1
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Chaban A, Minakhin L, Goldobina E, Bae B, Hao Y, Borukhov S, Putzeys L, Boon M, Kabinger F, Lavigne R, Makarova KS, Koonin EV, Nair SK, Tagami S, Severinov K, Sokolova ML. Tail-tape-fused virion and non-virion RNA polymerases of a thermophilic virus with an extremely long tail. Nat Commun 2024; 15:317. [PMID: 38182597 PMCID: PMC10770324 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44630-z] [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: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Thermus thermophilus bacteriophage P23-45 encodes a giant 5,002-residue tail tape measure protein (TMP) that defines the length of its extraordinarily long tail. Here, we show that the N-terminal portion of P23-45 TMP is an unusual RNA polymerase (RNAP) homologous to cellular RNAPs. The TMP-fused virion RNAP transcribes pre-early phage genes, including a gene that encodes another, non-virion RNAP, that transcribes early and some middle phage genes. We report the crystal structures of both P23-45 RNAPs. The non-virion RNAP has a crab-claw-like architecture. By contrast, the virion RNAP adopts a unique flat structure without a clamp. Structure and sequence comparisons of the P23-45 RNAPs with other RNAPs suggest that, despite the extensive functional differences, the two P23-45 RNAPs originate from an ancient gene duplication in an ancestral phage. Our findings demonstrate striking adaptability of RNAPs that can be attained within a single virus species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasiia Chaban
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, 121205, Russia
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, 230-0045, Japan
- Structural and Computational Biology Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, 69117, Germany
| | - Leonid Minakhin
- Waksman Institute for Microbiology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, 19107, USA
| | - Ekaterina Goldobina
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, 121205, Russia
- APC Microbiome Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, T12 YT20, Ireland
| | - Brain Bae
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Yue Hao
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
| | - Sergei Borukhov
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine at Stratford, Stratford, NJ, 08084-1489, USA
| | - Leena Putzeys
- Department of Biosystems, Laboratory of Gene Technology, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Maarten Boon
- Department of Biosystems, Laboratory of Gene Technology, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Florian Kabinger
- Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, 37077, Germany
| | - Rob Lavigne
- Department of Biosystems, Laboratory of Gene Technology, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3001, Belgium
| | - Kira S Makarova
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA
| | - Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA
| | - Satish K Nair
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA.
| | - Shunsuke Tagami
- RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, 230-0045, Japan.
| | - Konstantin Severinov
- Waksman Institute for Microbiology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA.
- Institute of Molecular Genetics National Kurchatov Center, Moscow, 123182, Russia.
| | - Maria L Sokolova
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, 121205, Russia.
- Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen, 37077, Germany.
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2
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Yang DL, Huang K, Deng D, Zeng Y, Wang Z, Zhang Y. DNA-dependent RNA polymerases in plants. THE PLANT CELL 2023; 35:3641-3661. [PMID: 37453082 PMCID: PMC10533338 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
DNA-dependent RNA polymerases (Pols) transfer the genetic information stored in genomic DNA to RNA in all organisms. In eukaryotes, the typical products of nuclear Pol I, Pol II, and Pol III are ribosomal RNAs, mRNAs, and transfer RNAs, respectively. Intriguingly, plants possess two additional Pols, Pol IV and Pol V, which produce small RNAs and long noncoding RNAs, respectively, mainly for silencing transposable elements. The five plant Pols share some subunits, but their distinct functions stem from unique subunits that interact with specific regulatory factors in their transcription cycles. Here, we summarize recent advances in our understanding of plant nucleus-localized Pols, including their evolution, function, structures, and transcription cycles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong-Lei Yang
- National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement and Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Kun Huang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Deyin Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, School of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Lin’an, Hangzhou 311300, China
| | - Yuan Zeng
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Zhenxing Wang
- College of Horticulture, National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement and Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
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3
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Cui R, Li H, Zhao J, Li X, Gan J, Ma J. Structural insights into the dual activities of the two-barrel RNA polymerase QDE-1. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:10169-10186. [PMID: 36039765 PMCID: PMC9508822 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurospora crassa protein QDE-1, a member of the two-barrel polymerase superfamily, possesses both DNA- and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (DdRP and RdRP) activities. The dual activities are essential for the production of double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs), the precursors of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) in N. crassa. Here, we report five complex structures of N-terminal truncated QDE-1 (QDE-1ΔN), representing four different reaction states: DNA/RNA-templated elongation, the de novo initiation of RNA synthesis, the first step of nucleotide condensation during de novo initiation and initial NTP loading. The template strand is aligned by a bridge-helix and double-psi beta-barrels 2 (DPBB2), the RNA product is held by DPBB1 and the slab domain. The DNA template unpairs with the RNA product at position –7, but the RNA template remains paired. The NTP analog coordinates with cations and is precisely positioned at the addition site by a rigid trigger loop and a proline-containing loop in the active center. The unique C-terminal tail from the QDE-1 dimer partner inserts into the substrate-binding cleft and plays regulatory roles in RNA synthesis. Collectively, this work elucidates the conserved mechanisms for DNA/RNA-dependent dual activities by QDE-1 and other two-barrel polymerase superfamily members.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruixue Cui
- Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Multiscale Research Institute of Complex Systems, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Hao Li
- Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Multiscale Research Institute of Complex Systems, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Jin Zhao
- Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Multiscale Research Institute of Complex Systems, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Xuhang Li
- Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Multiscale Research Institute of Complex Systems, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Jianhua Gan
- Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Jinbiao Ma
- Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development, Multiscale Research Institute of Complex Systems, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
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4
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Du X, Yang Z, Ariza AJF, Wang Q, Xie G, Li S, Du J. Structure of plant RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 2, an enzyme involved in small interfering RNA production. THE PLANT CELL 2022; 34:2140-2149. [PMID: 35188193 PMCID: PMC9134047 DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koac067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In plants, the biogenesis of small interfering RNA (siRNA) requires a family of RNA-dependent RNA polymerases that convert single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) into double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), which is subsequently cleaved into defined lengths by Dicer endonucleases. Here, we determined the structure of maize (Zea mays) RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 2 (ZmRDR2) in the closed and open conformations. The core catalytic region of ZmRDR2 possesses the canonical DNA-dependent RNA polymerase (DdRP) catalytic sites, pointing to a shared RNA production mechanism between DdRPs and plant RDR-family proteins. Apo-ZmRDR2 adopts a highly compact structure, representing an inactive closed conformation. By contrast, adding RNA induced a significant conformational change in the ZmRDR2 Head domain that opened the RNA binding tunnel, suggesting this is an active elongation conformation of ZmRDR2. Overall, our structural studies trapped both the active and inactive conformations of ZmRDR2, providing insights into the molecular mechanism of dsRNA synthesis during plant siRNA production.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Alfredo Jose Florez Ariza
- California Institute for Quantitative Biosciences (QB3), University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Biophysics Graduate Group, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
| | - Qian Wang
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Design for Plant Cell Factory of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Institute of Plant and Food Science, Department of Biology, School of Life Science, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Guohui Xie
- Key Laboratory of Molecular Design for Plant Cell Factory of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Institute of Plant and Food Science, Department of Biology, School of Life Science, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Sisi Li
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, International Cancer Center, Shenzhen University Health Science Center, Shenzhen 518060, China
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5
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Huang K, Wu XX, Fang CL, Xu ZG, Zhang HW, Gao J, Zhou CM, You LL, Gu ZX, Mu WH, Feng Y, Wang JW, Zhang Y. Pol IV and RDR2: A two-RNA-polymerase machine that produces double-stranded RNA. Science 2021; 374:1579-1586. [DOI: 10.1126/science.abj9184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kun Huang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xiao-Xian Wu
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Cheng-Li Fang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhou-Geng Xu
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Hong-Wei Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Jian Gao
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Chuan-Miao Zhou
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Lin-Lin You
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhan-Xi Gu
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Wen-Hui Mu
- Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
| | - Yu Feng
- Department of Biophysics, and Department of Pathology of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China
| | - Jia-Wei Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
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6
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Fukudome A, Singh J, Mishra V, Reddem E, Martinez-Marquez F, Wenzel S, Yan R, Shiozaki M, Yu Z, Wang JCY, Takagi Y, Pikaard CS. Structure and RNA template requirements of Arabidopsis RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 2. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2115899118. [PMID: 34903670 PMCID: PMC8713982 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2115899118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
RNA-dependent RNA polymerases play essential roles in RNA-mediated gene silencing in eukaryotes. In Arabidopsis, RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 2 (RDR2) physically interacts with DNA-dependent NUCLEAR RNA POLYMERASE IV (Pol IV) and their activities are tightly coupled, with Pol IV transcriptional arrest, induced by the nontemplate DNA strand, somehow enabling RDR2 to engage Pol IV transcripts and generate double-stranded RNAs. The double-stranded RNAs are then released from the Pol IV-RDR2 complex and diced into short-interfering RNAs that guide RNA-directed DNA methylation and silencing. Here we report the structure of full-length RDR2, at an overall resolution of 3.1 Å, determined by cryoelectron microscopy. The N-terminal region contains an RNA-recognition motif adjacent to a positively charged channel that leads to a catalytic center with striking structural homology to the catalytic centers of multisubunit DNA-dependent RNA polymerases. We show that RDR2 initiates 1 to 2 nt internal to the 3' ends of its templates and can transcribe the RNA of an RNA/DNA hybrid, provided that 9 or more nucleotides are unpaired at the RNA's 3' end. Using a nucleic acid configuration that mimics the arrangement of RNA and DNA strands upon Pol IV transcriptional arrest, we show that displacement of the RNA 3' end occurs as the DNA template and nontemplate strands reanneal, enabling RDR2 transcription. These results suggest a model in which Pol IV arrest and backtracking displaces the RNA 3' end as the DNA strands reanneal, allowing RDR2 to engage the RNA and synthesize the complementary strand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akihito Fukudome
