Alkali-labile sites in daughter DNA of damagedEscherichia coli do not reflect apyrimidinic sites

Apyrimidinic sites arising after excision of uracil incorporated into DNA daughter strands might constitute alkalilabile sites. The hypothesis was checked in the present paper and the data obtained do not support it.     

DNA replication initiates at multiple sites on plasmid DNA in Xenopus egg extracts.

Cell-free extracts of Xenopus eggs will replicate plasmid DNA molecules under normal cell cycle control. We have used the neutral/neutral 2-D gel technique to map the sites at which DNA replication initiates in this system. Three different plasmids were studied: one containing the Xenopus rDNA repeat, one containing single copy Xenopus genomic DNA, and another containing the yeast 2 microns replication origin. 2-D gel profiles show that many potential sites of initiation are present on each plasmid, and are randomly situated at the level of resolution of this technique (500-1000 bp). Despite the abundance of sites capable of supporting the initiation of replication, pulse-chase experiments suggest that only a single randomly situated initiation event occurs on each DNA molecule. Once initiation has taken place, conventional replication forks appear to move away from this site at a rate of about 10nt/second, similar to the rate observed in vivo.     

Transformation of plasmid DNA into E. coli using the heat shock method

Transformation of plasmid DNA into E. coli using the heat shock method is a basic technique of molecular biology. It consists of inserting a foreign plasmid or ligation product into bacteria. This video protocol describes the traditional method of transformation using commercially available chemically competent bacteria from Genlantis. After a short incubation in ice, a mixture of chemically competent bacteria and DNA is placed at 42 degrees C for 45 seconds (heat shock) and then placed back in ice. SOC media is added and the transformed cells are incubated at 37 degrees C for 30 min with agitation. To be assured of isolating colonies irrespective of transformation efficiency, two quantities of transformed bacteria are plated. This traditional protocol can be used successfully to transform most commercially available competent bacteria. The turbocells from Genlantis can also be used in a novel 3-minute transformation protocol, described in the instruction manual.     

Preservation of the beta-galactosidase activity in E. coli cells containing the recombinant pUC19 plasmid

Two BglII fragments of pJC703 cosmid were inserted into the plasmid PUC19. E. coli cells containing the recombinant PUC19/A plasmid acquired rifampicin resistance due to inserted rpoB gene but still expressed the Lac+ phenotype.     

Excision of sugar-phosphate products at apurinic/apyrimidinic sites by DNA deoxyribophosphodiesterase of Escherichia coli.

It has been shown previously that the DNA deoxyribophosphodiesterase (dRpase) activity of Escherichia coli excises 2-deoxyribose 5-phosphate moieties at apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites in DNA following cleavage of the DNA at the AP site by an AP endonuclease such as endonuclease IV of E coli. A second class of enzymes that cleave DNA at AP sites by a beta-elimination mechanism, AP lyases, leave a different sugar-phosphate product remaining at the AP site, which has been identified as the compound trans-4-hydroxy-2-pentenal 5-phosphate. It is shown that dRpase removes this unsaturated sugar-phosphate group following cleavage of a poly(dA-dT) substrate containing AP sites by the action of the AP lyase endonuclease III of E. coli. The Km for the removal of trans-4-hydroxy-2-pentenal 5-phosphate is 0.06 microM; the Km for the removal of 2-deoxyribose 5-phosphate is 0.17 microM. It was verified that the sugar-phosphate product removed by dRpase from the endonuclease III-cleaved substrate was trans-4-hydroxy-2-pentenal 5-phosphate by conversion of the product to the compound cyclopentane-1,2-dione. The dRpase activity is unique in its ability to remove sugar-phosphate products after cleavage by both AP endonucleases and AP lyases.     

