Dataset Information

A Targeted and Tuneable DNA Damage Tool Using CRISPR/Cas9.

ABSTRACT: Mammalian cells are constantly subjected to a variety of DNA damaging events that lead to the activation of DNA repair pathways. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of the DNA damage response allows the development of therapeutics which target elements of these pathways. Double-strand breaks (DSB) are particularly deleterious to cell viability and genome stability. Typically, DSB repair is studied using DNA damaging agents such as ionising irradiation or genotoxic drugs. These induce random lesions at non-predictive genome sites, where damage dosage is difficult to control. Such interventions are unsuitable for studying how different DNA damage recognition and repair pathways are invoked at specific DSB sites in relation to the local chromatin state. The RNA-guided Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein 9) endonuclease enzyme is a powerful tool to mediate targeted genome alterations. Cas9-based genomic intervention is attained through DSB formation in the genomic area of interest. Here, we have harnessed the power to induce DSBs at defined quantities and locations across the human genome, using custom-designed promiscuous guide RNAs, based on in silico predictions. This was achieved using electroporation of recombinant Cas9-guide complex, which provides a generic, low-cost and rapid methodology for inducing controlled DNA damage in cell culture models.

SUBMITTER: Emmanouilidis I

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7919286 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

A Targeted and Tuneable DNA Damage Tool Using CRISPR/Cas9.

Emmanouilidis Ioannis I Fili Natalia N Cook Alexander W AW Hari-Gupta Yukti Y Dos Santos Ália Á Wang Lin L Martin-Fernandez Marisa L ML Ellis Peter J I PJI Toseland Christopher P CP

Biomolecules 20210215 2

Mammalian cells are constantly subjected to a variety of DNA damaging events that lead to the activation of DNA repair pathways. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of the DNA damage response allows the development of therapeutics which target elements of these pathways. Double-strand breaks (DSB) are particularly deleterious to cell viability and genome stability. Typically, DSB repair is studied using DNA damaging agents such as ionising irradiation or genotoxic drugs. These induce random l ...[more]

PMID: 33672015

Similar Datasets

Project description:Microorganism-based genotoxicity assessments are vital for evaluating potential chemical-induced DNA damage. In this study, we developed both chromosomally integrated and single-copy plasmid-based reporter assays in budding yeast using a RNR3 promoter-driven luciferase gene. These assays were designed to compare the response to genotoxic chemicals with a pre-established multicopy plasmid-based assay. Despite exhibiting the lowest luciferase activity, the chromosomally integrated reporter assay showed the highest fold induction (i.e., the ratio of luciferase activity in the presence and absence of the chemical) compared with the established plasmid-based assay. Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, we generated mutants with single- or double-gene deletions, affecting major DNA repair pathways or cell permeability. This enabled us to evaluate reporter gene responses to genotoxicants in a single-copy plasmid-based assay. Elevated background activities were observed in several mutants, such as mag1Δ cells, even without exposure to chemicals. However, substantial luciferase induction was detected in single-deletion mutants following exposure to specific chemicals, including mag1Δ, mms2Δ, and rad59Δ cells treated with methyl methanesulfonate; rad59Δ cells exposed to camptothecin; and mms2Δ and rad10Δ cells treated with mitomycin C (MMC) and cisplatin (CDDP). Notably, mms2Δ/rad10Δ cells treated with MMC or CDDP exhibited significantly enhanced luciferase induction compared with the parent single-deletion mutants, suggesting that postreplication and for nucleotide excision repair processes predominantly contribute to repairing DNA crosslinks. Overall, our findings demonstrate the utility of yeast-based reporter assays employing strains with multiple-deletion mutations in DNA repair genes. These assays serve as valuable tools for investigating DNA repair mechanisms and assessing chemical-induced DNA damage. KEY POINTS: • Responses to genotoxic chemicals were investigated in three types of reporter yeast. • Yeast strains with single- and double-deletions of DNA repair genes were tested. • Two DNA repair pathways predominantly contributed to DNA crosslink repair in yeast.

Project description:UnlabelledThe clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system, an RNA-guided nuclease for specific genome editing in vivo, has been adopted in a wide variety of organisms. In contrast, the in vitro application of the CRISPR/Cas9 system has rarely been reported. We present here a highly efficient in vitro CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing (ICE) system that allows specific refactoring of biosynthetic gene clusters in Streptomyces bacteria and other large DNA fragments. Cleavage by Cas9 of circular pUC18 DNA was investigated here as a simple model, revealing that the 3'?5' exonuclease activity of Cas9 generates errors with 5 to 14 nucleotides (nt) randomly missing at the editing joint. T4 DNA polymerase was then used to repair the Cas9-generated sticky ends, giving substantial improvement in editing accuracy. Plasmid pYH285 and cosmid 10A3, harboring a complete biosynthetic gene cluster for the antibiotics RK-682 and holomycin, respectively, were subjected to the ICE system to delete the rkD and homE genes in frame. Specific insertion of the ampicillin resistance gene (bla) into pYH285 was also successfully performed. These results reveal the ICE system to be a rapid, seamless, and highly efficient way to edit DNA fragments, and a powerful new tool for investigating and engineering biosynthetic gene clusters.ImportanceRecent improvements in cloning strategies for biosynthetic gene clusters promise rapid advances in understanding and exploiting natural products in the environment. For manipulation of such biosynthetic gene clusters to generate valuable bioactive compounds, efficient and specific gene editing of these large DNA fragments is required. In this study, a highly efficient in vitro DNA editing system has been established. When combined with end repair using T4 DNA polymerase, Cas9 precisely and seamlessly catalyzes targeted editing, including in-frame deletion or insertion of the gene(s) of interest. This in vitro CRISPR editing (ICE) system promises a step forward in our ability to engineer biosynthetic pathways.

Dataset Information

A Targeted and Tuneable DNA Damage Tool Using CRISPR/Cas9.

Publications

A Targeted and Tuneable DNA Damage Tool Using CRISPR/Cas9.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets