Mechanism of genome instability mediated by human DNA polymerase mu misincorporation

Pol μ is capable of performing gap-filling repair synthesis in the nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway. Together with DNA ligase, misincorporation of dGTP opposite the templating T by Pol μ results in a promutagenic T:G mispair, leading to genomic instability. Here, crystal structures and kinetics of Pol μ substituting dGTP for dATP on gapped DNA substrates containing templating T were determined and compared. Pol μ is highly mutagenic on a 2-nt gapped DNA substrate, with T:dGTP base pairing at the 3ʹ end of the gap. Two residues (Lys438 and Gln441) interact with T:dGTP and fine tune the active site microenvironments. The in-crystal misincorporation reaction of Pol μ revealed an unexpected second dGTP in the active site, suggesting its potential mutagenic role among human X family polymerases in NHEJ.

Mono- and bilayer smectic liquid crystal ordering in dense solutions of “gapped” DNA duplexes

Although its mesomorphic properties have been studied for many years, only recently has the molecule of life begun to reveal the true range of its rich liquid crystalline behavior. End-to-end interactions between concentrated, ultrashort DNA duplexes—driving the self-assembly of aggregates that organize into liquid crystal phases—and the incorporation of flexible single-stranded “gaps” in otherwise fully paired duplexes—producing clear evidence of an elementary lamellar (smectic-A) phase in DNA solutions—are two exciting developments that have opened avenues for discovery. Here, we report on a wider investigation of the nature and temperature dependence of smectic ordering in concentrated solutions of various “gapped” DNA (GDNA) constructs. We examine symmetric GDNA constructs consisting of two 48-base pair duplex segments bridged by a single-stranded sequence of 2 to 20 thymine bases. Two distinct smectic layer structures are observed for DNA concentration in the range ∼230to∼280 mg/mL. One exhibits an interlayer periodicity comparable with two-duplex lengths (“bilayer” structure), and the other has a period similar to a single-duplex length (“monolayer” structure). The bilayer structure is observed for gap length ≳10 bases and melts into the cholesteric phase at a temperature between 30 °C and 35 °C. The monolayer structure predominates for gap length ≲10 bases and persists to >40 °C. We discuss models for the two layer structures and mechanisms for their stability. We also report results for asymmetric gapped constructs and for constructs with terminal overhangs, which further support the model layer structures.

Using single-molecule FRET to probe the nucleotide-dependent conformational landscape of polymerase β-DNA complexes

Eukaryotic DNA polymerase β (Pol β) plays an important role in cellular DNA repair, as it fills short gaps in dsDNA that result from removal of damaged bases. Since defects in DNA repair may lead to cancer and genetic instabilities, Pol β has been extensively studied, especially its mechanisms for substrate binding and a fidelity-related conformational change referred to as “fingers closing.” Here, we applied single-molecule FRET to measure distance changes associated with DNA binding and prechemistry fingers movement of human Pol β. First, using a doubly labeled DNA construct, we show that Pol β bends the gapped DNA substrate less than indicated by previously reported crystal structures. Second, using acceptor-labeled Pol β and donor-labeled DNA, we visualized dynamic fingers closing in single Pol β-DNA complexes upon addition of complementary nucleotides and derived rates of conformational changes. We further found that, while incorrect nucleotides are quickly rejected, they nonetheless stabilize the polymerase-DNA complex, suggesting that Pol β, when bound to a lesion, has a strong commitment to nucleotide incorporation and thus repair. In summary, the observation and quantification of fingers movement in human Pol β reported here provide new insights into the delicate mechanisms of prechemistry nucleotide selection.

