Preribosomal RNA processing in Archaea: characterization of the RNP endonuclease mediated processing of precursor 16S rRNA in the thermoacidophile Sulfolobus acidocaldarius

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 813-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Potter ◽  
Peter Durovic ◽  
Anthony Russell ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Deidre de Jong-Wong ◽  
...  

The hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius uses a novel RNA-containing endonuclease to excise and mature 16S rRNA from the precursor (pre) rRNA transcript. A cell-free processing system has been developed using an in vitro transcribed RNA substrate containing the entire 144 nucleotide 5′ external transcribed spacer (5′ ETS) and the first 72 nucleotides of 16S rRNA. The cell-free extract cleaves in the 5′ ETS at positions −99, −31, and +1 (i.e., the 5′ ETS–16S junction). These positions are at or near the positions cleaved in vivo during processing of the pre rRNA transcript. The processing activity has been purified between 100 and 200-fold and appears to contain five or six polypeptide components and perhaps as many as 10 different small RNA components. Using combined reverse transcription–PCR amplification, full or partial cDNA copies of two of the RNA components have been obtained. One of the RNAs exhibits sequence and structural similarities to eukaryotic U3 snoRNA. The processing activity has been shown to be inactivated by micrococcal nuclease. It can be reactivated by reconstituting using bulk RNA from S. acidocaldarius but not bulk RNA from distantly related organisms. The activity is also abolished by RNase H digestion in the presence of oligonucleotides complementary to the U3-like RNA. These results demonstrate that the U3-like RNA is an essential component of the pre rRNA processing RNP endonuclease. Furthermore, this RNP endonuclease is not a derived eukaryotic feature, instead its existence predates the divergence of archaea and eukaryotes.Key words: Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, archaebacteria, mature RNA, U3 snoRNA, ribonucleoprotein.


1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 3727-3734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yifang Fang ◽  
Albert E. Fliss ◽  
Jie Rao ◽  
Avrom J. Caplan

ABSTRACT The Saccharomyces cerevisiae SBA1 gene was cloned by PCR amplification from yeast genomic DNA following its identification as encoding an ortholog of human p23, an Hsp90 cochaperone. TheSBA1 gene product is constitutively expressed and nonessential, although a disruption mutant grew more slowly than the wild type at both 18 and 37°C. A double deletion of SBA1and STI1, encoding an Hsp90 cochaperone, displayed synthetic growth defects. Affinity isolation of histidine-tagged Sba1p (Sba1His6) after expression in yeast led to coisolation of Hsp90 and the cyclophilin homolog Cpr6. Using an in vitro assembly assay, purified Sba1His6 bound to Hsp90 only in the presence of adenosine 5′-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) or adenyl-imidodiphosphate. Furthermore, interaction between purified Sba1His6 and Hsp90 in yeast extracts was inhibited by the benzoquinoid ansamycins geldanamycin and macbecin. The in vitro assay was also used to identify residues in Hsp90 that are important for complex formation with Sba1His6, and residues in both the N-terminal nucleotide binding domain and C-terminal half were characterized. In vivo analysis of known Hsp90 substrate proteins revealed that Sba1 loss of function had only a mild effect on the activity of the tyrosine kinase v-Src and steroid hormone receptors.



eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Hocher ◽  
Maria Rojec ◽  
Jacob B Swadling ◽  
Alexander Esin ◽  
Tobias Warnecke

Histones are a principal constituent of chromatin in eukaryotes and fundamental to our understanding of eukaryotic gene regulation. In archaea, histones are widespread but not universal: several lineages have lost histone genes. What prompted or facilitated these losses and how archaea without histones organize their chromatin remains largely unknown. Here, we elucidate primary chromatin architecture in an archaeon without histones, Thermoplasma acidophilum, which harbors a HU family protein (HTa) that protects part of the genome from micrococcal nuclease digestion. Charting HTa-based chromatin architecture in vitro, in vivo and in an HTa-expressing E. coli strain, we present evidence that HTa is an archaeal histone analog. HTa preferentially binds to GC-rich sequences, exhibits invariant positioning throughout the growth cycle, and shows archaeal histone-like oligomerization behavior. Our results suggest that HTa, a DNA-binding protein of bacterial origin, has converged onto an architectural role filled by histones in other archaea.



2022 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 837
Author(s):  
Sudip Biswas ◽  
Nancy J. Wahl ◽  
Michael J. Thomson ◽  
John M. Cason ◽  
Bill F. McCutchen ◽  
...  

The cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is a legume consumed worldwide in the form of oil, nuts, peanut butter, and candy. Improving peanut production and nutrition will require new technologies to enable novel trait development. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR–Cas9) is a powerful and versatile genome-editing tool for introducing genetic changes for studying gene expression and improving crops, including peanuts. An efficient in vivo transient CRISPR–Cas9- editing system using protoplasts as a testbed could be a versatile platform to optimize this technology. In this study, multiplex CRISPR–Cas9 genome editing was performed in peanut protoplasts to disrupt a major allergen gene with the help of an endogenous tRNA-processing system. In this process, we successfully optimized protoplast isolation and transformation with green fluorescent protein (GFP) plasmid, designed two sgRNAs for an allergen gene, Ara h 2, and tested their efficiency by in vitro digestion with Cas9. Finally, through deep-sequencing analysis, several edits were identified in our target gene after PEG-mediated transformation in protoplasts with a Cas9 and sgRNA-containing vector. These findings demonstrated that a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-mediated protoplast transformation system can serve as a rapid and effective tool for transient expression assays and sgRNA validation in peanut.



1991 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 3642-3651 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Devlin ◽  
K Tice-Baldwin ◽  
D Shore ◽  
K T Arndt

The major in vitro binding activity to the Saccharomyces cerevisiae HIS4 promoter is due to the RAP1 protein. In the absence of GCN4, BAS1, and BAS2, the RAP1 protein binds to the HIS4 promoter in vivo but cannot efficiently stimulate HIS4 transcription. RAP1, which binds adjacently to BAS2 on the HIS4 promoter, is required for BAS1/BAS2-dependent activation of HIS4 basal-level transcription. In addition, the RAP1-binding site overlaps with the single high-affinity HIS4 GCN4-binding site. Even though RAP1 and GCN4 bind competitively in vitro, RAP1 is required in vivo for (i) the normal steady-state levels of GCN4-dependent HIS4 transcription under nonstarvation conditions and (ii) the rapid increase in GCN4-dependent steady-state HIS4 mRNA levels following amino acid starvation. The presence of the RAP1-binding site in the HIS4 promoter causes a dramatic increase in the micrococcal nuclease sensitivity of two adjacent regions within HIS4 chromatin: one region contains the high-affinity GCN4-binding site, and the other region contains the BAS1- and BAS2-binding sites. These results suggest that RAP1 functions at HIS4 by increasing the accessibility of GCN4, BAS1, and BAS2 to their respective binding sites when these sites are present within chromatin.



2019 ◽  
Vol 110 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-462
Author(s):  
Silvia Ciolfi ◽  
Laura Marri

AbstractThe gut of the agricultural pest Ceratitis capitata hosts a varied community of bacteria, mainly Enterobacteriaceae, that were implicated in several processes that increase the fitness of the insect. In this study, we investigated the antagonistic activity in vitro of Klebsiella oxytoca strains isolated in the 1990s from the alimentary tract of wild medflies collected from different varieties of fruit trees at diverse localities. Assays were carried out against reference strains (representative of Gram-negative and -positive bacterial species) of the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). Eight Klebsiella, out of 11, expressed a killing activity against Escherichia coli ATCC 23739, and Enterobacter cloacae ATCC 13047; among the eight strains, at least one showed activity against Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 23853. Genomic DNA derived from all Klebsiella strains was then subjected to PCR amplification using specific primer pairs designed from each of the four bacteriocin (KlebB, C, D, CCL) sequences found so far in Klebsiella. KlebD primer pairs were the only to produce a single product for all strains expressing the killing phenotype in vitro. One of the amplicons was cloned and sequenced; the DNA sequence shows 93% identity with a plasmid-carried colicin-D gene of a strain of Klebsiella michiganensis, and 86% identity with the sequence encoding for the klebicin D activity protein in K. oxytoca. Our work provides the first evidence that dominant symbiotic bacteria associated with wild medfly populations express a killing phenotype that may mediate inter and intraspecies competition among bacterial populations in the insect gut in vivo.



2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (51) ◽  
pp. 32370-32379
Author(s):  
Olga A. Patutina ◽  
Svetlana K. Gaponova (Miroshnichenko) ◽  
Aleksandra V. Sen’kova ◽  
Innokenty A. Savin ◽  
Daniil V. Gladkikh ◽  
...  

