mol Biol 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2023.167978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
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11
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Yang M, Bakker D, Raghu D, Li ITS. A single strand: A simplified approach to DNA origami. Front Chem 2023; 11:1126177. [PMID: 36891219 PMCID: PMC9986268 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1126177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Just as a single polypeptide strand can self-fold into a complex 3D structure, a single strand of DNA can self-fold into DNA origami. Most DNA origami structures (i.e., the scaffold-staple and DNA tiling systems) utilize hundreds of short single-stranded DNA. As such, these structures come with challenges inherent to intermolecular construction. Many assembly challenges involving intermolecular interactions can be resolved if the origami structure is constructed from one DNA strand, where folding is not concentration dependent, the folded structure is more resistant to nuclease degradation, and the synthesis can be achieved at an industrial scale at a thousandth of the cost. This review discusses the design principles and considerations employed in single-stranded DNA origami and its potential benefits and drawbacks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Micah Yang
- Department of Chemistry, The University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada
| | - David Bakker
- Department of Chemistry, The University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada
| | - Dyuti Raghu
- Department of Chemistry, The University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada
| | - Isaac T S Li
- Department of Chemistry, The University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada
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12
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Snider DM, Pandit S, Coffin ML, Ebrahimi SB, Samanta D. DNA-Mediated Control of Protein Function in Semi-Synthetic Systems. Chembiochem 2022; 23:e202200464. [PMID: 36058885 DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202200464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
The development of strategies for controlling protein function in a precise and predictable manner has the potential to revolutionize catalysis, diagnostics, and medicine. In this regard, the use of DNA has emerged as a powerful approach for modulating protein activity. The programmable nature of DNA allows for constructing sophisticated architectures wherein proteins can be placed with control over position, orientation, and stoichiometry. This ability is especially useful considering that the properties of proteins can be influenced by their local environment or their proximity to other functional molecules. Here, we chronicle the different strategies that have been developed to interface DNA with proteins in semi-synthetic systems. We further delineate the unique applications unlocked by the unprecedented level of structural control that DNA affords. We end by outlining outstanding challenges in the area and discuss future research directions towards potential solutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan M Snider
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, 105 E 24th St, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Subrata Pandit
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, 105 E 24th St, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Mackenzie L Coffin
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, 105 E 24th St, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Sasha B Ebrahimi
- Drug Product Development - Steriles, GlaxoSmithKline 1250 S Collegeville Rd, Collegeville, PA 19426, USA
| | - Devleena Samanta
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Texas at Austin, 105 E 24th St, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
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13
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Lüking M, Elf J, Levy Y. Conformational Change of Transcription Factors from Search to Specific Binding: A lac Repressor Case Study. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:9971-9984. [PMID: 36416228 PMCID: PMC9743208 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c05006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
In a process known as facilitated diffusion, DNA-binding proteins find their target sites by combining three-dimensional diffusion and one-dimensional scanning of the DNA. Following the trade-off between speed and stability, agile exploration of DNA requires loose binding, whereas, at the DNA target site, the searching protein needs to establish tight interactions with the DNA. To enable both efficient search and stable binding, DNA-binding proteins and DNA often switch conformations upon recognition. Here, we study the one-dimensional diffusion and DNA binding of the dimeric lac repressor (LacI), which was reported to adopt two different conformations when binding different conformations of DNA. Using coarse-grained molecular dynamic simulations, we studied the diffusion and the sequence-specific binding of these conformations of LacI, as well as their truncated or monomeric variants, with two DNA conformations: straight and bent. The simulations were compared to experimental observables. This study supports that linear diffusion along DNA combines tight rotation-coupled groove tracking and rotation-decoupled hopping, where the protein briefly dissociates and reassociates just a few base pairs away. Tight groove tracking is crucial for target-site recognition, while hopping speeds up the overall search process. We investigated the diffusion of different LacI conformations on DNA and show how the flexibility of LacI's hinge regions ensures agility on DNA as well as faithful groove tracking. If the hinge regions instead form α-helices at the protein-DNA interface, tight groove tracking is not possible. On the contrary, the helical hinge region is essential for tight binding to bent, specific DNA, for the formation of the specific complex. Based on our study of different encounter complexes, we argue that the conformational change in LacI and DNA bending are somewhat coupled. Our findings underline the importance of two distinct protein conformations for facilitated diffusion and specific binding, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malin Lüking
- Department
of Cell- and Molecular Biology-ICM, Uppsala
University, Uppsala, Uppsala County751 24, Sweden
| | - Johan Elf
- Department
of Cell- and Molecular Biology-ICM, Uppsala
University, Uppsala, Uppsala County751 24, Sweden
| | - Yaakov Levy
- Department
of Chemical and Structural Biology, Weizmann
Institute of Science, Rehovot, Central District76100, Israel,. Tel.: 972-8-9344587
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14
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Oh I, Song J, Hyun HR, Lee SH, Kim JS. Brownian ratchet for directional nanoparticle transport by repetitive stretch-relaxation of DNA. Phys Rev E 2022; 106:054117. [PMID: 36559375 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.106.054117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Brownian motion subject to a periodic and asymmetric potential can be biased by external, nonequilibrium fluctuations, leading to directional movement of Brownian particles. Sequence-dependent flexibility variation along double-stranded DNA has been proposed as a tool to develop periodic and asymmetric potentials for DNA binding of cationic nanoparticles with sizes below tens of nanometers. Here, we propose that repetitive stretching and relaxation of a long, double-stranded DNA molecule with periodic flexibility gradient can induce nonequilibrium fluctuations that tune the amplitude of asymmetric potentials for DNA-nanoparticle binding to result in directional transport of nanometer-sized particles along DNA. Realization of the proposed Brownian ratchet was proven by Brownian dynamics simulations of coarse-grained models of a single, long DNA molecule with flexibility variation and a cationic nanoparticle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inrok Oh
- LG Chem Ltd, LG Science Park, Seoul 07796, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeongeun Song
- Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
| | - Hye Ree Hyun
- Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang Hak Lee
- Department of Chemistry, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Republic of Korea
| | - Jun Soo Kim
- Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
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15
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Paez-Perez M, Russell IA, Cicuta P, Di Michele L. Modulating membrane fusion through the design of fusogenic DNA circuits and bilayer composition. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:7035-7044. [PMID: 36000473 PMCID: PMC9516350 DOI: 10.1039/d2sm00863g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Membrane fusion is a ubiquitous phenomenon linked to many biological processes, and represents a crucial step in liposome-based drug delivery strategies. The ability to control, ever more precisely, membrane fusion pathways would thus be highly valuable for next generation nano-medical solutions and, more generally, the design of advanced biomimetic systems such as synthetic cells. In this article, we present fusogenic nanostructures constructed from synthetic DNA which, different from previous solutions, unlock routes for modulating the rate of fusion and making it conditional to the presence of soluble DNA molecules, thus demonstrating how membrane fusion can be controlled through simple DNA-based molecular circuits. We then systematically explore the relationship between lipid-membrane composition, its biophysical properties, and measured fusion efficiency, linking our observations to the stability of transition states in the fusion pathway. Finally, we observe that specific lipid compositions lead to the emergence of complex bilayer architectures in the fusion products, such as nested morphologies, which are accompanied by alterations in biophysical behaviour. Our findings provide multiple, orthogonal strategies to program lipid-membrane fusion, which leverage the design of either the fusogenic DNA constructs or the physico/chemical properties of the membranes, and could thus be valuable in applications where some design parameters are constrained by other factors such as material cost and biocompatibility, as it is often the case in biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Paez-Perez
- Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
- fabriCELL, Imperial College London, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK
| | - I Alasdair Russell
- Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0RE, UK
| | - Pietro Cicuta
- Biological and Soft Systems, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK.
| | - Lorenzo Di Michele
- Molecular Sciences Research Hub, Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK.
- fabriCELL, Imperial College London, Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, UK
- Biological and Soft Systems, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK.
