1
|
Poudyal RR, Guth-Metzler RM, Veenis AJ, Frankel EA, Keating CD, Bevilacqua PC. Template-directed RNA polymerization and enhanced ribozyme catalysis inside membraneless compartments formed by coacervates. Nat Commun 2019; 10:490. [PMID: 30700721 PMCID: PMC6353945 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-08353-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2018] [Accepted: 01/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Membraneless compartments, such as complex coacervates, have been hypothesized as plausible prebiotic micro-compartments due to their ability to sequester RNA; however, their compatibility with essential RNA World chemistries is unclear. We show that such compartments can enhance key prebiotically-relevant RNA chemistries. We demonstrate that template-directed RNA polymerization is sensitive to polycation identity, with polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDAC) outperforming poly(allylamine), poly(lysine), and poly(arginine) in polycation/RNA coacervates. Differences in RNA diffusion rates between PDAC/RNA and oligoarginine/RNA coacervates imply distinct biophysical environments. Template-directed RNA polymerization is relatively insensitive to Mg2+ concentration when performed in PDAC/RNA coacervates as compared to buffer, even enabling partial rescue of the reaction in the absence of magnesium. Finally, we show enhanced activities of multiple nucleic acid enzymes including two ribozymes and a deoxyribozyme, underscoring the generality of this approach, in which functional nucleic acids like aptamers and ribozymes, and in some cases key cosolutes localize within the coacervate microenvironments. Membraneless compartments have been theorized to be prebiotic micro-compartments as they spontaneously encapsulate RNA and proteins. Here, the authors report membraneless compartments can enhance RNA chemistries, affecting template directed RNA polymerization and stimulating nucleic acid enzymes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Raghav R Poudyal
- Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA. .,Center for RNA Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
| | - Rebecca M Guth-Metzler
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.,School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332, USA
| | - Andrew J Veenis
- Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.,Center for RNA Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Erica A Frankel
- Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.,Center for RNA Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.,The Dow Chemical Company, 400 Arcola Road, Collegeville, PA, 19426, USA
| | - Christine D Keating
- Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
| | - Philip C Bevilacqua
- Department of Chemistry, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA. .,Center for RNA Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA. .,Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kanavarioti A, Hurley TB, Baird EE. Affinity of guanosine derivatives for polycytidylate revisited. J Mol Evol 2001; 41:161-8. [PMID: 11539556 DOI: 10.1007/bf00170668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Evidence is presented for complexation of guanosine 5'-monophosphate 2-methylimidazolide (2-MeImpG) with polycytidylate (poly(C)) at pH 8.0 and 23 degrees C in the presence of 1.0 M NaCl2 and 0.2 M MgCl2 in water. The association of 2-MeImpG with poly(C) was investigated using UV-vis spectroscopy as well as by monitoring the kinetics of the nucleophilic substitution reaction of the imidazole moiety by amines. The results of both methods are consistent with moderately strong poly(C) 2-MeImpG complexation and the spectrophotometric measurements allowed the construction of a binding isotherm with a concentration of 2-MeImpG equal to 5.55 +/- 0.15 mM at half occupancy. UV spectroscopy was employed to establish the binding of other guanosine derivatives on poly(C). These derivatives are guanosine 5'-monophosphate (5'GMP), guanosine 5'-monophosphate imidazolide (ImpG), and guanosine 5'-monophosphate morpholidate (morpG). Within experimental error these guanosine derivatives exhibit the same affinity for poly(C) as 2-MeImpG.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- A Kanavarioti
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz 95064, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Gangamani BP, Kumar VA, Ganesh KN. Spermine conjugated peptide nucleic acids (spPNA): UV and fluorescence studies of PNA-DNA hybrids with improved stability. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 1997; 240:778-82. [PMID: 9398644 DOI: 10.1006/bbrc.1997.7745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNAs), the achiral DNA mimics with amide backbone, are emerging as attractive leads for drug development by antisense approach. Two major limitations of PNAs from an application perspective are their limited solubility in aqueous systems and pronounced self-organization. In this paper, it is shown that covalent conjugation of spermine at C-terminus of PNA (spPNA) improves its solubility and binds to complementary DNA 20 times stronger than the corresponding binding of PNA. Fluorescence kinetics shows a 2 fold acceleration of the bimolecular association process in spPNA:DNA hybrids, due to electrostatic interaction cationic spermine tagged to PNA with anionic DNA. This modification is easy to incorporate into PNA synthetic protocols to make them more effective in biological applications and may improve the poor cell uptake of PNA.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- B P Gangamani
- Organic Chemistry Synthesis Division, National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, India. f1p4
| | | | | |
Collapse
|