Theoretical investigation of the proton transfer mechanism in guanine-cytosine and adenine-thymine base pairs

Elaborating the excited-state double proton transfer mechanism and multiple fluorescent characteristics of 3,5-bis(2-hydroxypheny)-1H-1,2,4-triazole

Recently, Krishnamoorthy and coworkers reported a new type of proton transfer, which was labeled as 'proton transfer triggered proton transfer', in 3,5-bis(2-hydroxypheny)-1H-1,2,4-triazole (bis-HPTA). In this work, the excited-state double proton transfer (ESDPT) mechanism and multiple fluorescent characteristics of bis-HPTA were investigated. Upon photo-excitation, the intramolecular hydrogen bonding strength changed and the electron density of bis-HPTA redistributed. These changes will affect the proton transfer process. In S₀ state, the proton transfer processes of bis-HPTA were prohibited on the stepwise and concerted pathways. After vertical excitation to the S₁ state, the ESIPT-II process was more likely to occur than the ESIPT-I process, which was contrary to the conclusion that the ESIPT-II process is blocked and the ESIPT-II process takes place after the ESIPT-I process proposed by Krishnamoorthy and coworkers. When the K2 tautomer was formed through the ESIPT-II process, the second proton transfer process on the stepwise pathway was prohibited. On another stepwise pathway, after the ESIPT-I process (form the K1 tautomer), the second proton transfer process should overcome a higher potential barrier than the ESIPT-I process to form ESDPT tautomer. On the concerted pathway, the bis-HPTA can synchronous transfer double protons to form the ESDPT tautomer. The ESDPT tautomer was unstable and immediately converted to the K2 tautomer via a barrierless reverse proton transfer process. Thus, the fluorescent maximum at 465 nm from the ESDPT tautomer reported by Krishnamoorthy and coworkers was ascribed to the K2 tautomer. Most of the fluorophores show dual fluorescent properties, while the bis-HPTA undergoing ESDPT process exhibited three well-separated fluorescent peaks, corresponding to its normal form (438 nm), K1 tautomer (462 nm) and K2 tautomer (450 nm), respectively.

A theoretical study on the excited-state deactivation paths for the A-5FU dimer

The photostability of DNA plays a key role in the normal function of organisms. A-5FU is a base pair derivative of the A-T dimer where the methyl group is replaced by a F atom. Here, accurate static TDDFT calculations and non-adiabatic dynamic simulations are used to systematically investigate the excited-state decay paths of the A-5FU dimer related to the proton transfer and the out-of-plane twisting deformation motion of A and 5FU in the 1ππ* and 1nπ* states. CC2 is used to check the accuracy of the current TDDFT calculations. Our results show that the deformation of the C[double bond, length as m-dash]C or C[double bond, length as m-dash]N double bond in A and 5FU provides an efficient pathway for the depopulation of the lowest excited states, which can compete with the excited-state proton transfer paths in the dimer. This finding indicates that monomer-like decay paths could be important for the photostability of weakly hydrogen-bonded DNA base pairs and provide a new insight into the excited-state decay paths in base pairs and their analogues.

The influence of base pair tautomerism on single point mutations in aqueous DNA

The relationship between base pair hydrogen bond proton transfer and the rate of spontaneous single point mutations at ambient temperatures and pressures in aqueous DNA is investigated. By using an ensemble-based multiscale computational modelling method, statistically robust rates of proton transfer for the A:T and G:C base pairs within a solvated DNA dodecamer are calculated. Several different proton transfer pathways are observed within the same base pair. It is shown that, in G:C, the double proton transfer tautomer is preferred, while the single proton transfer process is favoured in A:T. The reported range of rate coefficients for double proton transfer is consistent with recent experimental data. Notwithstanding the approximately 1000 times more common presence of single proton transfer products from A:T, observationally there is bias towards G:C to A:T mutations in a wide range of living organisms. We infer that the double proton transfer reactions between G:C base pairs have a negligible contribution towards this bias for the following reasons: (i) the maximum half-life of the G*:C* tautomer is in the range of picoseconds, which is significantly smaller than the milliseconds it takes for DNA to unwind during replication, (ii) statistically, the majority of G*:C* tautomers revert back to their canonical forms through a barrierless process, and (iii) the thermodynamic instability of the tautomers with respect to the canonical base pairs. Through similar reasoning, we also deduce that proton transfer in the A:T base pair does not contribute to single point mutations in DNA.

