1
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Codispoti S, Yamaguchi T, Makarov M, Giacobelli VG, Mašek M, Kolář MH, Sanchez Rocha AC, Fujishima K, Zanchetta G, Hlouchová K. The interplay between peptides and RNA is critical for protoribosome compartmentalization and stability. Nucleic Acids Res 2024:gkae823. [PMID: 39340303 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2024] [Revised: 09/04/2024] [Accepted: 09/10/2024] [Indexed: 09/30/2024] Open
Abstract
The ribosome, owing to its exceptional conservation, harbours a remarkable molecular fossil known as the protoribosome. It surrounds the peptidyl transferase center (PTC), responsible for peptide bond formation. While previous studies have demonstrated the PTC activity in RNA alone, our investigation reveals the intricate roles of the ribosomal protein fragments (rPeptides) within the ribosomal core. This research highlights the significance of rPeptides in stability and coacervation of two distinct protoribosomal evolutionary stages. The 617nt 'big' protoribosome model, which associates with rPeptides specifically, exhibits a structurally defined and rigid nature, further stabilized by the peptides. In contrast, the 136nt 'small' model, previously linked to peptidyltransferase activity, displays greater structural flexibility. While this construct interacts with rPeptides with lower specificity, they induce coacervation of the 'small' protoribosome across a wide concentration range, which is concomitantly dependent on the RNA sequence and structure. Moreover, these conditions protect RNA from degradation. This phenomenon suggests a significant evolutionary advantage in the RNA-protein interaction at the early stages of ribosome evolution. The distinct properties of the two protoribosomal stages suggest that rPeptides initially provided compartmentalization and prevented RNA degradation, preceding the emergence of specific RNA-protein interactions crucial for the ribosomal structural integrity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Codispoti
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Mediche e Medicina Traslazionale, Università di Milano, Segrate 20054, Italy
| | - Tomoko Yamaguchi
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
- Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague 12800, Czech Republic
| | - Mikhail Makarov
- Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague 12800, Czech Republic
| | - Valerio G Giacobelli
- Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague 12800, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Mašek
- Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology, Technicka 5, 16628 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Michal H Kolář
- Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology, Technicka 5, 16628 Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Kosuke Fujishima
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8550, Japan
- Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, 5322 Endo, Fujisawa 252-0882, Japan
| | - Giuliano Zanchetta
- Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Mediche e Medicina Traslazionale, Università di Milano, Segrate 20054, Italy
| | - Klára Hlouchová
- Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague 12800, Czech Republic
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo n. 2, Prague 16610, Czech Republic
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2
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Zhang S, Wang Z, Qiao J, Yu T, Zhang W. The effect of the loop on the thermodynamic and kinetic of single base pair in pseudoknot. J Chem Phys 2024; 161:085105. [PMID: 39212209 DOI: 10.1063/5.0216593] [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: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 08/11/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024] Open
Abstract
RNA pseudoknots are RNA molecules with specialized three-dimensional structures that play important roles in various biological processes. To understand the functions and mechanisms of pseudoknots, it is essential to elucidate their structures and folding pathways. The most fundamental step in RNA folding is the opening and closing of a base pair. The effect of flexible loops on the base pair in pseudoknots remains unclear. In this work, we use molecular dynamics simulations and Markov state model to study the configurations, thermodynamic and kinetic of single base pair in pseudoknots. We find that the presence of the loop leads to a trap state. In addition, the rate-limiting step for the formation of base pair is the disruption of the trap state, rather than the open state to the closed state, which is quite different from the previous studies on non-pseudoknot RNA. For the thermodynamic parameters in pseudoknots, we find that the entropy difference upon opening the base pair between this simulation and the nearest-neighbor model results from the different entropy of different lengths of loop in solution. The thermodynamic parameters of the stack in pseudoknot are close to the nearest-neighbor parameters. The bases on the loop have different distribution patterns in different states, and the slow transition states of the loop are determined by the orientation of the bases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuhao Zhang
- Department of Physics, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhen Wang
- Department of Physics, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Jie Qiao
- Department of Physics, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Ting Yu
- Department of Physics, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenbing Zhang
- Department of Physics, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China
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3
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Knappeová B, Mlýnský V, Pykal M, Šponer J, Banáš P, Otyepka M, Krepl M. Comprehensive Assessment of Force-Field Performance in Molecular Dynamics Simulations of DNA/RNA Hybrid Duplexes. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:6917-6929. [PMID: 39012172 PMCID: PMC11325551 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00601] [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: 07/17/2024]
Abstract
Mixed double helices formed by RNA and DNA strands, commonly referred to as hybrid duplexes or hybrids, are essential in biological processes like transcription and reverse transcription. They are also important for their applications in CRISPR gene editing and nanotechnology. Yet, despite their significance, the hybrid duplexes have been seldom modeled by atomistic molecular dynamics methodology, and there is no benchmark study systematically assessing the force-field performance. Here, we present an extensive benchmark study of polypurine tract (PPT) and Dickerson-Drew dodecamer hybrid duplexes using contemporary and commonly utilized pairwise additive and polarizable nucleic acid force fields. Our findings indicate that none of the available force-field choices accurately reproduces all the characteristic structural details of the hybrid duplexes. The AMBER force fields are unable to populate the C3'-endo (north) pucker of the DNA strand and underestimate inclination. The CHARMM force field accurately describes the C3'-endo pucker and inclination but shows base pair instability. The polarizable force fields struggle with accurately reproducing the helical parameters. Some force-field combinations even demonstrate a discernible conflict between the RNA and DNA parameters. In this work, we offer a candid assessment of the force-field performance for mixed DNA/RNA duplexes. We provide guidance on selecting utilizable force-field combinations and also highlight potential pitfalls and best practices for obtaining optimal performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbora Knappeová
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, Brno 612 00, Czech Republic
| | - Vojtěch Mlýnský
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, Brno 612 00, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Pykal
- Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute, CATRIN, Palacký University, Křížkovského 511/8, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Šponer
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, Brno 612 00, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Banáš
- Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute, CATRIN, Palacký University, Křížkovského 511/8, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Otyepka
- Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute, CATRIN, Palacký University, Křížkovského 511/8, Olomouc 779 00, Czech Republic
- IT4Innovations, VSB-Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 2172/15, Ostrava-Poruba 708 00, Czech Republic
| | - Miroslav Krepl
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, Brno 612 00, Czech Republic
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4
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Sarkar P, Gopi P, Pandya P, Paria S, Hossain M, Siddiqui MH, Alamri S, Bhadra K. Insights on the comparative affinity of ribonucleic acids with plant-based beta carboline alkaloid, harmine: Spectroscopic, calorimetric and computational evaluation. Heliyon 2024; 10:e34183. [PMID: 39100473 PMCID: PMC11295990 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e34183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2024] [Revised: 07/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/04/2024] [Indexed: 08/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Small molecules as ligands target multifunctional ribonucleic acids (RNA) for therapeutic engagement. This study explores how the anticancer DNA intercalator harmine interacts various motifs of RNAs, including the single-stranded A-form poly (rA), the clover leaf tRNAphe, and the double-stranded A-form poly (rC)-poly (rG). Harmine showed the affinity to the polynucleotides in the order, poly (rA) > tRNAphe > poly (rC)·poly (rG). While no induced circular dichroism change was detected with poly (rC)poly (rG), significant structural alterations of poly (rA) followed by tRNAphe and occurrence of concurrent initiation of optical activity in the attached achiral molecule of alkaloid was reported. At 25 °C, the affinity further showed exothermic and entropy-driven binding. The interaction also highlighted heat capacity (ΔC o p ) and Gibbs energy contribution from the hydrophobic transfer (ΔG hyd) of binding with harmine. Molecular docking calculations indicated that harmine exhibits higher affinity for poly (rA) compared to tRNAphe and poly (rC)·poly (rG). Subsequent molecular dynamics simulations were conducted to investigate the binding mode and stability of harmine with poly(A), tRNAphe, and poly (rC)·poly (rG). The results revealed that harmine adopts a partial intercalative binding with poly (rA) and tRNAphe, characterized by pronounced stacking forces and stronger binding free energy observed with poly (rA), while a comparatively weaker binding free energy was observed with tRNAphe. In contrast, the stacking forces with poly (rC)·poly (rG) were comparatively less pronounced and adopts a groove binding mode. It was also supported by ferrocyanide quenching analysis. All these findings univocally provide detailed insight into the binding specificity of harmine, to single stranded poly (rA) over other RNA motifs, probably suggesting a self-structure formation in poly (rA) with harmine and its potential as a lead compound for RNA based drug targeting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paromita Sarkar
- University of Kalyani, Department of Zoology, Nadia, W. Bengal, 741235, India
| | - Priyanka Gopi
- Amity Institute of Forensic Sciences, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Prateek Pandya
- Amity Institute of Forensic Sciences, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Samaresh Paria
- Vidyasagar University, Department of Chemistry, Midnapore 721 102, West Bengal, India
| | - Maidul Hossain
- Vidyasagar University, Department of Chemistry, Midnapore 721 102, West Bengal, India
| | - Manzer H. Siddiqui
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Saud Alamri
- Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Kakali Bhadra
- University of Kalyani, Department of Zoology, Nadia, W. Bengal, 741235, India
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5
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Toews S, Wacker A, Faison EM, Duchardt-Ferner E, Richter C, Mathieu D, Bottaro S, Zhang Q, Schwalbe H. The 5'-terminal stem-loop RNA element of SARS-CoV-2 features highly dynamic structural elements that are sensitive to differences in cellular pH. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:7971-7986. [PMID: 38842942 PMCID: PMC11260494 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 05/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 07/23/2024] Open
Abstract
We present the nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) solution structure of the 5'-terminal stem loop 5_SL1 (SL1) of the SARS-CoV-2 genome. SL1 contains two A-form helical elements and two regions with non-canonical structure, namely an apical pyrimidine-rich loop and an asymmetric internal loop with one and two nucleotides at the 5'- and 3'-terminal part of the sequence, respectively. The conformational ensemble representing the averaged solution structure of SL1 was validated using NMR residual dipolar coupling (RDC) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) data. We show that the internal loop is the major binding site for fragments of low molecular weight. This internal loop of SL1 can be stabilized by an A12-C28 interaction that promotes the transient formation of an A+•C base pair. As a consequence, the pKa of the internal loop adenosine A12 is shifted to 5.8, compared to a pKa of 3.63 of free adenosine. Furthermore, applying a recently developed pH-differential mutational profiling (PD-MaP) approach, we not only recapitulated our NMR findings of SL1 but also unveiled multiple sites potentially sensitive to pH across the 5'-UTR of SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Toews
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
| | - Anna Wacker
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
| | - Edgar M Faison
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC27599, USA
| | - Elke Duchardt-Ferner
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
- Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
| | - Christian Richter
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
| | - Daniel Mathieu
- Bruker BioSpin GmbH, Ettlingen, Baden-Württemberg 76275, Germany
| | - Sandro Bottaro
- Linderstrøm-Lang Centre for Protein Science, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen 2200, Denmark
| | - Qi Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC27599, USA
| | - Harald Schwalbe
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
- Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ), Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt, Frankfurt/Main, Hesse 60438, Germany
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6
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Mandal S, Ganesh KN, Maiti PK. Dynamics of terminal fraying-peeling and hydrogen bonds dictates the sequential vs. cooperative melting pathways of nanoscale DNA and PNA triplexes. NANOSCALE 2024; 16:13029-13040. [PMID: 38904319 DOI: 10.1039/d4nr01104j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) are charge-neutral synthetic DNA/RNA analogues. In many aspects of biology and biotechnology, the details of DNA and PNA melting reaction coordinates are crucial, and their associative/dissociative details remain inadequately understood. In the current study, we have attempted to gain insights into comparative melting pathways and binding affinity of iso-sequences of an 18-mer PNA-DNA-PNA triplex and the analogous DNA-DNA-DNA triplex, and DNA-DNA and PNA-DNA duplexes. It is intriguing that while the DNA-DNA-DNA triplex melts in two sequential steps, the PNA-DNA-PNA triplex melts in a single step and the mechanistic aspects for this difference are still not clear. We report an all-atom molecular dynamics simulation of both complexes in the temperature range of 300 to 500 K with 20 K intervals. Based on the trajectory analysis, we provide evidence that the association and dissociation are dictated by the differences in fraying-peeling effects from either terminus to the center in a zipper pattern among the PNA-DNA-PNA triplex and DNA-DNA-DNA triplexes. These are shown to be governed by the different characteristics of H-bonding, RMSD, and Free Energy Landscape (FEL) as analyzed by PCA, leading to the DNA-DNA-DNA triplex exhibiting sequential melting, while the PNA-DNA-PNA triplex shows cooperative melting of the whole fragment in a single-step. The PNA-DNA-PNA triplex base pairs are thermodynamically more stable than the DNA-DNA-DNA triplex, with the binding affinity of PNA-TFO to the PNA : DNA duplex being higher than that of DNA-TFO to the DNA : DNA duplex. The investigation of the association/dissociation of PNA-TFO to the PNA-DNA duplex has relevance and importance in the emerging effective applications of oligonucleotide therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandip Mandal
- Center for Condensed Matter Theory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
| | - Krishna N Ganesh
- Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Jakkur, Bengaluru 560064, India.
