Conservation and over-representation of G-quadruplex sequences in regulatory regions of mitochondrial DNA across distinct taxonomic sub-groups

Biochimie ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natália Bohálová ◽  
Michaela Dobrovolná ◽  
Václav Brázda ◽  
Stefan Bidula
Biochimie ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 184 ◽  
pp. 40-51
Author(s):  
Upalabdha Dey ◽  
Sharmilee Sarkar ◽  
Valentina Teronpi ◽  
Venkata Rajesh Yella ◽  
Aditya Kumar

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shivani Kumar ◽  
Divya Choudhary ◽  
Anupam Patra ◽  
Neel Sarovar Bhavesh ◽  
Perumal Vivekanandan

Abstract Background G-quadruplexes regulate gene expression, recombination, packaging and latency in herpesviruses. Herpesvirus-encoded miRNAs have been linked to important biological functions. The presence and the biological role of G-quadruplexes have not been studied in the regulatory regions of virus miRNA. We hypothesized that herpesvirus-encoded miRNAs are regulated by G-quadruplexes in their promoters. Results We analyzed the 1 kb regulatory regions of all herpesvirus-encoded miRNAs for the presence of putative quadruplex-forming sequences (PQS). Over two-third (67%) of the regulatory regions of herpesvirus miRNAs had atleast 1 PQS. The 200 bp region of the promoter proximal to herpesvirus miRNA is particularly enriched for PQS. We chose to study the G-quadruplex motifs in the promoters of miR-K12 cluster in Kaposi's sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus (KSHV miR-K12–1-9,11) and the miR-US33 encoded by Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV miR-US33). Biophysical characterization indicates that the G-quadruplex motifs in the promoters of the KSHV miR-K12 cluster and the HCMV miR-US33 form stable intramolecular G-quadruplexes in vitro. Mutations disrupting the G-quadruplex motif in the promoter of the KSHV miR-K12 cluster significantly inhibits promoter activity, while those disrupting the motif in the promoter of HCMV miR-US33 significantly enhance the promoter activity as compared to that of the respective wild-type promoter. Similarly, the addition of G-quadruplex binding ligands resulted in the modulation of promoter activity of the wild-type promoters (with intact G-quadruplex) but not the mutant promoters (containing quadruplex-disrupting mutations). Conclusion Our findings highlight previously unknown mechanisms of regulation of virus-encoded miRNA and also shed light on new roles for G-quadruplexes in herpesvirus biology.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (8) ◽  
pp. 1292-1309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J Butler ◽  
Katrina N Estep ◽  
Joshua A Sommers ◽  
Robert W Maul ◽  
Ann Zenobia Moore ◽  
...  

Abstract As the powerhouses of the eukaryotic cell, mitochondria must maintain their genomes which encode proteins essential for energy production. Mitochondria are characterized by guanine-rich DNA sequences that spontaneously form unusual three-dimensional structures known as G-quadruplexes (G4). G4 structures can be problematic for the essential processes of DNA replication and transcription because they deter normal progression of the enzymatic-driven processes. In this study, we addressed the hypothesis that mitochondrial G4 is a source of mutagenesis leading to base-pair substitutions. Our computational analysis of 2757 individual genomes from two Italian population cohorts (SardiNIA and InCHIANTI) revealed a statistically significant enrichment of mitochondrial mutations within sequences corresponding to stable G4 DNA structures. Guided by the computational analysis results, we designed biochemical reconstitution experiments and demonstrated that DNA synthesis by two known mitochondrial DNA polymerases (Pol γ, PrimPol) in vitro was strongly blocked by representative stable G4 mitochondrial DNA structures, which could be overcome in a specific manner by the ATP-dependent G4-resolving helicase Pif1. However, error-prone DNA synthesis by PrimPol using the G4 template sequence persisted even in the presence of Pif1. Altogether, our results suggest that genetic variation is enriched in G-quadruplex regions that impede mitochondrial DNA replication.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (19) ◽  
pp. 3163-3174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mansur M Naeem ◽  
Rathena Maheshan ◽  
Sheila R Costford ◽  
Azizia Wahedi ◽  
Marko Trajkovski ◽  
...  

