Dataset Information

Characterization and directed evolution of a methyl-binding domain protein for high-sensitivity DNA methylation analysis.

ABSTRACT: Methyl-binding domain (MBD) family proteins specifically bind double-stranded, methylated DNA which makes them useful for DNA methylation analysis. We displayed three of the core members MBD1, MBD2 and MBD4 on the surface of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. Using the yeast display platform, we determined the equilibrium dissociation constant of human MBD2 (hMBD2) to be 5.9 ± 1.3 nM for binding to singly methylated DNA. The measured affinity for DNA with two methylated sites varied with the distance between the sites. We further used the yeast display platform to evolve the hMBD2 protein for improved binding affinity. Affecting five amino acid substitutions doubled the affinity of the wild-type protein to 3.1 ± 1.0 nM. The most prevalent of these mutations, K161R, occurs away from the DNA-binding site and bridges the N- and C-termini of the protein by forming a new hydrogen bond. The F208Y and L170R mutations added new non-covalent interactions with the bound DNA strand. We finally concatenated the high-affinity MBD variant and expressed it in Escherichia coli as a green fluorescent protein fusion. Concatenating the protein from 1× to 3× improved binding 6-fold for an interfacial binding application.

SUBMITTER: Heimer BW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4646160 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Characterization and directed evolution of a methyl-binding domain protein for high-sensitivity DNA methylation analysis.

Heimer Brandon W BW Tam Brooke E BE Sikes Hadley D HD

Protein engineering, design & selection : PEDS 20150918 12

Methyl-binding domain (MBD) family proteins specifically bind double-stranded, methylated DNA which makes them useful for DNA methylation analysis. We displayed three of the core members MBD1, MBD2 and MBD4 on the surface of Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. Using the yeast display platform, we determined the equilibrium dissociation constant of human MBD2 (hMBD2) to be 5.9 ± 1.3 nM for binding to singly methylated DNA. The measured affinity for DNA with two methylated sites varied with the distan ...[more]

PMID: 26384511

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Project description:RNA-directed DNA methylation (RdDM) is a biological process in which non-coding RNA molecules direct the addition of DNA methylation to specific DNA sequences. The RdDM pathway is unique to plants, although other mechanisms of RNA-directed chromatin modification have also been described in fungi and animals. To date, the RdDM pathway is best characterized within angiosperms (flowering plants), and particularly within the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. However, conserved RdDM pathway components and associated small RNAs (sRNAs) have also been found in other groups of plants, such as gymnosperms and ferns. The RdDM pathway closely resembles other sRNA pathways, particularly the highly conserved RNAi pathway found in fungi, plants, and animals. Both the RdDM and RNAi pathways produce sRNAs and involve conserved Argonaute, Dicer and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase proteins. RdDM has been implicated in a number of regulatory processes in plants. The DNA methylation added by RdDM is generally associated with transcriptional repression of the genetic sequences targeted by the pathway. Since DNA methylation patterns in plants are heritable, these changes can often be stably transmitted to progeny. As a result, one prominent role of RdDM is the stable, transgenerational suppression of transposable element (TE) activity. RdDM has also been linked to pathogen defense, abiotic stress responses, and the regulation of several key developmental transitions. Although the RdDM pathway has a number of important functions, RdDM-defective mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana are viable and can reproduce, which has enabled detailed genetic studies of the pathway. However, RdDM mutants can have a range of defects in different plant species, including lethality, altered reproductive phenotypes, TE upregulation and genome instability, and increased pathogen sensitivity. Overall, RdDM is an important pathway in plants that regulates a number of processes by establishing and reinforcing specific DNA methylation patterns, which can lead to transgenerational epigenetic effects on gene expression and phenotype.

Dataset Information

Characterization and directed evolution of a methyl-binding domain protein for high-sensitivity DNA methylation analysis.

Publications

Characterization and directed evolution of a methyl-binding domain protein for high-sensitivity DNA methylation analysis.

Similar Datasets

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