1
|
Wen S, Zhao Y, Qi X, Cai M, Huang K, Liu H, Kong DX. Conformational plasticity of SpyCas9 induced by AcrIIA4 and AcrIIA2: Insights from molecular dynamics simulation. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2024; 23:537-548. [PMID: 38235361 PMCID: PMC10791570 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2023.12.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
CRISPR-Cas9 systems constitute bacterial adaptive immune systems that protect against phage infections. Bacteriophages encode anti-CRISPR proteins (Acrs) that mitigate the bacterial immune response. However, the structural basis for their inhibitory actions from a molecular perspective remains elusive. In this study, through microsecond atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrated the remarkable flexibility of Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpyCas9) and its conformational adaptability during interactions with AcrIIA4 and AcrIIA2. Specifically, we demonstrated that the binding of AcrIIA4 and AcrIIA2 to SpyCas9 induces a conformational rearrangement that causes spatial separation between the nuclease and cleavage sites, thus making the endonuclease inactive. This separation disrupts the transmission of signals between the protospacer adjacent motif recognition and nuclease domains, thereby impeding the efficient processing of double-stranded DNA. The simulation also reveals that AcrIIA4 and AcrIIA2 cause different structural variations of SpyCas9. Our research illuminates the precise mechanisms underlying the suppression of SpyCas9 by AcrIIA4 and AcrIIA2, thus presenting new possibilities for controlling genome editing with higher accuracy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shuixiu Wen
- National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Agricultural Bioinformatics Key Laboratory of Hubei Province, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Yuxin Zhao
- National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Agricultural Bioinformatics Key Laboratory of Hubei Province, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Xinyu Qi
- National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Agricultural Bioinformatics Key Laboratory of Hubei Province, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Mingzhu Cai
- National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Agricultural Bioinformatics Key Laboratory of Hubei Province, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Kaisheng Huang
- National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Agricultural Bioinformatics Key Laboratory of Hubei Province, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China
| | - Hui Liu
- National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Agricultural Bioinformatics Key Laboratory of Hubei Province, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China
| | - De-Xin Kong
- National Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Agricultural Bioinformatics Key Laboratory of Hubei Province, College of Informatics, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, PR China
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Liang Y, Gao S, Qi X, Valentovich LN, An Y. Progress in Gene Editing and Metabolic Regulation of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with CRISPR/Cas9 Tools. ACS Synth Biol 2024; 13:428-448. [PMID: 38326929 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.3c00685] [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] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
The CRISPR/Cas9 systems have been developed as tools for genetic engineering and metabolic engineering in various organisms. In this review, various aspects of CRISPR/Cas9 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, from basic principles to practical applications, have been summarized. First, a comprehensive review has been conducted on the history of CRISPR/Cas9, successful cases of gene disruptions, and efficiencies of multiple DNA fragment insertions. Such advanced systems have accelerated the development of microbial engineering by reducing time and labor, and have enhanced the understanding of molecular genetics. Furthermore, the research progress of the CRISPR/Cas9-based systems in the production of high-value-added chemicals and the improvement of stress tolerance in S. cerevisiae have been summarized, which should have an important reference value for genetic and synthetic biology studies based on S. cerevisiae.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yaokun Liang
- College of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110065, China
| | - Song Gao
- College of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110065, China
| | - Xianghui Qi
- School of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangdong 511370, China
| | - Leonid N Valentovich
- Institute of Microbiology, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk 220072, Belarus
| | - Yingfeng An
- College of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110065, China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Asmamaw Mengstie M, Teshome Azezew M, Asmamaw Dejenie T, Teshome AA, Tadele Admasu F, Behaile Teklemariam A, Tilahun Mulu A, Mekonnen Agidew M, Adugna DG, Geremew H, Abebe EC. Recent Advancements in Reducing the Off-Target Effect of CRISPR-Cas9 Genome Editing. Biologics 2024; 18:21-28. [PMID: 38260716 PMCID: PMC10802171 DOI: 10.2147/btt.s429411] [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: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
The CRISPR-Cas (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR)) and the associated protein (Cas9) system, a young but well-studied genome-editing tool, holds plausible solutions to a wide range of genetic disorders. The single-guide RNA (sgRNA) with a 20-base user-defined spacer sequence and the Cas9 endonuclease form the core of the CRISPR-Cas9 system. This sgRNA can direct the Cas9 nuclease to any genomic region that includes a protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) just downstream and matches the spacer sequence. The current challenge in the clinical applications of CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing technology is the potential off-target effects that can cause DNA cleavage at the incorrect sites. Off-target genome editing confuses and diminishes the therapeutic potential of CRISPR-Cas9 in addition to potentially casting doubt on scientific findings regarding the activities of genes. In this review, we summarize the recent technological advancements in reducing the off-target effect of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Misganaw Asmamaw Mengstie
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia
| | - Muluken Teshome Azezew
- Department of Physiology, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia
| | - Tadesse Asmamaw Dejenie
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia
| | - Assefa Agegnehu Teshome
- Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia
| | - Fitalew Tadele Admasu
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia
| | - Awgichew Behaile Teklemariam
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia
| | - Anemut Tilahun Mulu
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia
| | - Melaku Mekonnen Agidew
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia
| | - Dagnew Getnet Adugna
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia
| | - Habtamu Geremew
- College of Health Sciences, Oda Bultum University, Chiro, Ethiopia
| | - Endeshaw Chekol Abebe
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Liu Y, Yuan G, Hyden B, Tuskan GA, Abraham PE, Yang X. Expanding the application of anti-CRISPR proteins in plants for tunable genome editing. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 192:60-64. [PMID: 36757014 PMCID: PMC10152675 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiad076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Anti-CRISPR proteins are very efficient for inhibiting CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing tools in both herbaceous and woody plant species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yang Liu
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Guoliang Yuan
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Brennan Hyden
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Gerald A Tuskan
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Paul E Abraham
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| | - Xiaohan Yang
- Biosciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
- The Center for Bioenergy Innovation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Makarova KS, Wolf YI, Koonin EV. In Silico Approaches for Prediction of Anti-CRISPR Proteins. J Mol Biol 2023; 435:168036. [PMID: 36868398 PMCID: PMC10073340 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2023.168036] [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: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 02/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2023]
Abstract
Numerous viruses infecting bacteria and archaea encode CRISPR-Cas system inhibitors, known as anti-CRISPR proteins (Acr). The Acrs typically are highly specific for particular CRISPR variants, resulting in remarkable sequence and structural diversity and complicating accurate prediction and identification of Acrs. In addition to their intrinsic interest for understanding the coevolution of defense and counter-defense systems in prokaryotes, Acrs could be natural, potent on-off switches for CRISPR-based biotechnological tools, so their discovery, characterization and application are of major importance. Here we discuss the computational approaches for Acr prediction. Due to the enormous diversity and likely multiple origins of the Acrs, sequence similarity searches are of limited use. However, multiple features of protein and gene organization have been successfully harnessed to this end including small protein size and distinct amino acid compositions of the Acrs, association of acr genes in virus genomes with genes encoding helix-turn-helix proteins that regulate Acr expression (Acr-associated proteins, Aca), and presence of self-targeting CRISPR spacers in bacterial and archaeal genomes containing Acr-encoding proviruses. Productive approaches for Acr prediction also involve genome comparison of closely related viruses, of which one is resistant and the other one is sensitive to a particular CRISPR variant, and "guilt by association" whereby genes adjacent to a homolog of a known Aca are identified as candidate Acrs. The distinctive features of Acrs are employed for Acr prediction both by developing dedicated search algorithms and through machine learning. New approaches will be needed to identify novel types of Acrs that are likely to exist.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kira S Makarova
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, NIH, Bethesda, USA.
| | - Yuri I Wolf
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, NIH, Bethesda, USA
| | - Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, NIH, Bethesda, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Antony JS, Hinz JM, Wyrick JJ. Tips, Tricks, and Potential Pitfalls of CRISPR Genome Editing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2022; 10:924914. [PMID: 35706506 PMCID: PMC9190257 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2022.924914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The versatility of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-associated (Cas) genome editing makes it a popular tool for many research and biotechnology applications. Recent advancements in genome editing in eukaryotic organisms, like fungi, allow for precise manipulation of genetic information and fine-tuned control of gene expression. Here, we provide an overview of CRISPR genome editing technologies in yeast, with a particular focus on Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We describe the tools and methods that have been previously developed for genome editing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and discuss tips and experimental tricks for promoting efficient, marker-free genome editing in this model organism. These include sgRNA design and expression, multiplexing genome editing, optimizing Cas9 expression, allele-specific editing in diploid cells, and understanding the impact of chromatin on genome editing. Finally, we summarize recent studies describing the potential pitfalls of using CRISPR genome targeting in yeast, including the induction of background mutations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob S. Antony
- School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
| | - John M. Hinz
- School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
| | - John J. Wyrick
- School of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
- Center for Reproductive Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
- *Correspondence: John J. Wyrick,
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Zhang Y, Marchisio MA. Interaction of Bare dSpCas9, Scaffold gRNA, and Type II Anti-CRISPR Proteins Highly Favors the Control of Gene Expression in the Yeast S. cerevisiae. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:176-190. [PMID: 34994540 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.1c00352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Type II CRISPR-(d)SpCas9 and anti-CRISPR proteins (AcrIIs) show evidence of coevolution and competition for survival between bacteria and phages. In biotechnology, CRISPR-(d)SpCas9 is utilized for gene editing and transcriptional regulation. Moreover, its activity is controlled by AcrIIs. However, studies of dSpCas9/AcrII-based transcription regulation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae are rare. In this work, we used dSpCas9 as a template to engineer new transcription activators. We found that the most performant activation system requires the use of bare dSpCas9 in conjunction with scaffold gRNA (scRNA). This means that activation domains shall not be fused to dSpCas9 but rather interact with scRNA. We showed that a low amount of sgRNA is not a limiting factor in dSpCas9-driven transcription regulation. Moreover, a high quantity of sgRNA does not improve, generally, activation (and repression) efficiency. Importantly, we analyzed the performance of AcrIIA2, AcrIIA4, and AcrIIA5 in S. cerevisiae in depth. AcrIIA4 is the strongest of the three AcrIIs and also the only one able to induce high inhibition at low concentrations. However, the activation domains fused to dSpCas9 hindered interactions with the AcrIIs as well and limited their control of gene transcription regulation, confirming that bare dSpCas9 is the best solution for building synthetic genetic networks in yeast.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yadan Zhang
- School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, 300072 Tianjin, China
| | - Mario Andrea Marchisio
- School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Tianjin University, 92 Weijin Road, 300072 Tianjin, China
| |
Collapse
|