Journal: Nucleic Acids Research

Loading...

Abbreviation

Nucleic Acids Res.

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Journal Volumes

ISSN

1362-4962, 0301-5610

Description

Search Results

Publications 1 - 10 of 246
  • Holbein, Sandra; Freimoser, Florian M.; Werner, Thomas P.; et al. (2008)
    Nucleic Acids Research
    To identify genes involved in poly(A) metabolism, we screened the yeast gene deletion collection for growth defects in the presence of cordycepin (3′-deoxyadenosine), a precursor to the RNA chain terminating ATP analog cordycepin triphosphate. Δpho80 and Δpho85 strains, which have a constitutively active phosphate-response pathway, were identified as cordycepin hypersensitive. We show that inorganic polyphosphate (poly P) accumulated in these strains and that poly P is a potent inhibitor of poly(A) polymerase activity in vitro . Binding analyses of poly P and yeast Pap1p revealed an interaction with a kD in the low nanomolar range. Poly P also bound mammalian poly(A) polymerase, however, with a 10-fold higher kD compared to yeast Pap1p. Genetic tests with double mutants of Δpho80 and other genes involved in phosphate homeostasis and poly P accumulation suggest that poly P contributed to cordycepin hypersensitivity. Synergistic inhibition of mRNA synthesis through poly P-mediated inhibition of Pap1p and through cordycepin-mediated RNA chain termination may thus account for hypersensitive growth of Δpho80 and Δpho85 strains in the presence of the chain terminator. Consistent with this, a mutation in the 3′-end formation component rna14 was synthetic lethal in combination with Δpho80 . Based on these observations, we suggest that binding of poly P to poly(A) polymerase negatively regulates its activity.
  • Giovannini, Sara; Weller, Marie-Christine; Repmann, Simone; et al. (2019)
    Nucleic Acids Research
    Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) facilitate the repair of DNA single-strand breaks (SSBs). When PARPs are inhibited, unrepaired SSBs colliding with replication forks give rise to cytotoxic double-strand breaks. These are normally rescued by homologous recombination (HR), but, in cells with suboptimal HR, PARP inhibition leads to genomic instability and cell death, a phenomenon currently exploited in the therapy of ovarian cancers in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. In spite of their promise, resistance to PARP inhibitors (PARPis) has already emerged. In order to identify the possible underlying causes of the resistance, we set out to identify the endogenous source of DNA damage that activates PARPs. We argued that if the toxicity of PARPis is indeed caused by unrepaired SSBs, these breaks must arise spontaneously, because PARPis are used as single agents. We now show that a significant contributor to PARPi toxicity is oxygen metabolism. While BRCA1-depleted or -mutated cells were hypersensitive to the clinically approved PARPi olaparib, its toxicity was significantly attenuated by depletion of OGG1 or MYH DNA glycosylases, as well as by treatment with reactive oxygen species scavengers, growth under hypoxic conditions or chemical OGG1 inhibition. Thus, clinical resistance to PARPi therapy may emerge simply through reduced efficiency of oxidative damage repair.
  • Banerjee, Arka; Ataman, Meric; Smialek, Maciej Jerzy; et al. (2024)
    Nucleic Acids Research
    Increasingly many studies reveal how ribosome composition can be tuned to optimally translate the transcriptome of individual cell types. In this study, we investigated the expression pattern, structure within the ribosome and effect on protein synthesis of the ribosomal protein paralog 39L (RPL39L). With a novel mass spectrometric approach we revealed the expression of RPL39L protein beyond mouse germ cells, in human pluripotent cells, cancer cell lines and tissue samples. We generated RPL39L knock-out mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) lines and demonstrated that RPL39L impacts the dynamics of translation, to support the pluripotency and differentiation, spontaneous and along the germ cell lineage. Most differences in protein abundance between WT and RPL39L KO lines were explained by widespread autophagy. By CryoEM analysis of purified RPL39 and RPL39L-containing ribosomes we found that, unlike RPL39, RPL39L has two distinct conformations in the exposed segment of the nascent peptide exit tunnel, creating a distinct hydrophobic patch that has been predicted to support the efficient co-translational folding of alpha helices. Our study shows that ribosomal protein paralogs provide switchable modular components that can tune translation to the protein production needs of individual cell types.
  • Wellinger, Ralf-Erik; Thoma, Fritz (1996)
    Nucleic Acids Research
  • Böhm, Friederike; Kappes, Ferdinand; Scholten, Ingo; et al. (2005)
    Nucleic Acids Research
  • Trouillon, Julian; Imbert, Lionel; Villard, Anne-Marie; et al. (2021)
    Nucleic Acids Research
