Alteration of sequence specificity of the type II restriction endonuclease HincII through an indirect readout mechanism

Structures, mechanisms, and kinetic advantages of the SgrAI filament forming mechanism

This review documents investigations leading to the unprecedented discovery of filamentation as a mode of enzyme regulation in the type II restriction endonuclease SgrAI. Filamentation is defined here as linear or helical polymerization of a single enzyme as occurs for SgrAI, and has now been shown to occur in many other enzyme systems, including conserved metabolic enzymes. In the case of SgrAI, filamentation activates the DNA cleavage rate by up to 1000-fold and also alters the enzyme's DNA sequence specificity. The investigations began with the observation that SgrAI cleaves two types of recognition sequences, primary and secondary, but cleaves the secondary sequences only when present on the same DNA as at least one primary. DNA cleavage rate measurements showed how the primary sequence is both a substrate and an allosteric effector of SgrAI. Biophysical measurements indicated that the activated form of SgrAI, stimulated by binding to the primary sequence, consisted of varied numbers of the SgrAI bound to DNA. Structural studies revealed the activated state of SgrAI as a left-handed helical filament which stabilizes an altered enzyme conformation, which binds a second divalent cation in the active site. Efforts to determine the mechanism of DNA sequence specificity alteration are ongoing and current models are discussed. Finally, global kinetic modeling of the filament mediated DNA cleavage reaction and simulations of in vivo activity suggest that the filament mechanism evolved to rapidly cleave invading DNA while protecting the Streptomyces host genome.

Plasmid targeting and destruction by the DdmDE bacterial defence system

Although eukaryotic Argonautes have a pivotal role in post-transcriptional gene regulation through nucleic acid cleavage, some short prokaryotic Argonaute variants (pAgos) rely on auxiliary nuclease factors for efficient foreign DNA degradation1. Here we reveal the activation pathway of the DNA defence module DdmDE system, which rapidly eliminates small, multicopy plasmids from the Vibrio cholerae seventh pandemic strain (7PET)2. Through a combination of cryo-electron microscopy, biochemistry and in vivo plasmid clearance assays, we demonstrate that DdmE is a catalytically inactive, DNA-guided, DNA-targeting pAgo with a distinctive insertion domain. We observe that the helicase-nuclease DdmD transitions from an autoinhibited, dimeric complex to a monomeric state upon loading of single-stranded DNA targets. Furthermore, the complete structure of the DdmDE-guide-target handover complex provides a comprehensive view into how DNA recognition triggers processive plasmid destruction. Our work establishes a mechanistic foundation for how pAgos utilize ancillary factors to achieve plasmid clearance, and provides insights into anti-plasmid immunity in bacteria.

DNA Sequence Control of Enzyme Filamentation and Activation of the SgrAI Endonuclease

Enzyme polymerization (also known as filamentation) has emerged as a new layer of enzyme regulation. SgrAI is a sequence-dependent DNA endonuclease that forms polymeric filaments with enhanced DNA cleavage activity as well as altered DNA sequence specificity. To better understand this unusual regulatory mechanism, full global kinetic modeling of the reaction pathway, including the enzyme filamentation steps, has been undertaken. Prior work with the primary DNA recognition sequence cleaved by SgrAI has shown how the kinetic rate constants of each reaction step are tuned to maximize activation and DNA cleavage while minimizing the extent of DNA cleavage to the host genome. In the current work, we expand on our prior study by now including DNA cleavage of a secondary recognition sequence, to understand how the sequence of the bound DNA modulates filamentation and activation of SgrAI. The work shows that an allosteric equilibrium between low and high activity states is modulated by the sequence of bound DNA, with primary sequences more prone to activation and filament formation, while SgrAI bound to secondary recognition sequences favor the low (and nonfilamenting) state by up to 40-fold. In addition, the degree of methylation of secondary sequences in the host organism, Streptomyces griseus, is now reported for the first time and shows that as predicted, these sequences are left unprotected from the SgrAI endonuclease making sequence specificity critical in this unusual filament-forming enzyme.

