1
|
Lujan SA, Longley MJ, Humble MH, Lavender CA, Burkholder A, Blakely EL, Alston CL, Gorman GS, Turnbull DM, McFarland R, Taylor RW, Kunkel TA, Copeland WC. Ultrasensitive deletion detection links mitochondrial DNA replication, disease, and aging. Genome Biol 2020; 21:248. [PMID: 32943091 PMCID: PMC7500033 DOI: 10.1186/s13059-020-02138-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Acquired human mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) deletions are symptoms and drivers of focal mitochondrial respiratory deficiency, a pathological hallmark of aging and late-onset mitochondrial disease. RESULTS To decipher connections between these processes, we create LostArc, an ultrasensitive method for quantifying deletions in circular mtDNA molecules. LostArc reveals 35 million deletions (~ 470,000 unique spans) in skeletal muscle from 22 individuals with and 19 individuals without pathogenic variants in POLG. This nuclear gene encodes the catalytic subunit of replicative mitochondrial DNA polymerase γ. Ablation, the deleted mtDNA fraction, suffices to explain skeletal muscle phenotypes of aging and POLG-derived disease. Unsupervised bioinformatic analyses reveal distinct age- and disease-correlated deletion patterns. CONCLUSIONS These patterns implicate replication by DNA polymerase γ as the deletion driver and suggest little purifying selection against mtDNA deletions by mitophagy in postmitotic muscle fibers. Observed deletion patterns are best modeled as mtDNA deletions initiated by replication fork stalling during strand displacement mtDNA synthesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Scott A Lujan
- Genome Integrity and Structural Biology Laboratory, DNA Replication Fidelity Group, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA
| | - Matthew J Longley
- Genome Integrity and Structural Biology Laboratory, Mitochondrial DNA Replication Group, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA
| | - Margaret H Humble
- Genome Integrity and Structural Biology Laboratory, Mitochondrial DNA Replication Group, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA
| | - Christopher A Lavender
- Integrative Bioinformatics, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA
| | - Adam Burkholder
- Integrative Bioinformatics, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA
| | - Emma L Blakely
- Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK
- NHS Highly Specialised Mitochondrial Diagnostic Laboratory, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4LP, UK
| | - Charlotte L Alston
- Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK
- NHS Highly Specialised Mitochondrial Diagnostic Laboratory, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4LP, UK
| | - Grainne S Gorman
- Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Doug M Turnbull
- Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Robert McFarland
- Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Robert W Taylor
- Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK
- NHS Highly Specialised Mitochondrial Diagnostic Laboratory, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4LP, UK
| | - Thomas A Kunkel
- Genome Integrity and Structural Biology Laboratory, DNA Replication Fidelity Group, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA
| | - William C Copeland
- Genome Integrity and Structural Biology Laboratory, Mitochondrial DNA Replication Group, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709, USA.
| |
Collapse
|