大肠杆菌质粒DNA PCR模板的快速制备

在分子遗传学的研究中要频繁地用到ＰＣＲ的方法。本文基于粗糙脉孢霉的方法[1] 发展了快速制备大肠杆菌质粒ＤＮＡＰＣＲ模板的程序 ,具有良好的重复性 ,为分子遗传学研究提供了快速有效的方法。收稿日期 :2 0 0 1 - 1 0 - 2 0 ;修回日期 :2 0 0 1 - 1 1 - 2 1基金项目 :广东省自然科学基金 (Ｎｏ.980 30 3) ;国家自然科学基金 (Ｎｏ .30 0 70 4 2 0 ) ;教育部高等学校骨干教师计划资助项目 (Ｎｏ.2 0 0 0 - 0 61 -31 4 30 1 )作者简介 :罗樨 (1 977- ) ,女 ,硕士 ,从事生物钟研究。图 1　质粒ＤＮＡＰＣＲ扩增结果1 ＤＬ2 0 0 0分子量标…     

Importance of thiols in the repair mechanisms of DNA containing AP (apurinic or apyrimidinic) sites.

Addition of thiol compounds containing an anionic group to the 3'-terminal unsaturated sugar of the 5' fragment obtained from an oligonucleotide containing an AP site cleaved by beta-elimination, can be followed by gel electrophoresis. The technique enables to distinguish between two mechanisms of cleavage of the C3'-O-P bond 3' to an AP site: hydrolysis or beta-elimination. Addition of thiols to the double-bond of the 3'-terminal sugar resulting from beta-elimination prevents a subsequent delta-elimination. The interpretation of the action of enzymes that start by nicking 3' to AP sites must take into account the presence or absence of thiols in the reaction medium. In living cells, thiols might influence the pathways followed by the repair processes of AP site-containing DNA.     

Mechanism of DNA strand nicking at apurinic/apyrimidinic sites by Escherichia coli [formamidopyrimidine]DNA glycosylase.

Escherichia coli [formamidopyrimidine]DNA glycosylase catalyses the nicking of both the phosphodiester bonds 3' and 5' of apurinic or apyrimidinic sites in DNA so that the base-free deoxyribose is replaced by a gap limited by 3'-phosphate and 5'-phosphate ends. The two nickings are not the results of hydrolytic processes; the [formamidopyrimidine]DNA glycosylase rather catalyses a beta-elimination reaction that is immediately followed by a delta-elimination. The enzyme is without action on a 3'-terminal base-free deoxyribose or on a 3'-terminal base-free unsaturated sugar produced by a beta-elimination reaction nicking the DNA strand 3' to an apurinic or apyrimidinic site.     

Specific modification of DNA at E. coli RNA-polymerase binding sites

Specific modification of promoter regions of DNA has been studied. Plasmid pK56B1 DNA has been used as a model to test RNA-polymerase binding with DNA under various conditions. RNA-polymerase is shown to form specific complexes with DNA which are stable in solutions with a moderate ionic strength (0.1-0.2 M NaCl), under pH 5-8 in the presence of 0.5 M O-methylhydroxylamine of O-delta-aminooxybutylhydroxylamine. Escherichia coli JM103 cells have been transfected with DNAs treated with 0.5 M O-methylhydroxylamine at 37 degrees C, pH 5.2. The inactivation effects of the mutagen on single-stranded DNA of bacteriophage M13 m p1, double-stranded form of this bacteriophage (replicative form-RF) and on the complex of RNA-polymerase with RF DNA have been compared. The obtained data confirmed the specificity of reagent action with DNA sites binding with the enzyme. Selectivity of promoters modification has been confirmed also by the analysis of M13 m p1 DNA mutations induced in lacZ' gene by delta-aminooxybutylhydroxylamine effect on the DNA complex with DNA-polymerase.     