Pretransition state and apo structures of the filament-forming enzyme SgrAI elucidate mechanisms of activation and substrate specificity

Enzyme filamentation is a widespread phenomenon that mediates enzyme regulation and function. For the filament-forming sequence-specific DNA endonuclease SgrAI, the process of filamentation both accelerates its DNA cleavage activity and expands its DNA sequence specificity, thus allowing for many additional DNA sequences to be rapidly cleaved. Both outcomes-the acceleration of DNA cleavage and the expansion of sequence specificity-are proposed to regulate critical processes in bacterial innate immunity. However, the mechanistic bases underlying these events remain unclear. Herein, we describe two new structures of the SgrAI enzyme that shed light on its catalytic function. First, we present the cryo-EM structure of filamentous SgrAI bound to intact primary site DNA and Ca2+ resolved to ∼2.5 Å within the catalytic center, which represents the trapped enzyme-DNA complex prior to the DNA cleavage reaction. This structure reveals important conformational changes that contribute to the catalytic mechanism and the binding of a second divalent cation in the enzyme active site, which is expected to contribute to increased DNA cleavage activity of SgrAI in the filamentous state. Second, we present an X-ray crystal structure of DNA-free (apo) SgrAI resolved to 2.0 Å resolution, which reveals a disordered loop involved in DNA recognition. Collectively, these multiple new observations clarify the mechanism of expansion of DNA sequence specificity of SgrAI, including the indirect readout of sequence-dependent DNA structure, changes in protein-DNA interactions, and the disorder-to-order transition of a crucial DNA recognition element.

Active site residue identity regulates cleavage preference of LAGLIDADG homing endonucleases

LAGLIDADG homing endonucleases (meganucleases) are site-specific mobile endonucleases that can be adapted for genome-editing applications. However, one problem when reprogramming meganucleases on non-native substrates is indirect readout of DNA shape and flexibility at the central 4 bases where cleavage occurs. To understand how the meganuclease active site regulates DNA cleavage, we used functional selections and deep sequencing to profile the fitness landscape of 1600 I-LtrI and I-OnuI active site variants individually challenged with 67 substrates with central 4 base substitutions. The wild-type active site was not optimal for cleavage on many substrates, including the native I-LtrI and I-OnuI targets. Novel combinations of active site residues not observed in known meganucleases supported activity on substrates poorly cleaved by the wild-type enzymes. Strikingly, combinations of E or D substitutions in the two metal-binding residues greatly influenced cleavage activity, and E184D variants had a broadened cleavage profile. Analyses of I-LtrI E184D and the wild-type proteins co-crystallized with the non-cognate AACC central 4 sequence revealed structural differences that correlated with kinetic constants for cleavage of individual DNA strands. Optimizing meganuclease active sites to enhance cleavage of non-native central 4 target sites is a straightforward addition to engineering workflows that will expand genome-editing applications.

DNA recognition by the SwaI restriction endonuclease involves unusual distortion of an 8 base pair A:T-rich target

R.SwaI, a Type IIP restriction endonuclease, recognizes a palindromic eight base pair (bp) symmetric sequence, 5΄-ATTTAAAT-3΄, and cleaves that target at its center to generate blunt-ended DNA fragments. Here, we report three crystal structures of SwaI: unbound enzyme, a DNA-bound complex with calcium ions; and a DNA-bound, fully cleaved complex with magnesium ions. We compare these structures to two structurally similar ‘PD-D/ExK’ restriction endonucleases (EcoRV and HincII) that also generate blunt-ended products, and to a structurally distinct enzyme (the HNH endonuclease PacI) that also recognizes an 8-bp target site consisting solely of A:T base pairs. Binding by SwaI induces an extreme bend in the target sequence accompanied by un-pairing and re-ordering of its central A:T base pairs. This result is reminiscent of a more dramatic target deformation previously described for PacI, implying that long A:T-rich target sites might display structural or dynamic behaviors that play a significant role in endonuclease recognition and cleavage.

