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Carreira R, Lama-Diaz T, Crugeiras M, Aguado F, Sebesta M, Krejci L, Blanco M. Concurrent D-loop cleavage by Mus81 and Yen1 yields half-crossover precursors. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:7012-7030. [PMID: 38832625 PMCID: PMC11229367 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae453] [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: 09/22/2023] [Revised: 05/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Homologous recombination involves the formation of branched DNA molecules that may interfere with chromosome segregation. To resolve these persistent joint molecules, cells rely on the activation of structure-selective endonucleases (SSEs) during the late stages of the cell cycle. However, the premature activation of SSEs compromises genome integrity, due to untimely processing of replication and/or recombination intermediates. Here, we used a biochemical approach to show that the budding yeast SSEs Mus81 and Yen1 possess the ability to cleave the central recombination intermediate known as the displacement loop or D-loop. Moreover, we demonstrate that, consistently with previous genetic data, the simultaneous action of Mus81 and Yen1, followed by ligation, is sufficient to recreate the formation of a half-crossover precursor in vitro. Our results provide not only mechanistic explanation for the formation of a half-crossover, but also highlight the critical importance for precise regulation of these SSEs to prevent chromosomal rearrangements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raquel Carreira
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, CIMUS, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela-Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña 15782, Spain
| | - Tomas Lama-Diaz
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, CIMUS, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela-Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña 15782, Spain
| | - Maria Crugeiras
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, CIMUS, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela-Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña 15782, Spain
| | - F Javier Aguado
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, CIMUS, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela-Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña 15782, Spain
| | - Marek Sebesta
- Department of Biology and National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Masaryk University, Brno 62500, Czech Republic
| | - Lumir Krejci
- Department of Biology and National Centre for Biomolecular Research, Masaryk University, Brno 62500, Czech Republic
| | - Miguel G Blanco
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, CIMUS, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela-Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña 15782, Spain
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Bhattacharya S, Agarwal A, Muniyappa K. Deciphering the Substrate Specificity Reveals that CRISPR-Cas12a Is a Bifunctional Enzyme with Both Endo- and Exonuclease Activities. J Mol Biol 2024; 436:168550. [PMID: 38575054 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2024.168550] [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: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
The class 2 CRISPR-Cas9 and CRISPR-Cas12a systems, originally described as adaptive immune systems of bacteria and archaea, have emerged as versatile tools for genome-editing, with applications in biotechnology and medicine. However, significantly less is known about their substrate specificity, but such knowledge may provide instructive insights into their off-target cleavage and previously unrecognized mechanism of action. Here, we document that the Acidaminococcus sp. Cas12a (AsCas12a) binds preferentially, and independently of crRNA, to a suite of branched DNA structures, such as the Holliday junction (HJ), replication fork and D-loops, compared with single- or double-stranded DNA, and promotes their degradation. Further, our study revealed that AsCas12a binds to the HJ, specifically at the crossover region, protects it from DNase I cleavage and renders a pair of thymine residues in the HJ homologous core hypersensitive to KMnO4 oxidation, suggesting DNA melting and/or distortion. Notably, these structural changes enabled AsCas12a to resolve HJ into nonligatable intermediates, and subsequently their complete degradation. We further demonstrate that crRNA impedes HJ cleavage by AsCas12a, and that of Lachnospiraceae bacterium Cas12a, without affecting their DNA-binding ability. We identified a separation-of-function variant, which uncouples DNA-binding and DNA cleavage activities of AsCas12a. Importantly, we found robust evidence that AsCas12a endonuclease also has 3'-to-5' and 5'-to-3' exonuclease activity, and that these two activities synergistically promote degradation of DNA, yielding di- and mononucleotides. Collectively, this study significantly advances knowledge about the substrate specificity of AsCas12a and provides important insights into the degradation of different types of DNA substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Supreet Bhattacharya
- Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012, India
| | - Ankit Agarwal
- Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012, India
| | - Kalappa Muniyappa
- Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012, India.