- HHMI, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
| | - Jasleen Singh
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
| | - Vibhor Mishra
- HHMI, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
| | - Eswar Reddem
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 47405
| | - Francisco Martinez-Marquez
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 47405
| | - Sabine Wenzel
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 47405
| | - Rui Yan
- CryoEM Facility, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, VA 20147
| | - Momoko Shiozaki
- CryoEM Facility, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, VA 20147
| | - Zhiheng Yu
- CryoEM Facility, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, VA 20147
| | - Joseph Che-Yen Wang
- Indiana University Electron Microscopy Center, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
| | - Yuichiro Takagi
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 47405;
| | - Craig S Pikaard
- HHMI, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405;
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405
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7
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Ma J, Chen Y, Wu W, Chen Z. Structure and Function of N-Terminal Zinc Finger Domain of SARS-CoV-2 NSP2. Virol Sin 2021; 36:1104-1112. [PMID: 34398430 PMCID: PMC8365134 DOI: 10.1007/s12250-021-00431-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2 has become a global pandemic threatening human health and safety. It is urgent to find effective therapeutic agents and targets with the continuous emergence of novel mutant strains. The knowledge of the molecular basis and pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 in host cells requires to be understood comprehensively. The unknown structure and function of nsp2 have hindered our understanding of its role in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Here, we report the crystal structure of the N-terminal of SARS-CoV-2 nsp2 to a high resolution of 1.96 Å. This novel structure contains three zinc fingers, belonging to the C2H2, C4, and C2HC types, respectively. Structure analysis suggests that nsp2 may be involved in binding nucleic acids and regulating intracellular signaling pathways. The binding to single or double-stranded nucleic acids was mainly through the large positively charged region on the surface of nsp2, and K111, K112, K113 were key residues. Our findings lay the foundation for a better understanding of the relationship between structure and function for nsp2. It is helpful to make full use of nsp2 as further research and development of antiviral targets and drug design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology and Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Yiyun Chen
- Cherry Creek High School, 9300 East Union Avenue, Greenwood Village, 80111, USA
| | - Wei Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology and Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Zhongzhou Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology and Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
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8
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Lei L, Burton ZF. Early Evolution of Transcription Systems and Divergence of Archaea and Bacteria. Front Mol Biosci 2021; 8:651134. [PMID: 34026831 PMCID: PMC8131849 DOI: 10.3389/fmolb.2021.651134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA template-dependent multi-subunit RNA polymerases (RNAPs) found in all three domains of life and some viruses are of the two-double-Ψ-β-barrel (DPBB) type. The 2-DPBB protein format is also found in some RNA template-dependent RNAPs and a major replicative DNA template-dependent DNA polymerase (DNAP) from Archaea (PolD). The 2-DPBB family of RNAPs and DNAPs probably evolved prior to the last universal common cellular ancestor (LUCA). Archaeal Transcription Factor B (TFB) and bacterial σ factors include homologous strings of helix-turn-helix units. The consequences of TFB-σ homology are discussed in terms of the evolution of archaeal and bacterial core promoters. Domain-specific DPBB loop inserts functionally connect general transcription factors to the RNAP active site. Archaea appear to be more similar to LUCA than Bacteria. Evolution of bacterial σ factors from TFB appears to have driven divergence of Bacteria from Archaea, splitting the prokaryotic domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Lei
- Department of Biology, University of New England, Biddeford, ME, United States
| | - Zachary F Burton
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI, United States
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9
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Assembly of a dsRNA synthesizing complex: RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 2 contacts the largest subunit of NUCLEAR RNA POLYMERASE IV. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2019276118. [PMID: 33753485 PMCID: PMC8020760 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2019276118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) can inhibit mRNA translation or guide chromatin modifications that inhibit transcription, thus impacting gene regulation. In plants, transcriptional gene silencing involves siRNAs whose double-stranded (ds) precursors are generated by the coupled activities of NUCLEAR RNA POLYMERASE IV and RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 2. We present evidence that Pol IV-RDR2 association involves contact between RDR2 and NRPD1, Pol IV’s largest catalytic subunit. As the only subunit never shared by Pol II or Pol IV, NRPD1 interaction accounts for RDR2's specific association with Pol IV. The positions of the protein docking sites suggest that Pol IV transcripts are generated in close proximity to RDR2’s catalytic site, enabling RDR2 to efficiently engage Pol IV transcripts and convert them into dsRNAs. In plants, transcription of selfish genetic elements such as transposons and DNA viruses is suppressed by RNA-directed DNA methylation. This process is guided by 24-nt short-interfering RNAs (siRNAs) whose double-stranded precursors are synthesized by DNA-dependent NUCLEAR RNA POLYMERASE IV (Pol IV) and RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE 2 (RDR2). Pol IV and RDR2 coimmunoprecipitate, and their activities are tightly coupled, yet the basis for their association is unknown. Here, we show that an interval near the RDR2 active site contacts the Pol IV catalytic subunit, NRPD1, the largest of Pol IV’s 12 subunits. Contacts between the catalytic regions of the two enzymes suggests that RDR2 is positioned to rapidly engage the free 3′ ends of Pol IV transcripts and convert these single-stranded transcripts into double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs).
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10
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Mäkinen JJ, Shin Y, Vieras E, Virta P, Metsä-Ketelä M, Murakami KS, Belogurov GA. The mechanism of the nucleo-sugar selection by multi-subunit RNA polymerases. Nat Commun 2021; 12:796. [PMID: 33542236 PMCID: PMC7862312 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21005-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
RNA polymerases (RNAPs) synthesize RNA from NTPs, whereas DNA polymerases synthesize DNA from 2'dNTPs. DNA polymerases select against NTPs by using steric gates to exclude the 2'OH, but RNAPs have to employ alternative selection strategies. In single-subunit RNAPs, a conserved Tyr residue discriminates against 2'dNTPs, whereas selectivity mechanisms of multi-subunit RNAPs remain hitherto unknown. Here, we show that a conserved Arg residue uses a two-pronged strategy to select against 2'dNTPs in multi-subunit RNAPs. The conserved Arg interacts with the 2'OH group to promote NTP binding, but selectively inhibits incorporation of 2'dNTPs by interacting with their 3'OH group to favor the catalytically-inert 2'-endo conformation of the deoxyribose moiety. This deformative action is an elegant example of an active selection against a substrate that is a substructure of the correct substrate. Our findings provide important insights into the evolutionary origins of biopolymers and the design of selective inhibitors of viral RNAPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janne J Mäkinen
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Yeonoh Shin
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Center for RNA Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Eeva Vieras
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Pasi Virta
- Department of Chemistry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | | | - Katsuhiko S Murakami
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Center for RNA Molecular Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
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11
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Abstract
Diverse models have been advanced for the evolution of the genetic code. Here, models for tRNA, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS) and genetic code evolution were combined with an understanding of EF-Tu suppression of tRNA 3rd anticodon position wobbling. The result is a highly detailed scheme that describes the placements of all amino acids in the standard genetic code. The model describes evolution of 6-, 4-, 3-, 2- and 1-codon sectors. Innovation in column 3 of the code is explained. Wobbling and code degeneracy are explained. Separate distribution of serine sectors between columns 2 and 4 of the code is described. We conclude that very little chaos contributed to evolution of the genetic code and that the pattern of evolution of aaRS enzymes describes a history of the evolution of the code. A model is proposed to describe the biological selection for the earliest evolution of the code and for protocell evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Lei
- Department of Biology, University of New England, Biddeford, ME, USA
| | - Zachary Frome Burton
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI, USA
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12
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Drobysheva AV, Panafidina SA, Kolesnik MV, Klimuk EI, Minakhin L, Yakunina MV, Borukhov S, Nilsson E, Holmfeldt K, Yutin N, Makarova KS, Koonin EV, Severinov KV, Leiman PG, Sokolova ML. Structure and function of virion RNA polymerase of a crAss-like phage. Nature 2021; 589:306-309. [PMID: 33208949 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2921-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
CrAss-like phages are a recently described expansive group of viruses that includes the most abundant virus in the human gut1-3. The genomes of all crAss-like phages encode a large virion-packaged protein2,4 that contains a DFDxD sequence motif, which forms the catalytic site in cellular multisubunit RNA polymerases (RNAPs)5. Here, using Cellulophaga baltica crAss-like phage phi14:2 as a model system, we show that this protein is a DNA-dependent RNAP that is translocated into the host cell along with the phage DNA and transcribes early phage genes. We determined the crystal structure of this 2,180-residue enzyme in a self-inhibited state, which probably occurs before virion packaging. This conformation is attained with the help of a cleft-blocking domain that interacts with the active site and occupies the cavity in which the RNA-DNA hybrid binds. Structurally, phi14:2 RNAP is most similar to eukaryotic RNAPs that are involved in RNA interference6,7, although most of the phi14:2 RNAP structure (nearly 1,600 residues) maps to a new region of the protein fold space. Considering this structural similarity, we propose that eukaryal RNA interference polymerases have their origins in phage, which parallels the emergence of the mitochondrial transcription apparatus8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arina V Drobysheva
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Sofia A Panafidina
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Matvei V Kolesnik
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Evgeny I Klimuk
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Leonid Minakhin
- Waksman Institute for Microbiology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA
| | - Maria V Yakunina
- Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University, St Petersburg, Russia
| | - Sergei Borukhov
- Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine at Stratford, Stratford, NJ, USA
| | - Emelie Nilsson
- Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Karin Holmfeldt
- Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden
| | - Natalya Yutin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Kira S Makarova
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Konstantin V Severinov
- Institute of Molecular Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia.
- Waksman Institute for Microbiology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
| | - Petr G Leiman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Sealy Center for Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA.
| | - Maria L Sokolova
- Center of Life Sciences, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, Russia.
