scholarly journals In Vivo Single‐Molecule Studies of DNA Repair in E. Coli

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Oijen
RNA Biology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 1108-1118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Songhee H. Kim ◽  
Melissa Vieira ◽  
Jae Youn Shim ◽  
Hongyoung Choi ◽  
Hye Yoon Park

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
man zhou

SMC (structural maintenance of chromosomes) complexes share conserved architectures and function in chromosome maintenance via an unknown mechanism. Here we have used single-molecule techniques to study MukBEF, the SMC complex in Escherichia coli. Real-time movies show MukB alone can compact DNA and ATP inhibits DNA compaction by MukB. We observed that DNA unidirectionally slides through MukB, potentially by a ratchet mechanism, and the sliding speed depends on the elastic energy stored in the DNA. MukE, MukF and ATP binding stabilize MukB and DNA interaction, and ATP hydrolysis regulates the loading/unloading of MukBEF from DNA. Our data suggests a new model for how MukBEF organizes the bacterial chromosome in vivo; and this model will be relevant for other SMC proteins.


2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (15) ◽  
pp. 8490-8508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah S Henrikus ◽  
Camille Henry ◽  
Amy E McGrath ◽  
Slobodan Jergic ◽  
John P McDonald ◽  
...  

Abstract Several functions have been proposed for the Escherichia coli DNA polymerase IV (pol IV). Although much research has focused on a potential role for pol IV in assisting pol III replisomes in the bypass of lesions, pol IV is rarely found at the replication fork in vivo. Pol IV is expressed at increased levels in E. coli cells exposed to exogenous DNA damaging agents, including many commonly used antibiotics. Here we present live-cell single-molecule microscopy measurements indicating that double-strand breaks induced by antibiotics strongly stimulate pol IV activity. Exposure to the antibiotics ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim leads to the formation of double strand breaks in E. coli cells. RecA and pol IV foci increase after treatment and exhibit strong colocalization. The induction of the SOS response, the appearance of RecA foci, the appearance of pol IV foci and RecA-pol IV colocalization are all dependent on RecB function. The positioning of pol IV foci likely reflects a physical interaction with the RecA* nucleoprotein filaments that has been detected previously in vitro. Our observations provide an in vivo substantiation of a direct role for pol IV in double strand break repair in cells treated with double strand break-inducing antibiotics.


2020 ◽  
Vol 477 (16) ◽  
pp. 2935-2947
Author(s):  
Ryan J. Buckley ◽  
Kevin Kramm ◽  
Christopher D. O. Cooper ◽  
Dina Grohmann ◽  
Edward L. Bolt

The DNA helicase Large helicase-related (Lhr) is present throughout archaea, including in the Asgard and Nanoarchaea, and has homologues in bacteria and eukaryotes. It is thought to function in DNA repair but in a context that is not known. Our data show that archaeal Lhr preferentially targets DNA replication fork structures. In a genetic assay, expression of archaeal Lhr gave a phenotype identical to the replication-coupled DNA repair enzymes Hel308 and RecQ. Purified archaeal Lhr preferentially unwound model forked DNA substrates compared with DNA duplexes, flaps and Holliday junctions, and unwound them with directionality. Single-molecule FRET measurements showed that binding of Lhr to a DNA fork causes ATP-independent distortion and base-pair melting at, or close to, the fork branchpoint. ATP-dependent directional translocation of Lhr resulted in fork DNA unwinding through the ‘parental’ DNA strands. Interaction of Lhr with replication forks in vivo and in vitro suggests that it contributes to DNA repair at stalled or broken DNA replication.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Punam Sonar ◽  
Wiphu Youyen ◽  
Augustine Cleetus ◽  
Pattipong Wisanpitayakorn ◽  
Iman S. Mousavi ◽  
...  

SummaryThe construction and function of virtually all cilia require the universally conserved process of Intraflagellar Transport (IFT) [1, 2]. During the atypically fast IFT in the green alga C. reinhardtii, up to ten kinesin-2 motors ‘line up’ in a tight assembly on the trains [3], provoking the question of how these motors coordinate their action to ensure smooth and fast transport along the flagellum without standing in each other’s way. Here, we show that the heterodimeric FLA8/10 kinesin-2 alone is responsible for the atypically fast IFT in C. reinhardtii. Notably, in single-molecule studies, FLA8/10 moved at speeds matching those of in vivo IFT [4], but additionally displayed a slow velocity distribution, indicative of auto-inhibition. Addition of the KAP subunit to generate the heterotrimeric FLA8/10/KAP relieved this inhibition, thus providing a mechanistic rationale for heterotrimerization with the KAP subunit in fully activating FLA8/10 for IFT in vivo. Finally, we link fast FLA8/10 and slow KLP11/20 kinesin-2 from C. reinhardtii and C. elegans through a DNA tether to understand the molecular underpinnings of motor coordination during IFT in vivo. For motor pairs from both species, the co-transport velocities very nearly matched the single-molecule velocities, and the complexes both spent roughly 80% of the time with only one of the two motors attached to the microtubule. Thus, irrespective of phylogeny and kinetic properties, kinesin-2 motors prefer to work alone without sacrificing efficiency. Our findings thus offer a simple mechanism for how efficient IFT is achieved across diverse organisms despite being carried out by motors with different properties.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinxing Yang ◽  
Ryan McQuillen ◽  
Zhixin Lyu ◽  
Polly Phillips-Mason ◽  
Ana De La Cruz ◽  
...  