The design of modified oligonucleotides that combine in one molecule several therapeutically beneficial properties still poses a major challenge. Recently a new type of modified mesyl phosphoramidate (or µ-) oligonucleotide was described that demonstrates high affinity to RNA, exceptional nuclease resistance, efficient recruitment of RNase H, and potent inhibition of key carcinogenesis processes in vitro. Herein, using a xenograft mouse tumor model, it was demonstrated that microRNA miR-21–targeted µ-oligonucleotides administered in complex with folate-containing liposomes dramatically inhibit primary tumor growth via long-term down-regulation of miR-21 in tumors and increase in biosynthesis of miR-21–regulated tumor suppressor proteins. This antitumoral effect is superior to the effect of the corresponding phosphorothioate. Peritumoral administration of µ-oligonucleotide results in its rapid distribution and efficient accumulation in the tumor. Blood biochemistry and morphometric studies of internal organs revealed no pronounced toxicity of µ-oligonucleotides. This new oligonucleotide class provides a powerful tool for antisense technology.



2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Shichang Bian ◽  
Hongjuan Wan ◽  
Xinyan Liao ◽  
Weisheng Wang

The flavonoid apigenin is common to many plants. Although the responsible mechanisms have yet to be elucidated, apigenin demonstrates tumor suppression in vitro and in vivo. This study uses an azoxymethane (AOM)/dextran sodium sulfate- (DSS-) induced colon cancer mouse model to investigate apigenin’s potential mechanism of action exerted through its effects upon gut microbiota. The size and quantity of tumors were reduced significantly in the apigenin treatment group. Using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing of fecal samples, the composition of gut microbiota was significantly affected by apigenin. Further experiments in which gut microbiota were reduced and feces were transplanted provided further evidence of apigenin-modulated gut microbiota exerting antitumor effects. Apigenin was unable to reduce the number or size of tumors when gut microbiota were depleted. Moreover, tumor inhibition effects were initiated following the transplant of feces from mice treated with apigenin. Our findings suggest that the effect of apigenin on the composition of gut microbiota can suppress tumors.



2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Duschmalé ◽  
Henrik Frydenlund Hansen ◽  
Martina Duschmalé ◽  
Erich Koller ◽  
Nanna Albaek ◽  
...  

Abstract The introduction of non-bridging phosphorothioate (PS) linkages in oligonucleotides has been instrumental for the development of RNA therapeutics and antisense oligonucleotides. This modification offers significantly increased metabolic stability as well as improved pharmacokinetic properties. However, due to the chiral nature of the phosphorothioate, every PS group doubles the amount of possible stereoisomers. Thus PS oligonucleotides are generally obtained as an inseparable mixture of a multitude of diastereoisomeric compounds. Herein, we describe the introduction of non-chiral 3′ thiophosphate linkages into antisense oligonucleotides and report their in vitro as well as in vivo activity. The obtained results are carefully investigated for the individual parameters contributing to antisense activity of 3′ and 5′ thiophosphate modified oligonucleotides (target binding, RNase H recruitment, nuclease stability). We conclude that nuclease stability is the major challenge for this approach. These results highlight the importance of selecting meaningful in vitro experiments particularly when examining hitherto unexplored chemical modifications.



2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 731-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josef Kuhn ◽  
Ulrike Tengler ◽  
Stefan Binder

ABSTRACT To determine the influence of posttranscriptional modifications on 3′ end processing and RNA stability in plant mitochondria, peaatp9 and Oenothera atp1 transcripts were investigated for the presence and function of 3′ nonencoded nucleotides. A 3′ rapid amplification of cDNA ends approach initiated at oligo(dT)-adapter primers finds the expected poly(A) tails predominantly attached within the second stem or downstream of the double stem-loop structures at sites of previously mapped 3′ ends. Functional studies in a pea mitochondrial in vitro processing system reveal a rapid removal of the poly(A) tails up to termini at the stem-loop structure but little if any influence on further degradation of the RNA. In contrast 3′ poly(A) tracts at RNAs without such stem-loop structures significantly promote total degradation in vitro. To determine the in vivo identity of 3′ nonencoded nucleotides more accurately, pea atp9 transcripts were analyzed by a direct anchor primer ligation-reverse transcriptase PCR approach. This analysis identified maximally 3-nucleotide-long nonencoded extensions most frequently of adenosines combined with cytidines. Processing assays with substrates containing homopolymer stretches of different lengths showed that 10 or more adenosines accelerate RNA processivity, while 3 adenosines have no impact on RNA life span. Thus polyadenylation can generally stimulate the decay of RNAs, but processivity of degradation is almost annihilated by the stabilizing effect of the stem-loop structures. These antagonistic actions thus result in the efficient formation of 3′ processed and stable transcripts.





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