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13
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Zatopek KM, Alpaslan E, Evans T, Sauguet L, Gardner A. Novel ribonucleotide discrimination in the RNA polymerase-like two-barrel catalytic core of Family D DNA polymerases. Nucleic Acids Res 2020; 48:12204-12218. [PMID: 33137176 PMCID: PMC7708050 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkaa986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Revised: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/12/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Family D DNA polymerase (PolD) is the essential replicative DNA polymerase for duplication of most archaeal genomes. PolD contains a unique two-barrel catalytic core absent from all other DNA polymerase families but found in RNA polymerases (RNAPs). While PolD has an ancestral RNA polymerase catalytic core, its active site has evolved the ability to discriminate against ribonucleotides. Until now, the mechanism evolved by PolD to prevent ribonucleotide incorporation was unknown. In all other DNA polymerase families, an active site steric gate residue prevents ribonucleotide incorporation. In this work, we identify two consensus active site acidic (a) and basic (b) motifs shared across the entire two-barrel nucleotide polymerase superfamily, and a nucleotide selectivity (s) motif specific to PolD versus RNAPs. A novel steric gate histidine residue (H931 in Thermococcus sp. 9°N PolD) in the PolD s-motif both prevents ribonucleotide incorporation and promotes efficient dNTP incorporation. Further, a PolD H931A steric gate mutant abolishes ribonucleotide discrimination and readily incorporates a variety of 2' modified nucleotides. Taken together, we construct the first putative nucleotide bound PolD active site model and provide structural and functional evidence for the emergence of DNA replication through the evolution of an ancestral RNAP two-barrel catalytic core.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ece Alpaslan
- New England Biolabs, 240 County Road Ipswich, MA 01938, USA
| | - Thomas C Evans
- New England Biolabs, 240 County Road Ipswich, MA 01938, USA
| | - Ludovic Sauguet
- Institut Pasteur, Unité de Dynamique Structurale des Macromolécules, 75015 Paris, France
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14
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Machitani M, Yasukawa M, Nakashima J, Furuichi Y, Masutomi K. RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, RdRP, a promising therapeutic target for cancer and potentially COVID-19. Cancer Sci 2020; 111:3976-3984. [PMID: 32805774 PMCID: PMC7461281 DOI: 10.1111/cas.14618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2020] [Revised: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A recent outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has driven a global pandemic with catastrophic consequences. The rapid development of promising therapeutic strategies against COVID-19 is keenly anticipated. Family Coronaviridae comprises positive, single-stranded RNA viruses that use RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) for viral replication and transcription. As the RdRP of viruses in this family and others plays a pivotal role in infection, it is a promising therapeutic target for developing antiviral agents against them. A critical genetic driver for many cancers is the catalytic subunit of telomerase: human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), identified initially as an RNA-dependent DNA polymerase. However, even though hTERT is a DNA polymerase, it has phylogenetic and structural similarities to viral RdRPs. Researchers worldwide, including the authors of this review, are engaged in developing therapeutic strategies targeting hTERT. We have published a series of papers reporting that hTERT has RdRP activity and that this RdRP activity in hTERT is essential for tumor formation. Here, we review the enzymatic function of RdRP in virus proliferation and tumor development, reminding us of how the study of the novel coronavirus has brought us to the unexpected intersection of cancer research and RNA virus research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitsuhiro Machitani
- Division of Cancer Stem CellNational Cancer Center Research InstituteTokyoJapan
| | - Mami Yasukawa
- Division of Cancer Stem CellNational Cancer Center Research InstituteTokyoJapan
| | - Jotaro Nakashima
- Division of Cancer Stem CellNational Cancer Center Research InstituteTokyoJapan
| | | | - Kenkichi Masutomi
- Division of Cancer Stem CellNational Cancer Center Research InstituteTokyoJapan
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15
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Giuditta A, Grassi Zucconi G, Sadile A. Brain metabolic DNA: recent evidence for a mitochondrial connection. Rev Neurosci 2020; 32:/j/revneuro.ahead-of-print/revneuro-2020-0050/revneuro-2020-0050.xml. [PMID: 32866135 DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2020-0050] [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: 05/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/18/2020] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
This review highlights recent data concerning the synthesis of brain metabolic DNA (BMD) by cytoplasmic reverse transcription and the prompt acquisition of the double-stranded configuration that allows its partial transfer to nuclei. BMD prevails in the mitochondrial fraction and is present in presynaptic regions and astroglial processes where it undergoes a turnover lasting a few weeks. Additional data demonstrate that BMD sequences are modified by learning, thus indicating that the modified synaptic activity allowing proper brain responses is encoded in learning BMD. In addition, several converging observations regarding the origin of BMD strongly suggest that BMD is reverse transcribed by mitochondrial telomerase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Giuditta
- Accademia di Scienze Fisiche e Matematiche, Via Mezzocannone 8, Naples, I-80134,Italy
| | | | - Adolfo Sadile
- Department of Experimental Medicine, L. Vanvitelli Medical School, University Campania, Via S. Andrea delle dame 7, Naples, I-80138,Italy
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16
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Koonin EV, Krupovic M, Ishino S, Ishino Y. The replication machinery of LUCA: common origin of DNA replication and transcription. BMC Biol 2020; 18:61. [PMID: 32517760 PMCID: PMC7281927 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-020-00800-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Origin of DNA replication is an enigma because the replicative DNA polymerases (DNAPs) are not homologous among the three domains of life, Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. The homology between the archaeal replicative DNAP (PolD) and the large subunits of the universal RNA polymerase (RNAP) responsible for transcription suggests a parsimonious evolutionary scenario. Under this model, RNAPs and replicative DNAPs evolved from a common ancestor that functioned as an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase in the RNA-protein world that predated the advent of DNA replication. The replicative DNAP of the Last Universal Cellular Ancestor (LUCA) would be the ancestor of the archaeal PolD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
| | - Mart Krupovic
- Archaeal Virology Unit, Institut Pasteur, 75015, Paris, France
| | - Sonoko Ishino
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
| | - Yoshizumi Ishino
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan
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17
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Abstract
Viruses are ubiquitous parasites of cellular life and the most abundant biological entities on Earth. It is widely accepted that viruses are polyphyletic, but a consensus scenario for their ultimate origin is still lacking. Traditionally, three scenarios for the origin of viruses have been considered: descent from primordial, precellular genetic elements, reductive evolution from cellular ancestors and escape of genes from cellular hosts, achieving partial replicative autonomy and becoming parasitic genetic elements. These classical scenarios give different timelines for the origin(s) of viruses and do not explain the provenance of the two key functional modules that are responsible, respectively, for viral genome replication and virion morphogenesis. Here, we outline a 'chimeric' scenario under which different types of primordial, selfish replicons gave rise to viruses by recruiting host proteins for virion formation. We also propose that new groups of viruses have repeatedly emerged at all stages of the evolution of life, often through the displacement of ancestral structural and genome replication genes.
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18
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Sauguet L. The Extended "Two-Barrel" Polymerases Superfamily: Structure, Function and Evolution. J Mol Biol 2019; 431:4167-4183. [PMID: 31103775 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2019.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2019] [Revised: 05/07/2019] [Accepted: 05/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
DNA and RNA polymerases (DNAP and RNAP) play central roles in genome replication, maintenance and repair, as well as in the expression of genes through their transcription. Multisubunit RNAPs carry out transcription and are represented, without exception, in all cellular life forms as well as in nucleo-cytoplasmic DNA viruses. Since their discovery, multisubunit RNAPs have been the focus of intense structural and functional studies revealing that they all share a well-conserved active-site region called the two-barrel catalytic core. The two-barrel core hosts the polymerase active site, which is located at the interface between two double-psi β-barrel domains that contribute distinct amino acid residues to the active site in an asymmetrical fashion. Recently, sequencing and structural studies have added a surprising variety of DNA and RNA to the two-barrel superfamily, including the archaeal replicative DNAP (PolD), which extends the family to DNA-dependent DNAPs involved in replication. While all these polymerases share a minimal core that must have been present in their common ancestor, the two-barrel polymerase superfamily now encompasses a remarkable diversity of enzymes, including DNA-dependent RNAPs, RNA-dependent RNAPs, and DNA-dependent DNAPs, which participate in critical biological processes such as DNA transcription, DNA replication, and gene silencing. The present review will discuss both common features and differences among the extended two-barrel polymerase superfamily, focusing on the newly discovered members. Comparing their structures provides insights into the molecular mechanisms evolved by the contemporary two-barrel polymerases to accomplish their different biological functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludovic Sauguet
- Institut Pasteur, Unité de Dynamique Structurale des Macromolécules, 75015 Paris, France.
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19
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An updated structural classification of replicative DNA polymerases. Biochem Soc Trans 2019; 47:239-249. [PMID: 30647142 DOI: 10.1042/bst20180579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2018] [Revised: 11/30/2018] [Accepted: 12/07/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Replicative DNA polymerases are nano-machines essential to life, which have evolved the ability to copy the genome with high fidelity and high processivity. In contrast with cellular transcriptases and ribosome machines, which evolved by accretion of complexity from a conserved catalytic core, no replicative DNA polymerase is universally conserved. Strikingly, four different families of DNA polymerases have evolved to perform DNA replication in the three domains of life. In Bacteria, the genome is replicated by DNA polymerases belonging to the A- and C-families. In Eukarya, genomic DNA is copied mainly by three distinct replicative DNA polymerases, Polα, Polδ, and Polε, which all belong to the B-family. Matters are more complicated in Archaea, which contain an unusual D-family DNA polymerase (PolD) in addition to PolB, a B-family replicative DNA polymerase that is homologous to the eukaryotic ones. PolD is a heterodimeric DNA polymerase present in all Archaea discovered so far, except Crenarchaea. While PolD is an essential replicative DNA polymerase, it is often underrepresented in the literature when the diversity of DNA polymerases is discussed. Recent structural studies have shown that the structures of both polymerase and proofreading active sites of PolD differ from other structurally characterized DNA polymerases, thereby extending the repertoire of folds known to perform DNA replication. This review aims to provide an updated structural classification of all replicative DNAPs and discuss their evolutionary relationships, both regarding the DNA polymerase and proofreading active sites.
