In Vitro Assembly of Virus-Like Particles and Their Applications

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are increasingly used for vaccine development and drug delivery. Assembly of VLPs from purified monomers in a chemically defined reaction is advantageous compared to in vivo assembly, because it avoids encapsidation of host-derived components and enables loading with added cargoes. This review provides an overview of ex cella VLP production methods focusing on capsid protein production, factors that impact the in vitro assembly, and approaches to characterize in vitro VLPs. The uses of in vitro produced VLPs as vaccines and for therapeutic delivery are also reported.

From stars to stripes: RNA-directed shaping of plant viral protein templates-structural synthetic virology for smart biohybrid nanostructures

The self-assembly of viral building blocks bears exciting prospects for fabricating new types of bionanoparticles with multivalent protein shells. These enable a spatially controlled immobilization of functionalities at highest surface densities-an increasing demand worldwide for applications from vaccination to tissue engineering, biocatalysis, and sensing. Certain plant viruses hold particular promise because they are sustainably available, biodegradable, nonpathogenic for mammals, and amenable to in vitro self-organization of virus-like particles. This offers great opportunities for their redesign into novel "green" carrier systems by spatial and structural synthetic biology approaches, as worked out here for the robust nanotubular tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) as prime example. Natural TMV of 300 x 18 nm is built from more than 2,100 identical coat proteins (CPs) helically arranged around a 6,395 nucleotides ssRNA. In vitro, TMV-like particles (TLPs) may self-assemble also from modified CPs and RNAs if the latter contain an Origin of Assembly structure, which initiates a bidirectional encapsidation. By way of tailored RNA, the process can be reprogrammed to yield uncommon shapes such as branched nanoobjects. The nonsymmetric mechanism also proceeds on 3'-terminally immobilized RNA and can integrate distinct CP types in blends or serially. Other emerging plant virus-deduced systems include the usually isometric cowpea chlorotic mottle virus (CCMV) with further strikingly altered structures up to "cherrybombs" with protruding nucleic acids. Cartoon strips and pictorial descriptions of major RNA-based strategies induct the reader into a rare field of nanoconstruction that can give rise to utile soft-matter architectures for complex tasks. This article is categorized under: Biology-Inspired Nanomaterials > Protein and Virus-Based Structures Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology Biology-Inspired Nanomaterials > Nucleic Acid-Based Structures.

A Simple and Universal System for Gene Manipulation in Aspergillus fumigatus: In Vitro-Assembled Cas9-Guide RNA Ribonucleoproteins Coupled with Microhomology Repair Templates

Tackling the multifactorial nature of virulence and antifungal drug resistance in A. fumigatus requires the mechanistic interrogation of a multitude of genes, sometimes across multiple genetic backgrounds. Classical fungal gene replacement systems can be laborious and time-consuming and, in wild-type isolates, are impeded by low rates of homologous recombination. Our simple and universal CRISPR-Cas9 system for gene manipulation generates efficient gene targeting across different genetic backgrounds of A. fumigatus. We anticipate that our system will simplify genome editing in A. fumigatus, allowing for the generation of single- and multigene knockout libraries. In addition, our system will facilitate the delineation of virulence factors and antifungal drug resistance genes in different genetic backgrounds of A. fumigatus.

CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat)-Cas9 is a novel genome-editing system that has been successfully established in Aspergillus fumigatus. However, the current state of the technology relies heavily on DNA-based expression cassettes for delivering Cas9 and the guide RNA (gRNA) to the cell. Therefore, the power of the technology is limited to strains that are engineered to express Cas9 and gRNA. To overcome such limitations, we developed a simple and universal CRISPR-Cas9 system for gene deletion that works across different genetic backgrounds of A. fumigatus. The system employs in vitro assembly of dual Cas9 ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) for targeted gene deletion. Additionally, our CRISPR-Cas9 system utilizes 35 to 50 bp of flanking regions for mediating homologous recombination at Cas9 double-strand breaks (DSBs). As a proof of concept, we first tested our system in the ΔakuB (ΔakuB^ku80) laboratory strain and generated high rates (97%) of gene deletion using 2 µg of the repair template flanked by homology regions as short as 35 bp. Next, we inspected the portability of our system across other genetic backgrounds of A. fumigatus, namely, the wild-type strain Af293 and a clinical isolate, A. fumigatus DI15-102. In the Af293 strain, 2 µg of the repair template flanked by 35 and 50 bp of homology resulted in highly efficient gene deletion (46% and 74%, respectively) in comparison to classical gene replacement systems. Similar deletion efficiencies were also obtained in the clinical isolate DI15-102. Taken together, our data show that in vitro-assembled Cas9 RNPs coupled with microhomology repair templates are an efficient and universal system for gene manipulation in A. fumigatus.