A distinct excited-state proton transfer mechanism for 4-(N-Substituted-amino)-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridines in aprotic and protic solvents

Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) method was used to study the different excited states proton transfer mechanism of DPP in cyclohexane (CHE) and Methanol (MeOH). The results indicate that the concerted mechanism and the stepwise mechanism coexist in the double proton transfer process of DPP dimer in the aprotic solvent CHE, the stepwise mechanism predominates. The stepwise mechanism can only carry out single proton transfer (DPP-SPT), the second proton cannot be transferred because it is hindered by high energy barriers. The concerted mechanism produces a double proton transfer (DPP-DPT). The potential energy surface of the DPP dimer was calculated and the double fluorescence phenomenon of DPP dimer observed by Chou et al. (P.T. Chou, Y.I. Liu, H.W. Liu, W.S. Yu, Dual Excitation behavior of double proton transfer versus Charge Transfer in 4-(N-Substituted Amino)-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridines tuned by dielectric and hydrogen-bonding perturbation, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 123 (2001) 12119-12120) was explained. In view of the protonic solvent effect of methanol, the potential energy curve of the DPP/MeOH cluster was constructed. The fluorescence quenching process of DPP/MeOH clusters was elucidated. The proton transfer pathways of DPP/MeOH clusters are revealed in two different concerted ways (Type A: protons transfer from DPP molecules to MeOH solvent molecules; Type B: protons transfer from MeOH solvent to DPP molecules). The ESPT process of DPP molecules in the protic solvent MeOH was found to be more prone to Type B. The results can help to better understand the intermolecular hydrogen bonding mechanism of DPP molecules.

Is non-statistical dissociation a general feature of guanine–cytosine base-pair ions? Collision-induced dissociation of a protonated 9-methylguanine–1-methylcytosine Watson–Crick base pair, and comparison with its deprotonated and radical cation analogues

Non-statistical dissociation of a protonated guanine–cytosine Watson–Crick base pair.

The Role of Proton Transfer on Mutations

Hydrogen bonds play a critical role in nucleobase studies as they encode genes, map protein structures, provide stability to the base pairs, and are involved in spontaneous and induced mutations. Proton transfer mechanism is a critical phenomenon that is related to the acid-base characteristics of the nucleobases in Watson-Crick base pairs. The energetic and dynamical behavior of the proton can be depicted from these characteristics and their adjustment to the water molecules or the surrounding ions. Further, new pathways open up in which protonated nucleobases are generated by proton transfer from the ionized water molecules and elimination of a hydroxyl radical in this review, the analysis will be focused on understanding the mechanism of untargeted mutations in canonical, wobble, Hoogsteen pairs, and mutagenic tautomers through the non-covalent interactions. Further, rare tautomer formation through the single proton transfer (SPT) and the double proton transfer (DPT), quantum tunneling in nucleobases, radiation-induced bystander effects, role of water in proton transfer (PT) reactions, PT in anticancer drugs-DNA interaction, displacement and oriental polarization, possible models for mutations in DNA, genome instability, and role of proton transfer using kinetic parameters for RNA will be discussed.

Proton transfer in guanine-cytosine base pair analogues studied by NMR spectroscopy and PIMD simulations

It has been hypothesised that proton tunnelling between paired nucleobases significantly enhances the formation of rare tautomeric forms and hence leads to errors in DNA replication. Here, we study nuclear quantum effects (NQEs) using deuterium isotope-induced changes of nitrogen NMR chemical shifts in a model base pair consisting of two tautomers of isocytosine, which form hydrogen-bonded dimers in the same way as the guanine-cytosine base pair. Isotope effects in NMR are consequences of NQEs, because ro-vibrational averaging of different isotopologues gives rise to different magnetic shielding of the nuclei. The experimental deuterium-induced chemical shift changes are compared with those calculated by a combination of path integral molecular dynamics (PIMD) simulations with DFT calculations of nuclear shielding. These calculations can directly link the observable isotope-induced shifts with NQEs. A comparison of the deuterium-induced changes of 15N chemical shifts with those predicted by PIMD simulations shows that inter-base proton transfer reactions do not take place in this system. We demonstrate, however, that NMR isotope shifts provide a unique possibility to study NQEs and to evaluate the accuracy of the computational methods used for modelling quantum effects in molecules. Calculations based on the PBE functional from the general-gradient-approximation family provided significantly worse predictions of deuterium isotope shifts than those with the hybrid B3LYP functional.

IPPP-CLOPPA Analysis of the Influence of the Methylation on the Potential Energy and the Molecular Polarizability of the Hydrogen Bonds in the Cytosine-Guanine Base Pair

The IPPP-CLOPPA method is applied to investigate the influence of a methyl group on the energy of the hydrogen bonds and the potential energy curve of the bridge protons in model compounds, which mimic the methylated and unmethylated cytosine-guanine base pairs. On the same grounds, this influence on the polarizability of the intermolecular hydrogen bonds of these compounds is also addressed, in order to determine whether this linear response property provides a significant proof of the electronic mechanisms that affect the stabilization of the hydrogen bonds. Results obtained show that the methyl electronic system delocalizes on the hydrogen bond region, and changes of these intermolecular hydrogen bonds are due to this effect of delocalization.