| | - Prabal K Maiti
- Center for Condensed Matter Theory, Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
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7
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Mittal S, Nisler C, Szostak JW. Simulations predict preferred Mg 2+ coordination in a nonenzymatic primer-extension reaction center. Biophys J 2024; 123:1579-1591. [PMID: 38702884 PMCID: PMC11214020 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2024.04.032] [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: 12/28/2023] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The mechanism by which genetic information was copied prior to the evolution of ribozymes is of great interest because of its importance to the origin of life. The most effective known process for the nonenzymatic copying of an RNA template is primer extension by a two-step pathway in which 2-aminoimidazole-activated nucleotides first react with each other to form an imidazolium-bridged intermediate that subsequently reacts with the primer. Reaction kinetics, structure-activity relationships, and X-ray crystallography have provided insight into the overall reaction mechanism, but many puzzles remain. In particular, high concentrations of Mg2+ are required for efficient primer extension, but the mechanism by which Mg2+ accelerates primer extension remains unknown. By analogy with the mechanism of DNA and RNA polymerases, a role for Mg2+ in facilitating the deprotonation of the primer 3'-hydroxyl is often assumed, but no catalytic metal ion is seen in crystal structures of the primer-extension complex. To explore the potential effects of Mg2+ binding in the reaction center, we performed atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of a series of modeled complexes in which a Mg2+ ion was placed in the reaction center with inner-sphere coordination with different sets of functional groups. Our simulations suggest that coordination of a Mg2+ ion with both O3' of the terminal primer nucleotide and the pro-Sp nonbridging oxygen of the reactive phosphate of an imidazolium-bridged dinucleotide would help to pre-organize the structure of the primer/template substrate complex to favor the primer-extension reaction. Our results suggest that the catalytic metal ion may play an important role in overcoming electrostatic repulsion between a deprotonated O3' and the reactive phosphate of the bridged dinucleotide and lead to testable predictions of the mode of Mg2+ binding that is most relevant to catalysis of primer extension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shriyaa Mittal
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology, Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Collin Nisler
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - Jack W Szostak
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology, Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
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8
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Peng HC, Mohan S, Huq MT, Bull JA, Michaud T, Piercy TC, Hilber S, Wettasinghe AP, Slinker JD, Kreutz C, Stelling AL. Isotope-Edited Variable Temperature Infrared Spectroscopy for Measuring Transition Temperatures of Single A-T Watson-Crick Base Pairs in DNA Duplexes. Anal Chem 2024; 96:8868-8874. [PMID: 38775341 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.4c00056] [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: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
Experimental methods to determine transition temperatures for individual base pair melting events in DNA duplexes are lacking despite intense interest in these thermodynamic parameters. Here, we determine the dimensions of the thymine (T) C2═O stretching vibration when it is within the DNA duplex via isotopic substitutions at other atomic positions in the structure. First, we determined that this stretching state was localized enough to specific atoms in the molecule to make submolecular scale measurements of local structure and stability in high molecular weight complexes. Next, we develop a new isotope-edited variable temperature infrared method to measure melting transitions at various locations in a DNA structure. As an initial test of this "sub-molecular scale thermometer", we applied our T13C2 difference infrared signal to measure location-dependent melting temperatures (TmL) in a DNA duplex via variable temperature attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (VT-ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. We report that the TmL of a single Watson-Crick A-T base pair near the end of an A-T rich sequence (poly T) is ∼34.9 ± 0.7°C. This is slightly lower than the TmL of a single base pair near the middle position of the poly T sequence (TmL ∼35.6±0.2°C). In addition, we also report that the TmL of a single Watson-Crick A-T base pair near the end of a 50% G-C sequence (12-mer) is ∼52.5 ± 0.3°C, which is slightly lower than the global melting Tm of the 12-mer sequence (TmL ∼54.0±0.9°C). Our results provide direct physical evidence for end fraying in DNA sequences with our novel spectroscopic methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao-Che Peng
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Shrijaa Mohan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Muhammad T Huq
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Julie A Bull
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Troy Michaud
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Turner C Piercy
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Stefan Hilber
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria
| | - Ashan P Wettasinghe
- Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Jason D Slinker
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
- Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
| | - Christoph Kreutz
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Center for Molecular Biosciences Innsbruck (CMBI), University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck 6020, Austria
| | - Allison L Stelling
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas 75080, United States
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9
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Lombardo Z, Mukerji I. Site-Specific Investigation of DNA Holliday Junction Dynamics and Structure with 6-Methylisoxanthopterin, a Fluorescent Guanine Analog. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.19.590264. [PMID: 38659790 PMCID: PMC11042373 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.19.590264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
DNA Holliday Junction (HJ) formation and resolution is requisite for maintaining genomic stability in processes such as replication fork reversal and double-strand break repair. If HJs are not resolved, chromosome disjunction and aneuploidy result, hallmarks of tumor cells. To understand the structural features that lead to processing of these four-stranded joint molecule structures, we seek to identify structural and dynamic features unique to the central junction core. We incorporate the fluorescent guanine analog 6-methylisoxanthopterin (6-MI) at ten different locations throughout a model HJ structure to obtain site-specific information regarding the structure and dynamics of bases relative to those in a comparable sequence context in duplex DNA. These comparisons were accomplished through measuring fluorescence lifetime, relative brightness, fluorescence anisotropy, and thermodynamic stability, along with fluorescence quenching assays. These time-resolved and steady-state fluorescence measurements demonstrate that the structural distortions imposed by strand crossing result in increased solvent exposure, less stacking of bases and greater extrahelical nature of bases within the junction core. The 6-MI base analogs in the junction reflect these structural changes through an increase in intensity relative to those in the duplex. Molecular dynamics simulations performed using a model HJ indicate the primary sources of deformation are in the shift and twist parameters of the bases at the central junction step. These results suggest that junction-binding proteins may use the unique structure and dynamics of the bases at the core for recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zane Lombardo
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Molecular Biophysics Program, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Ave, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, United States
| | - Ishita Mukerji
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Molecular Biophysics Program, Wesleyan University, 52 Lawn Ave, Middletown, Connecticut 06459, United States
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10
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Dabin A, Stirnemann G. Atomistic simulations of RNA duplex thermal denaturation: Sequence- and forcefield-dependence. Biophys Chem 2024; 307:107167. [PMID: 38262278 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2023.107167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 12/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024]
Abstract
Double-stranded RNA is the end-product of template-based replication, and is also the functional state of some biological RNAs. Similarly to proteins and DNA, they can be denatured by temperature, with important physiological and technological implications. Here, we use an in silico strategy to probe the thermal denaturation of RNA duplexes. Following previous results that were obtained on a few different duplexes, and which nuanced the canonical 2-state picture of nucleic acid denaturation, we here specifically address three different aspects that greatly improve our description of the temperature-induced dsRNA separation. First, we investigate the effect of the spatial distribution of weak and strong base-pairs among the duplex sequence. We show that the deviations from the two-state dehybridization mechanism are more pronounced when a strong core is flanked with weak extremities, while duplexes with a weak core but strong extremities exhibit a two-state behavior, which can be explained by the key role played by base fraying. This was later verified by generating artificial hairpin or circular states containing one or two locked duplex extremities, which results in an important reinforcement of the entire HB structure of the duplex and higher melting temperatures. Finally, we demonstrate that our results are little sensitive to the employed combination of RNA and water forcefields. The trends in thermal stability among the different sequences as well as the observed unfolding mechanisms (and the deviations from a two-state scenario) remain the same regardless of the employed atomistic models. However, our study points to possible limitations of recent reparametrizations of the Amber RNA forcefield, which sometimes results in duplexes that readily denature under ambient conditions, in contradiction with available experimental results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aimeric Dabin
- CNRS Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Université de Paris Cité, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Guillaume Stirnemann
- PASTEUR, Département de chimie, École normale supérieure, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France.
