DNA site recognition and reduced specificity of the Eco RI endonuclease

It has been shown previously (Polisky, B., Green, P., Garfin, D. E., McCarthy, B. J., Goodman, H. M., and Boyer, H. W. (1975) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 72, 3310-3314; Hsu, M., and Berg, P. (1978) Biochemistry 17, 131-138) that the cleavage sequence specificity of Eco RI endonuclease can be "relaxed" by various means. In this paper this phenomenon is explored in detail, in order to obtain further insight into the nature and selectivity of sequence recognition patterns between proteins and double-stranded nucleic acids. Using conditions of low ionic strength and alkaline pH, we have mapped the positions of potentially cleavable sites in the (completely sequenced) replicative form of the bacteriophage phi X174 genome, and have deduced their sequence. The time course of digestion of phi X174 DNA suggests that double-stranded sequences reading GGATTT, AAATTT, GAATTT, and GAATTA (only "top" strands, written 5' leads to 3', are shown) are cleaved readily under these conditions, while sequences reading CAATTN (N = A, T, G) resist attack. Cleavages at (at least) the more labile sites result in cohesive ends that are religatable. End group analysis of cleaved phi X174 DNA fragments indicates the presence of a 5'-terminal adenine residue on most of the fragments; some fragments may carry a 5'-terminal guanine residue, consistent with the cleavage site sequences suggested above. Addition of Mn2+ to cleavage reactions carried out at moderate salt concentrations and near-neutral pH induces the same pattern of cleavage seen at low ionic strength and alkaline pH. These results are combined with those from other studies, and are interpreted in terms of a model for the site-specific interaction of the Eco RI endonuclease with its substrate, considering both the effects of changes in DNA sequence and of environmental alterations. The resulting model is compared with data developed on similar grounds for Eco RI methylase (see Woodbury, C. P., Downey, R. L., and von Hippel, P. H. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 11526-11533), and attempts are made to define both common and differing molecular facets of the DNA recognition specificity of these companion (but genetically distinct) enzymes.     

DNA determinants in sequence-specific recognition by XmaI endonuclease.

The XmaI endonuclease recognizes and cleaves the sequence C decreases CCGGG. Magnesium is required for catalysis, however, the enzyme forms stable, specific complexes with DNA in the absence of magnesium. An association constant of 1.2 x 10(9)/M was estimated for the affinity of the enzyme for a specific 195 bp fragment. Competition assays revealed that the site-specific association constant represented an approximately 10(4)-fold increase in affinity over that for non-cognate sites. Missing nucleoside analyses suggested an interaction of the enzyme with each of the cytosines and guanines within the recognition site. Recognition of each of the guanines was also indicated by dimethylsulfate interference footprinting assays. The phosphates 5' to the guanines within the recognition site appeared to be the major sites of interaction of XmaI with the sugar-phosphate backbone. No significant interaction of the protein was observed with phosphates flanking the recognition sequence. Comparison of the footprinting patterns of XmaI with those of the neoschizomer SmaI (CCC decreases GGG) revealed that the two enzymes utilize the same DNA determinants in their specific interaction with the CCCGGG recognition site.     

Kinetic studies on the cleavage of adenovirus DNA by restriction endonuclease Eco RI.

The kinetics of cleavage of DNA from Adenovirus Type 1 (Ad1), Type 5 (Ad5) and Type 6 (Ad6) by restriction endonuclease EcoRI was investigated by quantitative evaluation of the fluorescence from ethidium stained DNA fragments separated on agarose gels. The apparent rate constants of cleavage at different cleavage sites have been determined and large differences in the cleavage rates of the individual sites within one type of DNA were found. From the kinetics of cleavage information on the sequence of the DNA fragments can be obtained. The order of the fragment A, B, C, D of Ad6 DNA obtained after complete cleavage by restriction endonuclease Eco RI was found to be A-D-C-B; the order of the corresponding fragments A, B, C of Ad1 and Ad5 DNA was found to be A-C-B.     

Prediction of secondary structure for Eco RI endonuclease

The circular dichroism of Eco RI restriction endonuclease was measured to 178 nm and analyzed for secondary structure. The results (33% alpha-helix, 25% beta-sheet, 17% turns, and 25% other structures) compare well with our joint prediction from sequence data.     

Effect of temperature and 4,6'-diamidine-2-phenylindole on restriction of supercoiled Col E1 DNA by Eco RI endonuclease.

Supercoiled Col E1 DNA is split by Eco RI endonuclease at 37 degrees C without intermediate formation of open circular DNA. Accumulation of this restriction product is observed at low temperature. The fluorescent dye, 4,6'-diamidine-2-phenylindole (DAPI) inhibits restriction by Eco RI endonuclease. This effect is due to the DAPI:DNA rather than to the DAPI:Eco RI interactions.     