Structural and functional analyses of PolyProline-II helices in globular proteins

PolyProline-II (PPII) helices are defined as a continuous stretch of a protein chain in which the constituent residues have backbone torsion angle (φ, ψ) values of (-75°, 145°) and take up an extended left handed helical conformation, without any intra-chain hydrogen bonds. They are found to occur quite frequently in protein structures, with their number exceeding that of π-helices, though it is considerably less than that of α-helices and β-strands. A relatively new procedure, ASSP, for the identification of regular secondary structures using C^α trace identifies 3597 PPII-helices in 3582 protein chains, solved at resolution ⩽2.0Å. Taking advantage of this significantly expanded database of PPII-helices, we have analyzed their structural and functional roles as well as determined the amino acid propensity within and around them. Though Pro residues are highly preferred, their presence is not a mandatory requirement for the formation of PPII-helices, since ∼40% PPII-helices were found to contain no Pro residues. Aromatic amino acids are avoided within this helix, while Gly, Asn and Asp residues are preferred in the proximal flanking regions. The PPII-helices range from 3 to 13 residues in length with the average twist and rise being -121.2°±9.2° and 3.0ű0.1Å respectively. A majority (∼72%) of PPII-helices were found to occur in conjunction with α-helices and β-strands, and serve as linkers as well. The analysis of various intra-helical non-bonded interactions revealed frequent presence of CH⋯O H-bonds. PPII-helices participate in maintaining the three-dimensional structure of proteins and are important constituents of binding motifs involved in various biological functions.

Indirect DNA Sequence Recognition and Its Impact on Nuclease Cleavage Activity

LAGLIDADG meganucleases are DNA cleaving enzymes used for genome engineering. While their cleavage specificity can be altered using several protein engineering and selection strategies, their overall targetability is limited by highly specific indirect recognition of the central four base pairs within their recognition sites. In order to examine the physical basis of indirect sequence recognition and to expand the number of such nucleases available for genome engineering, we have determined the target sites, DNA-bound structures, and central four cleavage fidelities of nine related enzymes. Subsequent crystallographic analyses of a meganuclease bound to two noncleavable target sites, each containing a single inactivating base pair substitution at its center, indicates that a localized slip of the mutated base pair causes a small change in the DNA backbone conformation that results in a loss of metal occupancy at one binding site, eliminating cleavage activity.

Probing the run-on oligomer of activated SgrAI bound to DNA

SgrAI is a type II restriction endonuclease with an unusual mechanism of activation involving run-on oligomerization. The run-on oligomer is formed from complexes of SgrAI bound to DNA containing its 8 bp primary recognition sequence (uncleaved or cleaved), and also binds (and thereby activates for DNA cleavage) complexes of SgrAI bound to secondary site DNA sequences which contain a single base substitution in either the 1st/8th or the 2nd/7th position of the primary recognition sequence. This modulation of enzyme activity via run-on oligomerization is a newly appreciated phenomenon that has been shown for a small but increasing number of enzymes. One outstanding question regarding the mechanistic model for SgrAI is whether or not the activating primary site DNA must be cleaved by SgrAI prior to inducing activation. Herein we show that an uncleavable primary site DNA containing a 3'-S-phosphorothiolate is in fact able to induce activation. In addition, we now show that cleavage of secondary site DNA can be activated to nearly the same degree as primary, provided a sufficient number of flanking base pairs are present. We also show differences in activation and cleavage of the two types of secondary site, and that effects of selected single site substitutions in SgrAI, as well as measured collisional cross-sections from previous work, are consistent with the cryo-electron microscopy model for the run-on activated oligomer of SgrAI bound to DNA.

Structural analysis of activated SgrAI-DNA oligomers using ion mobility mass spectrometry

SgrAI is a type IIF restriction endonuclease that cuts an unusually long recognition sequence and exhibits self-modulation of DNA cleavage activity and sequence specificity. Previous studies have shown that SgrAI forms large oligomers when bound to particular DNA sequences and under the same conditions where SgrAI exhibits accelerated DNA cleavage kinetics. However, the detailed structure and stoichiometry of the SgrAI-DNA complex as well as the basic building block of the oligomers have not been fully characterized. Ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) was employed to analyze SgrAI-DNA complexes and show that the basic building block of the oligomers is the DNA-bound SgrAI dimer (DBD) with one SgrAI dimer bound to two precleaved duplex DNA molecules each containing one-half of the SgrAI primary recognition sequence. The oligomers contain variable numbers of DBDs with as many as 19 DBDs. Observation of the large oligomers shows that nanoelectrospray ionization (nano-ESI) can preserve the proposed activated form of an enzyme. Finally, the collision cross section of the SgrAI-DNA oligomers measured by IM-MS was found to have a linear relationship with the number of DBDs in each oligomer, suggesting a regular, repeating structure.

