CRP-seq: a reliable and fast method for sequencing RNA G-quadruplexes transcriptome-wide
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ABSTRACT: We report here on CRP-seq, followed by chemical-affinity capture with the G4-specific small-molecule, COL and target identification using sequencing. Our method can enrich G4 targets by centrifugation without magnetic bead, which allows for assessing the prevalence of RNA G4s in the transcriptome of human cells in a straightforward manner. Compared with BG4-RIP-seq, CORP-seq shines by its simplicity and practical convenience, which thus advances G4 sequencing further and addresses unmet needs in the field of G4omics.
Project description:Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) containing guanine repeats can form G-quadruplex (G4) structures. While cellular proteins and small molecules can bind G4s, it has been difficult to broadly assess their sequence specificity. Here, we use custom DNA microarrays to examine the binding specificities of proteins, small molecules, and antibodies across ~15,000 G4 structures. Molecules used include fluorescently labeled pyridostatin (Cy5-PDS, a small molecule), BG4 (Cy5-BG4, a G4-specific antibody), and eight proteins (GST-tagged nucleolin, IGF2, CNBP, FANCJ, PIF1, BLM, DHX36, and WRN). Cy5-PDS and Cy5-BG4 selectively bind sequences known to form G4s, confirming their formation on the microarrays. Cy5-PDS binding decreased when G4 formation was inhibited using lithium or when ssDNA features on the microarray were made double-stranded. Similar conditions inhibited the binding of all other molecules except for CNBP and PIF1. We report that proteins have different G4 binding preferences suggesting unique cellular functions. Finally, competition experiments are used to assess the binding of an unlabeled small molecule, revealing the structural features in the G4 required to achieve selectivity. These data demonstrate that the microarray platform can be used to assess the binding preferences of molecules to G4s on a broad scale, helping to understand the properties that govern molecular recognition.
Project description:Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) containing guanine repeats can form G-quadruplex (G4) structures. While cellular proteins and small molecules can bind G4s, it has been difficult to broadly assess their sequence specificity. Here, we use custom DNA microarrays to examine the binding specificities of proteins, small molecules, and antibodies across ~15,000 G4 structures. Molecules used include fluorescently labeled pyridostatin (Cy5-PDS, a small molecule), BG4 (Cy5-BG4, a G4-specific antibody), and eight proteins (GST-tagged nucleolin, IGF2, CNBP, FANCJ, PIF1, BLM, DHX36, and WRN). Cy5-PDS and Cy5-BG4 selectively bind sequences known to form G4s, confirming their formation on the microarrays. Cy5-PDS binding decreased when G4 formation was inhibited using lithium or when ssDNA features on the microarray were made double-stranded. Similar conditions inhibited the binding of all other molecules except for CNBP and PIF1. We report that proteins have different G4 binding preferences suggesting unique cellular functions. Finally, competition experiments are used to assess the binding of an unlabeled small molecule, revealing the structural features in the G4 required to achieve selectivity. These data demonstrate that the microarray platform can be used to assess the binding preferences of molecules to G4s on a broad scale, helping to understand the properties that govern molecular recognition.
Project description:Single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) containing guanine repeats can form G-quadruplex (G4) structures. While cellular proteins and small molecules can bind G4s, it has been difficult to broadly assess their sequence specificity. Here, we use custom DNA microarrays to examine the binding specificities of proteins, small molecules, and antibodies across ~15,000 G4 structures. Molecules used include fluorescently labeled pyridostatin (Cy5-PDS, a small molecule), BG4 (Cy5-BG4, a G4-specific antibody), and eight proteins (GST-tagged nucleolin, IGF2, CNBP, FANCJ, PIF1, BLM, DHX36, and WRN). Cy5-PDS and Cy5-BG4 selectively bind sequences known to form G4s, confirming their formation on the microarrays. Cy5-PDS binding decreased when G4 formation was inhibited using lithium or when ssDNA features on the microarray were made double-stranded. Similar conditions inhibited the binding of all other molecules except for CNBP and PIF1. We report that proteins have different G4 binding preferences suggesting unique cellular functions. Finally, competition experiments are used to assess the binding of an unlabeled small molecule, revealing the structural features in the G4 required to achieve selectivity. These data demonstrate that the microarray platform can be used to assess the binding preferences of molecules to G4s on a broad scale, helping to understand the properties that govern molecular recognition.
Project description:DNA G-quadruplex (G4) is a non-canonical four-stranded nucleic acid structure functioning in various biological processes in mammals. G4 ChIP-seq assay, In this study, we developed a robust BG4-DNA ChIP-seq for global identification of DNA G4 in rice..We found that G4s harbored some functional motifs for binding of certain trans-factors, were co-localized with R-loops and DHSs in the rice genome. Importantly, G4s exhibited differential effects on DNA methylation between TE and non-TE genes in rice. Especially, G4 intensity-dependent enrichment occurred between DNA 5mC and 6mA.These DNA-related features suggest potential regulatory roles of G4 in rice. Thus, our study will pave the way for prompting intensive characterization towards identifying novel functions of G4 in plants, especially for agronomic important crops.