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11
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Choi T, Li Z, Song G, Chen HF. Comprehensive Comparison and Critical Assessment of RNA-Specific Force Fields. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:2676-2688. [PMID: 38447040 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00066] [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: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulations play a pivotal role in elucidating the dynamic behaviors of RNA structures, offering a valuable complement to traditional methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance or X-ray. Despite this, the current precision of RNA force fields lags behind that of protein force fields. In this work, we systematically compared the performance of four RNA force fields (ff99bsc0χOL3, AMBERDES, ff99OL3_CMAP1, AMBERMaxEnt) across diverse RNA structures. Our findings highlight significant challenges in maintaining stability, particularly with regard to cross-strand and cross-loop hydrogen bonds. Furthermore, we observed the limitations in accurately describing the conformations of nonhelical structural motif, terminal nucleotides, and also base pairing and base stacking interactions by the tested RNA force fields. The identified deficiencies in existing RNA force fields provide valuable insights for subsequent force field development. Concurrently, these findings offer recommendations for selecting appropriate force fields in RNA simulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taeyoung Choi
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, National Experimental Teaching Center for Life Sciences and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Zhengxin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, National Experimental Teaching Center for Life Sciences and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Ge Song
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, National Experimental Teaching Center for Life Sciences and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Hai-Feng Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Joint International Research Laboratory of Metabolic & Developmental Sciences, Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, National Experimental Teaching Center for Life Sciences and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
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12
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Mondal S, Mukherjee S, Bagchi B. Melting and Bubble Formation in a Double-Stranded DNA: Microscopic Aspects of Early Base-Pair Opening Events and the Role of Water. J Phys Chem B 2024; 128:2076-2086. [PMID: 38389118 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c06519] [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: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Despite its rigid structure, DNA is a remarkably flexible molecule. Flexibility is essential for biological functions (such as transcription and gene repair), which require large-amplitude structural changes such as bubble formation. The bubbles thus formed are required to have a certain stability of their own and survive long on the time scale of molecular motions. A molecular understanding of fluctuations leading to quasi-stable structures is not available. Through extensive atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, we identify a sequence of microscopic events that culminate in local bubble formation, which is initiated by base-pair (BP) opening, resulting from the cleavage of native BP hydrogen bonds (HBs). This is followed by the formation of mismatched BPs with non-native contacts. These metastable structures can either revert to their original forms or undergo a flipping transition to form a local bubble that can span across 3-4 BPs. A substantial distortion of the DNA backbone and a disruption of BP stacking are observed because of the structural changes induced by these local perturbations. We also explored how water helps in the entire process. A small number of water molecules undergo rearrangement to stabilize the intermediate states by forming HBs with DNA bases. Water thus acts as a lubricant that counteracts the enthalpic penalty suffered from the loss of native BP contacts. Although the process of bubble formation is reversible, the sequence of steps involved poses an entropic barrier, preventing it from easily retracing the path to the native state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sayantan Mondal
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Saumyak Mukherjee
- Center for Theoretical Chemistry, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, Bochum D-44780, Germany
| | - Biman Bagchi
- Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India
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13
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Love O, Winkler L, Cheatham TE. van der Waals Parameter Scanning with Amber Nucleic Acid Force Fields: Revisiting Means to Better Capture the RNA/DNA Structure through MD. J Chem Theory Comput 2024; 20:625-643. [PMID: 38157247 PMCID: PMC10809421 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.3c01164] [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: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics simulations can be used in combination with experimental techniques to uncover the intricacies of biomolecular structure, dynamics, and the resulting interactions. However, many noncanonical nucleic acid structures have proven to be challenging to replicate in accurate agreement with experimental data, often attributed to known force field deficiencies. A common force field criticism is the handling of van der Waals (vdW) parameters, which have not been updated since the regular use of Ewald's methods became routine. This work dives into the effects of minute vdW radii shifts on RNA tetranucleotide, B-DNA, and Z-DNA model systems described by commonly used Amber force fields. Using multidimensional replica exchange molecular dynamics (M-REMD), the GACC RNA tetranucleotide demonstrated changes in the structural distribution between the NMR minor and anomalous structure populations based on the O2' vdW radii scanning. However, no significant change in the NMR Major conformation population was observed. There were minimal changes in the B-DNA structure but there were more substantial improvements in Z-DNA structural descriptions, specifically with the Tumuc1 force field. This occurred with both LJbb vdW radii adjustments and incorporation of the CUFIX nonbonded parameter modifications. Though the limited vdW modifications tested did not provide a universal fix to the challenge of simulating the various known nucleic acid structures, they do provide direction and a greater understanding for future force field development efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Thomas E. Cheatham
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry,
College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, 2000 East 30 South Skaggs 306, Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, United States
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14
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Kanarskaya MA, Pyshnyi DV, Lomzov AA. Diversity of Self-Assembled RNA Complexes: From Nanoarchitecture to Nanomachines. Molecules 2023; 29:10. [PMID: 38202593 PMCID: PMC10779776 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29010010] [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: 11/10/2023] [Revised: 12/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
New tool development for various nucleic acid applications is an essential task in RNA nanotechnology. Here, we determined the ability of self-limited complex formation by a pair of oligoribonucleotides carrying two pairwise complementary blocks connected by a linker of different lengths in each chain. The complexes were analyzed using UV melting, gel shift assay analysis, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We have demonstrated the spontaneous formation of various self-limited and concatemer complexes. The linear concatemer complex is formed by a pair of oligomers without a linker in at least one of them. Longer linkers resulted in the formation of circular complexes. The self-limited complexes formation was confirmed using the toehold strand displacement. The MD simulations indicate the reliability of the complexes' structure and demonstrate their dynamics, which increase with the rise of complex size. The linearization of 2D circular complexes into 1D structures and a reverse cyclization process were demonstrated using a toehold-mediated approach. The approach proposed here for the construction and directed modification of the molecularity and shape of complexes will be a valuable tool in RNA nanotechnology, especially for the rational design of therapeutic nucleic acids with high target specificity and the programmable response of the immune system of organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Alexander A. Lomzov
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia; (M.A.K.); (D.V.P.)
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15
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Zoli M. Twist-stretch relations in nucleic acids. EUROPEAN BIOPHYSICS JOURNAL : EBJ 2023; 52:641-650. [PMID: 37357224 DOI: 10.1007/s00249-023-01669-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023]
Abstract
Nucleic acids are highly deformable helical molecules constantly stretched, twisted and bent in their biological functioning. Single molecule experiments have shown that double stranded (ds)-RNA and standard ds-DNA have opposite twist-stretch patterns and stretching properties when overwound under a constant applied load. The key structural features of the A-form RNA and B-form DNA helices are here incorporated in a three-dimensional mesoscopic Hamiltonian model which accounts for the radial, bending and twisting fluctuations of the base pairs. Using path integral techniques which sum over the ensemble of the base pair fluctuations, I compute the average helical repeat of the molecules as a function of the load. The obtained twist-stretch relations and stretching properties, for short A- and B-helical fragments, are consistent with the opposite behaviors observed in kilo-base long molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Zoli
- School of Science and Technology, University of Camerino, 62032, Camerino, Italy.
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16
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Asanbaeva NB, Novopashina DS, Rogozhnikova OY, Tormyshev VM, Kehl A, Sukhanov AA, Shernyukov AV, Genaev AM, Lomzov AA, Bennati M, Meyer A, Bagryanskaya EG. 19F electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopy for distance measurements using trityl spin labels in DNA duplexes. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:23454-23466. [PMID: 37609874 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp02969g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
The combination of fluorine labeling and pulsed electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) is emerging as a powerful technique for obtaining structural information about proteins and nucleic acids. In this work, we explored the capability of Mims 19F ENDOR experiments on reporting intermolecular distances in trityl- and 19F-labeled DNA duplexes at three electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) frequencies (34, 94, and 263 GHz). For spin labeling, we used the hydrophobic Finland trityl radical and hydrophilic OX063 trityl radical. Fluorine labels were introduced into two positions of a DNA oligonucleotide. The results indicated that hyperfine splittings visible in the ENDOR spectra are consistent with the most populated interspin distances between 19F and the trityl radical predicted from molecular dynamic (MD) simulations. Moreover, for some cases, ENDOR spectral simulations based on MD results were able to reproduce the conformational distribution reflected in the experimental ENDOR line broadening. Additionally, MD simulations provided more detailed information about the melting of terminal base pairs of the oligonucleotides and about the configuration of the trityls relative to a DNA end.
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Affiliation(s)
- N B Asanbaeva
- N.N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry SB RAS, 9 Pr. Ak. Lavrentjeva, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia.
| | - D S Novopashina
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, 8 Pr. Ak. Lavrentjeva, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - O Yu Rogozhnikova
- N.N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry SB RAS, 9 Pr. Ak. Lavrentjeva, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia.
| | - V M Tormyshev
- N.N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry SB RAS, 9 Pr. Ak. Lavrentjeva, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia.
| | - A Kehl
- Research Group EPR Spectroscopy, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - A A Sukhanov
- Zavoisky Physical-Technical Institute, FRC Kazan Scientific Center of RAS, 10/7 Sibirsky Tract, Kazan 420029, Russia
| | - A V Shernyukov
- N.N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry SB RAS, 9 Pr. Ak. Lavrentjeva, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia.
| | - A M Genaev
- N.N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry SB RAS, 9 Pr. Ak. Lavrentjeva, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia.
| | - A A Lomzov
- Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS, 8 Pr. Ak. Lavrentjeva, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
| | - M Bennati
- Research Group EPR Spectroscopy, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Georg August University of Göttingen, Tammannstr.6, Göttingen, Germany
| | - A Meyer
- Research Group EPR Spectroscopy, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Am Fassberg 11, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
- Institute of Physical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Georg August University of Göttingen, Tammannstr.6, Göttingen, Germany
| | - E G Bagryanskaya
- N.N. Vorozhtsov Novosibirsk Institute of Organic Chemistry SB RAS, 9 Pr. Ak. Lavrentjeva, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia.
