scholarly journals Phage Peptides Mediate Precision Base Editing with Focused Targeting Window

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun Jia ◽  
Yan-ru Cui ◽  
Shisheng Huang ◽  
Peihong Yu ◽  
Zhengxing Lian ◽  
...  

AbstractCytidine base editors (CBE) are novel genome engineering tools that can generate C-to-T nucleotide substitutions without introducing double-stranded breaks (DSBs). Instead of generating single-point mutations, CBEs induce nucleotide substitutions at wobble positions within the 20-nucleotide target site. A variety of strategies have been developed to improve the targeting scope and window of CBEs. Among these strategies, molecular switches that can temporally control CBE activities represent compelling options. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of using a bacteriophage-derived peptide, referred to as G8PPD, as the off-switch of CBEs. We showed that G8PPD could be employed to control the activities of and improve the targeting window of A3A and BE3 CBEs and adenine base editor 7.10 (ABE7.10). Notably, in a cell-based disease model of Marfan syndrome, G8PPD facilitated A3A CBE-based gene correction with a more focused targeting window and improved the percentage of perfectly edited gene alleles from less than 4% to more than 38% of the whole population. Our study presents the first peptide off-switch that can improve the targeting scope of CBEs, thus highlighting the importance of the temporal control of BE activity for precision base editing.

2021 ◽  
pp. 002367722199389
Author(s):  
Federico Caso ◽  
Benjamin Davies

Genome editing by programmable RNA-dependent Cas endonucleases has revolutionised the field of genome engineering, achieving targeted genomic change at unprecedented efficiencies with considerable application in laboratory animal research. Despite its ease of use and wide application, there remain concerns about the precision of this technology and a number of unpredictable consequences have been reported, mostly resulting from the DNA double-strand break (DSB) that conventional CRISPR editing induces. In order to improve editing precision, several iterations of the technology been developed over the years. Base editing is one of most successful developments, allowing for single base conversions but without the need for a DSB. Cytosine and adenine base editing are now established as reliable methods to achieve precise genome editing in animal research studies. Both cytosine and adenine base editors have been applied successfully to the editing of zygotes, resulting in the generation of animal models. Similarly, both base editors have achieved precise editing of point mutations in somatic cells, facilitating the development of gene therapy approaches. Despite rapid progress in optimising these tools, base editing can address only a subset of possible base conversions within a relatively narrow window and larger genomic manipulations are not possible. The recent development of prime editing, originally defined as a simple ‘search and replace’ editing tool, may help address these limitations and could widen the range of genome manipulations possible. Preliminary reports of prime editing in animals are being published, and this new technology may allow significant advancements for laboratory animal research.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ha Rim Shin ◽  
Ji-Eun See ◽  
Jiyeon Kweon ◽  
Heon Seok Kim ◽  
Gi-Jun Sung ◽  
...  

Abstract CRISPR-based base editors (BEs) are widely used to induce nucleotide substitutions in living cells and organisms without causing the damaging DNA double-strand breaks and DNA donor templates. Cytosine BEs that induce C:G to T:A conversion and adenine BEs that induce A:T to G:C conversion have been developed. Various attempts have been made to increase the efficiency of both BEs; however, their activities need to be improved for further applications. Here, we describe a fluorescent reporter-based drug screening platform to identify novel chemicals with the goal of improving adenine base editing efficiency. The reporter system revealed that histone deacetylase inhibitors, particularly romidepsin, enhanced base editing efficiencies by up to 4.9-fold by increasing the expression levels of proteins and target accessibility. The results support the use of romidepsin as a viable option to improve base editing efficiency in biomedical research and therapeutic genome engineering.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobutaka Fujieda ◽  
Miho Yuasa ◽  
Yosuke Nishikawa ◽  
Genji Kurisu ◽  
Shinobu Itoh ◽  
...  

Cupin superfamily proteins (TM1459) work as a macromolecular ligand framework with a double-stranded beta-barrel structure ligating to a Cu ion through histidine side chains. Variegating the first coordination sphere of TM1459 revealed that H52A and H54A/H58A mutants effectively catalyzed the diastereo- and enantio-selective Michael addition reaction of nitroalkanes to an α,β-unsaturated ketone. Moreover, in silico substrate docking signified C106N and F104W single-point mutations, which inverted the diastereoselectivity of H52A and further improved the stereoselectivity of H54A/H58A, respectively.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisa L. Martino ◽  
Stephen N. Crooke ◽  
Marianne Manchester ◽  
M.G. Finn

2017 ◽  
Vol 474 (18) ◽  
pp. 3189-3205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashoka Chary Taviti ◽  
Tushar Kant Beuria

Cell division in bacteria is a highly controlled and regulated process. FtsZ, a bacterial cytoskeletal protein, forms a ring-like structure known as the Z-ring and recruits more than a dozen other cell division proteins. The Min system oscillates between the poles and inhibits the Z-ring formation at the poles by perturbing FtsZ assembly. This leads to an increase in the FtsZ concentration at the mid-cell and helps in Z-ring positioning. MinC, the effector protein, interferes with Z-ring formation through two different mechanisms mediated by its two domains with the help of MinD. However, the mechanism by which MinD triggers MinC activity is not yet known. We showed that MinD directly interacts with FtsZ with an affinity stronger than the reported MinC–FtsZ interaction. We determined the MinD-binding site of FtsZ using computational, mutational and biochemical analyses. Our study showed that MinD binds to the H10 helix of FtsZ. Single-point mutations at the charged residues in the H10 helix resulted in a decrease in the FtsZ affinity towards MinD. Based on our findings, we propose a novel model for MinCD–FtsZ interaction, where MinD through its direct interaction with FtsZ would trigger MinC activity to inhibit FtsZ functions.


2006 ◽  
Vol 340 (3) ◽  
pp. 792-799 ◽  
Author(s):  
Motofumi Tanaka ◽  
Motoko Nagano-Fujii ◽  
Lin Deng ◽  
Satoshi Ishido ◽  
Kiyonao Sada ◽  
...  

2007 ◽  
Vol 67 (4 suppl) ◽  
pp. 813-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
CS. Trinca ◽  
HF. Waldemarin ◽  
E. Eizirik

The Neotropical otter is one of the least known otter species, and it is considered to be threatened to various degrees throughout its geographic range. Little information exists on the ecological characteristics of this species, and no genetic study has been published about it until now, hampering the design of adequate conservation strategies for its populations. To contribute with genetic information to comprehensive conservation efforts on behalf of L. longicaudis, we characterized the molecular diversity of the 5’ portion of the mtDNA control region in samples from this species collected in Southern and Southeastern Brazil. The sequence analysis revealed a high level of haplotype diversity (h = 0.819; SE = 0.0052) and nucleotide variability ranging from 0.0039 to 0.0067. One of the sampled haplotypes was the most common in both regions and, from this sequence, several other (locally occurring) haplotypes could be derived by single point mutations. No significant genetic differentiation was observed between the Southern and Southeastern regions.


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