Partial NH2- and cooh-terminal sequence analyses of Eco RI DNA restriction and modification enzymes

NH2- and COOH-terminal amino acid sequences of the Eco RI restriction and modification enzymes have been determined. The results allow localization of the coding regions within the DNA segment which controls activity of both enzymes. Processing of the endonuclease is limited to removal of NH2-terminal formylmethionine whereas, in the case of the methylase, formylMet-Ala is removed.     

Processive cleavage of concatemer DNA duplexes by Eco RII restriction endonuclease

Eco RII restriction endonuclease cleaves synthetic DNA-duplexes in which the recognition sites of this enzyme (5..CC _T ^A GG...) are repeated every 9 base pairs with the alternating orientation of the central AT pair. It operates in a processive mode, i.e. the bound enzyme molecule slides along the substrate toward neighboring recognition sites. Nona-nucleotides are the main products of the cleavage. The data obtained point to the capability of Eco RII endonuclease to recognize and cleave the substrate under both possible orientations of the central AT-pair of the recognition site with respect to the bound enzyme molecule. These data also show the close similarity of DNA structures in a complex with theenzyme and without.     

Mining endonuclease cleavage determinants in genomic sequence data

Homing endonucleases have great potential as tools for targeted gene therapy and gene correction, but identifying variants of these enzymes capable of cleaving specific DNA targets of interest is necessary before the widespread use of such technologies is possible. We identified homologues of the LAGLIDADG homing endonuclease I-AniI and their putative target insertion sites by BLAST searches followed by examination of the sequences of the flanking genomic regions. Amino acid substitutions in these homologues that were located close to the target site DNA, and thus potentially conferring differences in target specificity, were grafted onto the I-AniI scaffold. Many of these grafts exhibited novel and unexpected specificities. These findings show that the information present in genomic data can be exploited for endonuclease specificity redesign.     

Methylation of Eco RI (GAm'ATTC) sequences of bacterial DNA

The methylation of Eco RI (GAm6 ATTC) sequences of DNA of bacteria related to the main branches of their phylogenetic dendrogramme, was studied. It was found that methylation of Eco RI sites is observed in bacteria Caulobacter and in Thermus aquaticus. This finding can be substantiated by the resistance of these DNAs to Eco RI restrictase as well as by the fact that Bam HI fragments of these DNAs cloned within the composition of the vector plasmid pUC8 in E. coli cells contain GAATTC sites.     

Asymmetric photocross-linking pattern of restriction endonuclease EcoRII to the DNA recognition sequence

The EcoRII homodimer engages two of its recognition sequences (5'-CCWGG) simultaneously and is therefore a type IIE restriction endonuclease. To identify the amino acids of EcoRII that interact specifically with the recognition sequence, we photocross-linked EcoRII with oligonucleotide substrates that contained only one recognition sequence for EcoRII. In this recognition sequence, we substituted either 5-iododeoxycytidine for each C or 5-iododeoxyuridine for A, G, or T. These iodo-pyrimidine bases were excited using a UV laser to result in covalent cross-linking products. The yield of EcoRII photocross-linked to the 5'-C of the 5'-CCAGG strand of the recognition sequence was 45%. However, we could not photocross-link EcoRII to the 5'-C of the 5'-CCTGG strand. Thus, the contact of EcoRII to the bases of the recognition sequence appears to be asymmetric, unlike that expected for most type II restriction endonucleases. Tryptic digestion of free and of cross-linked EcoRII, followed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation of the individual peptides and Edman degradation, identified amino acids 25-49 of EcoRII as the cross-linking peptide. Mutational analysis of the electron-rich amino acids His(36) and Tyr(41) of this peptide indicates that Tyr(41) is the amino acid involved in the cross-link and that it therefore contributes to specific DNA recognition by EcoRII.     

Use of affinity chromatography for the purification of specific endonuclease Eco RI and Bg1 II

The highly active preparations of specific endonucleases Eco RI and Bgl II were purified by affinity chromatography from E. coli and Bacillus globiggii cells, respectively. The isolation and purification procedures included cell disruption by ultrasonication, ultracentrifugation and chromatography. Blue dextrane-Sepharose, folate-Sepharose and phenyl-Sepharose were used as affinity adsorbents. The optimal conditions for the adsorption and elution of the endonucleases excluding intermediate steps of dialysis and concentration were selected. A high degree of purification was achieved by a consecutive use of adsorbents with different ligands. The purified enzyme does not contain non-specific nucleases or phosphatases, is sufficiently concentrated and can be used for specific hydrolysis of DNA.     