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17
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Dabin A, Stirnemann G. Toward a Molecular Mechanism of Complementary RNA Duplexes Denaturation. J Phys Chem B 2023. [PMID: 37389985 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c00908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/02/2023]
Abstract
RNA duplexes are relatively rare but play very important biological roles. As an end-product of template-based RNA replication, they also have key implications for hypothetical primitive forms of life. Unless they are specifically separated by enzymes, these duplexes denature upon a temperature increase. However, mechanistic and kinetic aspects of RNA (and DNA) duplex thermal denaturation remain unclear at the microscopic level. We propose an in silico strategy that probes the thermal denaturation of RNA duplexes and allows for an extensive conformational space exploration along a wide temperature range with atomistic precision. We show that this approach first accounts for the strong sequence and length dependence of the duplexes melting temperature, reproducing the trends seen in the experiments and predicted by nearest-neighbor models. The simulations are then instrumental at providing a molecular picture of the temperature-induced strand separation. The textbook canonical "all-or-nothing" two-state model, very much inspired by the protein folding mechanism, can be nuanced. We demonstrate that a temperature increase leads to significantly distorted but stable structures with extensive base-fraying at the extremities, and that the fully formed duplexes typically do not form around melting. The duplex separation therefore appears as much more gradual than commonly thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aimeric Dabin
- CNRS Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, PSL University, Université de Paris, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Guillaume Stirnemann
- CNRS Laboratoire de Biochimie Théorique, Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, PSL University, Université de Paris, 13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005, Paris, France
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18
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Lüking M, van der Spoel D, Elf J, Tribello GA. Can molecular dynamics be used to simulate biomolecular recognition? J Chem Phys 2023; 158:2889489. [PMID: 37158325 DOI: 10.1063/5.0146899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
There are many problems in biochemistry that are difficult to study experimentally. Simulation methods are appealing due to direct availability of atomic coordinates as a function of time. However, direct molecular simulations are challenged by the size of systems and the time scales needed to describe relevant motions. In theory, enhanced sampling algorithms can help to overcome some of the limitations of molecular simulations. Here, we discuss a problem in biochemistry that offers a significant challenge for enhanced sampling methods and that could, therefore, serve as a benchmark for comparing approaches that use machine learning to find suitable collective variables. In particular, we study the transitions LacI undergoes upon moving between being non-specifically and specifically bound to DNA. Many degrees of freedom change during this transition and that the transition does not occur reversibly in simulations if only a subset of these degrees of freedom are biased. We also explain why this problem is so important to biologists and the transformative impact that a simulation of it would have on the understanding of DNA regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malin Lüking
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3, SE-75124 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - David van der Spoel
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3, SE-75124 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Johan Elf
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Husargatan 3, SE-75124 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Gareth A Tribello
- Centre for Quantum Materials and Technologies, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, United Kingdom
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19
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Zhang Z, Šponer J, Bussi G, Mlýnský V, Šulc P, Simmons CR, Stephanopoulos N, Krepl M. Atomistic Picture of Opening-Closing Dynamics of DNA Holliday Junction Obtained by Molecular Simulations. J Chem Inf Model 2023; 63:2794-2809. [PMID: 37126365 PMCID: PMC10170514 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.3c00358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Holliday junction (HJ) is a noncanonical four-way DNA structure with a prominent role in DNA repair, recombination, and DNA nanotechnology. By rearranging its four arms, HJ can adopt either closed or open state. With enzymes typically recognizing only a single state, acquiring detailed knowledge of the rearrangement process is an important step toward fully understanding the biological function of HJs. Here, we carried out standard all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the spontaneous opening-closing transitions, which revealed complex conformational transitions of HJs with an involvement of previously unconsidered "half-closed" intermediates. Detailed free-energy landscapes of the transitions were obtained by sophisticated enhanced sampling simulations. Because the force field overstabilizes the closed conformation of HJs, we developed a system-specific modification which for the first time allows the observation of spontaneous opening-closing HJ transitions in unbiased MD simulations and opens the possibilities for more accurate HJ computational studies of biological processes and nanomaterials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengyue Zhang
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- CEITEC─Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- National Center for Biomolecular Research, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Šponer
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Giovanni Bussi
- Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati (SISSA), via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste, Italy
| | - Vojtěch Mlýnský
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Šulc
- Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, 85287 Arizona, United States
| | - Chad R Simmons
- Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, 85287 Arizona, United States
| | - Nicholas Stephanopoulos
- Biodesign Center for Molecular Design and Biomimetics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, 85287 Arizona, United States
| | - Miroslav Krepl
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 00 Brno, Czech Republic
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacky University Olomouc, Slechtitelu 241/27, 783 71 Olomouc, Czech Republic
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20
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Strelnikov IA, Kovaleva NA, Klinov AP, Zubova EA. C-B-A Test of DNA Force Fields. ACS OMEGA 2023; 8:10253-10265. [PMID: 36969447 PMCID: PMC10034787 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.2c07781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The DNA duplex may be locally strongly bent in complexes with proteins, for example, with polymerases or in a nucleosome. At such bends, the DNA helix is locally in the noncanonical forms A (with a narrow major groove and a large amount of north sugars) or C (with a narrow minor groove and a large share of BII phosphates). To model the formation of such complexes by molecular dynamics methods, the force field is required to reproduce these conformational transitions for a naked DNA. We analyzed the available experimental data on the B-C and B-A transitions under the conditions easily implemented in modeling: in an aqueous NaCl solution. We selected six DNA duplexes which conformations at different salt concentrations are known reliably enough. At low salt concentrations, poly(GC) and poly(A) are in the B-form, classical and slightly shifted to the A-form, respectively. The duplexes ATAT and GGTATACC have a strong and salt concentration dependent bias toward the A-form. The polymers poly(AC) and poly(G) take the C- and A-forms, respectively, at high salt concentrations. The reproduction of the behavior of these oligomers can serve as a test for the balance of interactions between the base stacking and the conformational flexibility of the sugar-phosphate backbone in a DNA force field. We tested the AMBER bsc1 and CHARMM36 force fields and their hybrids, and we failed to reproduce the experiment. In all the force fields, the salt concentration dependence is very weak. The known B-philicity of the AMBER force field proved to result from the B-philicity of its excessively strong base stacking. In the CHARMM force field, the B-form is a result of a fragile balance between the A-philic base stacking (especially for G:C pairs) and the C-philic backbone. Finally, we analyzed some recent simulations of the LacI-, SOX-4-, and Sac7d-DNA complex formation in the framework of the AMBER force field.
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21
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Muniz MI, Bustos AH, Slott S, Astakhova K, Weber G. Cation valence dependence of hydrogen bond and stacking potentials in DNA mesoscopic models. Biophys Chem 2023; 294:106949. [PMID: 36706510 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2022.106949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Monovalent and divalent cations play a crucial role in living cells and for molecular techniques such as PCR. Here we evaluate DNA melting temperatures in magnesium (Mg2+) and magnesium‑potassium (Mg2++ K+) buffers with a mesoscopic model that allows us to estimate hydrogen bonds and stacking interaction potentials. The Mg2+ and Mg2++ K+ results are compared to previous calculations for sodium ions (Na+), in terms of equivalent sodium concentration and ionic strength. Morse potentials, related to hydrogen bonding, were found to be essentially constant and unaffected by cation conditions. However, for stacking interactions we find a clear dependence with ionic strength and cation valence. The highest ionic strength variations, for both hydrogen bonds and stacking interactions, was found at the sequence terminals. This suggests that end-to-end interactions in DNA will be strongly dependent on cation valence and ionic strength.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Izabel Muniz
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Adrian H Bustos
- Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, 206-207 Kemitorvet, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Sofie Slott
- Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, 206-207 Kemitorvet, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Kira Astakhova
- Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, 206-207 Kemitorvet, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Gerald Weber
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
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22
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Yu T, Liu T, Wang Y, Zhang S, Zhang W. Thermodynamics and kinetics of an A-U RNA base pair under force studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Phys Rev E 2023; 107:024404. [PMID: 36932572 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.107.024404] [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: 07/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Mechanical force has been widely used to study RNA folding and unfolding. Understanding how the force affects the opening and closing of a single base pair, which is a basic step for RNA folding and unfolding and a fundamental behavior in some important biological activities, is crucial to understanding the mechanism of RNA folding and unfolding under mechanical force. In this work, we investigated the opening and closing process of an RNA base pair under mechanical force with constant-force stretching molecular dynamics simulations. It was found that high mechanical force results in overstretching, and the open state is a high-energy state. The enthalpy and entropy change of the base-pair opening-closing transition were obtained and the results at low forces were in good agreement with the nearest-neighbor model. The temperature and force dependence of the opening and closing rates were also obtained. The position of the transition state for the base-pair opening-closing transition under mechanical force was determined. The free energy barrier of opening a base pair without force is the enthalpy increase, and the work done by the force from the closed state to the transition state decreases the barrier and increases the opening rate. The free energy barrier of closing the base pair without force results from the entropy loss, and the work done by the force from the open state to the transition state increases the barrier and decreases the closing rate. The transition rates are strongly dependent on the temperature and force, while the transition path times are weakly dependent on force and temperature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Yu
- Department of Physics, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, People's Republic of China
| | - Taigang Liu
- Department of Physics, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, People's Republic of China
- School of Medical Engineering, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan 453003, People's Republic of China
| | - Yujie Wang
- Department of Physics, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, People's Republic of China
- Department of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, Zhoukou Normal University, Zhoukou, Henan 466000, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuhao Zhang
- Department of Physics, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenbing Zhang
- Department of Physics, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, People's Republic of China
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23
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Mishra RK, Mukherjee S, Bhattacharyya D. Maturation of siRNA by strand separation: Steered molecular dynamics study. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2022; 40:13682-13692. [PMID: 34726123 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2021.1994468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