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3
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Gu Y, Yang Y, Kou C, Peng Y, Yang W, Zhang J, Jin H, Han X, Wang Y, Shen X. Classical and novel properties of Holliday junction resolvase SynRuvC from Synechocystis sp. PCC6803. Front Microbiol 2024; 15:1362880. [PMID: 38699476 PMCID: PMC11063404 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1362880] [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: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Cyanobacteria, which have a photoautotrophic lifestyle, are threatened by ultraviolet solar rays and the reactive oxygen species generated during photosynthesis. They can adapt to environmental conditions primarily because of their DNA damage response and repair mechanisms, notably an efficient homologous recombination repair system. However, research on double-strand break (DSB) repair pathways, including the Holliday junction (HJ) resolution process, in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 is limited. Here, we report that SynRuvC from cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 has classical HJ resolution activity. We investigated the structural specificity, sequence preference, and biochemical properties of SynRuvC. SynRuvC strongly preferred Mn2+ as a cofactor, and its cleavage site predominantly resides within the 5'-TG↓(G/A)-3' sequence. Interestingly, novel flap endonuclease and replication fork intermediate cleavage activities of SynRuvC were also determined, which distinguish it from other reported RuvCs. To explore the effect of SynRuvC on cell viability, we constructed a knockdown mutant and an overexpression strain of Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 (synruvCKD and synruvCOE) and assessed their survival under a variety of conditions. Knockdown of synruvC increased the sensitivity of cells to MMS, HU, and H2O2. The findings suggest that a novel RuvC family HJ resolvase SynRuvC is important in a variety of DNA repair processes and stress resistance in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanchao Gu
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yantao Yang
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Chunhua Kou
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Ying Peng
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Wenguang Yang
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Jiayu Zhang
- Suzhou XinBio Co., Ltd., Suzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Han Jin
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Xiaoru Han
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Yao Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
| | - Xihui Shen
- State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China
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Tse YWE, Yun HY, Wyatt HDM. Annealing and purification of fluorescently labeled DNA substrates for in vitro assays. STAR Protoc 2023; 4:102128. [PMID: 36853679 PMCID: PMC9958487 DOI: 10.1016/j.xpro.2023.102128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
We present a protocol to generate high-quality fluorescently labeled DNA substrates that can be used for biochemical assays, including DNA-binding and nuclease activity assays. We describe polyacrylamide-gel-electrophoresis-based purification of DNA oligonucleotides, followed by annealing the oligonucleotides and purifying the annealed substrates using anion-exchange chromatography. This protocol circumvents the use of radioisotopes, which require training and dedicated equipment for safe handling and necessitate specialized waste disposal. This protocol is amenable to varying lengths of oligonucleotides and DNA substrates. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Payliss and Tse et al. (2022).1.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hwa Young Yun
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Haley Doris Myskiw Wyatt
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada; Canada Research Chairs Program, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada.
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Bowater RP, Bohálová N, Brázda V. Interaction of Proteins with Inverted Repeats and Cruciform Structures in Nucleic Acids. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23116171. [PMID: 35682854 PMCID: PMC9180970 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23116171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Revised: 05/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Cruciforms occur when inverted repeat sequences in double-stranded DNA adopt intra-strand hairpins on opposing strands. Biophysical and molecular studies of these structures confirm their characterization as four-way junctions and have demonstrated that several factors influence their stability, including overall chromatin structure and DNA supercoiling. Here, we review our understanding of processes that influence the formation and stability of cruciforms in genomes, covering the range of sequences shown to have biological significance. It is challenging to accurately sequence repetitive DNA sequences, but recent advances in sequencing methods have deepened understanding about the amounts of inverted repeats in genomes from all forms of life. We highlight that, in the majority of genomes, inverted repeats are present in higher numbers than is expected from a random occurrence. It is, therefore, becoming clear that inverted repeats play important roles in regulating many aspects of DNA metabolism, including replication, gene expression, and recombination. Cruciforms are targets for many architectural and regulatory proteins, including topoisomerases, p53, Rif1, and others. Notably, some of these proteins can induce the formation of cruciform structures when they bind to DNA. Inverted repeat sequences also influence the evolution of genomes, and growing evidence highlights their significance in several human diseases, suggesting that the inverted repeat sequences and/or DNA cruciforms could be useful therapeutic targets in some cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard P. Bowater
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK;
| | - Natália Bohálová
- Department of Biophysical Chemistry and Molecular Oncology, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 61265 Brno, Czech Republic;
- Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Václav Brázda
- Department of Biophysical Chemistry and Molecular Oncology, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 61265 Brno, Czech Republic;
- Correspondence:
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Verma P, Kumari P, Negi S, Yadav G, Gaur V. Holliday junction resolution by At-HIGLE: an SLX1 lineage endonuclease from Arabidopsis thaliana with a novel in-built regulatory mechanism. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:4630-4646. [PMID: 35412622 PMCID: PMC9071465 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Holliday junction is the key homologous recombination intermediate, resolved by structure-selective endonucleases (SSEs). SLX1 is the most promiscuous SSE of the GIY-YIG nuclease superfamily. In fungi and animals, SLX1 nuclease activity relies on a non-enzymatic partner, SLX4, but no SLX1-SLX4 like complex has ever been characterized in plants. Plants exhibit specialized DNA repair and recombination machinery. Based on sequence similarity with the GIY-YIG nuclease domain of SLX1 proteins from fungi and animals, At-HIGLE was identified to be a possible SLX1 like nuclease from plants. Here, we elucidated the crystal structure of the At-HIGLE nuclease domain from Arabidopsis thaliana, establishing it as a member of the SLX1-lineage of the GIY-YIG superfamily with structural changes in DNA interacting regions. We show that At-HIGLE can process branched-DNA molecules without an SLX4 like protein. Unlike fungal SLX1, At-HIGLE exists as a catalytically active homodimer capable of generating two coordinated nicks during HJ resolution. Truncating the extended C-terminal region of At-HIGLE increases its catalytic activity, changes the nicking pattern, and monomerizes At-HIGLE. Overall, we elucidated the first structure of a plant SLX1-lineage protein, showed its HJ resolving activity independent of any regulatory protein, and identified an in-built novel regulatory mechanism engaging its C-terminal region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prabha Verma
- National Institute of Plant Genome Research, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Poonam Kumari
- National Institute of Plant Genome Research, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Shreya Negi
- National Institute of Plant Genome Research, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Gitanjali Yadav
- National Institute of Plant Genome Research, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110067, India
| | - Vineet Gaur
- National Institute of Plant Genome Research, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi 110067, India
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