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16
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Zhang Y, Yan M, Huang T, Wang X. Understanding the Structural Elasticity of RNA and DNA: All‐Atom Molecular Dynamics. ADVANCED THEORY AND SIMULATIONS 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/adts.202200534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yingtong Zhang
- Department of Physics Wenzhou University Wenzhou 325035 China
| | - Miao Yan
- Department of Physics Wenzhou University Wenzhou 325035 China
| | - Tingting Huang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering Shanghai Techanical Institute of Electronics and Information Shanghai 201411 China
| | - Xianghong Wang
- Department of Physics Wenzhou University Wenzhou 325035 China
- Department of Mechanical Engineering Shanghai Techanical Institute of Electronics and Information Shanghai 201411 China
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17
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Kurisinkal EE, Caroprese V, Koga MM, Morzy D, Bastings MMC. Selective Integrin α5β1 Targeting through Spatially Constrained Multivalent DNA-Based Nanoparticles. Molecules 2022; 27:molecules27154968. [PMID: 35956918 PMCID: PMC9370198 DOI: 10.3390/molecules27154968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 07/29/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Targeting cells specifically based on receptor expression levels remains an area of active research to date. Selective binding of receptors cannot be achieved by increasing the individual binding strength, as this does not account for differing distributions of receptor density across healthy and diseased cells. Engaging receptors above a threshold concentration would be desirable in devising selective diagnostics. Integrins are prime target candidates as they are readily available on the cell surface and have been reported to be overexpressed in diseases. Insights into their spatial organization would therefore be advantageous to design selective targeting agents. Here, we investigated the effect of activation method on integrin α5β1 clustering by immunofluorescence and modeled the global neighbor distances with input from an immuno-staining assay and image processing of microscopy images. This data was used to engineer spatially-controlled DNA-scaffolded bivalent ligands, which we used to compare trends in spatial-selective binding observed across HUVEC, CHO and HeLa in resting versus activated conditions in confocal microscopy images. For HUVEC and CHO, the data demonstrated an improved selectivity and localisation of binding for smaller spacings ~7 nm and ~24 nm, in good agreement with the model. A deviation from the mode predictions for HeLa was observed, indicative of a clustered, instead of homogeneous, integrin organization. Our findings demonstrate how low-technology imaging methods can guide the design of spatially controlled ligands to selectively differentiate between cell type and integrin activation state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva E. Kurisinkal
- Programmable Biomaterials Laboratory, Institute of Materials, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Vincenzo Caroprese
- Programmable Biomaterials Laboratory, Institute of Materials, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marianna M. Koga
- Programmable Biomaterials Laboratory, Institute of Materials, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Diana Morzy
- Programmable Biomaterials Laboratory, Institute of Materials, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Maartje M. C. Bastings
- Programmable Biomaterials Laboratory, Institute of Materials, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Interfaculty Bioengineering Institute, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Correspondence:
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18
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Assenza S, Pérez R. Accurate Sequence-Dependent Coarse-Grained Model for Conformational and Elastic Properties of Double-Stranded DNA. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:3239-3256. [PMID: 35394775 PMCID: PMC9097290 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c00138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
![]()
We introduce MADna,
a sequence-dependent coarse-grained model of
double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), where each nucleotide is described by
three beads localized at the sugar, at the base moiety, and at the
phosphate group, respectively. The sequence dependence is included
by considering a step-dependent parametrization of the bonded interactions,
which are tuned in order to reproduce the values of key observables
obtained from exhaustive atomistic simulations from the literature.
The predictions of the model are benchmarked against an independent
set of all-atom simulations, showing that it captures with high fidelity
the sequence dependence of conformational and elastic features beyond
the single step considered in its formulation. A remarkably good agreement
with experiments is found for both sequence-averaged and sequence-dependent
conformational and elastic features, including the stretching and
torsion moduli, the twist–stretch and twist–bend couplings,
the persistence length, and the helical pitch. Overall, for the inspected
quantities, the model has a precision comparable to atomistic simulations,
hence providing a reliable coarse-grained description for the rationalization
of single-molecule experiments and the study of cellular processes
involving dsDNA. Owing to the simplicity of its formulation, MADna
can be straightforwardly included in common simulation engines. Particularly,
an implementation of the model in LAMMPS is made available on an online
repository to ease its usage within the DNA research community.
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19
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Chhetri KB, Sharma A, Naskar S, Maiti PK. Nanoscale structures and mechanics of peptide nucleic acids. NANOSCALE 2022; 14:6620-6635. [PMID: 35421892 DOI: 10.1039/d1nr04239d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) are charge-neutral polyamide oligomers having extremely favorable thermal stability and high affinity to cell membranes when coupled with cationic cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), as well as the encouraging antisense and antigene activity in cell-free systems. The study of the mechanical properties of short PNA molecules is rare both in experiments and theoretical calculations. Here, we studied the microscopic structures and elastic properties; namely, persistence length, stretch modulus, twist-stretch coupling, and structural crookedness of double-stranded PNA (dsPNA) and their hybrid derivatives using all-atom MD simulation and compared them with those of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) and double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). The stretch modulus of the dsPNA is found to be ∼160 pN, an order of magnitude lower than that of dsDNA and smaller than dsRNA, respectively. Similarly, the persistence length of dsPNA is found to be ∼35 nm, significantly smaller than those of dsDNA and dsRNA. The PNA-DNA and PNA-RNA hybrid duplexes have elastic properties lying between that of dsPNA and dsDNA/dsRNA. We argue that the neutral backbones of the PNA make it less stiff than dsDNA and dsRNA molecules. Measurement of structural crookedness and principal component analysis additionally support the bending flexibility of dsPNA. Detailed analysis of the helical-rise coupled to helical-twist indicates that the PNA-DNA hybrid over-winds like dsDNA, while PNA-PNA and PNA-RNA unwind like dsRNA upon stretching. Because of the highly flexible nature of PNA, it can bind other biomolecules by adopting a wide range of conformations and is believed to be crucial for future nanobiotechnology research studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khadka B Chhetri
- Center for Condensed Matter Theory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
- Department of Physics, Prithvinarayan Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
| | - Akshara Sharma
- Center for Condensed Matter Theory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
| | - Supriyo Naskar
- Center for Condensed Matter Theory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
| | - Prabal K Maiti
- Center for Condensed Matter Theory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
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20
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Li K, Carroll M, Vafabakhsh R, Wang XA, Wang JP. OUP accepted manuscript. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:3142-3154. [PMID: 35288750 PMCID: PMC8989542 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA mechanical properties play a critical role in every aspect of DNA-dependent biological processes. Recently a high throughput assay named loop-seq has been developed to quantify the intrinsic bendability of a massive number of DNA fragments simultaneously. Using the loop-seq data, we develop a software tool, DNAcycP, based on a deep-learning approach for intrinsic DNA cyclizability prediction. We demonstrate DNAcycP predicts intrinsic DNA cyclizability with high fidelity compared to the experimental data. Using an independent dataset from in vitro selection for enrichment of loopable sequences, we further verified the predicted cyclizability score, termed C-score, can well distinguish DNA fragments with different loopability. We applied DNAcycP to multiple species and compared the C-scores with available high-resolution chemical nucleosome maps. Our analyses showed that both yeast and mouse genomes share a conserved feature of high DNA bendability spanning nucleosome dyads. Additionally, we extended our analysis to transcription factor binding sites and surprisingly found that the cyclizability is substantially elevated at CTCF binding sites in the mouse genome. We further demonstrate this distinct mechanical property is conserved across mammalian species and is inherent to CTCF binding DNA motif.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keren Li
- Department of Statistics, Northwestern University, 633 Clark Street, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
- NSF-Simons Center for Quantitative Biology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Matthew Carroll
- Weinberg College IT Solutions (WITS), Northwestern University, 633 Clark Street, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Reza Vafabakhsh
- Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Xiaozhong A Wang
- Correspondence may also be addressed to Xiaozhong A. Wang. Tel: +1 847 467 4897;
| | - Ji-Ping Wang
- To whom correspondence should be addressed. Tel: +1 847 467 6896;
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21
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Giniūnaitė R, Petkevičiūtė-Gerlach D. Predicting the configuration and energy of DNA in a nucleosome by coarse-grain modelling. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2022; 24:26124-26133. [DOI: 10.1039/d2cp03553g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
We present a novel algorithm which uses a coarse-grained model and an energy minimisation procedure to predict the sequence-dependent DNA configuration in a nucleosome together with its energetic cost.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rasa Giniūnaitė
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentų 50-318, 51368, Kaunas, Lithuania
- Institute of Applied Mathematics, Vilnius University, Naugarduko 24, 03225, Vilnius, Lithuania
| | - Daiva Petkevičiūtė-Gerlach
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentų 50-318, 51368, Kaunas, Lithuania
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22
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Bae S, Kim JS. Potential of Mean Force for DNA Wrapping Around a Cationic Nanoparticle. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 17:7952-7961. [PMID: 34792353 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Sharp bending and wrapping of DNA around proteins and nanoparticles (NPs) has been of extensive research interest. Here, we present the potential of mean force (PMF) for wrapping a DNA double helix around a cationic NP using coarse-grained models of a double-stranded DNA and a cationic NP. Starting from a NP wrapped around by DNA, the PMF was calculated along the distance between the center of the NP and one end of the DNA molecule. A relationship between the distance and the extent of DNA wrapping is used to calculate the PMF as a function of DNA wrapping around a NP. In particular, the PMF was compared for two DNA sequences of (AT)25/(AT)25 and (AC)25/(GT)25, for which the persistence lengths are different by ∼10 nm. The simulation results provide solid evidence of the thermodynamic preference for complex formation of a cationic NP with more flexible DNA over the less flexible DNA. Furthermore, we estimated the elastic energy of DNA bending, which was in good order-of-magnitude agreement with the theoretical prediction of elastic rods. This work suggests that the variation of sequence-dependent DNA flexibility can be utilized in DNA nanotechnologies, in which the position and dynamics of NPs are regulated on large-scale DNA structures, or the structural transformation of DNA is triggered by the sequence-dependent binding of NPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sehui Bae
- Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
| | - Jun Soo Kim
- Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
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23
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Yoo J, Park S, Maffeo C, Ha T, Aksimentiev A. DNA sequence and methylation prescribe the inside-out conformational dynamics and bending energetics of DNA minicircles. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:11459-11475. [PMID: 34718725 PMCID: PMC8599915 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Eukaryotic genome and methylome encode DNA fragments' propensity to form nucleosome particles. Although the mechanical properties of DNA possibly orchestrate such encoding, the definite link between 'omics' and DNA energetics has remained elusive. Here, we bridge the divide by examining the sequence-dependent energetics of highly bent DNA. Molecular dynamics simulations of 42 intact DNA minicircles reveal that each DNA minicircle undergoes inside-out conformational transitions with the most likely configuration uniquely prescribed by the nucleotide sequence and methylation of DNA. The minicircles' local geometry consists of straight segments connected by sharp bends compressing the DNA's inward-facing major groove. Such an uneven distribution of the bending stress favors minimum free energy configurations that avoid stiff base pair sequences at inward-facing major grooves. Analysis of the minicircles' inside-out free energy landscapes yields a discrete worm-like chain model of bent DNA energetics that accurately account for its nucleotide sequence and methylation. Experimentally measuring the dependence of the DNA looping time on the DNA sequence validates the model. When applied to a nucleosome-like DNA configuration, the model quantitatively reproduces yeast and human genomes' nucleosome occupancy. Further analyses of the genome-wide chromatin structure data suggest that DNA bending energetics is a fundamental determinant of genome architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jejoong Yoo
- Department of Physics, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Sangwoo Park
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Christopher Maffeo
- Department of Physics and the Center for the Physics of Living Cells, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Taekjip Ha
- Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Aleksei Aksimentiev
- Department of Physics and the Center for the Physics of Living Cells, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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24
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Dohnalová H, Lankaš F. Deciphering the mechanical properties of
B‐DNA
duplex. WIRES COMPUTATIONAL MOLECULAR SCIENCE 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/wcms.1575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hana Dohnalová
- Department of Informatics and Chemistry University of Chemistry and Technology Prague Praha 6 Czech Republic
| | - Filip Lankaš
- Department of Informatics and Chemistry University of Chemistry and Technology Prague Praha 6 Czech Republic
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25
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Yuan T, Shao Y, Zhou X, Liu Q, Zhu Z, Zhou B, Dong Y, Stephanopoulos N, Gui S, Yan H, Liu D. Highly Permeable DNA Supramolecular Hydrogel Promotes Neurogenesis and Functional Recovery after Completely Transected Spinal Cord Injury. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2021; 33:e2102428. [PMID: 34296471 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202102428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Regeneration after severe spinal cord injury cannot occur naturally in mammals. Transplanting stem cells to the injury site is a highly promising method, but it faces many challenges because it relies heavily on the microenvironment provided by both the lesion site and delivery material. Although mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and biodegradability of delivery materials have been extensively explored, their permeability has rarely been recognized. Here, a DNA hydrogel is designed with extremely high permeability to repair a 2 mm spinal cord gap in Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats recover basic hindlimb function with detectable motor-evoked potentials, and a renascent neural network is formed via the proliferation and differentiation of both implanted and endogenous stem cells. The signal at the lesion area is conveyed by, on average, 15 newly formed synapses. This hydrogel system offers great potential in clinical trials. Further, it should be easily adaptable to other tissue regeneration applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taoyang Yuan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100071, China
- Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Yu Shao
- Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Xu Zhou
- Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, The Biodesign Institute, School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85281, USA
| | - Qian Liu
- Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Zhichao Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Bini Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yuanchen Dong
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Colloid, Interface and Chemical Thermodynamics, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Nicholas Stephanopoulos
- Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, The Biodesign Institute, School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85281, USA
| | - Songbai Gui
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100071, China
| | - Hao Yan
- Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, The Biodesign Institute, School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85281, USA
| | - Dongsheng Liu
- Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
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26
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Yoshua SB, Watson GD, Howard JAL, Velasco-Berrelleza V, Leake MC, Noy A. Integration host factor bends and bridges DNA in a multiplicity of binding modes with varying specificity. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:8684-8698. [PMID: 34352078 PMCID: PMC8421141 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Revised: 07/02/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Nucleoid-associated proteins (NAPs) are crucial in organizing prokaryotic DNA and regulating genes. Vital to these activities are complex nucleoprotein structures, however, how these form remains unclear. Integration host factor (IHF) is an Escherichia coli NAP that creates very sharp bends in DNA at sequences relevant to several functions including transcription and recombination, and is also responsible for general DNA compaction when bound non-specifically. We show that IHF–DNA structural multimodality is more elaborate than previously thought, and provide insights into how this drives mechanical switching towards strongly bent DNA. Using single-molecule atomic force microscopy and atomic molecular dynamics simulations we find three binding modes in roughly equal proportions: ‘associated’ (73° of DNA bend), ‘half-wrapped’ (107°) and ‘fully-wrapped’ (147°), only the latter occurring with sequence specificity. We show IHF bridges two DNA double helices through non-specific recognition that gives IHF a stoichiometry greater than one and enables DNA mesh assembly. We observe that IHF-DNA structural multiplicity is driven through non-specific electrostatic interactions that we anticipate to be a general NAP feature for physical organization of chromosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel B Yoshua
- Department of Physics, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - George D Watson
- Department of Physics, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | | | | | - Mark C Leake
- Department of Physics, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK.,Department of Biology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Agnes Noy
- Department of Physics, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
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27
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Bae S, Oh I, Yoo J, Kim JS. Effect of DNA Flexibility on Complex Formation of a Cationic Nanoparticle with Double-Stranded DNA. ACS OMEGA 2021; 6:18728-18736. [PMID: 34337212 PMCID: PMC8319935 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c01709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
We present extensive molecular dynamics simulations of a cationic nanoparticle and a double-stranded DNA molecule to discuss the effect of DNA flexibility on the complex formation of a cationic nanoparticle with double-stranded DNA. Martini coarse-grained models were employed to describe double-stranded DNA molecules with two different flexibilities and cationic nanoparticles with three different electric charges. As the electric charge of a cationic nanoparticle increases, the degree of DNA bending increases, eventually leading to the wrapping of DNA around the nanoparticle at high electric charges. However, a small increase in the persistence length of DNA by 10 nm requires a cationic nanoparticle with a markedly increased electric charge to bend and wrap DNA around. Thus, a more flexible DNA molecule bends and wraps around a cationic nanoparticle with an intermediate electric charge, whereas a less flexible DNA molecule binds to a nanoparticle with the same electric charge without notable bending. This work provides solid evidence that a small difference in DNA flexibility (as small as 10 nm in persistence length) has a substantial influence on the complex formation of DNA with proteins from a biological perspective and suggests that the variation of sequence-dependent DNA flexibility can be utilized in DNA nanotechnology as a new tool to manipulate the structure of DNA molecules mediated by nanoparticle binding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sehui Bae
- Department
of Chemistry and Nanoscience, Ewha Womans
University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
| | - Inrok Oh
- LG
Chem Ltd., LG Science Park, Seoul 07796, Republic of Korea
| | - Jejoong Yoo
- Department
of Physics, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea
| | - Jun Soo Kim
- Department
of Chemistry and Nanoscience, Ewha Womans
University, Seoul 03760, Republic of Korea
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28
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Abstract
DNA dynamics can only be understood by taking into account its complex mechanical behavior at different length scales. At the micrometer level, the mechanical properties of single DNA molecules have been well-characterized by polymer models and are commonly quantified by a persistence length of 50 nm (~150 bp). However, at the base pair level (~3.4 Å), the dynamics of DNA involves complex molecular mechanisms that are still being deciphered. Here, we review recent single-molecule experiments and molecular dynamics simulations that are providing novel insights into DNA mechanics from such a molecular perspective. We first discuss recent findings on sequence-dependent DNA mechanical properties, including sequences that resist mechanical stress and sequences that can accommodate strong deformations. We then comment on the intricate effects of cytosine methylation and DNA mismatches on DNA mechanics. Finally, we review recently reported differences in the mechanical properties of DNA and double-stranded RNA, the other double-helical carrier of genetic information. A thorough examination of the recent single-molecule literature permits establishing a set of general 'rules' that reasonably explain the mechanics of nucleic acids at the base pair level. These simple rules offer an improved description of certain biological systems and might serve as valuable guidelines for future design of DNA and RNA nanostructures.