RNA interference, particularly siRNA induced gene silencing is becoming an important avenue of modern therapeutics. The siRNA is delivered to the cells as short double helical RNA which becomes single stranded for forming the RISC complex. Significant experimental evidence is available for most of the steps except the process of the separation of the two strands. We have attempted to understand the pathway for double stranded siRNA (dsRNA) to single stranded (ssRNA) molecules using steered molecular dynamics simulations. As the process is completely unexplored we have applied force from all possible directions restraining all possible residues to convert dsRNA to ssRNA. We found pulling one strand along the helical axis direction restraining the far end of the other strand demands excessive force for ssRNA formation. Pulling a central residue of one strand, in a direction perpendicular to the helix axis, while keeping the base paired residue fixed requires intermediate force for strand separation. Moreover, we found that in this process the force requirement is quite high for the first bubble formation (nucleation energy) and the bubble propagation energies are quite small. We believe the success rate of the design of siRNA sequences for gene silencing may increase if this mechanistic knowledge is utilized for such a design process.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rakesh Kumar Mishra
- School of Computational and Integrative Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
| | - Sanchita Mukherjee
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, India
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24
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Nasou AG, Pantatosaki E, Papadopoulos GK. A Simulation Study of the Effect of Naturally Occurring Point Mutations on the SRY-DNA Complex. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:8921-8930. [PMID: 36315187 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c04852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were conducted in order to investigate the effect of the naturally occurring point mutations of the transcription factor (TF) sex-determining region Y (SRY) on the structure and dynamics of the SRY-DNA complex. The normal SRY, along with the two mutants I13T and G40R, comprising point mutations on the SRY chain, which have been clinically identified in patients with sex developmental disorders, were modeled as DNA complexes. Our modeling work aims at elucidating atomic-level structural determinants of the aberrant SRY-DNA complexation by means of μs-long MD. The results suggest that the observed disorders brought about by the G40R-DNA and I13T-DNA may arise predominantly from the destabilization of the complex being in accord with in vitro assays found elsewhere and from modifications of the DNA bending as revealed in this study. Comparative potential of mean force computations, over a sequence of short separation distances for the three complexes, verified a higher stability of the normal SRY-DNA. Examining the way the SRY mutations modulate the SRY-DNA complex dynamics at the microscopic level is important also toward elucidating molecular determinants of function for proteins capable of binding to DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angeliki-Georgia Nasou
- School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 157 80 Athens, Greece
| | - Evangelia Pantatosaki
- School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 157 80 Athens, Greece
| | - George K Papadopoulos
- School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 157 80 Athens, Greece
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25
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Fukal J, Zgarbová M, Jurečka P, Šebera J, Sychrovský V. Probabilistic Interpretation of NMR J-Couplings Determines BI-BII State Equilibria in DNA. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:6989-6999. [PMID: 36206364 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c00733] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Interpretation of 3JP,H3' NMR scalar spin-spin coupling constants in DNA becomes more reliable by including distinct structural states such as BI and BII, using the weighted-static or, better still, the recently implemented adiabatic-MD (Ad-MD) method. The calculation method employs an adiabatic ("Ad") dependence of 3JP,H3' coupling on NMR-assigned torsion angle, ε, weighted by P(ε) probability distribution calculated by molecular dynamics (MD). Ad-MD calculations enable cross-validation of the bsc1, OL15, and OL21 force fields and various parametrizations of the Karplus equation describing the dependence of 3JP,H3' coupling on ε torsion (KE). The mean absolute deviation of Ad-MD 3JP,H3' couplings from the experimental values in Dickerson-Drew DNA is comparable to the scatter of 3JP,H3' couplings among four separate NMR experiments. A commonly accepted assumption of homogeneity of one kind of structure-dynamic state within DNA (BI or BII) is questionable because the principal characteristics of relevant P(ε) probabilities (shapes and positioning) vary with DNA sequence. The theory outlined in the present work sets limits to future reparameterization of MD force fields, as relevant to NMR data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiří Fukal
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo náměstí 2, 166 10 Praha 6, Czech Republic.,Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, 17. listopadu 12, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Marie Zgarbová
- Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, 17. listopadu 12, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Jurečka
- Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, 17. listopadu 12, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Šebera
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo náměstí 2, 166 10 Praha 6, Czech Republic
| | - Vladimír Sychrovský
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo náměstí 2, 166 10 Praha 6, Czech Republic.,Department of Electrotechnology, Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University, Technická 2, 166 27 Praha 6, Czech Republic
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26
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Purkait D, Islam F, Mishra PP. A single-molecule approach to unravel the molecular mechanism of the action of Deinococcus radiodurans RecD2 and its interaction with SSB and RecA in DNA repair. Int J Biol Macromol 2022; 221:653-664. [PMID: 36096248 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.09.043] [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: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Helicases are ATP-driven molecular machines that directionally remodel nucleic acid polymers in all three domains of life. They are responsible for resolving double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) into single-strands, which is essential for DNA replication, nucleotide excision repair, and homologous recombination. RecD2 from Deinococcus radiodurans (DrRecD2) has important contributions to the organism's unusually high tolerance to gamma radiation and hydrogen peroxide. Although the results from X-ray Crystallography studies have revealed the structural characteristics of the protein, direct experimental evidence regarding the dynamics of the DNA unwinding process by DrRecD2 in the context of other accessory proteins is yet to be found. In this study, we have probed the exact binding event and processivity of DrRecD2 at single-molecule resolution using Protein-induced fluorescence enhancement (smPIFE) and Forster resonance energy transfer (smFRET). We have found that the protein prefers to bind at the 5' terminal end of the single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) by Drift and has helicase activity even in absence of ATP. However, a faster and iterative mode of DNA unwinding was evident in presence of ATP. The rate of translocation of the protein was found to be slower on dsDNA compared to ssDNA. We also showed that DrRecD2 is recruited at the binding site by the single-strand binding protein (SSB) and during the unwinding, it can displace RecA from ssDNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Debayan Purkait
- Single Molecule Biophysics Lab, Chemical Sciences Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF Bidhannagar, Kolkata 700064, India; Homi Bhaba National Institute, Mumbai, India
| | - Farhana Islam
- Single Molecule Biophysics Lab, Chemical Sciences Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF Bidhannagar, Kolkata 700064, India; Homi Bhaba National Institute, Mumbai, India
| | - Padmaja P Mishra
- Single Molecule Biophysics Lab, Chemical Sciences Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, 1/AF Bidhannagar, Kolkata 700064, India; Homi Bhaba National Institute, Mumbai, India.
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27
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Lam K, Kasavajhala K, Gunasekera S, Simmerling C. Accelerating the Ensemble Convergence of RNA Hairpin Simulations with a Replica Exchange Structure Reservoir. J Chem Theory Comput 2022; 18:3930-3947. [PMID: 35502992 PMCID: PMC10658646 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.2c00065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
RNA is a key participant in many biological processes, but studies of RNA using computer simulations lag behind those of proteins, largely due to less-developed force fields and the slow dynamics of RNA. Generating converged RNA ensembles for force field development and other studies remains a challenge. In this study, we explore the ability of replica exchange molecular dynamics to obtain well-converged conformational ensembles for two RNA hairpin systems in an implicit solvent. Even for these small model systems, standard REMD remains computationally costly, but coupling to a pre-generated structure library using the reservoir REMD approach provides a dramatic acceleration of ensemble convergence for both model systems. Such precise ensembles could facilitate RNA force field development and validation and applications of simulation to more complex RNA systems. The advantages and remaining challenges of applying R-REMD to RNA are investigated in detail.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth Lam
- Molecular and Cellular Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
- Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
| | - Koushik Kasavajhala
- Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
- Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
| | - Sarah Gunasekera
- Program in Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
| | - Carlos Simmerling
- Molecular and Cellular Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
- Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
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28
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Gvozden K, Novak Ratajczak S, Orellana AG, Kentzinger E, Rücker U, Dhont JKG, De Michele C, Stiakakis E. Self-Assembly of All-DNA Rods with Controlled Patchiness. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2022; 18:e2104510. [PMID: 34837474 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202104510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) fragments exhibit noncovalent attractive interactions between their tips. It is still unclear how DNA liquid crystal self-assembly is affected by such blunt-end attractions. It is demonstrated that stiff dsDNA fragments with moderate aspect ratio can specifically self-assemble in concentrated aqueous solutions into different types of smectic mesophases on the basis of selectively screening of blunt-end DNA stacking interactions. To this end, this type of attractions are engineered at the molecular level by constructing DNA duplexes where the attractions between one or both ends are screened by short hairpin caps. All-DNA bilayer and monolayer smectic-A type of phases, as well as a columnar phase, can be stabilized by controlling attractions strength. The results imply that the so far elusive smectic-A in DNA rod-like liquid crystals is a thermodynamically stable phase. The existence of the bilayer smectic phase is confirmed by Monte-Carlo simulations of hard cylinders decorated with one attractive terminal site. This work demonstrates that DNA blunt-ends behave as well-defined monovalent attractive patches whose strength and position can be potentially precisely tuned, highlighting unique opportunities concerning the stabilization of nonconventional DNA-based lyotropic liquid crystal phases assembled by all-DNA patchy particles with arbitrary geometry and composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katarina Gvozden
- Biomacromolecular Systems and Processes, Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-4), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Sanja Novak Ratajczak
- Biomacromolecular Systems and Processes, Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-4), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Alberto G Orellana
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Universita di Roma, Piazzale A. Moro 5, Roma, 00185, Italy
| | - Emmanuel Kentzinger
- Jülich Centre for Neutron Science JCNS and Peter Grünberg Institut PGI, JARA-FIT, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Ulrich Rücker
- Jülich Centre for Neutron Science JCNS and Peter Grünberg Institut PGI, JARA-FIT, Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Jan K G Dhont
- Biomacromolecular Systems and Processes, Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-4), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425, Jülich, Germany
| | - Cristiano De Michele
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Universita di Roma, Piazzale A. Moro 5, Roma, 00185, Italy
| | - Emmanuel Stiakakis
- Biomacromolecular Systems and Processes, Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-4), Forschungszentrum Jülich, D-52425, Jülich, Germany
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29
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Fukal J, Buděšínský M, Páv O, Jurečka P, Zgarbová M, Šebera J, Sychrovský V. The Ad-MD method to calculate NMR shift including effects due to conformational dynamics: The 31 P NMR shift in DNA. J Comput Chem 2022; 43:132-143. [PMID: 34729803 DOI: 10.1002/jcc.26778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
A method for averaging of NMR parameters by molecular dynamics (MD) has been derived from the method of statistical averaging in MD snapshots, benchmarked and applied to structurally dynamic interpretation of the 31 P NMR shift (δ31P ) in DNA phosphates. The method employs adiabatic dependence of an NMR parameter on selected geometric parameter(s) that is weighted by MD-calculated probability distribution(s) for the geometric parameter(s) (Ad-MD method). The usage of Ad-MD for polymers is computationally convenient when one pre-calculated structural dependence of an NMR parameter is employed for all chemically equivalent units differing only in dynamic behavior. The Ad-MD method is benchmarked against the statistical averaging method for δ31P in the model phosphates featuring distinctively different structures and dynamic behavior. The applicability of Ad-MD is illustrated by calculating 31 P NMR spectra in the Dickerson-Drew DNA dodecamer. δ31P was calculated with the B3LYP/IGLO-III/PCM(water) and the probability distributions for the torsion angles adjacent to the phosphorus atoms in the DNA phosphates were calculated using the OL15 force field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiří Fukal
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Miloš Buděšínský
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Ondřej Páv