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20
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Raia P, Carroni M, Henry E, Pehau-Arnaudet G, Brûlé S, Béguin P, Henneke G, Lindahl E, Delarue M, Sauguet L. Structure of the DP1-DP2 PolD complex bound with DNA and its implications for the evolutionary history of DNA and RNA polymerases. PLoS Biol 2019; 17:e3000122. [PMID: 30657780 PMCID: PMC6355029 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2018] [Revised: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 01/10/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
PolD is an archaeal replicative DNA polymerase (DNAP) made of a proofreading exonuclease subunit (DP1) and a larger polymerase catalytic subunit (DP2). Recently, we reported the individual crystal structures of the DP1 and DP2 catalytic cores, thereby revealing that PolD is an atypical DNAP that has all functional properties of a replicative DNAP but with the catalytic core of an RNA polymerase (RNAP). We now report the DNA-bound cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of the heterodimeric DP1-DP2 PolD complex from Pyrococcus abyssi, revealing a unique DNA-binding site. Comparison of PolD and RNAPs extends their structural similarities and brings to light the minimal catalytic core shared by all cellular transcriptases. Finally, elucidating the structure of the PolD DP1-DP2 interface, which is conserved in all eukaryotic replicative DNAPs, clarifies their evolutionary relationships with PolD and sheds light on the domain acquisition and exchange mechanism that occurred during the evolution of the eukaryotic replisome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Raia
- Unit of Structural Dynamics of Macromolecules, Pasteur Institute and CNRS UMR 3528, Paris, France
- Sorbonne Université, Ecole Doctorale Complexité du Vivant (ED515), Paris, France
| | - Marta Carroni
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Sweden
| | - Etienne Henry
- CNRS, IFREMER, Univ Brest, Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes, Plouzané, France
| | | | - Sébastien Brûlé
- Molecular Biophysics Platform, Pasteur Institute, C2RT and CNRS UMR 3528, Paris, France
| | - Pierre Béguin
- Unit of Molecular Biology of Gene in Extremophiles, Pasteur Institute, Paris, France
| | - Ghislaine Henneke
- IFREMER, CNRS, Univ Brest, Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes, Plouzané, France
| | - Erik Lindahl
- Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Sweden
| | - Marc Delarue
- Unit of Structural Dynamics of Macromolecules, Pasteur Institute and CNRS UMR 3528, Paris, France
| | - Ludovic Sauguet
- Unit of Structural Dynamics of Macromolecules, Pasteur Institute and CNRS UMR 3528, Paris, France
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21
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Unusual relatives of the multisubunit RNA polymerase. Biochem Soc Trans 2018; 47:219-228. [PMID: 30578347 DOI: 10.1042/bst20180505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Revised: 11/21/2018] [Accepted: 11/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Transcription, the first step of gene expression, is accomplished in all domains of life by the multisubunit RNA polymerase (msRNAP). Accordingly, the msRNAP is an ancient enzyme that is ubiquitous across all cellular organisms. Conserved in absolutely all msRNAPs is the catalytic magnesium-binding aspartate triad and the structural fold it is present on, the double ψ β barrel (DPBB). In-depth bioinformatics has begun to reveal a wealth of unusual proteins distantly related to msRNAP, identified due to their possession of the aspartate triad and DPBB folds. Three examples of these novel RNAPs are YonO of the Bacillus subtilis SPβ prophage, non-virion RNAP (nvRNAP) of the B. subtilis AR9 bacteriophage and ORF6 RNAP of the Kluyveromyces lactis cytoplasmic killer system. While YonO and AR9 nvRNAP are both bacteriophage enzymes, they drastically contrast. YonO is an incredibly minimal single-subunit RNAP, while AR9 nvRNAP is multisubunit bearing much more resemblance to the canonical msRNAP. ORF6 RNAP is an intermediate, given it is a single-subunit enzyme with substantial conservation with the msRNAP. Recent findings have begun to shed light on these polymerases, which have the potential to update our understanding of the mechanisms used for transcription and give new insights into the canonical msRNAP and its evolution. This mini-review serves to introduce and outline our current understanding of these three examples of novel, unusual RNAPs.
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22
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Maida Y, Yasukawa M, Ghilotti M, Ando Y, Masutomi K. Semi-quantitative Detection of RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase Activity of Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase Protein. J Vis Exp 2018. [PMID: 29985366 PMCID: PMC6101702 DOI: 10.3791/57021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) is the catalytic subunit of telomerase, and it elongates telomere through RNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity. Although TERT is named as a reverse transcriptase, structural and phylogenetic analyses of TERT demonstrate that TERT is a member of right-handed polymerases, and relates to viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRPs) as well as viral reverse transcriptase. We firstly identified RdRP activity of human TERT that generates complementary RNA stand to a template non-coding RNA and contributes to RNA silencing in cancer cells. To analyze this non-canonical enzymatic activity, we developed RdRP assay with recombinant TERT in 2009, thereafter established in vitro RdRP assay for endogenous TERT. In this manuscript, we describe the latter method. Briefly, TERT immune complexes are isolated from cells, and incubated with template RNA and rNTPs including radioactive rNTP for RdRP reaction. To eliminate single-stranded RNA, reaction products are treated with RNase I, and the final products are analyzed with polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Radiolabeled RdRP products can be detected by autoradiography after overnight exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshiko Maida
- Division of Cancer Stem Cell, National Cancer Center Research Institute
| | - Mami Yasukawa
- Division of Cancer Stem Cell, National Cancer Center Research Institute
| | - Marco Ghilotti
- Division of Cancer Stem Cell, National Cancer Center Research Institute
| | - Yoshinari Ando
- Division of Cancer Stem Cell, National Cancer Center Research Institute
| | - Kenkichi Masutomi
- Division of Cancer Stem Cell, National Cancer Center Research Institute;
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23
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Abstract
In modern molecular biology, RNA has emerged as a versatile macromolecule capable of mediating an astonishing number of biological functions beyond its role as a transient messenger of genetic information. The recent discovery and functional analyses of new classes of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have revealed their widespread use in many pathways, including several in the nucleus. This Review focuses on the mechanisms by which nuclear ncRNAs directly contribute to the maintenance of genome stability. We discuss how ncRNAs inhibit spurious recombination among repetitive DNA elements, repress mobilization of transposable elements (TEs), template or bridge DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) during repair, and direct developmentally regulated genome rearrangements in some ciliates. These studies reveal an unexpected repertoire of mechanisms by which ncRNAs contribute to genome stability and even potentially fuel evolution by acting as templates for genome modification.
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24
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Fouqueau T, Blombach F, Werner F. Evolutionary Origins of Two-Barrel RNA Polymerases and Site-Specific Transcription Initiation. Annu Rev Microbiol 2017; 71:331-348. [PMID: 28657884 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-micro-091014-104145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Evolution-related multisubunit RNA polymerases (RNAPs) carry out RNA synthesis in all domains life. Although their catalytic cores and fundamental mechanisms of transcription elongation are conserved, the initiation stage of the transcription cycle differs substantially in bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes in terms of the requirements for accessory factors and details of the molecular mechanisms. This review focuses on recent insights into the evolution of the transcription apparatus with regard to (a) the surprisingly pervasive double-Ψ β-barrel active-site configuration among different nucleic acid polymerase families, (b) the origin and phylogenetic distribution of TBP, TFB, and TFE transcription factors, and
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Fouqueau
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Division of Biosciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom; ,
| | - Fabian Blombach
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Division of Biosciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom; ,
| | - Finn Werner
- Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology, Division of Biosciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom; ,
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25
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Forrest D, James K, Yuzenkova Y, Zenkin N. Single-peptide DNA-dependent RNA polymerase homologous to multi-subunit RNA polymerase. Nat Commun 2017; 8:15774. [PMID: 28585540 PMCID: PMC5467207 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2016] [Accepted: 04/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Transcription in all living organisms is accomplished by multi-subunit RNA polymerases (msRNAPs). msRNAPs are highly conserved in evolution and invariably share a ∼400 kDa five-subunit catalytic core. Here we characterize a hypothetical ∼100 kDa single-chain protein, YonO, encoded by the SPβ prophage of Bacillus subtilis. YonO shares very distant homology with msRNAPs, but no homology with single-subunit polymerases. We show that despite homology to only a few amino acids of msRNAP, and the absence of most of the conserved domains, YonO is a highly processive DNA-dependent RNA polymerase. We demonstrate that YonO is a bona fide RNAP of the SPβ bacteriophage that specifically transcribes its late genes, and thus represents a novel type of bacteriophage RNAPs. YonO and related proteins present in various bacteria and bacteriophages have diverged from msRNAPs before the Last Universal Common Ancestor, and, thus, may resemble the single-subunit ancestor of all msRNAPs. Although all known RNA polymerases have multiple subunits, unrelated single-subunit polymerases have also been described. Here, the authors describe a single-subunit RNA polymerase from the SPβ prophage of Bacillus subtilis, which shares homology to multi-subunit enzymes.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Forrest
- Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Institute for Cell and Molecular Bioscience, Newcastle University, Baddiley-Clark Building, Richardson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK
| | - Katherine James
- Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Institute for Cell and Molecular Bioscience, Newcastle University, Baddiley-Clark Building, Richardson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK
| | - Yulia Yuzenkova
- Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Institute for Cell and Molecular Bioscience, Newcastle University, Baddiley-Clark Building, Richardson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK
| | - Nikolay Zenkin
- Centre for Bacterial Cell Biology, Institute for Cell and Molecular Bioscience, Newcastle University, Baddiley-Clark Building, Richardson Road, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4AX, UK
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26
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Paces J, Nic M, Novotny T, Svoboda P. Literature review of baseline information to support the risk assessment of RNAi‐based GM plants. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [PMCID: PMC7163844 DOI: 10.2903/sp.efsa.2017.en-1246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jan Paces
- Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (IMG)
| | | | | | - Petr Svoboda
- Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (IMG)
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27
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Koonin EV. Evolution of RNA- and DNA-guided antivirus defense systems in prokaryotes and eukaryotes: common ancestry vs convergence. Biol Direct 2017; 12:5. [PMID: 28187792 PMCID: PMC5303251 DOI: 10.1186/s13062-017-0177-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2016] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract Complementarity between nucleic acid molecules is central to biological information transfer processes. Apart from the basal processes of replication, transcription and translation, complementarity is also employed by multiple defense and regulatory systems. All cellular life forms possess defense systems against viruses and mobile genetic elements, and in most of them some of the defense mechanisms involve small guide RNAs or DNAs that recognize parasite genomes and trigger their inactivation. The nucleic acid-guided defense systems include prokaryotic Argonaute (pAgo)-centered innate immunity and CRISPR-Cas adaptive immunity as well as diverse branches of RNA interference (RNAi) in eukaryotes. The archaeal pAgo machinery is the direct ancestor of eukaryotic RNAi that, however, acquired additional components, such as Dicer, and enormously diversified through multiple duplications. In contrast, eukaryotes lack any heritage of the CRISPR-Cas systems, conceivably, due to the cellular toxicity of some Cas proteins that would get activated as a result of operon disruption in eukaryotes. The adaptive immunity function in eukaryotes is taken over partly by the PIWI RNA branch of RNAi and partly by protein-based immunity. In this review, I briefly discuss the interplay between homology and analogy in the evolution of RNA- and DNA-guided immunity, and attempt to formulate some general evolutionary principles for this ancient class of defense systems. Reviewers This article was reviewed by Mikhail Gelfand and Bojan Zagrovic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD, 20894, USA.