Influence of Coupling and Embedding Schemes on QM Size Convergence in QM/MM Approaches for the Example of a Proton Transfer in DNA

The influence of embedding and coupling schemes on the convergence of the QM size in the QM/MM approach is investigated for the transfer of a proton in a DNA base pair. We find that the embedding scheme (mechanical or electrostatic) has a much greater impact on the convergence behavior than the coupling scheme (additive QM/MM or subtractive ONIOM). To achieve size convergence, QM regions with up to 6000 atoms are necessary for pure QM or mechanical embedding. In contrast, electrostatic embedding converges faster: for the example of the transfer of a proton between DNA base pairs, we recommend including at least five base pairs and 5 Å of solvent (including counterions) into the QM region, i.e., a total of 1150 atoms.

A theoretical study of the potential energy surfaces for the double proton transfer reaction of model DNA base pairs

The excited-state double proton transfer (ESDPT) mechanism in a model DNA base pair, 7-azaindole (7AI) dimer, has been debated over the years.

Exposing the G-quadruplex to electric fields: the role played by telomeres in the propagation of DNA errors

We use quantum calculations to assess the impact of external electric fields on the stability of G-quadruplex, a key structure in telomere functionality.

DNA spontaneous mutation and its role in the evolution of GC-content: assessing the impact of the genetic sequence

We use theoretical tools to investigate the possible role played by a DNA sequence in the base pair tautomerization phenomena.

Modelling proton tunnelling in the adenine–thymine base pair

Environment-assisted quantum tunnelling is unlikely to play a significant role in adenine–thymine tautomerisation.

Assessing the importance of proton transfer reactions in DNA

Although engineered by millions of years of evolution, the cellular machinery is not flawless, and errors regularly appear during DNA replication. The subsequent alteration of the stored genetic message results in a mutation and might be the starting point of important health disorders. The question therefore is what causes DNA mutations? All living organisms are constantly exposed to a number of external agents such as free radicals and to radiation, which may lead to induced mutations. There are also mutations happening without invoking the action of any exogenous element, the so-called spontaneous mutations. The former can be partially controlled by avoiding exposure to high-risk environments, while the latter are more intriguing because their origin is unclear and difficult to determine. As noted by Watson and Crick when they first discovered the DNA structure, the correct replication of DNA rests on the assumption that the base pairs remain in their most stable, canonical form. However, protons along the interbase hydrogen-bond network are not static entities. They can in fact interchange their positions in DNA bases through proton transfer (PT) reactions before strands unwind, giving rise to noncanonical structures defined as rare tautomers. The importance of these rare tautomers was also cleverly anticipated by Watson and Crick and some years later claimed by Löwdin to be a source of spontaneous mutations. In Watson and Crick's words: "It would be of interest to know the precise difference in free energy between the various tautomeric forms under physiological conditions." Unfortunately, rare tautomeric forms are very difficult to detect, so no direct and accurate free energy measure has been discerned. In contrast, theoretical chemistry is making good progress toward the quantification of PT reactions in DNA and their biological consequences. This Account touches upon the theoretical studies devoted to appraising the importance of rare tautomers as promoters of spontaneous mutations. We focus in particular on the crucial role played by the biological environment on DNA stability. It has now been demonstrated that valuable macroscopic predictions require not only highly accurate theories but also refined chemical models. Hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) simulations performed on short but complete DNA sequence fragments emerge in this context as the most adequate tools. In addition, these methods can be used to quantify the effect of different external agents on the PT tautomeric equilibria and, eventually, to conveniently handle them. This is the case for the possible alteration of the naturally observed mutation rate by exposure to intense electric fields. Theoretical predictions envision in this respect promising applications of ultrashort electric pulses in medicine to selectively modify the mutated/canonical ratio in DNA.