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29
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Zhang Y, Zhu L, Tian J, Zhu L, Ma X, He X, Huang K, Ren F, Xu W. Smart and Functionalized Development of Nucleic Acid-Based Hydrogels: Assembly Strategies, Recent Advances, and Challenges. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2021; 8:2100216. [PMID: 34306976 PMCID: PMC8292884 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202100216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Revised: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Nucleic acid-based hydrogels that integrate intrinsic biological properties of nucleic acids and mechanical behavior of their advanced assemblies are appealing bioanalysis and biomedical studies for the development of new-generation smart biomaterials. It is inseparable from development and incorporation of novel structural and functional units. This review highlights different functional units of nucleic acids, polymers, and novel nanomaterials in the order of structures, properties, and functions, and their assembly strategies for the fabrication of nucleic acid-based hydrogels. Also, recent advances in the design of multifunctional and stimuli-responsive nucleic acid-based hydrogels in bioanalysis and biomedical science are discussed, focusing on the applications of customized hydrogels for emerging directions, including 3D cell cultivation and 3D bioprinting. Finally, the key challenge and future perspectives are outlined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangzi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Precision Nutrition and Food QualityDepartment of Nutrition and HealthChina Agricultural UniversityNo. 17, Qinghua East RoadBeijing100083China
| | - Longjiao Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Precision Nutrition and Food QualityDepartment of Nutrition and HealthChina Agricultural UniversityNo. 17, Qinghua East RoadBeijing100083China
| | - Jingjing Tian
- Key Laboratory of Precision Nutrition and Food QualityDepartment of Nutrition and HealthChina Agricultural UniversityNo. 17, Qinghua East RoadBeijing100083China
| | - Liye Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Precision Nutrition and Food QualityDepartment of Nutrition and HealthChina Agricultural UniversityNo. 17, Qinghua East RoadBeijing100083China
| | - Xuan Ma
- Key Laboratory of Precision Nutrition and Food QualityDepartment of Nutrition and HealthChina Agricultural UniversityNo. 17, Qinghua East RoadBeijing100083China
| | - Xiaoyun He
- Key Laboratory of Safety Assessment of Genetically Modified Organism (Food Safety) (MOA)College of Food Science and Nutritional EngineeringChina Agricultural UniversityNo. 17, Qinghua East RoadBeijing100083China
| | - Kunlun Huang
- Key Laboratory of Precision Nutrition and Food QualityDepartment of Nutrition and HealthChina Agricultural UniversityNo. 17, Qinghua East RoadBeijing100083China
- Key Laboratory of Safety Assessment of Genetically Modified Organism (Food Safety) (MOA)College of Food Science and Nutritional EngineeringChina Agricultural UniversityNo. 17, Qinghua East RoadBeijing100083China
- Beijing Laboratory for Food Quality and SafetyCollege of Food Science and Nutritional EngineeringChina Agricultural UniversityNo. 17, Qinghua East RoadBeijing100083China
| | - Fazheng Ren
- Key Laboratory of Precision Nutrition and Food QualityDepartment of Nutrition and HealthChina Agricultural UniversityNo. 17, Qinghua East RoadBeijing100083China
| | - Wentao Xu
- Key Laboratory of Precision Nutrition and Food QualityDepartment of Nutrition and HealthChina Agricultural UniversityNo. 17, Qinghua East RoadBeijing100083China
- Key Laboratory of Safety Assessment of Genetically Modified Organism (Food Safety) (MOA)College of Food Science and Nutritional EngineeringChina Agricultural UniversityNo. 17, Qinghua East RoadBeijing100083China
- Beijing Laboratory for Food Quality and SafetyCollege of Food Science and Nutritional EngineeringChina Agricultural UniversityNo. 17, Qinghua East RoadBeijing100083China
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30
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Butiuc-Keul A, Farkas A, Carpa R, Iordache D. CRISPR-Cas System: The Powerful Modulator of Accessory Genomes in Prokaryotes. Microb Physiol 2021; 32:2-17. [PMID: 34192695 DOI: 10.1159/000516643] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Being frequently exposed to foreign nucleic acids, bacteria and archaea have developed an ingenious adaptive defense system, called CRISPR-Cas. The system is composed of the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) array, together with CRISPR (cas)-associated genes. This system consists of a complex machinery that integrates fragments of foreign nucleic acids from viruses and mobile genetic elements (MGEs), into CRISPR arrays. The inserted segments (spacers) are transcribed and then used by cas proteins as guide RNAs for recognition and inactivation of the targets. Different types and families of CRISPR-Cas systems consist of distinct adaptation and effector modules with evolutionary trajectories, partially independent. The origin of the effector modules and the mechanism of spacer integration/deletion is far less clear. A review of the most recent data regarding the structure, ecology, and evolution of CRISPR-Cas systems and their role in the modulation of accessory genomes in prokaryotes is proposed in this article. The CRISPR-Cas system's impact on the physiology and ecology of prokaryotes, modulation of horizontal gene transfer events, is also discussed here. This system gained popularity after it was proposed as a tool for plant and animal embryo editing, in cancer therapy, as antimicrobial against pathogenic bacteria, and even for combating the novel coronavirus - SARS-CoV-2; thus, the newest and promising applications are reviewed as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anca Butiuc-Keul
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.,Center of Systems Biology, Biodiversity and Bioresources, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Anca Farkas
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.,Center of Systems Biology, Biodiversity and Bioresources, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Rahela Carpa
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.,Center of Systems Biology, Biodiversity and Bioresources, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Dumitrana Iordache
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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31
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McMillan RB, Kuntz VD, Devenica LM, Bediako H, Carter AR. DNA looping by protamine follows a nonuniform spatial distribution. Biophys J 2021; 120:2521-2531. [PMID: 34023297 PMCID: PMC8390855 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2021.04.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Revised: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA looping plays an important role in cells in both regulating and protecting the genome. Often, studies of looping focus on looping by prokaryotic transcription factors like lac repressor or by structural maintenance of chromosomes proteins such as condensin. Here, however, we are interested in a different looping method whereby condensing agents (charge ≥+3) such as protamine proteins neutralize the DNA, causing it to form loops and toroids. We considered two previously proposed mechanisms for DNA looping by protamine. In the first mechanism, protamine stabilizes spontaneous DNA fluctuations, forming randomly distributed loops along the DNA. In the second mechanism, protamine binds and bends the DNA to form a loop, creating a distribution of loops that is biased by protamine binding. To differentiate between these mechanisms, we imaged both spontaneous and protamine-induced loops on short-length (≤1 μm) DNA fragments using atomic force microscopy. We then compared the spatial distribution of the loops to several model distributions. A random looping model, which describes the mechanism of spontaneous DNA folding, fit the distribution of spontaneous loops, but it did not fit the distribution of protamine-induced loops. Specifically, it failed to predict a peak in the spatial distribution of loops at an intermediate location along the DNA. An electrostatic multibinding model, which was created to mimic the bind-and-bend mechanism of protamine, was a better fit of the distribution of protamine-induced loops. In this model, multiple protamines bind to the DNA electrostatically within a particular region along the DNA to coordinate the formation of a loop. We speculate that these findings will impact our understanding of protamine’s in vivo role for looping DNA into toroids and the mechanism of DNA condensation by condensing agents more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan B McMillan
- Department of Physics, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts
| | | | - Luka M Devenica
- Department of Physics, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts
| | - Hilary Bediako
- Department of Physics, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts
| | - Ashley R Carter
- Department of Physics, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts.