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Jurečka
- Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Marie Zgarbová
- Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Jakub Šebera
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Vladimír Sychrovský
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.,Department of Electrotechnology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Czech Technical University, Prague, Czech Republic
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30
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Chen J, Liu H, Cui X, Li Z, Chen HF. RNA-Specific Force Field Optimization with CMAP and Reweighting. J Chem Inf Model 2022; 62:372-385. [PMID: 35021622 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c01148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
RNA plays a key role in a variety of cell activities. However, it is difficult to capture its structure dynamics by the traditional experimental methods because of the inherent limitations. Molecular dynamics simulation has become a valuable complement to the experimental methods. Previous studies have indicated that the current force fields cannot accurately reproduce the conformations and structural dynamics of RNA. Therefore, an RNA-specific force field was developed to improve the conformation sampling of RNA. The distribution of ζ/α dihedrals of tetranucleotides was optimized by a reweighting method, and the grid-based energy correction map (CMAP) term was first introduced into the Amber RNA force field of ff99bsc0χOL3, named ff99OL3_CMAP1. Extensive validations of tetranucleotides and tetraloops show that ff99OL3_CMAP1 can significantly decrease the population of an incorrect structure, increase the consistency between the simulation results and experimental values for tetranucleotides, and improve the stability of tetraloops. ff99OL3_CMAP1 can also precisely reproduce the conformation of a duplex and riboswitches. These findings confirm that the newly developed force field ff99OL3_CMAP1 can improve the conformer sampling of RNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, SJTU-Yale Joint Center for Biostatistics, National Experimental Teaching Center for Life Sciences and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 20024 Shanghai, China
| | - Hao Liu
- Institute of Natural Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 200240 Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaochen Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, SJTU-Yale Joint Center for Biostatistics, National Experimental Teaching Center for Life Sciences and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 20024 Shanghai, China
| | - Zhengxin Li
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, SJTU-Yale Joint Center for Biostatistics, National Experimental Teaching Center for Life Sciences and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 20024 Shanghai, China
| | - Hai-Feng Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, SJTU-Yale Joint Center for Biostatistics, National Experimental Teaching Center for Life Sciences and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 20024 Shanghai, China.,Shanghai Center for Bioinformation Technology, 200240 Shanghai, China
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31
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Srivastava R. Chemical reactivity and binding interactions in ribonucleic acid-peptide complexes. Proteins 2021; 90:765-775. [PMID: 34714954 DOI: 10.1002/prot.26272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 10/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The covalent and noncovalent backbone binding interactions in RNA-peptide complexes were studied by DFT methods. Four RNA structures R1(GGCUAGCC), R2(AAUCGAUU), R3(GGGAUCCC), and R4(AAAGCUUU) has been selected for eight protonated peptides (DR, ER, GR, KR, NGR, RR, tmeGnd (tme), and VR) interactions based on an experimental study (Anal Chem. 2019; 91:1659-1664). Chemical reactivity theory is used to study the reactivity of eight peptides with global descriptors. Lower hardness values reflected low stability and high reactivity for the protonated peptides. DR, ER, GR, KR, NGR, RR, and VR show lower value of ω, μ while tme has high value of ω, μ. Larger highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) gap for ER, GR, and KR showed greater structural stability for peptides. AutoDock and PatchDock results indicated that R1, R2, and R4 retain hairpin structures while interacting with peptide complexes. The calculated binding energies of (R1-R4)-peptide complexes from AutoDock tools are (1.49-11.12) kcal/mol. Results showed that the noncovalent interactions are stronger than the covalent interactions for R1-peptide complexes. The reason might be the transfer of proton from protonated ligand to deprotonated RNA, which has initiated the loss of the ligand. Also it has been observed that proton transfer has become energetically unfavorable in presence of additional hydrogen bonds which is predicted in the experimental results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruby Srivastava
- CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India
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32
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Jones M, Ashwood B, Tokmakoff A, Ferguson AL. Determining Sequence-Dependent DNA Oligonucleotide Hybridization and Dehybridization Mechanisms Using Coarse-Grained Molecular Simulation, Markov State Models, and Infrared Spectroscopy. J Am Chem Soc 2021; 143:17395-17411. [PMID: 34644072 PMCID: PMC8554761 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.1c05219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
A robust understanding of the sequence-dependent thermodynamics of DNA hybridization has enabled rapid advances in DNA nanotechnology. A fundamental understanding of the sequence-dependent kinetics and mechanisms of hybridization and dehybridization remains comparatively underdeveloped. In this work, we establish new understanding of the sequence-dependent hybridization/dehybridization kinetics and mechanism within a family of self-complementary pairs of 10-mer DNA oligomers by integrating coarse-grained molecular simulation, machine learning of the slow dynamical modes, data-driven inference of long-time kinetic models, and experimental temperature-jump infrared spectroscopy. For a repetitive ATATATATAT sequence, we resolve a rugged dynamical landscape comprising multiple metastable states, numerous competing hybridization/dehybridization pathways, and a spectrum of dynamical relaxations. Introduction of a G:C pair at the terminus (GATATATATC) or center (ATATGCATAT) of the sequence reduces the ruggedness of the dynamics landscape by eliminating a number of metastable states and reducing the number of competing dynamical pathways. Only by introducing a G:C pair midway between the terminus and the center to maximally disrupt the repetitive nature of the sequence (ATGATATCAT) do we recover a canonical "all-or-nothing" two-state model of hybridization/dehybridization with no intermediate metastable states. Our results establish new understanding of the dynamical richness of sequence-dependent kinetics and mechanisms of DNA hybridization/dehybridization by furnishing quantitative and predictive kinetic models of the dynamical transition network between metastable states, present a molecular basis with which to understand experimental temperature jump data, and furnish foundational design rules by which to rationally engineer the kinetics and pathways of DNA association and dissociation for DNA nanotechnology applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael
S. Jones
- Pritzker
School of Molecular Engineering, The University
of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United
States
| | - Brennan Ashwood
- Department
of Chemistry, Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, and James Franck
Institute, The University of Chicago, 929 East 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Andrei Tokmakoff
- Department
of Chemistry, Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, and James Franck
Institute, The University of Chicago, 929 East 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United States
| | - Andrew L. Ferguson
- Pritzker
School of Molecular Engineering, The University
of Chicago, 5640 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United
States
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33
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Zgarbová M, Šponer J, Jurečka P. Z-DNA as a Touchstone for Additive Empirical Force Fields and a Refinement of the Alpha/Gamma DNA Torsions for AMBER. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 17:6292-6301. [PMID: 34582195 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.1c00697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Although current AMBER force fields are relatively accurate for canonical B-DNA, many noncanonical structures are still described incorrectly. As noncanonical motifs are attracting increasing attention due to the role they play in living organisms, further improvement is desirable. Here, we have chosen the Z-DNA molecule, which can be considered a touchstone of the universality of empirical force fields, since the noncanonical α and γ backbone conformations native to Z-DNA are also found in protein-DNA complexes, i-motif DNA, and other noncanonical DNAs. We show that spurious α/γ conformations occurring in simulations with current AMBER force fields, OL15 and bsc1, are largely due to inaccurate α/γ parametrization. Moreover, stabilization of native Z-DNA substates involving γ = trans conformations appears to be in conflict with the correct description of the canonical B-DNA structure. Because the balance of the native and spurious conformations is influenced by nonadditive effects, this is a difficult case for an additive dihedral energy scheme such as AMBER. We propose new α/γ parameters, denoted OL21, and show that they improve the stability of native α/γ Z-DNA substates while keeping the canonical DNA description virtually unchanged, thus representing a reasonable compromise within the additive force field framework. Although further extensive testing is needed, the new modification appears to be a promising step toward a more reliable description of noncanonical DNA motifs and provides the best performance for Z-DNA molecules among current AMBER force fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Zgarbová
- Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, 17. listopadu 12, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Šponer
- Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Jurečka
- Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacky University, 17. listopadu 12, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
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34
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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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35
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Landi A, Capobianco A, Peluso A. The Time Scale of Electronic Resonance in Oxidized DNA as Modulated by Solvent Response: An MD/QM-MM Study. Molecules 2021; 26:5497. [PMID: 34576968 PMCID: PMC8465834 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26185497] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The time needed to establish electronic resonant conditions for charge transfer in oxidized DNA has been evaluated by molecular dynamics simulations followed by QM/MM computations which include counterions and a realistic solvation shell. The solvent response is predicted to take ca. 800-1000 ps to bring two guanine sites into resonance, a range of values in reasonable agreement with the estimate previously obtained by a kinetic model able to correctly reproduce the observed yield ratios of oxidative damage for several sequences of oxidized DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amedeo Capobianco
- Dipartimento di Chimica e Biologia “A. Zambelli”, Università di Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, I-84084 Fisciano, SA, Italy; (A.L.); (A.P.)
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36
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Abstract
A statistical method is developed to estimate the maximum amplitude of the base pair fluctuations in a three dimensional mesoscopic model for nucleic acids. The base pair thermal vibrations around the helix diameter are viewed as a Brownian motion for a particle embedded in a stable helical structure. The probability to return to the initial position is computed, as a function of time, by integrating over the particle paths consistent with the physical properties of the model potential. The zero time condition for the first-passage probability defines the constraint to select the integral cutoff for various macroscopic helical conformations, obtained by tuning the twist, bending, and slide motion between adjacent base pairs along the molecule stack. Applying the method to a short homogeneous chain at room temperature, we obtain meaningful estimates for the maximum fluctuations in the twist conformation with ∼10.5 base pairs per helix turn, typical of double stranded DNA helices. Untwisting the double helix, the base pair fluctuations broaden and the integral cutoff increases. The cutoff is found to increase also in the presence of a sliding motion, which shortens the helix contour length, a situation peculiar of dsRNA molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Zoli
- School of Science and Technology, University of Camerino, I-62032 Camerino, Italy
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37
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Corbella M, Liao Q, Moreira C, Parracino A, Kasson PM, Kamerlin SCL. The N-terminal Helix-Turn-Helix Motif of Transcription Factors MarA and Rob Drives DNA Recognition. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:6791-6806. [PMID: 34137249 PMCID: PMC8279559 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c00771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
![]()
DNA-binding proteins
play an important role in gene regulation
and cellular function. The transcription factors MarA and Rob are
two homologous members of the AraC/XylS family that regulate multidrug
resistance. They share a common DNA-binding domain, and Rob possesses
an additional C-terminal domain that permits binding of low-molecular
weight effectors. Both proteins possess two helix-turn-helix (HTH)
motifs capable of binding DNA; however, while MarA interacts with
its promoter through both HTH-motifs, prior studies indicate that
Rob binding to DNA via a single HTH-motif is sufficient for tight
binding. In the present work, we perform microsecond time scale all-atom
simulations of the binding of both transcription factors to different
DNA sequences to understand the determinants of DNA recognition and
binding. Our simulations characterize sequence-dependent changes in
dynamical behavior upon DNA binding, showcasing the role of Arg40
of the N-terminal HTH-motif in allowing for specific tight binding.