DDB1-DDB2 (xeroderma pigmentosum group E) protein complex recognizes a cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer, mismatches, apurinic/apyrimidinic sites, and compound lesions in DNA

The DDB protein complex, comprising the subunits DDB1 and DDB2, binds tightly to UV light-irradiated DNA. Mutations in DDB2 are responsible for xeroderma pigmentosum group E, a disorder with defects in nucleotide excision repair of DNA. Both subunits are also components of a complex involved in ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. Cellular defects in DDB2 disable repair of the major UV radiation photoproduct in DNA, a cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer, but no significant direct binding of DDB to this photoproduct in DNA has ever been demonstrated. Thus, it has been uncertain how DDB could play a specific role in DNA repair of such damage. We investigated DDB function using highly purified proteins. Co-purified DDB1-DDB2 or DDB reconstituted with individual DDB1 and DDB2 subunits binds to damaged DNA as a ternary complex. We found that DDB can indeed recognize a cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer in DNA with an affinity (K(app)a) 6-fold higher than that of nondamaged DNA. The DDB1-DDB2 complex also bound with high specificity to a UV radiation-induced (6-4) photoproduct and to an apurinic site in DNA. Unexpectedly, DDB also bound avidly to DNA containing a 2- or 3-bp mismatch (and does not bind well to DNA containing larger mismatches). These data indicate that DDB does not detect lesions per se. It instead recognizes other structural features of damaged DNA, acting as a sensor that probes DNA for a subset of conformational changes. Lesions recognized may include those arising when translesion polymerases such as POLH incorporate bases across from DNA lesions caused by UV radiation.     

Fast and accurate method for quantitating E. coli host-cell DNA contamination in plasmid DNA preparations

Plasmid DNA is being used successfully as a gene delivery vector in a variety of clinical applications. Similar to other pharmaceutical products for clinical use, the plasmid vectors must meet rigorous purity standards. One important contaminant is the DNA of the host cell used to produce the plasmids. We have developed a new method to accurately quantitate E. coli host-cell DNA in plasmid preparations. This method is based on kinetic PCR using the ABI PRISM 7700 with 23S rDNA as a target. This precise assay is significantly faster and has a lower limit of quantitation than the currently used Southern-based methods.     

Discontinuous replication of colicin E1 plasmid DNA in a cell extract containing thermolabile DNA ligase.

A cell extract prepared from the lig-ts7 mutant of Escherichia coli is able to carry out a complete round of DNA replication of colicin E1 plasmid at 25 °C. However, the apparent rate of elongation of the progeny strands at this temperature is much smaller than in an extract from the thermoresistant revertant cells. Chain elongation in the lig-ts extract is depressed by raising the incubation temperature from 25 °C to 32 °C, whereas that in the lig⁺ revertant extract is not. The rate of closure of the progeny strands of newly formed open circular molecules is also reduced in the lig-ts extract, even at 25 °C.The DNA pulse-labelled with the lig-ts extract for 30 seconds at 32 °C contains a large amount of short DNA fragments of approximately 7 S, in addition to DNA chains of various sizes between 7 S and 17 S (unit length). Most of these replicating molecules are converted to completely replicated closed circular molecules upon chasing with a lig⁺ extract. DNA-DNA hybridization experiments show that molecules replicated to various extents contain 7 S DNA fragments of both strands, but more of the L-strand component, whose 5′-to-3′ direction corresponds to the overall direction of unidirectional replication. The longer DNA chains are enriched in the H-strand component.The cell extracts used for the plasmid DNA replication have an activity which converts alkali-labile closed circular plasmid DNA containing apurinic sites to alkali-stable closed circular molecules. Addition of nicotinamide mononucleotide leads to conversion of the alkali-labile DNA to open circular molecules. In the replication system with the cell extract, however, the compound does not interfere with elongation of progeny strands. Chain elongation in the lig-ts extract at 25 °C is not significantly affected by nicotinamide mononucleotide. Thus, the 7 S DNA fragments formed with the lig-ts extract are unlikely to be generated as a result of incomplete repair of misincorporated nucleotides. We conclude that both strands of colicin E1 plasmid DNA replicate discontinuously.