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32
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Accurate modeling of DNA conformational flexibility by a multivariate Ising model. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2021263118. [PMID: 33876759 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2021263118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The sequence-dependent structure and deformability of DNA play a major role for binding of proteins and regulation of gene expression. So far, most efforts to model DNA flexibility are based on unimodal harmonic stiffness models at base-pair resolution. However, multimodal behavior due to distinct conformational substates also contributes significantly to the conformational flexibility of DNA. Moreover, these local substates are correlated to their nearest-neighbor substates. A description for DNA elasticity which includes both multimodality and nearest-neighbor coupling has remained a challenge, which we solve by combining our multivariate harmonic approximation with an Ising model for the substates. In a series of applications to DNA fluctuations and protein-DNA complexes, we demonstrate substantial improvements over the unimodal stiffness model. Furthermore, our multivariate Ising model reveals a mechanical destabilization for adenine (A)-tracts to undergo nucleosome formation. Our approach offers a wide range of applications to determine sequence-dependent deformation energies of DNA and to investigate indirect readout contributions to protein-DNA recognition.
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33
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Skoruppa E, Voorspoels A, Vreede J, Carlon E. Length-scale-dependent elasticity in DNA from coarse-grained and all-atom models. Phys Rev E 2021; 103:042408. [PMID: 34005944 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.103.042408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
We investigate the influence of nonlocal couplings on the torsional and bending elasticities of DNA. Such couplings have been observed in the past by several simulation studies. Here, we use a description of DNA conformations based on the variables tilt, roll, and twist. Our analysis of both coarse-grained (oxDNA) and all-atom models indicates that these share strikingly similar features: there are strong off-site couplings for tilt-tilt and twist-twist, while they are much weaker in the roll-roll case. By developing an analytical framework to estimate bending and torsional persistence lengths in nonlocal DNA models, we show how off-site interactions generate a length-scale-dependent elasticity. Based on the simulation-generated elasticity data, the theory predicts a significant length-scale-dependent effect on torsional fluctuations but only a modest effect on bending fluctuations. These results are in agreement with experiments probing DNA mechanics from single base pair to kilobase pair scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enrico Skoruppa
- Laboratory for Soft Matter and Biophysics, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Aderik Voorspoels
- Laboratory for Soft Matter and Biophysics, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jocelyne Vreede
- Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Enrico Carlon
- Laboratory for Soft Matter and Biophysics, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
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34
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Sun T, Minhas V, Korolev N, Mirzoev A, Lyubartsev AP, Nordenskiöld L. Bottom-Up Coarse-Grained Modeling of DNA. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:645527. [PMID: 33816559 PMCID: PMC8010198 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.645527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 02/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in methodology enable effective coarse-grained modeling of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) based on underlying atomistic force field simulations. The so-called bottom-up coarse-graining practice separates fast and slow dynamic processes in molecular systems by averaging out fast degrees of freedom represented by the underlying fine-grained model. The resulting effective potential of interaction includes the contribution from fast degrees of freedom effectively in the form of potential of mean force. The pair-wise additive potential is usually adopted to construct the coarse-grained Hamiltonian for its efficiency in a computer simulation. In this review, we present a few well-developed bottom-up coarse-graining methods, discussing their application in modeling DNA properties such as DNA flexibility (persistence length), conformation, "melting," and DNA condensation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiedong Sun
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Vishal Minhas
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Nikolay Korolev
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Alexander Mirzoev
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Alexander P. Lyubartsev
- Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lars Nordenskiöld
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
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35
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Mondal M, Yang L, Cai Z, Patra P, Gao YQ. A perspective on the molecular simulation of DNA from structural and functional aspects. Chem Sci 2021; 12:5390-5409. [PMID: 34168783 PMCID: PMC8179617 DOI: 10.1039/d0sc05329e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
As genetic material, DNA not only carries genetic information by sequence, but also affects biological functions ranging from base modification to replication, transcription and gene regulation through its structural and dynamic properties and variations. The motion and structural properties of DNA involved in related biological processes are also multi-scale, ranging from single base flipping to local DNA deformation, TF binding, G-quadruplex and i-motif formation, TAD establishment, compartmentalization and even chromosome territory formation, just to name a few. The sequence-dependent physical properties of DNA play vital role in all these events, and thus it is interesting to examine how simple sequence information affects DNA and the formation of the chromatin structure in these different hierarchical orders. Accordingly, molecular simulations can provide atomistic details of interactions and conformational dynamics involved in different biological processes of DNA, including those inaccessible by current experimental methods. In this perspective, which is mainly based on our recent studies, we provide a brief overview of the atomistic simulations on how the hierarchical structure and dynamics of DNA can be influenced by its sequences, base modifications, environmental factors and protein binding in the context of the protein-DNA interactions, gene regulation and structural organization of chromatin. We try to connect the DNA sequence, the hierarchical structures of DNA and gene regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manas Mondal
- Institute of Systems and Physical Biology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory 518055 Shenzhen China
| | - Lijiang Yang
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University 100871 Beijing China
| | - Zhicheng Cai
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University 100871 Beijing China.,Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center, Peking University 100871 Beijing China
| | - Piya Patra
- Institute of Systems and Physical Biology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory 518055 Shenzhen China .,Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University 100871 Beijing China
| | - Yi Qin Gao
- Institute of Systems and Physical Biology, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory 518055 Shenzhen China .,Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University 100871 Beijing China.,Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center, Peking University 100871 Beijing China.,Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics, Peking University 100871 Beijing China
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36
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Kubiak JM, Morje AP, Lewis DJ, Wilson SL, Macfarlane RJ. Dynamic Manipulation of DNA-Programmed Crystals Embedded in a Polyelectrolyte Hydrogel. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2021; 13:11215-11223. [PMID: 33645965 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c23097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
DNA is a powerful tool for programming the three-dimensional organization of nanomaterials, where the specificity of nucleotide base-pairing can enable precise, complex, and dynamically addressable structures like colloidal crystals. However, because these DNA-programmed materials are often only stable in solution, their organization can be easily disrupted by changes to its local environment. Methods to stabilize these materials have been developed, but often come at the expense of altering or permanently fixing the materials' structures, removing many of the benefits of using DNA interactions to program assembly. Thus, these methods limit the application of DNA-assembled structures as dynamic and programmable material components. Here, a method is presented to resolve these drawbacks for DNA-grafted nanoparticles, also known as Programmable Atom Equivalents (PAEs), by embedding assembled lattices within a hydrogel matrix. The preformed lattices are exposed to polymerizable residues that electrostatically bind to the charged backbone of the DNA ligands and form a continuous, permeating gel network that stabilizes the colloidal crystals upon introduction of a radical initiator. After embedding PAEs in a hydrogel, deformation of the macroscopic matrix results in concomitant deformation of the PAE lattices, allowing superlattice structural changes to be induced by chemical methods (such as changing solute concentration to alter swelling pressure) or by application of mechanical strain. Changes to the structure of the PAE lattices are reversible and repeatable over multiple cycles and can be either isotropic (such as by swelling) or anisotropic (such as by mechanical deformation). This method of embedding nanoparticle crystals inside of a flexible and environmentally responsive hydrogel is therefore a useful tool in extending the utility of PAEs and other micro- and nanostructures assembled with DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua M Kubiak
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Amogh P Morje
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Diana J Lewis
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
- The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., 555 Technology Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Sara L Wilson
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Robert J Macfarlane
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