Finally, our simulations demonstrate that an acidic C-terminal loop
of Rob can control the DNA binding mode, facilitating interconversion
between the distinct DNA binding modes observed in MarA and Rob. In
doing so, we provide detailed molecular insight into DNA binding and
recognition by these proteins, which in turn is an important step
toward the efficient design of antivirulence agents that target these
proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Corbella
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Chemistry-BMC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, S-751 23, Sweden
| | - Qinghua Liao
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Chemistry-BMC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, S-751 23, Sweden
| | - Cátia Moreira
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Chemistry-BMC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, S-751 23, Sweden
| | - Antonietta Parracino
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Chemistry-BMC, Uppsala University, Uppsala, S-751 23, Sweden
| | - Peter M Kasson
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, S-65124, Sweden.,Departments of Molecular Physiology and Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22908, United States
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38
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Li X, Wei Z, Wang B, Song T. Stable DNA Sequence Over Close-Ending and Pairing Sequences Constraint. Front Genet 2021; 12:644484. [PMID: 34079580 PMCID: PMC8165483 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2021.644484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA computing is a new method based on molecular biotechnology to solve complex problems. The design of DNA sequences is a multi-objective optimization problem in DNA computing, whose objective is to obtain optimized sequences that satisfy multiple constraints to improve the quality of the sequences. However, the previous optimized DNA sequences reacted with each other, which reduced the number of DNA sequences that could be used for molecular hybridization in the solution and thus reduced the accuracy of DNA computing. In addition, a DNA sequence and its complement follow the principle of complementary pairing, and the sequence of base GC at both ends is more stable. To optimize the above problems, the constraints of Pairing Sequences Constraint (PSC) and Close-ending along with the Improved Chaos Whale (ICW) optimization algorithm were proposed to construct a DNA sequence set that satisfies the combination of constraints. The ICW optimization algorithm is added to a new predator–prey strategy and sine and cosine functions under the action of chaos. Compared with other algorithms, among the 23 benchmark functions, the new algorithm obtained the minimum value for one-third of the functions and two-thirds of the current minimum value. The DNA sequences satisfying the constraint combination obtained the minimum of fitness values and had stable and usable structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue Li
- The Key Laboratory of Advanced Design and Intelligent Computing, Ministry of Education, School of Software Engineering, Dalian University, Dalian, China
| | - Ziqi Wei
- School of Software, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Bin Wang
- The Key Laboratory of Advanced Design and Intelligent Computing, Ministry of Education, School of Software Engineering, Dalian University, Dalian, China
| | - Tao Song
- College of Computer and Communication Engineering, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, China
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39
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Janeček M, Kührová P, Mlýnský V, Otyepka M, Šponer J, Banáš P. W-RESP: Well-Restrained Electrostatic Potential-Derived Charges. Revisiting the Charge Derivation Model. J Chem Theory Comput 2021; 17:3495-3509. [PMID: 33999623 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jctc.0c00976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Representation of electrostatic interactions by a Coulombic pairwise potential between atom-centered partial charges is a fundamental and crucial part of empirical force fields used in classical molecular dynamics simulations. The broad success of the AMBER force-field family originates mainly from the restrained electrostatic potential (RESP) charge model, which derives partial charges to reproduce the electrostatic field around the molecules. However, the description of the electrostatic potential around molecules by standard RESP may be biased for some types of molecules. In this study, we modified the RESP charge derivation model to improve its description of the electrostatic potential around molecules and thus electrostatic interactions in the force field. In particular, we reoptimized the atomic radii for definition of the grid points around the molecule, redesigned the restraining scheme, and included extra point (EP) charges. The RESP fitting was significantly improved for aromatic heterocyclic molecules. Thus, the suggested W-RESP(-EP) charge derivation model shows some potential for improving the performance of the nucleic acid force fields, for which the poor description of nonbonded interactions, such as the underestimated stability of base pairing, is well-established. We also report some preliminary simulation tests (around 1 ms of simulation data) on A-RNA duplexes, tetranucleotides, and tetraloops. The simulations reveal no adverse effects, while the description of base-pairing interactions might be improved. The new charges can thus be used in future attempts to improve the nucleic acid simulation force fields, in combination with reparametrization of the other terms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michal Janeček
- Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, tř. 17 listopadu 12, 771 46 Olomouc, Czech Republic.,Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Kührová
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacky University, Křížkovského 511/8, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Vojtěch Mlýnský
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacky University, Křížkovského 511/8, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic.,Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Otyepka
- Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, tř. 17 listopadu 12, 771 46 Olomouc, Czech Republic.,Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacky University, Křížkovského 511/8, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic.,Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Jiří Šponer
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacky University, Křížkovského 511/8, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic.,Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Banáš
- Regional Centre of Advanced Technologies and Materials, Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN), Palacky University, Křížkovského 511/8, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic.,Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Královopolská 135, 612 65 Brno, Czech Republic
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40
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Galindo-Murillo R, Cheatham TE. Ethidium bromide interactions with DNA: an exploration of a classic DNA-ligand complex with unbiased molecular dynamics simulations. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:3735-3747. [PMID: 33764383 PMCID: PMC8053101 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Revised: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Visualization of double stranded DNA in gels with the binding of the fluorescent dye ethidium bromide has been a basic experimental technique in any molecular biology laboratory for >40 years. The interaction between ethidium and double stranded DNA has been observed to be an intercalation between base pairs with strong experimental evidence. This presents a unique opportunity for computational chemistry and biomolecular simulation techniques to benchmark and assess their models in order to see if the theory can reproduce experiments and ultimately provide new insights. We present molecular dynamics simulations of the interaction of ethidium with two different double stranded DNA models. The first model system is the classic sequence d(CGCGAATTCGCG)2 also known as the Drew–Dickerson dodecamer. We found that the ethidium ligand binds mainly stacked on, or intercalated between, the terminal base pairs of the DNA with little to no interaction with the inner base pairs. As the intercalation at the terminal CpG steps is relatively rapid, the resultant DNA unwinding, rigidification, and increased stability of the internal base pair steps inhibits further intercalation. In order to reduce these interactions and to provide a larger groove space, a second 18-mer DNA duplex system with the sequence d(GCATGAACGAACGAACGC) was tested. We computed molecular dynamics simulations for 20 independent replicas with this sequence, each with ∼27 μs of sampling time. Results show several spontaneous intercalation and base-pair eversion events that are consistent with experimental observations. The present work suggests that extended MD simulations with modern DNA force fields and optimized simulation codes are allowing the ability to reproduce unbiased intercalation events that we were not able to previously reach due to limits in computing power and the lack of extensively tested force fields and analysis tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo Galindo-Murillo
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, 2000 East 30 South Skaggs 306, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
| | - Thomas E Cheatham
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Utah, 2000 East 30 South Skaggs 306, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
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41
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Kung RW, Deak TK, Griffith-Salik CA, Takyi NA, Wetmore SD. Impact of DNA Adduct Size, Number, and Relative Position on the Toxicity of Aromatic Amines: A Molecular Dynamics Case Study of ANdG- and APdG-Containing DNA Duplexes. J Chem Inf Model 2021; 61:2313-2327. [PMID: 33977716 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jcim.1c00202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Human exposure to aromatic amines (AAs) can result in carcinogenic DNA adducts. To complement previous work geared toward understanding the mutagenicity of AA-derived adducts, which has almost exclusively studied (monoadducted) DNA containing a single lesion, the present work provides the first in-depth comparison of the structure of monoadducted and diadducted DNA duplexes. Specifically, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were initially performed on DNA containing the nonmutagenic single-ringed N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-aniline (ANdG) or the mutagenic four-ringed N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-1-aminopyrene (APdG) lesion at G1, G2, or G3 in the AA deletion hotspot (5'-G1G2CG3CC) in the anti or syn glycosidic orientation (B/S duplex conformation). Subsequently, diadducted strands were assessed that span each combination of damaged sites (G1G2 (nearest neighbors), G2G3 (next-nearest neighbors), and G1G3 (two intervening nucleotides)) and anti/syn lesion glycosidic orientations. Despite other N-linked C8-dG adducts exhibiting sequence dependence conformational heterogeneity, a single ANdG or APdG lesion induces helical conformational homogeneity that is exclusively controlled by aryl moiety size. However, the preferred damaged DNA conformation can change upon the addition of a second adduct depending on lesion separation, with neighboring lesions stabilizing a nonmutagenic conformation and next-nearest damaged sites stabilizing a promutagenic conformation regardless of adduct size. As a result, diadducted DNA is found to adopt conformations that are unfavored for the corresponding monoadducted system, pointing to differential replication and repair outcomes for diadducted DNA compared to those for monoadducted DNA. Thus, although the toxicity of monoadducted DNA is most significantly dictated by lesion size, the toxicity can increase or decrease upon a second damaging event depending on lesion size and relative position. Overall, our work adds the number of lesions and their spatial separation to the growing list of factors that determine the structure and biological outcomes of adducted DNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan W Kung
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - Trinity K Deak
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - Cassidy A Griffith-Salik
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - Nathania A Takyi
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada
| | - Stacey D Wetmore
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, 4401 University Drive West, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4, Canada
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42
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Valdiviezo J, Clever C, Beall E, Pearse A, Bae Y, Zhang P, Achim C, Beratan DN, Waldeck DH. Delocalization-Assisted Transport through Nucleic Acids in Molecular Junctions. Biochemistry 2021; 60:1368-1378. [PMID: 33870693 DOI: 10.1021/acs.biochem.1c00072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The flow of charge through molecules is central to the function of supramolecular machines, and charge transport in nucleic acids is implicated in molecular signaling and DNA repair. We examine the transport of electrons through nucleic acids to understand the interplay of resonant and nonresonant charge carrier transport mechanisms. This study reports STM break junction measurements of peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) with a G-block structure and contrasts the findings with previous results for DNA duplexes. The conductance of G-block PNA duplexes is much higher than that of the corresponding DNA duplexes of the same sequence; however, they do not display the strong even-odd dependence conductance oscillations found in G-block DNA. Theoretical analysis finds that the conductance oscillation magnitude in PNA is suppressed because of the increased level of electronic coupling interaction between G-blocks in PNA and the stronger PNA-electrode interaction compared to that in DNA duplexes. The strong interactions in the G-block PNA duplexes produce molecular conductances as high as 3% G0, where G0 is the quantum of conductance, for 5 nm duplexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesús Valdiviezo
- Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States
| | - Caleb Clever
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Edward Beall
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
| | - Alexander Pearse
- Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States
| | - Yookyung Bae
- Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States
| | - Peng Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States
| | - Catalina Achim
- Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States
| | - David N Beratan
- Department of Chemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States
- Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States
- Department of Biochemistry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27710, United States
| | - David H Waldeck
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, United States
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43
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Broadwater DWB, Cook AW, Kim HD. First passage time study of DNA strand displacement. Biophys J 2021; 120:2400-2412. [PMID: 33894217 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2021.01.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA strand displacement, in which a single-stranded nucleic acid invades a DNA duplex, is pervasive in genomic processes and DNA engineering applications. The kinetics of strand displacement have been studied in bulk; however, the kinetics of the underlying strand exchange were obfuscated by a slow bimolecular association step. Here, we use a novel single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer approach termed the "fission" assay to obtain the full distribution of first passage times of unimolecular strand displacement. At a frame time of 4.4 ms, the first passage time distribution for a 14-nucleotide displacement domain exhibited a nearly monotonic decay with little delay. Among the eight different sequences we tested, the mean displacement time was on average 35 ms and varied by up to a factor of 13. The measured displacement kinetics also varied between complementary invaders and between RNA and DNA invaders of the same base sequence, except for T → U substitution. However, displacement times were largely insensitive to the monovalent salt concentration in the range of 0.25-1 M. Using a one-dimensional random walk model, we infer that the single-step displacement time is in the range of ∼30-300 μs, depending on the base identity. The framework presented here is broadly applicable to the kinetic analysis of multistep processes investigated at the single-molecule level.
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Affiliation(s)
- D W Bo Broadwater
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Alexander W Cook
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Harold D Kim
- School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia.
