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Kyriacou E, Heun P. Centromere structure and function: lessons from Drosophila. Genetics 2023; 225:iyad170. [PMID: 37931172 PMCID: PMC10697814 DOI: 10.1093/genetics/iyad170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster serves as a powerful model organism for advancing our understanding of biological processes, not just by studying its similarities with other organisms including ourselves but also by investigating its differences to unravel the underlying strategies that evolved to achieve a common goal. This is particularly true for centromeres, specialized genomic regions present on all eukaryotic chromosomes that function as the platform for the assembly of kinetochores. These multiprotein structures play an essential role during cell division by connecting chromosomes to spindle microtubules in mitosis and meiosis to mediate accurate chromosome segregation. Here, we will take a historical perspective on the study of fly centromeres, aiming to highlight not only the important similarities but also the differences identified that contributed to advancing centromere biology. We will discuss the current knowledge on the sequence and chromatin organization of fly centromeres together with advances for identification of centromeric proteins. Then, we will describe both the factors and processes involved in centromere organization and how they work together to provide an epigenetic identity to the centromeric locus. Lastly, we will take an evolutionary point of view of centromeres and briefly discuss current views on centromere drive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eftychia Kyriacou
- Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC), School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Patrick Heun
- Wellcome Centre of Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, EH9 3BF Edinburgh, UK
- Department of Biology, Technische Universität Darmstadt, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany
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2
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Zhao Y, Chandrasekaran AR, Rusling DA, Woloszyn K, Hao Y, Hernandez C, Vecchioni S, Ohayon YP, Mao C, Seeman NC, Sha R. The Formation and Displacement of Ordered DNA Triplexes in Self-Assembled Three-Dimensional DNA Crystals. J Am Chem Soc 2023; 145:3599-3605. [PMID: 36731121 PMCID: PMC10032566 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.2c12667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Reconfigurable structures engineered through DNA hybridization and self-assembly offer both structural and dynamic applications in nanotechnology. Here, we have demonstrated that strand displacement of triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) can be translated to a robust macroscopic DNA crystal by coloring the crystals with covalently attached fluorescent dyes. We show that three different types of triplex strand displacement are feasible within the DNA crystals and the bound TFOs can be removed and/or replaced by (a) changing the pH from 5 to 7, (b) the addition of the Watson-Crick complement to a TFO containing a short toehold, and (c) the addition of a longer TFO that uses the duplex edge as a toehold. We have also proved by X-ray diffraction that the structure of the crystals remains as designed in the presence of the TFOs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Arun Richard Chandrasekaran
- The RNA Institute, University of Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York 12222, United States
| | - David A Rusling
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 2DT, U.K
| | - Karol Woloszyn
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Yudong Hao
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Carina Hernandez
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Simon Vecchioni
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Yoel P Ohayon
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Chengde Mao
- Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, United States
| | - Nadrian C Seeman
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
| | - Ruojie Sha
- Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States
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Gorab E. Triple-Helical DNA in Drosophila Heterochromatin. Cells 2018; 7:cells7120227. [PMID: 30477098 PMCID: PMC6316130 DOI: 10.3390/cells7120227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2018] [Revised: 11/15/2018] [Accepted: 11/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Polynucleotide chains obeying Watson-Crick pairing are apt to form non-canonical complexes such as triple-helical nucleic acids. From early characterization in vitro, their occurrence in vivo has been strengthened by increasing evidence, although most remain circumstantial particularly for triplex DNA. Here, different approaches were employed to specify triple-stranded DNA sequences in the Drosophila melanogaster chromosomes. Antibodies to triplex nucleic acids, previously characterized, bind to centromeric regions of mitotic chromosomes and also to the polytene section 59E of mutant strains carrying the brown dominant allele, indicating that AAGAG tandem satellite repeats are triplex-forming sequences. The satellite probe hybridized to AAGAG-containing regions omitting chromosomal DNA denaturation, as expected, for the intra-molecular triplex DNA formation model in which single-stranded DNA coexists with triplexes. In addition, Thiazole Orange, previously described as capable of reproducing results obtained by antibodies to triple-helical DNA, binds to AAGAG repeats in situ thus validating both detection methods. Unusual phenotype and nuclear structure exhibited by Drosophila correlate with the non-canonical conformation of tandem satellite arrays. From the approaches that lead to the identification of triple-helical DNA in chromosomes, facilities particularly provided by Thiazole Orange use may broaden the investigation on the occurrence of triplex DNA in eukaryotic genomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo Gorab
- Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-090, Brazil.