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37
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Saran R, Wang Y, Li ITS. Mechanical Flexibility of DNA: A Quintessential Tool for DNA Nanotechnology. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2020; 20:E7019. [PMID: 33302459 PMCID: PMC7764255 DOI: 10.3390/s20247019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2020] [Revised: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The mechanical properties of DNA have enabled it to be a structural and sensory element in many nanotechnology applications. While specific base-pairing interactions and secondary structure formation have been the most widely utilized mechanism in designing DNA nanodevices and biosensors, the intrinsic mechanical rigidity and flexibility are often overlooked. In this article, we will discuss the biochemical and biophysical origin of double-stranded DNA rigidity and how environmental and intrinsic factors such as salt, temperature, sequence, and small molecules influence it. We will then take a critical look at three areas of applications of DNA bending rigidity. First, we will discuss how DNA's bending rigidity has been utilized to create molecular springs that regulate the activities of biomolecules and cellular processes. Second, we will discuss how the nanomechanical response induced by DNA rigidity has been used to create conformational changes as sensors for molecular force, pH, metal ions, small molecules, and protein interactions. Lastly, we will discuss how DNA's rigidity enabled its application in creating DNA-based nanostructures from DNA origami to nanomachines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Runjhun Saran
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, The University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC V1V1V7, Canada;
| | - Yong Wang
- Department of Physics, Materials Science and Engineering Program, Cell and Molecular Biology Program, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA;
| | - Isaac T. S. Li
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, The University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC V1V1V7, Canada;
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38
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Jung WH, Chen E, Veneziano R, Gaitanaros S, Chen Y. Stretching DNA origami: effect of nicks and Holliday junctions on the axial stiffness. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:12407-12414. [PMID: 33152066 PMCID: PMC7708044 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2020] [Revised: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The axial stiffness of DNA origami is determined as a function of key nanostructural characteristics. Different constructs of two-helix nanobeams with specified densities of nicks and Holliday junctions are synthesized and stretched by fluid flow. Implementing single particle tracking to extract force–displacement curves enables the measurement of DNA origami stiffness values at the enthalpic elasticity regime, i.e. for forces larger than 15 pN. Comparisons between ligated and nicked helices show that the latter exhibit nearly a two-fold decrease in axial stiffness. Numerical models that treat the DNA helices as elastic rods are used to evaluate the local loss of stiffness at the locations of nicks and Holliday junctions. It is shown that the models reproduce the experimental data accurately, indicating that both of these design characteristics yield a local stiffness two orders of magnitude smaller than the corresponding value of the intact double-helix. This local degradation in turn leads to a macroscopic loss of stiffness that is evaluated numerically for multi-helix DNA bundles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Hung Jung
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, USA.,Institute for NanoBioTechnology, Johns Hopkins University, USA.,Center for Cell Dynamics, Johns Hopkins University, USA
| | - Enze Chen
- Department of Civil and Systems Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, USA
| | - Remi Veneziano
- Department of Bioengineering, George Mason University, USA.,Institute for Advanced Biomedical Research, George Mason University, USA
| | - Stavros Gaitanaros
- Department of Civil and Systems Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, USA
| | - Yun Chen
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, USA.,Institute for NanoBioTechnology, Johns Hopkins University, USA.,Center for Cell Dynamics, Johns Hopkins University, USA
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39
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Desai PR, Brahmachari S, Marko JF, Das S, Neuman KC. Coarse-grained modelling of DNA plectoneme pinning in the presence of base-pair mismatches. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:10713-10725. [PMID: 33045724 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 09/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Damaged or mismatched DNA bases result in the formation of physical defects in double-stranded DNA. In vivo, defects in DNA must be rapidly and efficiently repaired to maintain cellular function and integrity. Defects can also alter the mechanical response of DNA to bending and twisting constraints, both of which are important in defining the mechanics of DNA supercoiling. Here, we use coarse-grained molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and supporting statistical-mechanical theory to study the effect of mismatched base pairs on DNA supercoiling. Our simulations show that plectoneme pinning at the mismatch site is deterministic under conditions of relatively high force (>2 pN) and high salt concentration (>0.5 M NaCl). Under physiologically relevant conditions of lower force (0.3 pN) and lower salt concentration (0.2 M NaCl), we find that plectoneme pinning becomes probabilistic and the pinning probability increases with the mismatch size. These findings are in line with experimental observations. The simulation framework, validated with experimental results and supported by the theoretical predictions, provides a way to study the effect of defects on DNA supercoiling and the dynamics of supercoiling in molecular detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parth Rakesh Desai
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.,Laboratory of Single Molecule Biophysics, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | | | - John F Marko
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.,Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
| | - Siddhartha Das
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Keir C Neuman
- Laboratory of Single Molecule Biophysics, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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40
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González B, Monroe L, Li K, Yan R, Wright E, Walter T, Kihara D, Weintraub ST, Thomas JA, Serwer P, Jiang W. Phage G Structure at 6.1 Å Resolution, Condensed DNA, and Host Identity Revision to a Lysinibacillus. J Mol Biol 2020; 432:4139-4153. [PMID: 32454153 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2020.05.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2019] [Revised: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Phage G has the largest capsid and genome of any known propagated phage. Many aspects of its structure, assembly, and replication have not been elucidated. Herein, we present the dsDNA-packed and empty phage G capsid at 6.1 and 9 Å resolution, respectively, using cryo-EM for structure determination and mass spectrometry for protein identification. The major capsid protein, gp27, is identified and found to share the HK97-fold universally conserved in all previously solved dsDNA phages. Trimers of the decoration protein, gp26, sit on the 3-fold axes and are thought to enhance the interactions of the hexameric capsomeres of gp27, for other phages encoding decoration proteins. Phage G's decoration protein is longer than what has been reported in other phages, and we suspect the extra interaction surface area helps stabilize the capsid. We identified several additional capsid proteins, including a candidate for the prohead protease responsible for processing gp27. Furthermore, cryo-EM reveals a range of partially full, condensed DNA densities that appear to have no contact with capsid shell. Three analyses confirm that the phage G host is a Lysinibacillus, and not Bacillus megaterium: identity of host proteins in our mass spectrometry analyses, genome sequence of the phage G host, and host range of phage G.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brenda González
- Department of Biological Sciences, Hockmeyer Hall of Structural Biology, Purdue University, 240 South Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1971, USA
| | - Lyman Monroe
- Department of Biological Sciences, Hockmeyer Hall of Structural Biology, Purdue University, 240 South Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1971, USA
| | - Kunpeng Li
- Department of Biological Sciences, Hockmeyer Hall of Structural Biology, Purdue University, 240 South Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1971, USA
| | - Rui Yan
- Department of Biological Sciences, Hockmeyer Hall of Structural Biology, Purdue University, 240 South Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1971, USA
| | - Elena Wright
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA
| | - Thomas Walter
- Department of Biological Sciences, Hockmeyer Hall of Structural Biology, Purdue University, 240 South Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1971, USA
| | - Daisuke Kihara
- Department of Biological Sciences, Hockmeyer Hall of Structural Biology, Purdue University, 240 South Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1971, USA; Department of Computer Science, Purdue University, 305 North University Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2107, USA
| | - Susan T Weintraub
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA
| | - Julie A Thomas
- Gosnell School of Life Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology, 85 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623, USA
| | - Philip Serwer
- Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, TX 78229-3900, USA
| | - Wen Jiang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Hockmeyer Hall of Structural Biology, Purdue University, 240 South Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1971, USA; Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, 560 Oval Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2084, USA; Purdue Cryo-EM Facility, Purdue University, Hockmeyer Hall of Structural Biology, 240 South Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1971, USA; Purdue Center for Cancer Research, Purdue University, 201 South University Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; Purdue Institute for Infectious, Immunology and Inflammatory Diseases, Purdue University, 207 South Martin Jischke Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA; Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery, Purdue University, 720 Clinic Drive, West Lafayette, IN 47097, USA.