AbstractDuring bacterial cell division, synthesis of new septal peptidoglycan (sPG) is crucial for successful cytokinesis and cell pole morphogenesis. FtsW, a SEDS (Shape, Elongation, Division and Sporulation) family protein and an indispensable component of the cell division machinery in all walled bacterial species, was recently identified in vitro as a new monofunctional peptidoglycan glycosyltransferase (PGTase). FtsW and its cognate monofunctional transpeptidase (TPase) class B penicillin binding protein (PBP3 or FtsI in E. coli) may constitute the essential, bifunctional sPG synthase specific for new sPG synthesis. Despite its importance, the septal PGTase activity of FtsW has not been documented in vivo. How its activity is spatiotemporally regulated in vivo has also remained unknown. Here we investigated the septal PGTase activity and dynamics of FtsW in E. coli cells using a combination of single-molecule imaging and genetic manipulations. We show that FtsW exhibits robust activity to incorporate an N-acetylmuramic acid analog at septa in the absence of other known PGTases, confirming FtsW as the essential septum-specific PGTase in vivo. Notably, we identified two populations of processive moving FtsW molecules at septa. A fast-moving population is driven by the treadmilling dynamics of FtsZ and independent of sPG synthesis. A slow-moving population is driven by active sPG synthesis and independent of FtsZ’s treadmilling dynamics. We further identified that FtsN, a potential sPG synthesis activator, plays an important role in promoting the slow-moving, sPG synthesis-dependent population. Our results support a two-track model, in which inactive sPG synthase molecules follow the fast treadmilling “Z-track” to be distributed along the septum; FtsN promotes their release from the “Z-track” to become active in sPG synthesis on the slow “sPG-track”. This model explains how the spatial information is integrated into the regulation of sPG synthesis activity and suggests a new mechanistic framework for the spatiotemporal coordination of bacterial cell wall constriction.


mBio ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mainak Mustafi ◽  
James C. Weisshaar

ABSTRACT In bacteria, elongation factor Tu is a translational cofactor that forms ternary complexes with aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA) and GTP. Binding of a ternary complex to one of four flexible L7/L12 units on the ribosome tethers a charged tRNA in close proximity to the ribosomal A site. Two sequential tests for a match between the aa-tRNA anticodon and the current mRNA codon then follow. Because one elongation cycle can occur in as little as 50 ms and the vast majority of aa-tRNA copies are not cognate with the current mRNA codon, this testing must occur rapidly. We present a single-molecule localization and tracking study of fluorescently labeled EF-Tu in live Escherichia coli. Imaging at 2 ms/frame distinguishes 60% slowly diffusing EF-Tu copies (assigned as transiently bound to translating ribosome) from 40% rapidly diffusing copies (assigned as a mixture of free ternary complexes and free EF-Tu). Combining these percentages with copy number estimates, we infer that the four L7/L12 sites are essentially saturated with ternary complexes in vivo. The results corroborate an earlier inference that all four sites can simultaneously tether ternary complexes near the A site, creating a high local concentration that may greatly enhance the rate of testing of aa-tRNAs. Our data and a combinatorial argument both suggest that the initial recognition test for a codon-anticodon match occurs in less than 1 to 2 ms per aa-tRNA copy. The results refute a recent study (A. Plochowietz, I. Farrell, Z. Smilansky, B. S. Cooperman, and A. N. Kapanidis, Nucleic Acids Res 45:926–937, 2016, https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkw787) of tRNA diffusion in E. coli that inferred that aa-tRNAs arrive at the ribosomal A site as bare monomers, not as ternary complexes. IMPORTANCE Ribosomes catalyze translation of the mRNA codon sequence into the corresponding sequence of amino acids within the nascent polypeptide chain. Polypeptide elongation can be as fast as 50 ms per added amino acid. Each amino acid arrives at the ribosome as a ternary complex comprising an aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA), an elongation factor called EF-Tu, and GTP. There are 43 different aa-tRNAs in use, only one of which typically matches the current mRNA codon. Thus, ternary complexes must be tested very rapidly. Here we use fluorescence-based single-molecule methods that locate and track single EF-Tu copies in E. coli. Fast and slow diffusive behavior determines the fraction of EF-Tu copies that are ribosome bound. We infer simultaneous tethering of ~4 ternary complexes to the ribosome, which may facilitate rapid initial testing for codon matching on a time scale of less than 1 to 2 ms per aa-tRNA.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mette Eriksen ◽  
Peter Horvath ◽  
Michael A. Sørensen ◽  
Szabolcs Semsey ◽  
Lene B. Oddershede ◽  
...  

To perform single-molecule studies of the T7RNA polymerase, it is crucial to visualize an individual T7RNA polymerase, for example, through a fluorescent signal. We present a novel complex combining two different molecular functions, an active T7RNA polymerase and a highly luminescent nanoparticle, a quantum dot. The complex has the advantage of both constituents: the complex can traffic along DNA and simultaneously be visualized, both at the ensemble and at the single-molecule level. The labeling was mediated through anin vivobiotinylation of a His-tagged T7RNA polymerase and subsequent binding of a streptavidin-coated quantum dot. Our technique allows for easy purification of the quantum dot labeled T7RNA polymerases from the reactants. Also, the conjugation does not alter the functionality of the polymerase; it retains the ability to bind and transcribe.


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