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Abstract
Repeating sequences generated from RNA gene fusions/ligations dominate ancient life, indicating central importance of building structural complexity in evolving biological systems. A simple and coherent story of life on earth is told from tracking repeating motifs that generate α/β proteins, 2-double-Ψ-β-barrel (DPBB) type RNA polymerases (RNAPs), general transcription factors (GTFs), and promoters. A general rule that emerges is that biological complexity that arises through generation of repeats is often bounded by solubility and closure (i.e., to form a pseudo-dimer or a barrel). Because the first DNA genomes were replicated by DNA template-dependent RNA synthesis followed by RNA template-dependent DNA synthesis via reverse transcriptase, the first DNA replication origins were initially 2-DPBB type RNAP promoters. A simplifying model for evolution of promoters/replication origins via repetition of core promoter elements is proposed. The model can explain why Pribnow boxes in bacterial transcription (i.e., (-12)TATAATG(-6)) so closely resemble TATA boxes (i.e., (-31)TATAAAAG(-24)) in archaeal/eukaryotic transcription. The evolution of anchor DNA sequences in bacterial (i.e., (-35)TTGACA(-30)) and archaeal (BRE(up); BRE for TFB recognition element) promoters is potentially explained. The evolution of BRE(down) elements of archaeal promoters is potentially explained.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary F Burton
- a Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology , Michigan State University , E. Lansing , MI , USA
| | - Kristopher Opron
- b Department of Mathematics , Michigan State University , E. Lansing , MI , USA
| | - Guowei Wei
- b Department of Mathematics , Michigan State University , E. Lansing , MI , USA
| | - James H Geiger
- c Department of Chemistry , Michigan State University , E. Lansing , MI , USA
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Sauguet L, Raia P, Henneke G, Delarue M. Shared active site architecture between archaeal PolD and multi-subunit RNA polymerases revealed by X-ray crystallography. Nat Commun 2016; 7:12227. [PMID: 27548043 PMCID: PMC4996933 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2016] [Accepted: 06/10/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Archaeal replicative DNA polymerase D (PolD) constitute an atypical class of DNA polymerases made of a proofreading exonuclease subunit (DP1) and a larger polymerase catalytic subunit (DP2), both with unknown structures. We have determined the crystal structures of Pyrococcus abyssi DP1 and DP2 at 2.5 and 2.2 Å resolution, respectively, revealing a catalytic core strikingly different from all other known DNA polymerases (DNAPs). Rather, the PolD DP2 catalytic core has the same ‘double-psi β-barrel' architecture seen in the RNA polymerase (RNAP) superfamily, which includes multi-subunit transcriptases of all domains of life, homodimeric RNA-silencing pathway RNAPs and atypical viral RNAPs. This finding bridges together, in non-viral world, DNA transcription and DNA replication within the same protein superfamily. This study documents further the complex evolutionary history of the DNA replication apparatus in different domains of life and proposes a classification of all extant DNAPs. The structures of many DNA polymerases is known, but PolD was a missing piece. Here, the authors report the crystal structure of this protein and use it to connect the DNA replication machinery with the transcription machinery in the same protein family.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ludovic Sauguet
- Unit of Structural Dynamics of Macromolecules, Pasteur Institute and CNRS UMR 3528, 75015 Paris, France
| | - Pierre Raia
- Unit of Structural Dynamics of Macromolecules, Pasteur Institute and CNRS UMR 3528, 75015 Paris, France.,Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris 6, 75006 Paris, France
| | - Ghislaine Henneke
- Ifremer, UMR 6197, Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes, 29280 Plouzané, France.,UBO, UMR 6197, Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes, 29280 Plouzané, France.,CNRS, UMR 6197, Laboratoire de Microbiologie des Environnements Extrêmes, 29280 Plouzané, France
| | - Marc Delarue
- Unit of Structural Dynamics of Macromolecules, Pasteur Institute and CNRS UMR 3528, 75015 Paris, France
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Qian X, Hamid FM, El Sahili A, Darwis DA, Wong YH, Bhushan S, Makeyev EV, Lescar J. Functional Evolution in Orthologous Cell-encoded RNA-dependent RNA Polymerases. J Biol Chem 2016; 291:9295-309. [PMID: 26907693 PMCID: PMC4861493 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m115.685933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Many eukaryotic organisms encode more than one RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) that probably emerged as a result of gene duplication. Such RdRP paralogs often participate in distinct RNA silencing pathways and show characteristic repertoires of enzymatic activities in vitro However, to what extent members of individual paralogous groups can undergo functional changes during speciation remains an open question. We show that orthologs of QDE-1, an RdRP component of the quelling pathway in Neurospora crassa, have rapidly diverged in evolution at the amino acid sequence level. Analyses of purified QDE-1 polymerases from N. crassa (QDE-1(Ncr)) and related fungi, Thielavia terrestris (QDE-1(Tte)) and Myceliophthora thermophila (QDE-1(Mth)), show that all three enzymes can synthesize RNA, but the precise modes of their action differ considerably. Unlike their QDE-1(Ncr) counterpart favoring processive RNA synthesis, QDE-1(Tte) and QDE-1(Mth) produce predominantly short RNA copies via primer-independent initiation. Surprisingly, a 3.19 Å resolution crystal structure of QDE-1(Tte) reveals a quasisymmetric dimer similar to QDE-1(Ncr) Further electron microscopy analyses confirm that QDE-1(Tte) occurs as a dimer in solution and retains this status upon interaction with a template. We conclude that divergence of orthologous RdRPs can result in functional innovation while retaining overall protein fold and quaternary structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinlei Qian
- From the Division of Structural Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 138673 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Fursham M Hamid
- From the Division of Structural Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 138673 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Abbas El Sahili
- From the Division of Structural Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 138673 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Dina Amallia Darwis
- From the Division of Structural Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 138673 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yee Hwa Wong
- From the Division of Structural Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 138673 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Shashi Bhushan
- From the Division of Structural Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 138673 Singapore, Singapore
| | - Eugene V Makeyev
- From the Division of Structural Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 138673 Singapore, Singapore, the Medical Research Council Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College, London SE1 1UL, United Kingdom, and
| | - Julien Lescar
- From the Division of Structural Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 138673 Singapore, Singapore, UPMC UMRS CR7-CNRS ERL 8255-INSERM U1135 Centre d' Immunologie et des Maladies Infectieuses, Faculté de Médecine Pierre et Marie Curie, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Pitié-Salpêtrière, 75031 Paris, France
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de Candia P, De Rosa V, Casiraghi M, Matarese G. Extracellular RNAs: A Secret Arm of Immune System Regulation. J Biol Chem 2016; 291:7221-8. [PMID: 26887954 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.r115.708842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The immune system has evolved to protect multicellular organisms from the attack of a variety of pathogens. To exert this function efficiently, the system has developed the capacity to coordinate the function of different cell types and the ability to down-modulate the response when the foreign attack is over. For decades, immunologists believed that these two characteristics were primarily related to cytokine/chemokine-based communication and cell-to-cell direct contact. More recently, it has been shown that immune cells also communicate by transferring regulatory RNAs, microRNAs in particular, from one cell to the other. Several studies have suggested a functional role of extracellular regulatory RNAs in cell-to-cell communication in different cellular contexts. This minireview focuses on the potential role of extracellular RNA transfer in the regulation of adaptive immune response, also contextualizing it in a broader field of what is known of cell-free RNAs in communication among different organisms in the evolutionary scale.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Veronica De Rosa
- the Laboratorio di Immunologia, Istituto di Endocrinologia e Oncologia Sperimentale, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (IEOS-CNR), 80131 Napoli and Unità di NeuroImmunologia, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00142 Roma
| | - Maurizio Casiraghi
- the ZooPlantLab, Dipartimento di Biotecnologie e Bioscienze, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, 20126 Milano, and
| | - Giuseppe Matarese
- the Dipartimento di Medicina Molecolare e Biotecnologie Mediche, Università di Napoli "Federico II", 80131 Napoli, Italy
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Černý J, Černá Bolfíková B, de A Zanotto PM, Grubhoffer L, Růžek D. A deep phylogeny of viral and cellular right-hand polymerases. INFECTION GENETICS AND EVOLUTION 2015; 36:275-286. [PMID: 26431690 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2015.09.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2015] [Revised: 09/22/2015] [Accepted: 09/28/2015] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Right-hand polymerases are important players in genome replication and repair in cellular organisms as well as in viruses. All right-hand polymerases are grouped into seven related protein families: viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases, reverse transcriptases, single-subunit RNA polymerases, and DNA polymerase families A, B, D, and Y. Although the evolutionary relationships of right-hand polymerases within each family have been proposed, evolutionary relationships between families remain elusive because their sequence similarity is too low to allow classical phylogenetic analyses. The structure of viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases recently was shown to be useful in inferring their evolution. Here, we address evolutionary relationships between right-hand polymerase families by combining sequence and structure information. We used a set of 22 viral and cellular polymerases representing all right-hand polymerase families with known protein structure. In contrast to previous studies, which focused only on the evolution of particular families, the current approach allowed us to present the first robust phylogenetic analysis unifying evolution of all right-hand polymerase families. All polymerase families branched into discrete lineages, following a fairly robust adjacency pattern. Only single-subunit RNA polymerases formed an inner group within DNA polymerase family A. RNA-dependent RNA polymerases of RNA viruses and reverse transcriptases of retroviruses formed two sister groups and were distinguishable from all other polymerases. DNA polymerases of DNA bacteriophages did not form a monophyletic group and are phylogenetically mixed with cellular DNA polymerase families A and B. Based on the highest genetic variability and structural simplicity, we assume that RNA-dependent RNA polymerases are the most ancient group of right-hand polymerases, in agreement with the RNA World hypothesis, because RNA-dependent RNA polymerases are enzymes that could serve in replication of RNA genomes. Moreover, our results show that protein structure can be used in phylogenetic analyses of distantly related proteins that share only limited sequence similarity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiří Černý
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
| | - Barbora Černá Bolfíková
- Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 126, Suchdol, 165 21 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Paolo M de A Zanotto
- Department of Microbiology, Biomedical Sciences Institute, ICB II University of Sao Paulo, 05508-000 Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Libor Grubhoffer
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic; Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Daniel Růžek
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic; Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 296/70, 621 00 Brno, Czech Republic