Massively parallel characterization of restriction endonucleases

Restriction endonucleases are highly specific in recognizing the particular DNA sequence they act on. However, their activity is affected by sequence context, enzyme concentration and buffer composition. Changes in these factors may lead to either ineffective cleavage at the cognate restriction site or relaxed specificity allowing cleavage of degenerate ‘star’ sites. Additionally, uncharacterized restriction endonucleases and engineered variants present novel activities. Traditionally, restriction endonuclease activity is assayed on simple substrates such as plasmids and synthesized oligonucleotides. We present and use high-throughput Illumina sequencing-based strategies to assay the sequence specificity and flanking sequence preference of restriction endonucleases. The techniques use fragmented DNA from sequenced genomes to quantify restriction endonuclease cleavage on a complex genomic DNA substrate in a single reaction. By mapping millions of restriction site–flanking reads back to the Escherichia coli and Drosophila melanogaster genomes we were able to quantitatively characterize the cognate and star site activity of EcoRI and MfeI and demonstrate genome-wide decreases in star activity with engineered high-fidelity variants EcoRI-HF and MfeI-HF, as well as quantify the influence on MfeI cleavage conferred by flanking nucleotides. The methods presented are readily applicable to all type II restriction endonucleases that cleave both strands of double-stranded DNA.

Dxo1 is a new type of eukaryotic enzyme with both decapping and 5'-3' exoribonuclease activity

Recent studies showed that Rai1 is a crucial component of the mRNA 5′-end capping quality control mechanism in yeast. The yeast genome encodes a weak homolog of Rai1, Ydr370C, but little is known about this protein. Here we report the crystal structures of Kluyveromyces lactis Ydr370C and the first biochemical and functional studies on this protein. The overall structure of Ydr370C is similar to Rai1. Ydr370C has robust decapping activity on RNAs with unmethylated caps but it has no detectable pyrophosphohydrolase activity. Unexpectedly, Ydr370C also possesses distributive, 5′-3′ exoribonuclease activity, and we propose the name Dxo1 for this novel eukaryotic enzyme with both decapping and exonuclease activities. Studies in yeast where both Dxo1 and Rai1 are disrupted reveal that mRNAs with incomplete caps are produced even under normal growth conditions, in sharp contrast to current understanding of the capping process.

Structural mechanisms of the degenerate sequence recognition by Bse634I restriction endonuclease

Restriction endonuclease Bse634I recognizes and cleaves the degenerate DNA sequence 5′-R/CCGGY-3′ (R stands for A or G; Y for T or C, ‘/’ indicates a cleavage position). Here, we report the crystal structures of the Bse634I R226A mutant complexed with cognate oligoduplexes containing ACCGGT and GCCGGC sites, respectively. In the crystal, all potential H-bond donor and acceptor atoms on the base edges of the conserved CCGG core are engaged in the interactions with Bse634I amino acid residues located on the α6 helix. In contrast, direct contacts between the protein and outer base pairs are limited to van der Waals contact between the purine nucleobase and Pro203 residue in the major groove and a single H-bond between the O2 atom of the outer pyrimidine and the side chain of the Asn73 residue in the minor groove. Structural data coupled with biochemical experiments suggest that both van der Waals interactions and indirect readout contribute to the discrimination of the degenerate base pair by Bse634I. Structure comparison between related enzymes Bse634I (R/CCGGY), NgoMIV (G/CCGGC) and SgrAI (CR/CCGGYG) reveals how different specificities are achieved within a conserved structural core.