SHOGUN: a modular, accurate and scalable framework for microbiome quantification

Summary The software pipeline SHOGUN profiles known taxonomic and gene abundances of short-read shotgun metagenomics sequencing data. The pipeline is scalable, modular and flexible. Data analysis and transformation steps can be run individually or together in an automated workflow. Users can easily create new reference databases and can select one of three DNA alignment tools, ranging from ultra-fast low-RAM k-mer-based database search to fully exhaustive gapped DNA alignment, to best fit their analysis needs and computational resources. The pipeline includes an implementation of a published method for taxonomy assignment disambiguation with empirical Bayesian redistribution. The software is installable via the conda resource management framework, has plugins for the QIIME2 and QIITA packages and produces both taxonomy and gene abundance profile tables with a single command, thus promoting convenient and reproducible metagenomics research. Availability and implementation https://github.com/knights-lab/SHOGUN.

Substrate conformational dynamics facilitate structure-specific recognition of gapped DNA by DNA polymerase

DNA-binding proteins utilise different recognition mechanisms to locate their DNA targets; some proteins recognise specific DNA sequences, while others interact with specific DNA structures. While sequence-specific DNA binding has been studied extensively, structure-specific recognition mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we study structure-specific DNA recognition by examining the structure and dynamics of DNA polymerase I Klenow Fragment (Pol) substrates both alone and in DNA–Pol complexes. Using a docking approach based on a network of 73 distances collected using single-molecule FRET, we determined a novel solution structure of the single-nucleotide-gapped DNA–Pol binary complex. The structure resembled existing crystal structures with regards to the downstream primer-template DNA substrate, and revealed a previously unobserved sharp bend (∼120°) in the DNA substrate; this pronounced bend was present in living cells. MD simulations and single-molecule assays also revealed that 4–5 nt of downstream gap-proximal DNA are unwound in the binary complex. Further, experiments and coarse-grained modelling showed the substrate alone frequently adopts bent conformations with 1–2 nt fraying around the gap, suggesting a mechanism wherein Pol recognises a pre-bent, partially-melted conformation of gapped DNA. We propose a general mechanism for substrate recognition by structure-specific enzymes driven by protein sensing of the conformational dynamics of their DNA substrates.

Structural basis of HMCES interactions with DNA reveals multivalent substrate recognition

ABSTRACTHMCES can covalently crosslink to abasic sites in single-stranded DNA at stalled replication forks to prevent genome instability. Here, we report crystal structures of the HMCES SRAP domain in complex with DNA-damage substrates, revealing interactions with both single-stranded and duplex segments of 3’ overhang DNA. HMCES may also bind gapped DNA and 5’ overhang structures to align single stranded abasic sites for crosslinking to the conserved Cys2 of its catalytic triad.

Selective binding of nucleosides to gapped DNA duplex revealed by orientation and distance dependence of FRET

Herein we used orientation and distance dependence of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) to analyze the binding of nucleosides to a gapped DNA duplex.

DNA polymerase β fingers movement revealed by single-molecule FRET suggests a partially closed conformation as a fidelity checkpoint

The eukaryotic DNA polymerase β plays an important role in cellular DNA repair as it fills gaps in single nucleotide gapped DNA that result from removal of damaged bases. Since defects in DNA repair may lead to cancer and genetic instabilities, Pol β has been extensively studied, especially substrate binding and a fidelity-related conformational change called fingers closing. Here, we applied single-molecule Förster resonance energy transfer to study the conformational dynamics of Pol β. Using an acceptor labelled polymerase and a donor labelled DNA substrate, we measured distance changes associated with DNA binding and fingers movement. Our findings suggest that Pol β does not bend its gapped DNA substrate to the extent related crystal structures indicate: instead, bending seems to be significantly less profound. Furthermore, we visualized dynamic fingers closing in single Pol β-DNA complexes upon addition of complementary nucleotides and derived rates of conformational changes. Additionally, we provide evidence that the fingers close only partially when an incorrect nucleotide is bound. This ajar conformation found in Pol β, a polymerase of the X-family, suggests the existence of an additional fidelity checkpoint similar to what has been previously proposed for a member of the A-family, the bacterial DNA polymerase I.