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Maida Y, Masutomi K. Telomerase reverse transcriptase moonlights: Therapeutic targets beyond telomerase. Cancer Sci 2015; 106:1486-92. [PMID: 26331588 PMCID: PMC4714691 DOI: 10.1111/cas.12806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2015] [Revised: 08/25/2015] [Accepted: 08/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomeres, the repetitive sequences at chromosomal ends, protect intact chromosomes. Telomeres progressively shorten through successive rounds of cell divisions, and critically shortened telomeres trigger senescence and apoptosis. The enzyme that elongates telomeres and maintains their structure is known as telomerase. The catalytic subunit of this enzyme (telomerase reverse transcriptase [TERT]) is expressed at a high level in malignant cells, but at a very low level in normal cells. Although telomerase activity was long believed to be the only function of TERT, emerging evidence indicates that TERT plays roles beyond telomeres. For example, TERT contributes to stem cell maintenance and cell reprogramming processes in a manner independent of its canonical function. Even some types of splice variants that lack the telomerase catalytic domains exhibit the functions in a manner that does not depend on telomerase activity. We recently demonstrated that the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP) activity of TERT is involved in regulation of gene silencing and heterochromatic transcription. Moreover, TERT RdRP activity is mediated by a newly identified complex, distinct from the authentic telomerase complex, that plays a role in cancer stem cells in a telomere maintenance independent manner. TERT has attracted interest as a molecular target for anticancer treatment, but previous efforts aimed at developing novel therapeutic strategies focused only on the canonical function of TERT. However, accumulating evidence about the non-canonical functions of TERT led us to speculate that the functions other than telomerase might be therapeutic targets as well. In this review, we discuss the non-canonical functions of TERT and their potential applications for anticancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshiko Maida
- Division of Cancer Stem Cell, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kenkichi Masutomi
- Division of Cancer Stem Cell, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan
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Burton ZF. The Old and New Testaments of gene regulation. Evolution of multi-subunit RNA polymerases and co-evolution of eukaryote complexity with the RNAP II CTD. Transcription 2015; 5:e28674. [PMID: 25764332 PMCID: PMC4215175 DOI: 10.4161/trns.28674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
I relate a story of genesis told from the point of view of multi-subunit RNA polymerases (RNAPs) including an Old Testament (core RNAP motifs in all cellular life) and a New Testament (the RNAP II heptad repeat carboxy terminal domain (CTD) and CTD interactome in eukarya). The Old Testament: at their active site, one class of eukaryotic interfering RNAP and ubiquitous multi-subunit RNAPs each have two-double psi β barrel (DPBB) motifs (a distinct pattern for compact 6-β sheet barrels). Between β sheets 2 and 3 of the β subunit type DPBB of all multi-subunit RNAPs is a sandwich barrel hybrid motif (SBHM) that interacts with conserved initiation and elongation factors required to utilize a DNA template. Analysis of RNAP core protein motifs, therefore, indicates that RNAP evolution can be traced from the RNA-protein world to LUCA (the last universal common ancestor) branching to LECA (the last eukaryotic common ancestor) and to the present day, spanning about 4 billion years. The New Testament: in the eukaryotic lineage, I posit that splitting RNAP functions into RNAPs I, II and III and innovations developed around the CTD heptad repeat of RNAP II and the extensive CTD interactome helps to describe how greater structural, cell cycle, epigenetic and signaling complexity co-evolved in eukaryotes relative to eubacteria and archaea.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary F Burton
- a Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Michigan State University; East Lansing, MI USA
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Caprari S, Metzler S, Lengauer T, Kalinina OV. Sequence and Structure Analysis of Distantly-Related Viruses Reveals Extensive Gene Transfer between Viruses and Hosts and among Viruses. Viruses 2015; 7:5388-409. [PMID: 26492264 PMCID: PMC4632390 DOI: 10.3390/v7102882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2015] [Revised: 10/08/2015] [Accepted: 10/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The origin and evolution of viruses is a subject of ongoing debate. In this study, we provide a full account of the evolutionary relationships between proteins of significant sequence and structural similarity found in viruses that belong to different classes according to the Baltimore classification. We show that such proteins can be found in viruses from all Baltimore classes. For protein families that include these proteins, we observe two patterns of the taxonomic spread. In the first pattern, they can be found in a large number of viruses from all implicated Baltimore classes. In the other pattern, the instances of the corresponding protein in species from each Baltimore class are restricted to a few compact clades. Proteins with the first pattern of distribution are products of so-called viral hallmark genes reported previously. Additionally, this pattern is displayed by the envelope glycoproteins from Flaviviridae and Bunyaviridae and helicases of superfamilies 1 and 2 that have homologs in cellular organisms. The second pattern can often be explained by horizontal gene transfer from the host or between viruses, an example being Orthomyxoviridae and Coronaviridae hemagglutinin esterases. Another facet of horizontal gene transfer comprises multiple independent introduction events of genes from cellular organisms into otherwise unrelated viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Caprari
- Department for Computational Biology and Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Campus E1 4, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany.
| | - Saskia Metzler
- Department for Computational Biology and Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Campus E1 4, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany.
- Saarbrücken Graduate School of Computer Science, University of Saarland, Campus E1 3, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany.
| | - Thomas Lengauer
- Department for Computational Biology and Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Campus E1 4, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany.
| | - Olga V Kalinina
- Department for Computational Biology and Applied Algorithmics, Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Campus E1 4, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany.
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Koonin EV, Dolja VV, Krupovic M. Origins and evolution of viruses of eukaryotes: The ultimate modularity. Virology 2015; 479-480:2-25. [PMID: 25771806 PMCID: PMC5898234 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2015.02.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 321] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2015] [Revised: 02/19/2015] [Accepted: 02/20/2015] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Viruses and other selfish genetic elements are dominant entities in the biosphere, with respect to both physical abundance and genetic diversity. Various selfish elements parasitize on all cellular life forms. The relative abundances of different classes of viruses are dramatically different between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In prokaryotes, the great majority of viruses possess double-stranded (ds) DNA genomes, with a substantial minority of single-stranded (ss) DNA viruses and only limited presence of RNA viruses. In contrast, in eukaryotes, RNA viruses account for the majority of the virome diversity although ssDNA and dsDNA viruses are common as well. Phylogenomic analysis yields tangible clues for the origins of major classes of eukaryotic viruses and in particular their likely roots in prokaryotes. Specifically, the ancestral genome of positive-strand RNA viruses of eukaryotes might have been assembled de novo from genes derived from prokaryotic retroelements and bacteria although a primordial origin of this class of viruses cannot be ruled out. Different groups of double-stranded RNA viruses derive either from dsRNA bacteriophages or from positive-strand RNA viruses. The eukaryotic ssDNA viruses apparently evolved via a fusion of genes from prokaryotic rolling circle-replicating plasmids and positive-strand RNA viruses. Different families of eukaryotic dsDNA viruses appear to have originated from specific groups of bacteriophages on at least two independent occasions. Polintons, the largest known eukaryotic transposons, predicted to also form virus particles, most likely, were the evolutionary intermediates between bacterial tectiviruses and several groups of eukaryotic dsDNA viruses including the proposed order "Megavirales" that unites diverse families of large and giant viruses. Strikingly, evolution of all classes of eukaryotic viruses appears to have involved fusion between structural and replicative gene modules derived from different sources along with additional acquisitions of diverse genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eugene V Koonin
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA.
| | - Valerian V Dolja
- Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
| | - Mart Krupovic
- Institut Pasteur, Unité Biologie Moléculaire du Gène chez les Extrêmophiles, Department of Microbiology, Paris 75015, France.
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Ancient and novel small RNA pathways compensate for the loss of piRNAs in multiple independent nematode lineages. PLoS Biol 2015; 13:e1002061. [PMID: 25668728 PMCID: PMC4323106 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2014] [Accepted: 01/02/2015] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Small RNA pathways act at the front line of defence against transposable elements across the Eukaryota. In animals, Piwi interacting small RNAs (piRNAs) are a crucial arm of this defence. However, the evolutionary relationships among piRNAs and other small RNA pathways targeting transposable elements are poorly resolved. To address this question we sequenced small RNAs from multiple, diverse nematode species, producing the first phylum-wide analysis of how small RNA pathways evolve. Surprisingly, despite their prominence in Caenorhabditis elegans and closely related nematodes, piRNAs are absent in all other nematode lineages. We found that there are at least two evolutionarily distinct mechanisms that compensate for the absence of piRNAs, both involving RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRPs). Whilst one pathway is unique to nematodes, the second involves Dicer-dependent RNA-directed DNA methylation, hitherto unknown in animals, and bears striking similarity to transposon-control mechanisms in fungi and plants. Our results highlight the rapid, context-dependent evolution of small RNA pathways and suggest piRNAs in animals may have replaced an ancient eukaryotic RNA-dependent RNA polymerase pathway to control transposable elements. A survey of the nematode phylum reveals loss of the Piwi/piRNA pathway in several lineages, but RNA-dependent RNA polymerases control transposable elements in its absence. Transposable elements are segments of DNA that have the ability to copy themselves independently of the host genome and thus pose a severe threat to the integrity of the genome. Organisms have evolved mechanisms to restrict the spread of transposable elements, with small RNA molecules being one of the most important defense mechanisms. In animals, the predominant small RNA transposon-silencing mechanism is the piRNA pathway, which appears to be widely conserved. However, little is known about how small RNA pathways that target transposons evolve. In order to study this question we investigated small RNA pathways across the nematode phylum, using a well-studied model organism—the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans—as the starting point. Surprisingly we found that the piRNA pathway has been completely lost in all groups of nematodes bar those most closely related to C. elegans. This finding raises the intriguing question of how these nematodes are able to control transposable element mobilization without piRNAs. We discovered that there are other small RNA pathways that target transposable elements in these nematodes, employing RNA-dependent RNA polymerases in order to make small RNAs antisense to transposable elements. Intriguingly, the most ancient of these mechanisms, found in the most basal nematodes, is a Dicer-dependent RNA-directed DNA methylation pathway. This pathway shares strong similarity to transposon-silencing mechanisms in plants and fungi, suggesting that it might have been present in an ancient common ancestor of all eukaryotes. Our results highlight the rapid evolution of small RNA pathways and demonstrate the importance of examining molecular pathways in detail across a range of evolutionary distances.