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Abstract
The physicochemical properties of small molecules as well as macromolecules are modulated by solution pH, and DNA is no exception. Special sequences of DNA can adopt unusual conformations e.g., triplex, i-motif and A-motif, depending on solution pH. The specific range of pH for these unusual structures is dictated by the pKa of protonation of the relevant nucleobase involved in the resultant non-canonical base pairing that is required to stabilise the structure. The biological significance of these pH-dependent structures is not yet clear. However, these non-B-DNA structures have been used to design different devices to direct chemical reactions, generate mechanical force, sense pH, etc. The performance of these devices can be monitored by a photonic signal. They are autonomous and their ‘waste free’ operation cycles makes them highly processive. Applications of these devices help to increase understanding of the structural polymorphism of the motifs themselves. The design of these devices has continuously evolved to improve their performance efficiency in different contexts. In some examples, these devices have been shown to perform inside complex living systems with similar efficiencies, to report on the chemical environment there. The robust performance of these devices opens up exciting possibilities for pH-sensitive DNA devices in the study of various pH-regulated biological events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonali Saha
- National Centre for Biological Sciences TIFR, GKVK, Bellary Road, Bangalore 560065 India
| | - Yamuna Krishnan*
- National Centre for Biological Sciences TIFR, GKVK, Bellary Road, Bangalore 560065 India
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7
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Abstract
Genetic screens in Drosophila have been instrumental in distinguishing approximately 390 loci involved in position effect variegation and heterochromatin stabilization. Most of the identified genes [so-called Su(var) and E(var) genes] are also conserved in mammals, where more than 50 of their gene products are known to localize to constitutive heterochromatin. From these proteins, approximately 12 core heterochromatin components can be inferred. In addition, there are approximately 30 additional Su(var) and 10 E(var) factors that can, under distinct developmental options, interchange with constitutive heterochromatin and participate in the partitioning of the genome into repressed and active chromatin domains. A significant fraction of the Su(var) and E(var) factors are enzymes that respond to environmental and metabolic signals, thereby allowing both the variation and propagation of epigenetic states to a dynamic chromatin template. Moreover, the misregulation of human SU(VAR) and E(VAR) function can advance cancer and many other human diseases including more complex disorders. As such, mammalian Su(var) and E(var) genes and their products provide a rich source of novel targets for diagnosis of and pharmaceutical intervention in many human diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barna D Fodor
- Max-Planck Institute of Immunobiology, D-79108 Freiburg, Germany.
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Paris C, Geinguenaud F, Gouyette C, Liquier J, Lacoste J. Mechanism of copper mediated triple helix formation at neutral pH in Drosophila satellite repeats. Biophys J 2007; 92:2498-506. [PMID: 17208971 PMCID: PMC1864847 DOI: 10.1529/biophysj.106.099788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The highly repeated Drosophila melanogaster AAGAGAG satellite sequence is present at each chromosome centromere of the fly. We demonstrate here how, under nearly physiological pH conditions, these sequences can form a pyrimidine triple helix containing T.A-T and CCu.G-C base triplets, stabilized by Cu2+ metal ions in amounts mirroring in vivo concentrations. Ultraviolet experiments were used to monitor the triple helix formation at pH 7.2 in presence of Cu2+ ions. Triplex melting is observed at 23 degrees C. Furthermore, a characteristic signature of triple helix formation was obtained by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The stabilization of the C.G-C base triplets at pH 7.2 is shown to occur via interactions of Cu2+ ions on the third strand cytosine N3 atom and on the guanine N7 atom of the polypurine target strand forming CCu.G-C triplets. Under the same neutral pH conditions in absence of Cu2+ ions, the triple helix fails to form. Possible biological implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Paris
- Laboratoire de Biophysique Moléculaire, Cellulaire et Tissulaire (BioMoCeTi), Unité Mixte de Recherche, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 7033, Université Paris 13, 93017 Bobigny cedex, France
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