Restriction endonucleases: natural and directed evolution

Type II restriction endonucleases (REs) are highly sequence-specific compared with other classes of nucleases. PD-(D/E)XK nucleases, initially represented by only type II REs, now comprise a large and extremely diverse superfamily of proteins and, although sharing a structurally conserved core, typically display little or no detectable sequence similarity except for the active site motifs. Sequence similarity can only be observed in methylases and few isoschizomers. As a consequence, REs are classified according to combinations of functional properties rather than on the basis of genetic relatedness. New alignment matrices and classification systems based on structural core connectivity and cleavage mechanisms have been developed to characterize new REs and related proteins. REs recognizing more than 300 distinct specificities have been identified in RE database (REBASE: http://rebase.neb.com/cgi-bin/statlist ) but still the need for newer specificities is increasing due to the advancement in molecular biology and applications. The enzymes have undergone constant evolution through structural changes in protein scaffolds which include random mutations, homologous recombinations, insertions, and deletions of coding DNA sequences but rational mutagenesis or directed evolution delivers protein variants with new functions in accordance with defined biochemical or environmental pressures. Redesigning through random mutation, addition or deletion of amino acids, methylation-based selection, synthetic molecules, combining recognition and cleavage domains from different enzymes, or combination with domains of additional functions change the cleavage specificity or substrate preference and stability. There is a growing number of patents awarded for the creation of engineered REs with new and enhanced properties.

Activation of DNA cleavage by oligomerization of DNA-bound SgrAI

SgrAI is a type II restriction endonuclease that cuts an unusually long recognition sequence and exhibits allosteric self-modulation of DNA activity and sequence specificity. Precleaved primary site DNA has been shown to be an allosteric effector [Hingorani-Varma, K., and Bitinaite, J. (2003) J. Biol. Chem. 278, 40392-40399], stimulating cleavage of both primary (CR|CCGGYG, where the vertical bar indicates a cut site, R denotes A or G, and Y denotes C or T) and secondary [CR|CCGGY(A/C/T) and CR|CCGGGG] site DNA sequences. The fact that DNA is the allosteric effector of this endonuclease suggests at least two DNA binding sites on the functional SgrAI molecule, yet crystal structures of SgrAI [Dunten, P. W., et al. (2008) Nucleic Acids Res. 36, 5405-5416] show only one DNA duplex bound to one dimer of SgrAI. We show that SgrAI forms species larger than dimers or tetramers [high-molecular weight species (HMWS)] in the presence of sufficient concentrations of SgrAI and its primary site DNA sequence that are dependent on the concentration of the DNA-bound SgrAI dimer. Analytical ultracentrifugation indicates that the HMWS is heterogeneous, has sedimentation coefficients of 15-20 s, and is composed of possibly 4-12 DNA-bound SgrAI dimers. SgrAI bound to secondary site DNA will not form HMWS itself but can bind to HMWS formed with primary site DNA and SgrAI. Uncleaved, as well as precleaved, primary site DNA is capable of stimulating HMWS formation. Stimulation of DNA cleavage by SgrAI, at primary as well as secondary sites, is also dependent on the concentration of primary site DNA (cleaved or uncleaved) bound SgrAI dimers. SgrAI bound to secondary site DNA does not have significant stimulatory activity. We propose that the oligomers of DNA-bound SgrAI (i.e., HMWS) are the activated, or activatable, forms of the enzyme.

DNA intercalation without flipping in the specific ThaI-DNA complex

The PD-(D/E)XK type II restriction endonuclease ThaI cuts the target sequence CG/CG with blunt ends. Here, we report the 1.3 Å resolution structure of the enzyme in complex with substrate DNA and a sodium or calcium ion taking the place of a catalytic magnesium ion. The structure identifies Glu54, Asp82 and Lys93 as the active site residues. This agrees with earlier bioinformatic predictions and implies that the PD and (D/E)XK motifs in the sequence are incidental. DNA recognition is very unusual: the two Met47 residues of the ThaI dimer intercalate symmetrically into the CG steps of the target sequence. They approach the DNA from the minor groove side and penetrate the base stack entirely. The DNA accommodates the intercalating residues without nucleotide flipping by a doubling of the CG step rise to twice its usual value, which is accompanied by drastic unwinding. Displacement of the Met47 side chains from the base pair midlines toward the downstream CG steps leads to large and compensating tilts of the first and second CG steps. DNA intercalation by ThaI is unlike intercalation by HincII, HinP1I or proteins that bend or repair DNA.