IMPORTANCE Tackling the multifactorial nature of virulence and antifungal drug resistance in A. fumigatus requires the mechanistic interrogation of a multitude of genes, sometimes across multiple genetic backgrounds. Classical fungal gene replacement systems can be laborious and time-consuming and, in wild-type isolates, are impeded by low rates of homologous recombination. Our simple and universal CRISPR-Cas9 system for gene manipulation generates efficient gene targeting across different genetic backgrounds of A. fumigatus. We anticipate that our system will simplify genome editing in A. fumigatus, allowing for the generation of single- and multigene knockout libraries. In addition, our system will facilitate the delineation of virulence factors and antifungal drug resistance genes in different genetic backgrounds of A. fumigatus.

Analysis of r-protein and RNA conformation of 30S subunit intermediates in bacteria

The ribosome is a large macromolecular complex that must be assembled efficiently and accurately for the viability of all organisms. In bacteria, this process must be robust and tunable to support life in diverse conditions from the ice of arctic glaciers to thermal hot springs. Assembly of the Small ribosomal SUbunit (SSU) of Escherichia coli has been extensively studied and is highly temperature-dependent. However, a lack of data on SSU assembly for other bacteria is problematic given the importance of the ribosome in bacterial physiology. To broaden the understanding of how optimal growth temperature may affect SSU assembly, in vitro SSU assembly of two thermophilic bacteria, Geobacillus kaustophilus and Thermus thermophilus, was compared with that of E. coli. Using these phylogenetically, morphologically, and environmentally diverse bacteria, we show that SSU assembly is highly temperature-dependent and efficient SSU assembly occurs at different temperatures for each organism. Surprisingly, the assembly landscape is characterized by at least two distinct intermediate populations in the organisms tested. This novel, second intermediate, is formed in the presence of the full complement of r-proteins, unlike the previously observed RI* particle formed in the absence of late-binding r-proteins in E. coli. This work reveals multiple distinct intermediate populations are present during SSU assembly in vitro for several bacteria, yielding insights into RNP formation and possible antimicrobial development toward this common SSU target.

Structure of a myosin•adaptor complex and pairing by cargo

Myosin 4 protein (Myo4p), one of five distinct myosins of yeast, is dedicated to cytoplasmic transport of two types of cargos, zipcoded messenger ribonucleoprotein particles (mRNPs) and tubular endoplasmic reticulum (tER). Neither cargo binds directly to Myo4p. Instead, swi5p-dependent HO expression 3 protein (She3p) serves as an "adaptor" that contains three binding modules, one for Myo4p and one each for zipcoded mRNP and tER. The assembly of a transport-competent motor complex is poorly understood. Here, we report that Myo4p•She3p forms a stable 1:2 heterotrimer in solution. In the Myo4p•She3p crystal structure, Myo4p's C-terminal domain (CTD) assumes a lobster claw-shaped form, the minor prong of which adheres to a pseudocoiled-coil region of She3p. The extensive Myo4p•She3p interactome buries 3,812 Å(2) surface area and is primarily hydrophobic. Because the Myo4p•She3p heterotrimer contains only one myosin molecule, it is not transport-competent. By stepwise reconstitution, we found a single molecule of synthetic oligonucleotide (representing the mRNA zipcode element) bound to a single tetramer of zipcode binding protein She2p to be sufficient for Myo4p•She3p dimerization. Therefore, cargo initiates cross-linking of two Myo4p•She3p heterotrimers to an ensemble that contains two myosin molecules obligatory for movement. An additional crystal structure comprising an overlapping upstream portion of She3p showed continuation of the pseudocoiled-coil structure and revealed another highly conserved surface region. We suggest this region as a candidate binding site for a yet unidentified tER ligand. We propose a model whereby zipcoded mRNP and/or tER ligands couple two Myo4p•She3p heterotrimers and thereby generate a transport-competent motor complex either for separate transport or cotransport of these two cargos.