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Choi J, Kim KT, Jeon J, Wu J, Song H, Asiegbu FO, Lee YH. funRNA: a fungi-centered genomics platform for genes encoding key components of RNAi. BMC Genomics 2014; 15 Suppl 9:S14. [PMID: 25522231 PMCID: PMC4290597 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2164-15-s9-s14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND RNA interference (RNAi) is involved in genome defense as well as diverse cellular, developmental, and physiological processes. Key components of RNAi are Argonaute, Dicer, and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRP), which have been functionally characterized mainly in model organisms. The key components are believed to exist throughout eukaryotes; however, there is no systematic platform for archiving and dissecting these important gene families. In addition, few fungi have been studied to date, limiting our understanding of RNAi in fungi. Here we present funRNA http://funrna.riceblast.snu.ac.kr/, a fungal kingdom-wide comparative genomics platform for putative genes encoding Argonaute, Dicer, and RdRP. DESCRIPTION To identify and archive genes encoding the abovementioned key components, protein domain profiles were determined from reference sequences obtained from UniProtKB/SwissProt. The domain profiles were searched using fungal, metazoan, and plant genomes, as well as bacterial and archaeal genomes. 1,163, 442, and 678 genes encoding Argonaute, Dicer, and RdRP, respectively, were predicted. Based on the identification results, active site variation of Argonaute, diversification of Dicer, and sequence analysis of RdRP were discussed in a fungus-oriented manner. funRNA provides results from diverse bioinformatics programs and job submission forms for BLAST, BLASTMatrix, and ClustalW. Furthermore, sequence collections created in funRNA are synced with several gene family analysis portals and databases, offering further analysis opportunities. CONCLUSIONS funRNA provides identification results from a broad taxonomic range and diverse analysis functions, and could be used in diverse comparative and evolutionary studies. It could serve as a versatile genomics workbench for key components of RNAi.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaeyoung Choi
- Center for Fungal Pathogenesis, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea
- Fungal Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea
| | - Ki-Tae Kim
- Fungal Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea
| | - Jongbum Jeon
- Fungal Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea
| | - Jiayao Wu
- Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Hyeunjeong Song
- Fungal Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea
| | - Fred O Asiegbu
- Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Yong-Hwan Lee
- Center for Fungal Pathogenesis, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea
- Fungal Bioinformatics Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea
- Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Center for Fungal Genetic Resources, Plant Genomics and Breeding Institute, Research Institute for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea
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39
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Zhang DX, Spiering MJ, Nuss DL. Characterizing the roles of Cryphonectria parasitica RNA-dependent RNA polymerase-like genes in antiviral defense, viral recombination and transposon transcript accumulation. PLoS One 2014; 9:e108653. [PMID: 25268858 PMCID: PMC4182546 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2014] [Accepted: 09/03/2014] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
An inducible RNA-silencing pathway, involving a single Dicer protein, DCL2, and a single Argonaute protein, AGL2, was recently shown to serve as an effective antiviral defense response in the chestnut blight fungus Cryphonectria parasitica. Eukaryotic RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRPs) are frequently involved in transcriptional and posttranscriptional gene silencing and antiviral defense. We report here the identification and characterization of four RdRP genes (rdr1–4) in the C. parasitica genome. Sequence relationships with other eukaryotic RdRPs indicated that RDR1 and RDR2 were closely related to QDE-1, an RdRP involved in RNA silencing (“quelling”) in Neurospora crassa, whereas RDR3 was more closely related to the meiotic silencing gene SAD-1 in N. crassa. The RdRP domain of RDR4, related to N. crassa RRP-3 of unknown function, was truncated and showed evidence of alternative splicing. Similar to reports for dcl2 and agl2, the expression levels for rdr3 and rdr4 increased after hypovirus CHV-1/EP713 infection, while expression levels of rdr1 and rdr2 were unchanged. The virus-responsive induction patterns for rdr3 and rdr4 were altered in the Δdcl2 and Δagl2 strains, suggesting some level of interaction between rdr3 and rdr4 and the dcl2/agl2 silencing pathway. Single rdr gene knockouts Δrdr1–4, double knockouts Δrdr1/2, Δrdr2/3, Δrdr1/3, and a triple knockout, Δrdr1/2/3, were generated and evaluated for effects on fungal phenotype, the antiviral defense response, viral RNA recombination activity and transposon expression. None of the single or multiple rdr knockout strains displayed any phenotypic differences from the parental strains with or without viral infection or any significant changes in viral RNA accumulation or recombination activity or transposon RNA accumulation, indicating no detectable contribution by the C. parasitica rdr genes to these processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong-Xiu Zhang
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research and Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Martin J. Spiering
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research and Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Donald L. Nuss
- Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research and Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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40
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Baulcombe DC, Dean C. Epigenetic regulation in plant responses to the environment. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2014; 6:a019471. [PMID: 25183832 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a019471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
In this article, we review environmentally mediated epigenetic regulation in plants using two case histories. One of these, vernalization, mediates adaptation of plants to different environments and it exemplifies processes that are reset in each generation. The other, virus-induced silencing, involves transgenerationally inherited epigenetic modifications. Heritable epigenetic marks may result in heritable phenotypic variation, influencing fitness, and so be subject to natural selection. However, unlike genetic inheritance, the epigenetic modifications show instability and are influenced by the environment. These two case histories are then compared with other phenomena in plant biology that are likely to represent epigenetic regulation in response to the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- David C Baulcombe
- Department of Plant Science, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EA, United Kingdom
| | - Caroline Dean
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, John Innes Centre, Norwich NR4 7UH, United Kingdom
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41
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Mönttinen HAM, Ravantti JJ, Stuart DI, Poranen MM. Automated structural comparisons clarify the phylogeny of the right-hand-shaped polymerases. Mol Biol Evol 2014; 31:2741-52. [PMID: 25063440 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msu219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Polymerases are essential for life, being responsible for replication, transcription, and the repair of nucleic acid molecules. Those that share a right-hand-shaped fold and catalytic site structurally similar to the DNA polymerase I of Escherichia coli may catalyze RNA- or DNA-dependent RNA polymerization, reverse transcription, or DNA replication in eukarya, archaea, bacteria, and their viruses. We have applied novel computational methods for structure-based clustering and phylogenetic analyses of this functionally diverse polymerase superfamily, which currently comprises six families. We identified a structural core common to all right-handed polymerases, composed of 57 amino acid residues, harboring two positionally and chemically conserved residues, the catalytic aspartates. The structural conservation within each of the six families is considerable, for example, the structural core shared by family Y DNA polymerases covers over 90% of the polymerase domain of the Sulfolobus solfataricus Dpo4. Our phylogenetic analyses propose an early separation of RNA-dependent polymerases that use primers from those that are primer-independent. Furthermore, the exchange of polymerase genes between viruses and their hosts is evident. Because of this horizontal gene transfer, the phylogeny of polymerases does not always reflect the evolutionary history of the corresponding organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heli A M Mönttinen
- Department of Biosciences, Viikki Biocenter, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Janne J Ravantti
- Department of Biosciences, Viikki Biocenter, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Institute of Biotechnology, Viikki Biocenter, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - David I Stuart
- Division of Structural Biology and the Oxford Protein Production Facility, The Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom Diamond Light Source Limited, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
| | - Minna M Poranen
- Department of Biosciences, Viikki Biocenter, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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42
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Černý J, Černá Bolfíková B, Valdés JJ, Grubhoffer L, Růžek D. Evolution of tertiary structure of viral RNA dependent polymerases. PLoS One 2014; 9:e96070. [PMID: 24816789 PMCID: PMC4015915 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0096070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2013] [Accepted: 04/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Viral RNA dependent polymerases (vRdPs) are present in all RNA viruses; unfortunately, their sequence similarity is too low for phylogenetic studies. Nevertheless, vRdP protein structures are remarkably conserved. In this study, we used the structural similarity of vRdPs to reconstruct their evolutionary history. The major strength of this work is in unifying sequence and structural data into a single quantitative phylogenetic analysis, using powerful a Bayesian approach. The resulting phylogram of vRdPs demonstrates that RNA-dependent DNA polymerases (RdDPs) of viruses within Retroviridae family cluster in a clearly separated group of vRdPs, while RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRPs) of dsRNA and +ssRNA viruses are mixed together. This evidence supports the hypothesis that RdRPs replicating +ssRNA viruses evolved multiple times from RdRPs replicating +dsRNA viruses, and vice versa. Moreover, our phylogram may be presented as a scheme for RNA virus evolution. The results are in concordance with the actual concept of RNA virus evolution. Finally, the methods used in our work provide a new direction for studying ancient virus evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiří Černý
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- * E-mail:
| | - Barbora Černá Bolfíková
- Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - James J. Valdés
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Libor Grubhoffer
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Daniel Růžek
- Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Veterinary Research Institute, Brno, Czech Republic
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43
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Martinez-Rucobo FW, Cramer P. Structural basis of transcription elongation. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-GENE REGULATORY MECHANISMS 2012; 1829:9-19. [PMID: 22982352 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagrm.2012.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2012] [Revised: 09/06/2012] [Accepted: 09/07/2012] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
For transcription elongation, all cellular RNA polymerases form a stable elongation complex (EC) with the DNA template and the RNA transcript. Since the millennium, a wealth of structural information and complementary functional studies provided a detailed three-dimensional picture of the EC and many of its functional states. Here we summarize these studies that elucidated EC structure and maintenance, nucleotide selection and addition, translocation, elongation inhibition, pausing and proofreading, backtracking, arrest and reactivation, processivity, DNA lesion-induced stalling, lesion bypass, and transcriptional mutagenesis. In the future, additional structural and functional studies of elongation factors that control the EC and their possible allosteric modes of action should result in a more complete understanding of the dynamic molecular mechanisms underlying transcription elongation. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: RNA polymerase II Transcript Elongation.