    Pseudomonas aeruginosa possesses one of the most complex bacterial regulatory networks, which largely contributes to its success as a pathogen. However, most of its transcription factors (TFs) are still uncharacterized and the potential intra-species variability in regulatory networks has been mostly ignored so far. Here, we used DAP-seq to map the genome-wide binding sites of all 55 DNA-binding two-component systems (TCSs) response regulators (RRs) across the three major P. aeruginosa lineages. The resulting networks encompass about 40% of all genes in each strain and contain numerous new regulatory interactions across most major physiological processes. Strikingly, about half of the detected targets are specific to only one or two strains, revealing a previously unknown large functional diversity of TFs within a single species. Three main mechanisms were found to drive this diversity, including differences in accessory genome content, as exemplified by the strain-specific plasmid in IHMA87 outlier strain which harbors numerous binding sites of conserved chromosomally-encoded RRs. Additionally, most RRs display potential auto-regulation or RR-RR cross-regulation, bringing to light the vast complexity of this network. Overall, we provide the first complete delineation of the TCSs regulatory network in P. aeruginosa that will represent an important resource for future studies on this pathogen.
  • Träger, Lena K.; Degen, Morris; Pereira, Joana; et al. (2025)
    Nucleic Acids Research
    Protein-primed DNA replication is a unique mechanism, bioorthogonal to other known DNA replication modes. It relies on specialised single-stranded DNA (ssDNA)-binding proteins (SSBs) to stabilise ssDNA intermediates by unknown mechanisms. Here, we present the structural and biochemical characterisation of P12, an SSB from bacteriophage PRD1. High-resolution cryo-electron microscopy reveals that P12 forms a unique, cooperative filament along ssDNA. Each protomer binds the phosphate backbone of 6 nucleotides in a sequence-independent manner, protecting ssDNA from nuclease degradation. Filament formation is driven by an intrinsically disordered C-terminal tail, facilitating cooperative binding. We identify residues essential for ssDNA interaction and link the ssDNA-binding ability of P12 to toxicity in host cells. Bioinformatic analyses place the P12 fold as a distinct branch within the OB-like fold family. This work offers new insights into protein-primed DNA replication and lays a foundation for biotechnological applications.
  • Edelmann, Martin P.; Couperus, Sietse; Rodriguez Robles, Emilio; et al. (2024)
    Nucleic Acids Research
    All known bacterial tRNAs adopt the canonical cloverleaf 2D and L-shaped 3D structures. We aimed to explore whether alternative tRNA structures could be introduced in bacterial translation. To this end, we crafted a vitamin-based genetic system to evolve Escherichia coli toward activity of structurally non-canonical tRNAs. The system reliably couples (escape frequency <10(-12)) growth with the activities of a novel orthogonal histidine suppressor tRNA (HisTUAC) and of the cognate ARS (HisS) via suppression of a GTA valine codon in the mRNA of an enzyme in thiamine biosynthesis (ThiN). Suppression results in the introduction of an essential histidine and thereby confers thiamine prototrophy. We then replaced HisTUAC in the system with non-canonical suppressor tRNAs and selected for growth. A strain evolved to utilize mini HisT, a tRNA lacking the D-arm, and we identified the responsible mutation in an RNase gene (pnp) involved in tRNA degradation. This indicated that HisS, the ribosome, and EF-Tu accept mini HisT ab initio, which we confirmed genetically and through in vitro translation experiments. Our results reveal a previously unknown flexibility of the bacterial translation machinery for the accepted fold of the adaptor of the genetic code and demonstrate the power of the vitamin-based suppression system.
  • Messner, Simon; Altmeyer, Matthias; Zhao, Hongtao; et al. (2010)
    Nucleic Acids Research
    The chromatin-associated enzyme PARP1 has previously been suggested to ADP-ribosylate histones, but the specific ADP-ribose acceptor sites have remained enigmatic. Here, we show that PARP1 covalently ADP-ribosylates the amino-terminal histone tails of all core histones. Using biochemical tools and novel electron transfer dissociation mass spectrometric protocols, we identify for the first time K13 of H2A, K30 of H2B, K27 and K37 of H3, as well as K16 of H4 as ADP-ribose acceptor sites. Multiple explicit water molecular dynamics simulations of the H4 tail peptide into the catalytic cleft of PARP1 indicate that two stable intermolecular salt bridges hold the peptide in an orientation that allows K16 ADP-ribosylation. Consistent with a functional cross-talk between ADP-ribosylation and other histone tail modifications, acetylation of H4K16 inhibits ADP-ribosylation by PARP1. Taken together, our computational and experimental results provide strong evidence that PARP1 modifies important regulatory lysines of the core histone tails.
  • Berger, Imre; Tereshko, Valentina; Ikeda, Hisafumi; et al. (1998)
    Nucleic Acids Research
Publications 1 - 10 of 246