AbstractDisease-associated variants in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are frequently heteroplasmic, a state of co-existence with the wild-type genome. Because heteroplasmy correlates with the severity and penetrance of disease, improvement in the ratio between these genomes in favor of the wild-type, known as heteroplasmy shifting, is potentially therapeutic. We evaluated known pathogenic mtDNA variants and identified those with the potential for allele-specific differences in the formation of non-Watson-Crick G-quadruplex (GQ) structures. We found that the Leigh syndrome (LS)-associated m.10191C variant promotes GQ formation within local sequence in vitro. Interaction of this sequence with a small molecule GQ-binding agent, berberine hydrochloride, further increased GQ stability. The GQ formed at m.10191C differentially impeded the processivity of the mitochondrial DNA polymerase gamma (Pol γ) in vitro, providing a potential means to favor replication of the wild-type allele. We tested the potential for shifting heteroplasmy through the cyclical application of two different mitochondria-targeted GQ binding compounds in primary fibroblasts from patients with m.10191T>C heteroplasmy. Treatment induced alternating mtDNA depletion and repopulation and was effective in shifting heteroplasmy towards the non-pathogenic allele. Similar treatment of pathogenic heteroplasmies that do not affect GQ formation did not induce heteroplasmy shift. Following treatment, heteroplasmic m.10191T>C cells had persistent improvements and heteroplasmy and a corresponding increase in maximal mitochondrial oxygen consumption. This study demonstrates the potential for using small-molecule GQ-binding agents to induce genetic and functional improvements in m.10191T>C heteroplasmy.


Author(s):  
Douglas C. Barker

A number of satisfactory methods are available for the electron microscopy of nicleic acids. These methods concentrated on fragments of nuclear, viral and mitochondrial DNA less than 50 megadaltons, on denaturation and heteroduplex mapping (Davies et al 1971) or on the interaction between proteins and DNA (Brack and Delain 1975). Less attention has been paid to the experimental criteria necessary for spreading and visualisation by dark field electron microscopy of large intact issociations of DNA. This communication will report on those criteria in relation to the ultrastructure of the (approx. 1 x 10-14g) DNA component of the kinetoplast from Trypanosomes. An extraction method has been developed to eliminate native endonucleases and nuclear contamination and to isolate the kinetoplast DNA (KDNA) as a compact network of high molecular weight. In collaboration with Dr. Ch. Brack (Basel [nstitute of Immunology), we studied the conditions necessary to prepare this KDNA Tor dark field electron microscopy using the microdrop spreading technique.


Author(s):  
K. S. McCarty ◽  
R. F. Weave ◽  
L. Kemper ◽  
F. S. Vogel

During the prodromal stages of sporulation in the Basidiomycete, Agaricus bisporus, mitochondria accumulate in the basidial cells, zygotes, in the gill tissues prior to entry of these mitochondria, together with two haploid nuclei and cytoplasmic ribosomes, into the exospores. The mitochondria contain prominent loci of DNA [Fig. 1]. A modified Kleinschmidt spread technique1 has been used to evaluate the DNA strands from purified whole mitochondria released by osmotic shock, mitochondrial DNA purified on CsCl gradients [density = 1.698 gms/cc], and DNA purified on ethidium bromide CsCl gradients. The DNA appeared as linear strands up to 25 u in length and circular forms 2.2-5.2 u in circumference. In specimens prepared by osmotic shock, many strands of DNA are apparently attached to membrane fragments [Fig. 2]. When mitochondria were ruptured in hypotonic sucrose and then fixed in glutaraldehyde, the ribosomes were released for electron microscopic examination.


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