A new restriction endonuclease Eco31I recognizing a non-palindromic sequence

A restriction endonuclease with a novel site-specificity has been isolated from the Escherichia coli strain RFL31. The nucleotide sequences around a single Eco31I cut on pBR322 DNA and two cuts of lambda DNA have been compared. A common 5'GAGACC 3'CTCTGG sequence occurs near each cleavage site. Precise mapping of the cleavages in both DNA strands places the cuts five nucleotides to the left of the upper sequence and one nucleotide to the left of the lower sequence. This enabled us to deduce the following recognition and cleavage specificity of Eco31I: 5' GGTCTCN decreases 3' CCAGAGN NNNN increases.     

Modification of Eco RI restriction sites by Caulobacter vibrioides

A comparison of EcoRI digestion profiles of plasmid RP1 isolated from Caulobacter vibrioides WS48 and Escherichia coli CSH29 demonstrated that EcoRI sites were modified by WS48.     

DNA sequence recognition by a eukaryotic sequence-specific endonuclease, Endo.SceI, from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

A eukaryotic sequence-specific endonuclease, Endo.SceI, causes sequence-specific double-stranded scission of double-stranded DNA to produce cohesive ends with four bases protruding at the 3' termini. Unlike in the case of restriction enzymes, an asymmetric 26-base pair consensus sequence was found around the cleavage site for Endo.SceI instead of a common sequence. We analyzed the base pairs that interacted with Endo.SceI on the recognition of its cleavage sites. A region comprising -10 through +16 base pairs from the center of the cleavage site was shown to be essential and sufficient for the sequence-specific cutting with Endo.SceI by experiments involving synthesized DNAs. Methylation interference experiments indicate that bases in the region comprising the +7 through +14 base pairs is involved in close contact with Endo.SceI in its recognition of the cleavage site. This +7 through +14-base pair region overlaps the most stringently conserved sequence in the consensus sequence for the cleavage site, suggesting that this region constitutes the core for the recognition by Endo.SceI.     

The DNA sequence recognised by the HinfIII restriction endonuclease

HinfIII is a type III restriction enzyme (Kauc &; Piekarowicz, 1978) isolated from Haemophilus influenzae Rf. Like other type III restriction endonucleases, the enzyme also catalyses the modification of susceptible DNA. It requires ATP for DNA cleavage and S-adenosyl methionine for DNA methylation. We have determined the DNA sequence recognised by HinfIII to be:

$\text{5′-C-G-A-A-T-3′}\text{·····3′-G-C-T-T-A-5′}$

In restriction, the enzyme cleaves the DNA about 25 base-pairs to the right of this sequence. In the modification reaction only one of the strands is methylated, that containing the 5′-C-G-A-A-T-3′ sequence.     

Crystal structure of restriction endonuclease BglI bound to its interrupted DNA recognition sequence.

The crystal structure of the type II restriction endonuclease BglI bound to DNA containing its specific recognition sequence has been determined at 2.2 A resolution. This is the first structure of a restriction endonuclease that recognizes and cleaves an interrupted DNA sequence, producing 3' overhanging ends. BglI is a homodimer that binds its specific DNA sequence with the minor groove facing the protein. Parts of the enzyme reach into both the major and minor grooves to contact the edges of the bases within the recognition half-sites. The arrangement of active site residues is strikingly similar to other restriction endonucleases, but the co-ordination of two calcium ions at the active site gives new insight into the catalytic mechanism. Surprisingly, the core of a BglI subunit displays a striking similarity to subunits of EcoRV and PvuII, but the dimer structure is dramatically different. The BglI-DNA complex demonstrates, for the first time, that a conserved subunit fold can dimerize in more than one way, resulting in different DNA cleavage patterns.     

Increased chromosomal radiosensitivity of a Chinese hamster ovary cell line that inducibly expresses the Eco RI restriction endonuclease

We have transfected a Chinese hamster ovary cell line (CHO 6) with a plasmid that inducibly expresses the Eco RI restriction endonuclease gene in the presence of cadmium sulfate (CdSO4). Expression of Eco RI results in DNA double-strand breaks, which can lead to chromosome aberrations. The new line, designated CHO 10, also has a low level of constitutive expression of Eco RI in the absence of CdSO4 without any cytogenetic effect. This suggested that these cells may be efficient at repairing low levels of DNA double-strand breaks. To test this, both cell lines were exposed to ionizing radiation, and aberration yields were analyzed with or without induction of Eco RI. CHO 10 cells showed increased radiosensitivity after G1 irradiation, but after G2 exposure, only doses greater than or equal to 0.4 Gy caused more damage in CHO 10 cells. We conclude that CHO 10 cells can tolerate constitutive expression of Eco RI, but that when the cells are subjected to additional stress, in this case ionizing radiation, they become very sensitive to DNA double-strand breaks.