(DNS)C: a fluorescent, environmentally sensitive cytidine derivative for the direct detection of GGG triad sequences

With the goal of developing a fluorescent nucleoside sensitive to its environment, in this study we synthesized (DNS)C, a novel modified 2'-deoxycytidine bearing a 5-(dimethylamino)naphthalene-1-sulfonyl (dansyl) moiety at the N4 position, and tested its properties in monomeric and oligomeric states. (DNS)C undergoes intramolecular photoinduced electron transfer between its dansyl and cytosine units, resulting in remarkable changes in fluorescence that depend on the choice of solvent. In addition, the fluorescence behavior and thermal stability of oligonucleotides containing (DNS)C are dependent on the nature of the flanking and neighboring bases. Notably, (DNS)C exhibits fluorescence enhancement only in fully matched duplex DNA containing a GGG triad sequence. The environmental sensitivity of (DNS)C can be exploited as a fluorescence tool for monitoring the interactions of DNA with other biomolecules, including DNA, RNA, and proteins.

Photoinduced processes in nucleic acids

Photoinduced processes in nucleic acids are phenomena of fundamental interest in diverse fields, from prebiotic studies, through medical research on carcinogenesis, to the development of bioorganic photodevices. In this contribution we survey many aspects of the research across the boundaries. Starting from a historical background, where the main milestones are identified, we review the main findings of the physical-chemical research of photoinduced processes on several types of nucleic-acid fragments, from monomers to duplexes. We also discuss a number of different issues which are still under debate.

Is the DPT tautomerization of the long A·G Watson-Crick DNA base mispair a source of the adenine and guanine mutagenic tautomers? A QM and QTAIM response to the biologically important question

Herein, we first address the question posed in the title by establishing the tautomerization trajectory via the double proton transfer of the adenine·guanine (A·G) DNA base mispair formed by the canonical tautomers of the A and G bases into the A*·G* DNA base mispair, involving mutagenic tautomers, with the use of the quantum-mechanical calculations and quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM). It was detected that the A·G ↔ A*·G* tautomerization proceeds through the asynchronous concerted mechanism. It was revealed that the A·G base mispair is stabilized by the N6H···O6 (5.68) and N1H···N1 (6.51) hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) and the N2H···HC2 dihydrogen bond (DH-bond) (0.68 kcal·mol(-1) ), whereas the A*·G* base mispair-by the O6H···N6 (10.88), N1H···N1 (7.01) and C2H···N2 H-bonds (0.42 kcal·mol(-1) ). The N2H···HC2 DH-bond smoothly and without bifurcation transforms into the C2H···N2 H-bond at the IRC = -10.07 Bohr in the course of the A·G ↔ A*·G* tautomerization. Using the sweeps of the energies of the intermolecular H-bonds, it was observed that the N6H···O6 H-bond is anticooperative to the two others-N1H···N1 and N2H···HC2 in the A·G base mispair, while the latters are significantly cooperative, mutually strengthening each other. In opposite, all three O6H···N6, N1H···N1, and C2H···N2 H-bonds are cooperative in the A*·G* base mispair. All in all, we established the dynamical instability of the А*·G* base mispair with a short lifetime (4.83·10(-14) s), enabling it not to be deemed feasible source of the A* and G* mutagenic tautomers of the DNA bases. The small lifetime of the А*·G* base mispair is predetermined by the negative value of the Gibbs free energy for the A*·G* → A·G transition. Moreover, all of the six low-frequency intermolecular vibrations cannot develop during this lifetime that additionally confirms the aforementioned results. Thus, the A*·G* base mispair cannot be considered as a source of the mutagenic tautomers of the DNA bases, as the A·G base mispair dissociates during DNA replication exceptionally into the A and G monomers in the canonical tautomeric form.

Hydrogen-bonded proton transfer in the hydrated adenine–thymine anion

The proton transfer processes of microhydrated adenine–thymine anions are studied using density functional theory with the B3LYP method and DZP++ basis set. The microhydration effects on the geometrical structures, adsorption site, and the proton transfer reaction of the adenine–thymine anion are investigated. The site N10 atom of the adenine moiety has a larger proton affinity than the site O24 atom of thymine, which facilitates the proton H26 transfers from the N25 site of thymine to the N10 site of adenine. Therefore, the first single-proton transfer pathway (SPT1) is found for the all of the monohydrated adenine–thymine anions (AN4T)−·H2O, (AN13T)−·H2O, (ATO24)−·H2O, and (ATO28)−·H2O and tetrahydrated adenine–thymine anions (AT)−·4H2O. The proton H9 at the N7 site of adenine is also found to transfer to the O24 site of thymine for (AN4T)−·H2O and (AN13T)−·H2O in the gas phase. The double-proton transferred pathway is found when one water molecule interacts with the O28 atom of thymine. The reactant structures before the proton transfer are more stable than the product structures, and the structural changes mainly occur in thymine. The reaction energies of the microhydrated adenine–thymine anion in the gas phase and in the aqueous environment predict that the proton transfer process of the microhydrated adenine–thymine anion are more favorable in the gas phase than in aqueous solution.