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44
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Mönttinen HAM, Ravantti JJ, Poranen MM. Evidence for a non-catalytic ion-binding site in multiple RNA-dependent RNA polymerases. PLoS One 2012; 7:e40581. [PMID: 22792374 PMCID: PMC3394715 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0040581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2012] [Accepted: 06/09/2012] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A high-affinity divalent cation-binding site located proximal to the catalytic center has been identified in several RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRps), but the characteristics of such a site have not been systematically studied. Here, all available polymerase structures that follow the hand-like structural motif were screened for the presence of a divalent cation close to the catalytic site but distinct from catalytic metal ions. Such non-catalytic ions were found in all RNA virus families for which there were high-resolution RdRp structures available. Bound ions were always located in structurally similar locations at an approximate 6-Å distance from the catalytic site. Furthermore, the second aspartate residue in the highly conserved GDD sequence was found to be involved in the coordination of the bound ion in all viral RdRps studied. These results suggest that a non-catalytic ion-binding site is conserved across positive-sense, single-stranded, and double-stranded RNA viruses. Interestingly, a non-catalytic ion was also observed in a similar position in the reverse transcriptase of the human immunodeficiency virus. Moreover, two members of the DNA-dependent DNA polymerase B family displayed an ion at a comparable distance from the catalytic site, but the position was clearly distinct from the non-catalytic ion-binding sites of RdRps.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Janne J. Ravantti
- Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Minna M. Poranen
- Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- * E-mail:
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45
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Aravind L, Anantharaman V, Zhang D, de Souza RF, Iyer LM. Gene flow and biological conflict systems in the origin and evolution of eukaryotes. Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2012; 2:89. [PMID: 22919680 PMCID: PMC3417536 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2012.00089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2012] [Accepted: 06/13/2012] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The endosymbiotic origin of eukaryotes brought together two disparate genomes in the cell. Additionally, eukaryotic natural history has included other endosymbiotic events, phagotrophic consumption of organisms, and intimate interactions with viruses and endoparasites. These phenomena facilitated large-scale lateral gene transfer and biological conflicts. We synthesize information from nearly two decades of genomics to illustrate how the interplay between lateral gene transfer and biological conflicts has impacted the emergence of new adaptations in eukaryotes. Using apicomplexans as example, we illustrate how lateral transfer from animals has contributed to unique parasite-host interfaces comprised of adhesion- and O-linked glycosylation-related domains. Adaptations, emerging due to intense selection for diversity in the molecular participants in organismal and genomic conflicts, being dispersed by lateral transfer, were subsequently exapted for eukaryote-specific innovations. We illustrate this using examples relating to eukaryotic chromatin, RNAi and RNA-processing systems, signaling pathways, apoptosis and immunity. We highlight the major contributions from catalytic domains of bacterial toxin systems to the origin of signaling enzymes (e.g., ADP-ribosylation and small molecule messenger synthesis), mutagenic enzymes for immune receptor diversification and RNA-processing. Similarly, we discuss contributions of bacterial antibiotic/siderophore synthesis systems and intra-genomic and intra-cellular selfish elements (e.g., restriction-modification, mobile elements and lysogenic phages) in the emergence of chromatin remodeling/modifying enzymes and RNA-based regulation. We develop the concept that biological conflict systems served as evolutionary “nurseries” for innovations in the protein world, which were delivered to eukaryotes via lateral gene flow to spur key evolutionary innovations all the way from nucleogenesis to lineage-specific adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Aravind
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda MD, USA.
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46
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Abstract
RNA interference (RNAi) is a conserved eukaryotic gene regulatory mechanism that uses small noncoding RNAs to mediate posttranscriptional/transcriptional gene silencing. The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa have served as important model systems for RNAi research. Studies on these two organisms and other fungi have contributed significantly to our understanding of the mechanisms and functions of RNAi in eukaryotes. In addition, surprisingly diverse RNAi-mediated processes and small RNA biogenesis pathways have been discovered in fungi. In this review, we give an overview of different fungal RNAi pathways with a focus on their mechanisms and functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shwu-Shin Chang
- Department of Physiology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, 75390, USA
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47
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Iyer LM, Aravind L. Insights from the architecture of the bacterial transcription apparatus. J Struct Biol 2011; 179:299-319. [PMID: 22210308 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2011.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2011] [Revised: 12/14/2011] [Accepted: 12/18/2011] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
We provide a portrait of the bacterial transcription apparatus in light of the data emerging from structural studies, sequence analysis and comparative genomics to bring out important but underappreciated features. We first describe the key structural highlights and evolutionary implications emerging from comparison of the cellular RNA polymerase subunits with the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase involved in RNAi in eukaryotes and their homologs from newly identified bacterial selfish elements. We describe some previously unnoticed domains and the possible evolutionary stages leading to the RNA polymerases of extant life forms. We then present the case for the ancient orthology of the basal transcription factors, the sigma factor and TFIIB, in the bacterial and the archaeo-eukaryotic lineages. We also present a synopsis of the structural and architectural taxonomy of specific transcription factors and their genome-scale demography. In this context, we present certain notable deviations from the otherwise invariant proteome-wide trends in transcription factor distribution and use it to predict the presence of an unusual lineage-specifically expanded signaling system in certain firmicutes like Paenibacillus. We then discuss the intersection between functional properties of transcription factors and the organization of transcriptional networks. Finally, we present some of the interesting evolutionary conundrums posed by our newly gained understanding of the bacterial transcription apparatus and potential areas for future explorations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lakshminarayan M Iyer
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Building 38A, Room 5N50, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA
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48
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Milner-White EJ, Russell MJ. Functional capabilities of the earliest peptides and the emergence of life. Genes (Basel) 2011; 2:671-88. [PMID: 24710286 PMCID: PMC3927598 DOI: 10.3390/genes2040671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2011] [Revised: 09/14/2011] [Accepted: 09/14/2011] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Considering how biological macromolecules first evolved, probably within a marine environment, it seems likely the very earliest peptides were not encoded by nucleic acids, or at least not via the genetic code as we know it. An objective of the present work is to demonstrate that sequence-independent peptides, or peptides with variable and unreliable lengths and sequences, have the potential to perform a variety of chemically useful functions such as anion and cation binding and membrane and channel formation as well as simple types of catalysis. These functions tend to be performed with the assistance of the main chain CONH atoms rather than the more variable or limited side chain atoms of the peptides presumed to exist then.
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Affiliation(s)
- E James Milner-White
- College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, Glasgow University, Glasgow G128QQ, UK.
| | - Michael J Russell
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
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49
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Ruprich-Robert G, Wery M, Després D, Boulard Y, Thuriaux P. Crucial role of a dicarboxylic motif in the catalytic center of yeast RNA polymerases. Curr Genet 2011; 57:327-34. [PMID: 21761155 DOI: 10.1007/s00294-011-0350-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2011] [Revised: 06/24/2011] [Accepted: 06/28/2011] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The catalytic center of yeast RNA polymerase II and III contains an acidic loop borne by their second largest subunit (Rpb2-(832)GYNQED(837), Rpc128-(764)GYDIED(769)) and highly conserved in all cellular and viral DNA-dependent RNA polymerases. A site-directed mutagenesis of this dicarboxylic motif reveals its strictly essential character in RNA polymerase III, with a slightly less stringent pattern in RNA polymerase II, where rpb2-E836Q and other substitutions completely prevent growth, whereas rpb2-E836A combines a dominant growth defect with severe lethal sectoring. A mild but systematic increase in RNA polymerase occupancy and a strict dependency on the transcript cleavage factor TFIIS (Dst1) also suggest a slower rate of translocation or higher probability of transcriptional stalling in this mutation. A conserved nucleotide triphosphate funnel domain binds the Rpb2-(832)GYNQED(837) loop by an Rpb2-R(1020)/Rpb2-D(837) salt-bridge. Molecular dynamic simulations reveal a second bridge (Rpb1-K(752)/Rpb2-E(836)), which may account for the critical role of the invariant Rpb2-E(836). Rpb2-E(836) and the funnel domain are not found among the RNA-dependent eukaryotic RNA polymerases and may thus represent a specific adaptation to double-stranded DNA templates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwenaël Ruprich-Robert
- Service de Biochimie et Génétique Moléculaire, CEA-Saclay, Bâtiment 144, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
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50
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Abstract
RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRPs) synthesize double-stranded RNAs that are processed into small RNAs and mediate gene silencing. Viral RdRPs and cellular RdRPs show little structural homology to each other. Cellular RdRPs play key roles in RNA silencing by producing complementary strands for target RNAs via Dicer-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Although the existence of a functional mammalian homolog of RdRP has long been predicted, traditional approaches to identify such enzymes were unsuccessful. Recently, human telomerase reverse transcriptase, a polymerase closely related to viral RdRPs, has been shown to function as an RdRP and contributes to RNA silencing in vivo. These findings suggest that endogenous small interfering RNAs are produced by several mechanisms in eukaryotes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshiko Maida
- Division of Cancer Stem Cell, National Cancer Center Research Institute, 5-1-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
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