scholarly journals Probing DNA-protein interactions using single-molecule diffusivity contrast

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh Wilson ◽  
Miles Lee ◽  
Quan Wang
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
Single Particle Tracking ◽  
Correlation Spectroscopy ◽  
Modeling Framework ◽  
Single Dna Molecules ◽  
Protein Nucleic Acid

Single-molecule fluorescence investigations of protein-nucleic acid interactions require robust means to identify the binding state of individual substrate molecules in real time. Here we show that diffusivity contrast, widely used in fluorescence correlation spectroscopy at the ensemble level and in single-particle tracking on individual (but slowly diffusing) species, can be used as a general readout to determine the binding state of single DNA molecules with unlabeled proteins in solution. We first describe the technical basis of drift-free single-molecule diffusivity measurements in an Anti-Brownian ELetrokinetic (ABEL) trap. We then cross-validate our method with protein-induced fluorescence enhancement (PIFE), a popular technique to detect protein binding on nucleic acid substrates with single-molecule sensitivity. We extend an existing hydrodynamic modeling framework to link measured diffusivity to particular DNA-protein structures and obtain good agreement between the measured and predicted diffusivity values. Finally, we show that combining diffusivity contrast with PIFE allows simultaneous mapping of binding stoichiometry and location on individual DNA-protein complexes, potentially enhancing single-molecule views of relevant biophysical processes.

scholarly journals Fast Diffusion of the Unassembled PetC1-GFP Protein in the Cyanobacterial Thylakoid Membrane

Life ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Radek Kaňa ◽  
Gábor Steinbach ◽  
Roman Sobotka ◽  
György Vámosi ◽  
Josef Komenda
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Proteins ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Thylakoid Membrane ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Correlation Spectroscopy ◽  
Membrane Microdomains ◽  
Fast Diffusion ◽  
Light Harvesting Complexes ◽  
Term Survival

Biological membranes were originally described as a fluid mosaic with uniform distribution of proteins and lipids. Later, heterogeneous membrane areas were found in many membrane systems including cyanobacterial thylakoids. In fact, cyanobacterial pigment–protein complexes (photosystems, phycobilisomes) form a heterogeneous mosaic of thylakoid membrane microdomains (MDs) restricting protein mobility. The trafficking of membrane proteins is one of the key factors for long-term survival under stress conditions, for instance during exposure to photoinhibitory light conditions. However, the mobility of unbound ‘free’ proteins in thylakoid membrane is poorly characterized. In this work, we assessed the maximal diffusional ability of a small, unbound thylakoid membrane protein by semi-single molecule FCS (fluorescence correlation spectroscopy) method in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC6803. We utilized a GFP-tagged variant of the cytochrome b6f subunit PetC1 (PetC1-GFP), which was not assembled in the b6f complex due to the presence of the tag. Subsequent FCS measurements have identified a very fast diffusion of the PetC1-GFP protein in the thylakoid membrane (D = 0.14 − 2.95 µm2s−1). This means that the mobility of PetC1-GFP was comparable with that of free lipids and was 50–500 times higher in comparison to the mobility of proteins (e.g., IsiA, LHCII—light-harvesting complexes of PSII) naturally associated with larger thylakoid membrane complexes like photosystems. Our results thus demonstrate the ability of free thylakoid-membrane proteins to move very fast, revealing the crucial role of protein–protein interactions in the mobility restrictions for large thylakoid protein complexes.

scholarly journals Energy Transfer as A Driving Force in Nucleic Acid–Protein Interactions

Molecules ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 1443
Author(s):  
Zavyalova ◽  
Kopylov
Keyword(s):  
Energy Transfer ◽  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Protein Complexes ◽  
Protein Structures ◽  
Quantitative Structure Activity Relationship ◽  
Efficient Energy Transfer ◽  
Acid Protein ◽  
G Quadruplex ◽  
Interface Organization

Many nucleic acid–protein structures have been resolved, though quantitative structure-activity relationship remains unclear in many cases. Thrombin complexes with G-quadruplex aptamers are striking examples of a lack of any correlation between affinity, interface organization, and other common parameters. Here, we tested the hypothesis that affinity of the aptamer–protein complex is determined with the capacity of the interface to dissipate energy of binding. Description and detailed analysis of 63 nucleic acid–protein structures discriminated peculiarities of high-affinity nucleic acid–protein complexes. The size of the amino acid sidechain in the interface was demonstrated to be the most significant parameter that correlates with affinity of aptamers. This observation could be explained in terms of need of efficient energy transfer from interacting residues. Application of energy dissipation theory provided an illustrative tool for estimation of efficiency of aptamer–protein complexes. These results are of great importance for a design of efficient aptamers.

scholarly journals Single-molecule diffusometry reveals no catalysis-induced diffusion enhancement of alkaline phosphatase as proposed by FCS experiments

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (35) ◽  
pp. 21328-21335
Author(s):  
Zhijie Chen ◽  
Alan Shaw ◽  
Hugh Wilson ◽  
Maxime Woringer ◽  
Xavier Darzacq ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alkaline Phosphatase ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Particle Tracking ◽  
Single Particle ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Single Particle Tracking ◽  
Correlation Spectroscopy ◽  
Single Molecule Level ◽  
Diffusion Phenomena ◽  
Diffusion Enhancement

Theoretical and experimental observations that catalysis enhances the diffusion of enzymes have generated exciting implications about nanoscale energy flow, molecular chemotaxis, and self-powered nanomachines. However, contradictory claims on the origin, magnitude, and consequence of this phenomenon continue to arise. To date, experimental observations of catalysis-enhanced enzyme diffusion have relied almost exclusively on fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), a technique that provides only indirect, ensemble-averaged measurements of diffusion behavior. Here, using an anti-Brownian electrokinetic (ABEL) trap and in-solution single-particle tracking, we show that catalysis does not increase the diffusion of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) at the single-molecule level, in sharp contrast to the ∼20% enhancement seen in parallel FCS experiments usingp-nitrophenyl phosphate (pNPP) as substrate. Combining comprehensive FCS controls, ABEL trap, surface-based single-molecule fluorescence, and Monte Carlo simulations, we establish thatpNPP-induced dye blinking at the ∼10-ms timescale is responsible for the apparent diffusion enhancement seen in FCS. Our observations urge a crucial revisit of various experimental findings and theoretical models––including those of our own––in the field, and indicate that in-solution single-particle tracking and ABEL trap are more reliable means to investigate diffusion phenomena at the nanoscale.

scholarly journals Single-Stranded DNA Curtains for Real-Time Single-Molecule Visualization of Protein–Nucleic Acid Interactions

2012 ◽  
Vol 84 (18) ◽  
pp. 7607-7612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Gibb ◽  
Tim D. Silverstein ◽  
Ilya J. Finkelstein ◽  
Eric C. Greene
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Single Stranded Dna ◽  
Protein Nucleic Acid ◽  
Nucleic Acid Interactions
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