Project description:G-quadruplexes (G4s) are four-stranded nucleic acid structures abundant at gene promoters. They can adopt several distinctive conformations. G4s have been shown to form in the herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) genome during its viral cycle. Here by cross-linking/pull-down assay we identified ICP4, the major HSV-1 transcription factor, as the protein that most efficiently interacts with viral G4s during infection. ICP4 specific and direct binding and unfolding of parallel G4s, including those present in HSV-1 immediate early gene promoters, induced transcription in vitro and in infected cells. This mechanism was also exploited by ICP4 to promote its own transcription. Proximity ligation assay allowed visualization of G4-protein interaction at the single selected G4 in cells. G4 ligands inhibited ICP4 binding to G4s. Our results indicate the existence of a well-defined G4-viral protein network that regulates the productive HSV-1 cycle. They also point to G4s as elements that recruit transcription factors to activate transcription in cells.
Project description:X-linked dystonia parkinsonism (XDP) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease characterized by the antisense insertion of an SVA retrotransposon into the TAF1 gene, encoding for the largest subunit of the basal transcription factor TFIID, which is essential for RNA polymerase II activity. This SVA insertion has been associated with altered TAF1 expression levels, but the cause of this outcome and its link to the development of XDP remain unknown. Unique to the XDP SVA compared to other SVA retrotransposons in the human genome is the amplification of the (GGGAGA)n repeat domain, creating a unique G4-prone region, whose length correlates with age at onset and disease severity. By ChIP-seq and ChIP-qPCR with the anti-G4 antibody BG4, we assessed that G4s are present in the folded state in the XDP SVA of these cells. Using available G4 ligands, we demonstrated that stabilization of the XDP SVA G4s reduces TAF1 transcripts in the exons around and downstream of the SVA, while increasing the transcription of the upstream exons, possibly through a positive feedback loop.
Project description:G-quadruplex (G4) sites in the human genome frequently colocalize with CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF)-bound sites within topologically associating domains (TADs) or at TAD boundaries. We investigated three mechanisms by which G4s may contribute to CTCF recruitment. One involved direct interactions between CTCF and G4s that persisted in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle. Synthetic G4s from CpG islands (CGIs) formed complexes with CTCF in vitro, and CTCF occupancy at the respective sites in the genome was modulated by a G4-stabilizing ligand. Another possible mechanism was through G4 interference with DNA methyltransferase activity in CGIs. Bioinformatics analysis confirmed that G4s underlie the association between CTCF and CGIs, but did not support a critical role for methylation in CTCF recruitment to G4-harboring CGIs. The third mechanism was through attracting additional protein factors. We found that G4s are recognized by the nucleosome density modulating high-mobility group (HMG) proteins and the cohesin-interacting protein additional sex combs-like 1. The affinity for these proteins is the basis for indirect G4 contributions to CTCF positioning and TAD demarcation.
Project description:G-quadruplex (G4) structures can form in guanine-rich stretches of DNA or RNA and have been found to modulate a variety of cellular processes including replication, transcription, and translation. Most studies on the cellular roles of G4s have focused on eukaryotic systems, with far fewer probing G4s in bacteria. We utilized a chemical-genetic approach to identify genes in Escherichia coli that are important for growth in conditions that stabilize G4s. Our screens reveal translation elongation to be a key process that is impacted by G4 stabilization. Reducing levels of elongation factor Tu or slowing translation elongation with chloramphenicol suppress the effects of G4 stabilization. In contrast, downregulating the levels of certain essential translation termination or ribosome recycling proteins is detrimental to growth in G4-stabilizing conditions. Proteomic and transcriptomic analyses demonstrate that ribosome assembly factors and other proteins involved in translation generally are less abundantly expressed under G4-stabilizing conditions. Taken together, the results suggest that RNA G4s present barriers to E. coli growth in G4-stabilizing conditions and reducing the rate of translation can help compensate for G4-related stress.
Project description:Four-stranded G-quadruplex (G4) structures form guanine-rich tracts, but their role in RNA biology remains poorly defined. Herein, we first delineate the presence of endogenous RNA G4s in the human cellular transcriptome by proxy of their binding to interacting proteins, DHX36, GRSF1 and DDX3X. We then demonstrate that a sub-population of these RNA G4s are reliably detected as folded structures in cross-linked cellular lysates using the G4 structure-specific antibody BG4. The 5' UTRs of protein-coding mRNAs show significant enrichment in such folded RNA G4s, particularly within mRNA for ribosomal proteins. As G4s in ribosomal mRNA are evolutionarily conserved in higher vertebrates this points to a common mode for translational co-regulation mediated by RNA G4 structures. Supporting this we find that G4-stabilising small molecules inhibit the translation of ribosomal protein mRNA and significantly down-regulate cellular translation.