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44
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Ajjugal Y, Kolimi N, Rathinavelan T. Secondary structural choice of DNA and RNA associated with CGG/CCG trinucleotide repeat expansion rationalizes the RNA misprocessing in FXTAS. Sci Rep 2021; 11:8163. [PMID: 33854084 PMCID: PMC8046799 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-87097-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2020] [Accepted: 03/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
CGG tandem repeat expansion in the 5'-untranslated region of the fragile X mental retardation-1 (FMR1) gene leads to unusual nucleic acid conformations, hence causing genetic instabilities. We show that the number of G…G (in CGG repeat) or C…C (in CCG repeat) mismatches (other than A…T, T…A, C…G and G…C canonical base pairs) dictates the secondary structural choice of the sense and antisense strands of the FMR1 gene and their corresponding transcripts in fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS). The circular dichroism (CD) spectra and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) reveal that CGG DNA (sense strand of the FMR1 gene) and its transcript favor a quadruplex structure. CD, EMSA and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations also show that more than four C…C mismatches cannot be accommodated in the RNA duplex consisting of the CCG repeat (antisense transcript); instead, it favors an i-motif conformational intermediate. Such a preference for unusual secondary structures provides a convincing justification for the RNA foci formation due to the sequestration of RNA-binding proteins to the bidirectional transcripts and the repeat-associated non-AUG translation that are observed in FXTAS. The results presented here also suggest that small molecule modulators that can destabilize FMR1 CGG DNA and RNA quadruplex structures could be promising candidates for treating FXTAS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yogeeshwar Ajjugal
- Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Kandi, Telangana State, 502285, India
| | - Narendar Kolimi
- Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Kandi, Telangana State, 502285, India
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45
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Melidis L, Styles IB, Hannon MJ. Targeting structural features of viral genomes with a nano-sized supramolecular drug. Chem Sci 2021; 12:7174-7184. [PMID: 34123344 PMCID: PMC8153246 DOI: 10.1039/d1sc00933h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
RNA targeting is an exciting frontier for drug design. Intriguing targets include functional RNA structures in structurally-conserved untranslated regions (UTRs) of many lethal viruses. However, computational docking screens, valuable in protein structure targeting, fail for inherently flexible RNA. Herein we harness MD simulations with Markov state modeling to enable nanosize metallo-supramolecular cylinders to explore the dynamic RNA conformational landscape of HIV-1 TAR untranslated region RNA (representative for many viruses) replicating experimental observations. These cylinders are exciting as they have unprecedented nucleic acid binding and are the first supramolecular helicates shown to have anti-viral activity in cellulo: the approach developed in this study provides additional new insight about how such viral UTR structures might be targeted with the cylinder binding into the heart of an RNA-bulge cavity, how that reduces the conformational flexibility of the RNA and molecular details of the insertion mechanism. The approach and understanding developed represents a new roadmap for design of supramolecular drugs to target RNA structural motifs across biology and nucleic acid nanoscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lazaros Melidis
- Physical Sciences for Health Centre, University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham B15 2TT UK
| | - Iain B Styles
- Physical Sciences for Health Centre, University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham B15 2TT UK
- School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham B15 2TT UK
- Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors, The Universities of Birmingham and Nottingham The Midlands UK
- Alan Turing Institute London UK
| | - Michael J Hannon
- Physical Sciences for Health Centre, University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham B15 2TT UK
- School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham B15 2TT UK
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46
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Liu T, Yu T, Zhang S, Wang Y, Zhang W. Thermodynamic and kinetic properties of a single base pair in A-DNA and B-DNA. Phys Rev E 2021; 103:042409. [PMID: 34005973 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.103.042409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2020] [Accepted: 03/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Double stranded DNA can adopt different forms, the so-called A-, B-, and Z-DNA, which play different biological roles. In this work, the thermodynamic and the kinetic parameters for the base-pair closing and opening in A-DNA and B-DNA were calculated by all-atom molecular dynamics simulations at different temperatures. The thermodynamic parameters of the base pair in B-DNA were in good agreement with the experimental results. The free energy barrier of breaking a single base stack results from the enthalpy increase ΔH caused by the disruption of hydrogen bonding and base-stacking interactions, as well as water and base interactions. The free energy barrier of base pair closing comes from the unfavorable entropy loss ΔS caused by the restriction of torsional angles and hydration. It was found that the enthalpy change ΔH and the entropy change ΔS for the base pair in A-DNA are much larger than those in B-DNA, and the transition rates between the opening and the closing state for the base pair in A-DNA are much slower than those in B-DNA. The large difference of the enthalpy and entropy change for forming the base pair in A-DNA and B-DNA results from different hydration in A-DNA and B-DNA. The hydration pattern observed around DNA is an accompanying process for forming the base pair, rather than a follow-up of the conformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taigang Liu
- Department of Physics Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
- School of Medical Engineering, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang 453003, China
| | - Ting Yu
- Department of Physics Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Shuhao Zhang
- Department of Physics Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Yujie Wang
- Department of Physics Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
- Department of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, Zhoukou Normal University, Zhoukou 466000, China
| | - Wenbing Zhang
- Department of Physics Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
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47
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Gutten O, Jurečka P, Aliakbar Tehrani Z, Buděšínský M, Řezáč J, Rulíšek L. Conformational energies and equilibria of cyclic dinucleotides in vacuo and in solution: computational chemistry vs. NMR experiments. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:7280-7294. [PMID: 33876088 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp05993e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Performance of computational methods in modelling cyclic dinucleotides - an important and challenging class of compounds - has been evaluated by two different benchmarks: (1) gas-phase conformational energies and (2) qualitative agreement with NMR observations of the orientation of the χ-dihedral angle in solvent. In gas-phase benchmarks, where CCSD(T) and DLPNO-CCSD(T) methods have been used as the reference, most of the (dispersion corrected) density functional approximations are accurate enough to justify prioritizing computational cost and compatibility with other modelling options as the criterion of choice. NMR experiments of 3'3'-c-di-AMP, 3'3'-c-GAMP, and 3'3'-c-di-GMP show the overall prevalence of the anti-conformation of purine bases, but some population of syn-conformations is observed for guanines. Implicit solvation models combined with quantum-chemical methods struggle to reproduce this behaviour, probably due to a lack of dynamics and explicitly modelled solvent, leading to structures that are too compact. Molecular dynamics simulations overrepresent the syn-conformation of guanine due to the overestimation of an intramolecular hydrogen bond. Our combination of experimental and computational benchmarks provides "error bars" for modelling cyclic dinucleotides in solvent, where such information is generally difficult to obtain, and should help gauge the interpretability of studies dealing with binding of cyclic dinucleotides to important pharmaceutical targets. At the same time, the presented analysis calls for improvement in both implicit solvation models and force-field parameters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ondrej Gutten
- Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Flemingovo náměstí 2, 166 10, Praha 6, Czech Republic.
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48
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Ferreira I, Amarante TD, Weber G. Salt dependent mesoscopic model for RNA at multiple strand concentrations. Biophys Chem 2021; 271:106551. [PMID: 33662903 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpc.2021.106551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Revised: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Mesoscopic models can be used for the description of the thermodynamic properties of RNA duplexes. With the use of experimental melting temperatures, its parametrization can provide important insights into its hydrogen bonds and stacking interactions as has been done for high sodium concentrations. However, the RNA parametrization for lower salt concentrations is still missing due to the limited amount of published melting temperature data. While the Peyrard-Bishop (PB) parametrization was found to be largely independent of strand concentrations, it requires that all temperatures are provided at the same strand concentrations. Here we adapted the PB model to handle multiple strand concentrations and in this way we were able to make use of an experimental set of temperatures to model the hydrogen bond and stacking interactions at low and intermediate sodium concentrations. For the parametrizations we make a distinction between terminal and internal base pairs, and the resulting potentials were qualitatively similar as we obtained previously for DNA. The main difference from DNA parameters, was the Morse potentials at low sodium concentrations for terminal r(AU) which is stronger than d(AT), suggesting higher hydrogen bond strength.
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Affiliation(s)
- Izabela Ferreira
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil; Programa Interunidades de Pós-Graduação em Bioinformática, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Tauanne D Amarante
- MRC Cancer Unit, University of Cambridge, Hutchison/MRC Research Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, UK
| | - Gerald Weber
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
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49
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Menssen RJ, Kimmel GJ, Tokmakoff A. Investigation into the mechanism and dynamics of DNA association and dissociation utilizing kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. J Chem Phys 2021; 154:045101. [PMID: 33514113 DOI: 10.1063/5.0035187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
In this work, we present a kinetic Markov state Monte Carlo model designed to complement temperature-jump (T-jump) infrared spectroscopy experiments probing the kinetics and dynamics of short DNA oligonucleotides. The model is designed to be accessible to experimental researchers in terms of both computational simplicity and expense while providing detailed insights beyond those provided by experimental methods. The model is an extension of a thermodynamic lattice model for DNA hybridization utilizing the formalism of the nucleation-zipper mechanism. Association and dissociation trajectories were generated utilizing the Gillespie algorithm and parameters determined via fitting the association and dissociation timescales to previously published experimental data. Terminal end fraying, experimentally observed following a rapid T-jump, in the sequence 5'-ATATGCATAT-3' was replicated by the model that also demonstrated that experimentally observed fast dynamics in the sequences 5'-C(AT)nG-3', where n = 2-6, were also due to terminal end fraying. The dominant association pathways, isolated by transition pathway theory, showed two primary motifs: initiating at or next to a G:C base pair, which is enthalpically favorable and related to the increased strength of G:C base pairs, and initiating in the center of the sequence, which is entropically favorable and related to minimizing the penalty associated with the decrease in configurational entropy due to hybridization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan J Menssen
- Department of Chemistry, James Franck Institute, and Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, The University of Chicago, 929 East 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - Gregory J Kimmel
- Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 USF Magnolia Drive, Tampa, Florida 33612, USA
| | - Andrei Tokmakoff
- Department of Chemistry, James Franck Institute, and Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, The University of Chicago, 929 East 57th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
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Kovaleva N, Strelnikov IA, Zubova EA. Kinetics of the Conformational Transformation between B- and A-Forms in the Drew-Dickerson Dodecamer. ACS OMEGA 2020; 5:32995-33006. [PMID: 33403261 PMCID: PMC7774075 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.0c04247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 12/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Some DNA sequences in crystals and in complexes with proteins can exist in the forms intermediate between the B- and A-DNA. Based on this, it was implied that the B-to-A transition for any DNA molecule should go through these intermediate forms also in kinetics. More precisely, the helix parameter Slide has to change first, and the molecule should take the E-form. After that, the Roll parameter changes. In the present work, we simulated the kinetics of the B-A transition in the Drew-Dickerson dodecamer, a known B-philic DNA oligomer. We used the "sugar" coarse-grained model that reproduces ribose flexibility, preserves sequence specificity, employs implicit water and explicit ions, and offers the possibility to vary friction. As the control parameter of the transition, we chose the volume available for a counterion and considered the change from a large to a small volume. In the described system, the B-to-A conformational transformation proved to correspond to a first-order phase transition. The molecule behaves like a small cluster in the region of such a transition, jumping between the A- and B-forms in a wide range of available volumes. The viscosity of the solvent does not affect the midpoint of the transition but only the overall mobility of the system. All helix parameters change synchronously on average, we have not observed the sequence "Slide first, Roll later" in kinetics, and the E-DNA is not a necessary step for the transition between the B- and A-forms in the studied system. So, the existence of the intermediate DNA forms requires specific conditions, shifting the common balance of interactions: certain nucleotide sequence in specific solution or/and the interaction with some protein.
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