Alteration of sequence specificity of the type IIS restriction endonuclease BtsI

The Type IIS restriction endonuclease BtsI recognizes and digests at GCAGTG(2/0). It comprises two subunits: BtsIA and BtsIB. The BtsIB subunit contains the recognition domain, one catalytic domain for bottom strand nicking and part of the catalytic domain for the top strand nicking. BtsIA has the rest of the catalytic domain that is responsible for the DNA top strand nicking. BtsIA alone has no activity unless it mixes with BtsIB to reconstitute the BtsI activity. During characterization of the enzyme, we identified a BtsIB mutant R119A found to have a different digestion pattern from the wild type BtsI. After characterization, we found that BtsIB(R119A) is a novel restriction enzyme with a previously unreported recognition sequence CAGTG(2/0), which is named as BtsI-1. Compared with wild type BtsI, BtsI-1 showed different relative activities in NEB restriction enzyme reaction buffers NEB1, NEB2, NEB3 and NEB4 and less star activity. Similar to the wild type BtsIB subunit, the BtsI-1 B subunit alone can act as a bottom nicking enzyme recognizing CAGTG(-/0). This is the first successful case of a specificity change among this restriction endonuclease type.

The crystal structure of D212 from sulfolobus spindle-shaped virus ragged hills reveals a new member of the PD-(D/E)XK nuclease superfamily

Structural studies have made significant contributions to our understanding of Sulfolobus spindle-shaped viruses (Fuselloviridae), an important model system for archaeal viruses. Continuing these efforts, we report the structure of D212 from Sulfolobus spindle-shaped virus Ragged Hills. The overall fold and conservation of active site residues place D212 in the PD-(D/E)XK nuclease superfamily. The greatest structural similarity is found to the archaeal Holliday junction cleavage enzymes, strongly suggesting a role in DNA replication, repair, or recombination. Other roles associated with nuclease activity are also considered.

Escherichia coli DNA adenine methyltransferase: the structural basis of processive catalysis and indirect read-out

We have investigated the structural basis of processive GATC methylation by the Escherichia coli DNA adenine methyltransferase, which is critical in chromosome replication and mismatch repair. We determined the contribution of the orthologically conserved phosphate interactions involving residues Arg(95), Asn(126), Asn(132), Arg(116), and Lys(139), which directly contact the DNA outside the cognate recognition site (GATC) to processive catalysis, and that of residue Arg(137), which is not conserved and contacts the DNA backbone within the GATC sequence. Alanine substitutions at the conserved positions have large impacts on processivity yet do not impact k(cat)/K(m)(DNA) or DNA affinity (K(D)(DNA)). However, these mutants cause large preferences for GATC sites varying in flanking sequences when considering the pre-steady state efficiency constant k(chem)/K(D)(DNA). These changes occur mainly at the level of the methylation rate constant, which results in the observed decreases in processive catalysis. Thus, processivity and catalytic efficiency (k(cat)/K(m)(DNA)) are uncoupled in these mutants. These results reveal that the binding energy involved in DNA recognition contributes to the assembly of the active site rather than tight binding. Furthermore, the conserved residues (Arg(95), Asn(126), Asn(132), and Arg(116)) repress the modulation of the response of the enzyme to flanking sequence effects. Processivity impacted mutants do not show substrate-induced dimerization as is observed for the wild type enzyme. This study describes the structural means by which an enzyme that does not completely enclose its substrate has evolved to achieve processive catalysis, and how interactions with DNA flanking the recognition site alter this processivity.

Early interrogation and recognition of DNA sequence by indirect readout

Control of replication, transcription, recombination and repair requires proteins capable of finding particular DNA sequences in a background of a large excess of nonspecific sequences. Such recognition can involve direct readout, with direct contacts to the bases of DNA, or in some cases through the less well-characterized indirect readout mechanisms. In order to measure the relative contributions of direct and indirect readout by a sequence specific endonuclease, HincII, a mutant enzyme deficient in a direct contact, was characterized, and surprisingly showed no loss of sequence specificity. The three dimensional crystal structure shows the loss of most of the direct readout contacts to the DNA, possibly capturing an early stage in target site recognition using predominately indirect readout to prescreen sites before full sequence interrogation.