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41
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Walther J, Dans PD, Balaceanu A, Hospital A, Bayarri G, Orozco M. A multi-modal coarse grained model of DNA flexibility mappable to the atomistic level. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:e29. [PMID: 31956910 PMCID: PMC7049737 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2019] [Revised: 12/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We present a new coarse grained method for the simulation of duplex DNA. The algorithm uses a generalized multi-harmonic model that can represent any multi-normal distribution of helical parameters, thus avoiding caveats of current mesoscopic models for DNA simulation and representing a breakthrough in the field. The method has been parameterized from accurate parmbsc1 atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of all unique tetranucleotide sequences of DNA embedded in long duplexes and takes advantage of the correlation between helical states and backbone configurations to derive atomistic representations of DNA. The algorithm, which is implemented in a simple web interface and in a standalone package reproduces with high computational efficiency the structural landscape of long segments of DNA untreatable by atomistic molecular dynamics simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jürgen Walther
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pablo D Dans
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Biological Sciences, CENUR North Coast, University of the Republic, 50000 Salto, Uruguay
| | - Alexandra Balaceanu
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Adam Hospital
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Genís Bayarri
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Modesto Orozco
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Biomedicine, The University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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42
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Neipel J, Brandani G, Schiessel H. Translational nucleosome positioning: A computational study. Phys Rev E 2020; 101:022405. [PMID: 32168683 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.101.022405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
About three-quarters of eukaryotic DNA is wrapped into nucleosomes; DNA spools with a protein core. The affinity of a given DNA stretch to be incorporated into a nucleosome is known to depend on the base-pair sequence-dependent geometry and elasticity of the DNA double helix. This causes the rotational and translational positioning of nucleosomes. In this study we ask the question whether the latter can be predicted by a simple coarse-grained DNA model with sequence-dependent elasticity, the rigid base-pair model. Whereas this model is known to be rather robust in predicting rotational nucleosome positioning, we show that the translational positioning is a rather subtle effect that is dominated by the guanine-cytosine content dependence of entropy rather than energy. A correct qualitative prediction within the rigid base-pair framework can only be achieved by assuming that DNA elasticity effectively changes on complexation into the nucleosome complex. With that extra assumption we arrive at a model which gives an excellent quantitative agreement to experimental in vitro nucleosome maps, under the additional assumption that nucleosomes equilibrate their positions only locally.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Neipel
- Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, 01187 Dresden, Germany.,Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80333 München, Germany.,Instituut-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden, Postbus 9506, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - G Brandani
- Department of Biophysics, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan
| | - H Schiessel
- Instituut-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden, Postbus 9506, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
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43
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Cai X, Arias DS, Velazquez LR, Vexler S, Bevier AL, Fygenson DK. DNA Nunchucks: Nanoinstrumentation for Single-Molecule Measurement of Stiffness and Bending. NANO LETTERS 2020; 20:1388-1395. [PMID: 31872766 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b04980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Bending of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) has important applications in biology and engineering, but measurement of DNA bend angles is notoriously difficult and rarely dynamic. Here we introduce a nanoscale instrument that makes dynamic measurement of the bend in short dsDNAs easy enough to be routine. The instrument works by embedding the ends of a dsDNA in stiff, fluorescently labeled DNA nanotubes, thereby mechanically magnifying their orientations. The DNA nanotubes are readily confined to a plane and imaged while freely diffusing. Single-molecule bend angles are rapidly and reliably extracted from the images by a neural network. We find that angular variance across a population increases with dsDNA length, as predicted by the worm-like chain model, although individual distributions can differ significantly from one another. For dsDNAs with phased A6-tracts, we measure an intrinsic bend of 17 ± 1° per A6-tract, consistent with other methods, and a length-dependent angular variance that indicates A6-tracts are (80 ± 30)% stiffer than generic dsDNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyue Cai
- Department of Physics , University of California, Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California , United States
| | - D Sebastian Arias
- Department of Physics , University of California, Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California , United States
| | - Lourdes R Velazquez
- Department of Physics , University of California, Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California , United States
- Biomolecular Science & Engineering Program , University of California, Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California , United States
| | - Shelby Vexler
- Biomolecular Science & Engineering Program , University of California, Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California , United States
| | - Alexander L Bevier
- Department of Physics , University of California, Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California , United States
| | - D Kuchnir Fygenson
- Department of Physics , University of California, Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California , United States
- Biomolecular Science & Engineering Program , University of California, Santa Barbara , Santa Barbara , California , United States
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44
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Velasco-Berrelleza V, Burman M, Shepherd JW, Leake MC, Golestanian R, Noy A. SerraNA: a program to determine nucleic acids elasticity from simulation data. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:19254-19266. [DOI: 10.1039/d0cp02713h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
AT-rich motifs can generate extreme mechanical properties, which are critical for creating strong global bends when phased properly.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Mark C. Leake
- Department of Physics
- University of York
- York
- UK
- Department of Biology
| | - Ramin Golestanian
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS)
- Göttingen
- Germany
- Rudolf Peierls Center for Theoretical Physics
- University of Oxford
| | - Agnes Noy
- Department of Physics
- University of York
- York
- UK
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45
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Zhou R, Gao YQ. Polymer models for the mechanisms of chromatin 3D folding: review and perspective. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2020; 22:20189-20201. [DOI: 10.1039/d0cp01877e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
In this perspective paper, classical physical models for mammalian interphase chromatin folding are reviewed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rui Zhou
- Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center
- Peking University
- 100871 Beijing
- China
| | - Yi Qin Gao
- Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center
- Peking University
- 100871 Beijing
- China
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics
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46
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Dans PD, Balaceanu A, Pasi M, Patelli AS, Petkevičiūtė D, Walther J, Hospital A, Bayarri G, Lavery R, Maddocks JH, Orozco M. The static and dynamic structural heterogeneities of B-DNA: extending Calladine-Dickerson rules. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 47:11090-11102. [PMID: 31624840 PMCID: PMC6868377 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkz905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2019] [Revised: 09/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
We present a multi-laboratory effort to describe the structural and dynamical properties of duplex B-DNA under physiological conditions. By processing a large amount of atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, we determine the sequence-dependent structural properties of DNA as expressed in the equilibrium distribution of its stochastic dynamics. Our analysis includes a study of first and second moments of the equilibrium distribution, which can be accurately captured by a harmonic model, but with nonlocal sequence-dependence. We characterize the sequence-dependent choreography of backbone and base movements modulating the non-Gaussian or anharmonic effects manifested in the higher moments of the dynamics of the duplex when sampling the equilibrium distribution. Contrary to prior assumptions, such anharmonic deformations are not rare in DNA and can play a significant role in determining DNA conformation within complexes. Polymorphisms in helical geometries are particularly prevalent for certain tetranucleotide sequence contexts and are always coupled to a complex network of coordinated changes in the backbone. The analysis of our simulations, which contain instances of all tetranucleotide sequences, allow us to extend Calladine-Dickerson rules used for decades to interpret the average geometry of DNA, leading to a set of rules with quantitative predictive power that encompass nonlocal sequence-dependence and anharmonic fluctuations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo D Dans
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology. Baldiri Reixac 10–12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Republic (UdelaR), CENUR Gral. Rivera 1350, 50000 Salto, Uruguay
| | - Alexandra Balaceanu
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology. Baldiri Reixac 10–12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marco Pasi
- LBPA, École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay, 61 Av. du Pdt Wilson, Cachan 94235, France
- Bases Moléculaires et Structurales des Systèmes Infectieux, Univ. Lyon I/CNRS UMR 5086, IBCP, 7 Passage du Vercors, Lyon 69367, France
| | - Alessandro S Patelli
- Institute of Mathematics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Daiva Petkevičiūtė
- Institute of Mathematics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentų g. 50, 51368 Kaunas, Lithuania