DNA distortion and specificity in a sequence-specific endonuclease

Five new structures of the Q138F HincII enzyme bound to a total of three different DNA sequences and three different metal ions (Ca(2+), Mg(2+), and Mn(2+)) are presented. While previous structures were produced from soaking Ca(2+) into preformed Q138F HincII/DNA crystals, the new structures are derived from cocrystallization with Ca(2+), Mg(2+), or Mn(2+). The Mn(2)(+)-bound structure provides the first view of a product complex of Q138F HincII with cleaved DNA. Binding studies and a crystal structure show how Ca(2+) allows trapping of a Q138F HincII complex with noncognate DNA in a catalytically incompetent conformation. Many Q138F HincII/DNA structures show asymmetry, despite the binding of a symmetric substrate by a symmetric enzyme. The various complexes are fit into a model describing the different conformations of the DNA-bound enzyme and show how DNA conformational energetics determine DNA-cleavage rates by the Q138F HincII enzyme.

Structural and evolutionary classification of Type II restriction enzymes based on theoretical and experimental analyses

For a very long time, Type II restriction enzymes (REases) have been a paradigm of ORFans: proteins with no detectable similarity to each other and to any other protein in the database, despite common cellular and biochemical function. Crystallographic analyses published until January 2008 provided high-resolution structures for only 28 of 1637 Type II REase sequences available in the Restriction Enzyme database (REBASE). Among these structures, all but two possess catalytic domains with the common PD-(D/E)XK nuclease fold. Two structures are unrelated to the others: R.BfiI exhibits the phospholipase D (PLD) fold, while R.PabI has a new fold termed 'half-pipe'. Thus far, bioinformatic studies supported by site-directed mutagenesis have extended the number of tentatively assigned REase folds to five (now including also GIY-YIG and HNH folds identified earlier in homing endonucleases) and provided structural predictions for dozens of REase sequences without experimentally solved structures. Here, we present a comprehensive study of all Type II REase sequences available in REBASE together with their homologs detectable in the nonredundant and environmental samples databases at the NCBI. We present the summary and critical evaluation of structural assignments and predictions reported earlier, new classification of all REase sequences into families, domain architecture analysis and new predictions of three-dimensional folds. Among 289 experimentally characterized (not putative) Type II REases, whose apparently full-length sequences are available in REBASE, we assign 199 (69%) to contain the PD-(D/E)XK domain. The HNH domain is the second most common, with 24 (8%) members. When putative REases are taken into account, the fraction of PD-(D/E)XK and HNH folds changes to 48% and 30%, respectively. Fifty-six characterized (and 521 predicted) REases remain unassigned to any of the five REase folds identified so far, and may exhibit new architectures. These enzymes are proposed as the most interesting targets for structure determination by high-resolution experimental methods. Our analysis provides the first comprehensive map of sequence-structure relationships among Type II REases and will help to focus the efforts of structural and functional genomics of this large and biotechnologically important class of enzymes.

Monomeric restriction endonuclease BcnI in the apo form and in an asymmetric complex with target DNA

Restriction endonuclease BcnI cleaves duplex DNA containing the sequence CC/SGG (S stands for C or G, / designates a cleavage position) to generate staggered products with single nucleotide 5'-overhangs. Here, we show that BcnI functions as a monomer that interacts with its target DNA in 1:1 molar ratio and report crystal structures of BcnI in the absence and in the presence of DNA. In the complex with DNA, BcnI makes specific contacts with all five bases of the target sequence and not just with a half-site, as the protomer of a typical dimeric restriction endonuclease. Our data are inconsistent with BcnI dimerization and suggest that the enzyme introduces double-strand breaks by sequentially nicking individual DNA strands, although this remains to be confirmed by kinetic experiments. BcnI is remotely similar to the DNA repair protein MutH and shares approximately 20% sequence identity with the restriction endonuclease MvaI, which is specific for the related sequence CC/WGG (W stands for A or T). As expected, BcnI is structurally similar to MvaI and recognizes conserved bases in the target sequence similarly but not identically. BcnI has a unique machinery for the recognition of the central base-pair.