| | - Jürgen Walther
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology. Baldiri Reixac 10–12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Adam Hospital
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology. Baldiri Reixac 10–12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Genís Bayarri
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology. Baldiri Reixac 10–12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Richard Lavery
- Bases Moléculaires et Structurales des Systèmes Infectieux, Univ. Lyon I/CNRS UMR 5086, IBCP, 7 Passage du Vercors, Lyon 69367, France
| | - John H Maddocks
- Institute of Mathematics, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Modesto Orozco
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology. Baldiri Reixac 10–12, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. University of Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
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47
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De Bruin L, Maddocks JH. cgDNAweb: a web interface to the cgDNA sequence-dependent coarse-grain model of double-stranded DNA. Nucleic Acids Res 2019; 46:W5-W10. [PMID: 29905876 PMCID: PMC6030996 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gky351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Accepted: 05/09/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The sequence-dependent statistical mechanical properties of fragments of double-stranded DNA is believed to be pertinent to its biological function at length scales from a few base pairs (or bp) to a few hundreds of bp, e.g. indirect read-out protein binding sites, nucleosome positioning sequences, phased A-tracts, etc. In turn, the equilibrium statistical mechanics behaviour of DNA depends upon its ground state configuration, or minimum free energy shape, as well as on its fluctuations as governed by its stiffness (in an appropriate sense). We here present cgDNAweb, which provides browser-based interactive visualization of the sequence-dependent ground states of double-stranded DNA molecules, as predicted by the underlying cgDNA coarse-grain rigid-base model of fragments with arbitrary sequence. The cgDNAweb interface is specifically designed to facilitate comparison between ground state shapes of different sequences. The server is freely available at cgDNAweb.epfl.ch with no login requirement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lennart De Bruin
- Instituut-Lorentz for Theoretical Physics, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9506, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - John H Maddocks
- Institut de Mathématiques, Station 8, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland
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48
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Harrison RM, Romano F, Ouldridge TE, Louis AA, Doye JPK. Identifying Physical Causes of Apparent Enhanced Cyclization of Short DNA Molecules with a Coarse-Grained Model. J Chem Theory Comput 2019; 15:4660-4672. [PMID: 31282669 PMCID: PMC6694408 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.9b00112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
![]()
DNA
cyclization is a powerful technique to gain insight into the nature
of DNA bending. While the wormlike chain model provides a good description
of small to moderate bending fluctuations, it is expected to break
down for large bending. Recent cyclization experiments on strongly
bent shorter molecules indeed suggest enhanced flexibility over and
above that expected from the wormlike chain. Here, we use a coarse-grained
model of DNA to investigate the subtle thermodynamics of DNA cyclization
for molecules ranging from 30 to 210 base pairs. As the molecules
get shorter, we find increasing deviations between our computed equilibrium j-factor and the classic wormlike chain predictions of Shimada
and Yamakawa for a torsionally aligned looped molecule. These deviations
are due to sharp kinking, first at nicks, and only subsequently in
the body of the duplex. At the shortest lengths, substantial fraying
at the ends of duplex domains is the dominant method of relaxation.
We also estimate the dynamic j-factor measured in
recent FRET experiments. We find that the dynamic j-factor is systematically larger than its equilibrium counterpart—with
the deviation larger for shorter molecules—because not all
the stress present in the fully cyclized state is present in the transition
state. These observations are important for the interpretation of
recent cyclization experiments, suggesting that measured anomalously
high j-factors may not necessarily indicate non-WLC
behavior in the body of duplexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan M Harrison
- Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry , University of Oxford , South Parks Road , Oxford OX1 3QZ , United Kingdom
| | - Flavio Romano
- Dipartimento di Scienze Molecolari e Nanosistemi , Universitá Ca' Foscari Venezia , I-30123 Venezia , Italy
| | - Thomas E Ouldridge
- Imperial College Centre for Synthetic Biology and Department of Bioengineering , Imperial College London , 180 Queen's Road , London SW7 2AZ , United Kingdom
| | - Ard A Louis
- Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, Department of Physics , University of Oxford , 1 Keble Road , Oxford OX1 3NP , United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan P K Doye
- Physical & Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry , University of Oxford , South Parks Road , Oxford OX1 3QZ , United Kingdom
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49
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Suma A, Poppleton E, Matthies M, Šulc P, Romano F, Louis AA, Doye JPK, Micheletti C, Rovigatti L. TacoxDNA: A user-friendly web server for simulations of complex DNA structures, from single strands to origami. J Comput Chem 2019; 40:2586-2595. [PMID: 31301183 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.26029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2019] [Revised: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Simulations of nucleic acids at different levels of structural details are increasingly used to complement and interpret experiments in different fields, from biophysics to medicine and materials science. However, the various structural models currently available for DNA and RNA and their accompanying suites of computational tools can be very rarely used in a synergistic fashion. The tacoxDNA webserver and standalone software package presented here are a step toward a long-sought interoperability of nucleic acids models. The webserver offers a simple interface for converting various common input formats of DNA structures and setting up molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Users can, for instance, design DNA rings with different topologies, such as knots, with and without supercoiling, by simply providing an XYZ coordinate file of the DNA centre-line. More complex DNA geometries, as designable in the cadnano, CanDo and Tiamat tools, can also be converted to all-atom or oxDNA representations, which can then be used to run MD simulations. Though the latter are currently geared toward the native and LAMMPS oxDNA representations, the open-source package is designed to be further expandable. TacoxDNA is available at http://tacoxdna.sissa.it. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Suma
- Institute for Computational Molecular Science, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19122.,SISSA-Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Via Bonomea, 265, 34136, Trieste, Italy
| | - Erik Poppleton
- Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001, South McAllister Avenue, Tempe, Arizona 85281
| | - Michael Matthies
- Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfaed), Faculty of Chemistry and Food Chemistry, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062, Dresden, Germany
| | - Petr Šulc
- Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001, South McAllister Avenue, Tempe, Arizona 85281
| | - Flavio Romano
- Dipartimento di Scienze Molecolari e Nanosistemi, Universitá Ca Foscari di Venezia, Via Torino, 155, 30172, Venezia Mestre, Italy
| | - Ard A Louis
- Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, University of Oxford, 1 Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3NP, UK
| | - Jonathan P K Doye
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QZ, UK
| | - Cristian Micheletti
- SISSA-Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Via Bonomea, 265, 34136, Trieste, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Rovigatti
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Universitá di Roma, Piazzale A. Moro, 2, 00185, Rome, Italy.,CNR-ISC, Uos Sapienza, Piazzale A. Moro, 2, 00185, Rome, Italy
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50
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Nomidis SK, Skoruppa E, Carlon E, Marko JF. Twist-bend coupling and the statistical mechanics of the twistable wormlike-chain model of DNA: Perturbation theory and beyond. Phys Rev E 2019; 99:032414. [PMID: 30999490 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.99.032414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The simplest model of DNA mechanics describes the double helix as a continuous rod with twist and bend elasticity. Recent work has discussed the relevance of a little-studied coupling G between twisting and bending, known to arise from the groove asymmetry of the DNA double helix. Here the effect of G on the statistical mechanics of long DNA molecules subject to applied forces and torques is investigated. We present a perturbative calculation of the effective torsional stiffness C_{eff} for small twist-bend coupling. We find that the "bare" G is "screened" by thermal fluctuations, in the sense that the low-force, long-molecule effective free energy is that of a model with G=0 but with long-wavelength bending and twisting rigidities that are shifted by G-dependent amounts. Using results for torsional and bending rigidities for freely fluctuating DNA, we show how our perturbative results can be extended to a nonperturbative regime. These results are in excellent agreement with numerical calculations for Monte Carlo "triad" and molecular dynamics "oxDNA" models, characterized by different degrees of coarse graining, validating the perturbative and nonperturbative analyses. While our theory is in generally good quantitative agreement with experiment, the predicted torsional stiffness does systematically deviate from experimental data, suggesting that there are as-yet-uncharacterized aspects of DNA twisting-stretching mechanics relevant to low-force, long-molecule mechanical response, which are not captured by widely used coarse-grained models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanos K Nomidis
- KU Leuven, Institute for Theoretical Physics, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.,Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol, Belgium
| | - Enrico Skoruppa
- KU Leuven, Institute for Theoretical Physics, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Enrico Carlon
- KU Leuven, Institute for Theoretical Physics, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - John F Marko
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Department of Molecular Biosciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA
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