scholarly journals Cyclic Automated Model Building (CAB) Applied to Nucleic Acids

Crystals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 280
Author(s):  
Maria Cristina Burla ◽  
Benedetta Carrozzini ◽  
Giovanni Luca Cascarano ◽  
Carmelo Giacovazzo ◽  
Giampiero Polidori
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
Model Building ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Molecular Replacement ◽  
Dna And Rna ◽  
Protein Model ◽  
Rna Fragments ◽  
Nucleic Acid Structures ◽  
Automated Model Building

Obtaining high-quality models for nucleic acid structures by automated model building programs (AMB) is still a challenge. The main reasons are the rather low resolution of the diffraction data and the large number of rotatable bonds in the main chains. The application of the most popular and documented AMB programs (e.g., PHENIX.AUTOBUILD, NAUTILUS and ARP/wARP) may provide a good assessment of the state of the art. Quite recently, a cyclic automated model building (CAB) package was described; it is a new AMB approach that makes the use of BUCCANEER for protein model building cyclic without modifying its basic algorithms. The applications showed that CAB improves the efficiency of BUCCANEER. The success suggested an extension of CAB to nucleic acids—in particular, to check if cyclically including NAUTILUS in CAB may improve its effectiveness. To accomplish this task, CAB algorithms designed for protein model building were modified to adapt them to the nucleic acid crystallochemistry. CAB was tested using 29 nucleic acids (DNA and RNA fragments). The phase estimates obtained via molecular replacement (MR) techniques were automatically submitted to phase refinement and then used as input for CAB. The experimental results from CAB were compared with those obtained by NAUTILUS, ARP/wARP and PHENIX.AUTOBUILD.

Towards the automatic crystal structure solution of nucleic acids: automated model building using the new CAB program

2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Luca Cascarano ◽  
Carmelo Giacovazzo
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
Prior Information ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Phase Error ◽  
Heavy Atoms ◽  
Density Maps ◽  
Structure Solution ◽  
Nucleic Acid Structures ◽  
Automated Model Building ◽  
Model Chain

CAB, a recently described automated model-building (AMB) program, has been modified to work effectively with nucleic acids. To this end, several new algorithms have been introduced and the libraries have been updated. To reduce the input average phase error, ligand heavy atoms are now located before starting the CAB interpretation of the electron-density maps. Furthermore, alternative approaches are used depending on whether the ligands belong to the target or to the model chain used in the molecular-replacement step. Robust criteria are then applied to decide whether the AMB model is acceptable or whether it must be modified to fit prior information on the target structure. In the latter case, the model chains are rearranged to fit prior information on the target chains. Here, the performance of the new AMB program CAB applied to various nucleic acid structures is discussed. Other well documented programs such as Nautilus, ARP/wARP and phenix.autobuild were also applied and the experimental results are described.

scholarly journals High-yield fabrication of DNA and RNA constructs for single molecule force and torque spectroscopy experiments

2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (22) ◽  
pp. e144-e144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flávia S Papini ◽  
Mona Seifert ◽  
David Dulin
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
Single Molecule ◽  
Magnetic Tweezers ◽  
High Yield ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Single Molecule Biophysics ◽  
Dna And Rna ◽  
Rna Hairpins ◽  
Nucleic Acid Structures

Abstract Single molecule biophysics experiments have enabled the observation of biomolecules with a great deal of precision in space and time, e.g. nucleic acids mechanical properties and protein–nucleic acids interactions using force and torque spectroscopy techniques. The success of these experiments strongly depends on the capacity of the researcher to design and fabricate complex nucleic acid structures, as the outcome and the yield of the experiment also strongly depend on the high quality and purity of the final construct. Though the molecular biology techniques involved are well known, the fabrication of nucleic acid constructs for single molecule experiments still remains a difficult task. Here, we present new protocols to generate high quality coilable double-stranded DNA and RNA, as well as DNA and RNA hairpins with ∼500–1000 bp long stems. Importantly, we present a new approach based on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) annealing and we use magnetic tweezers to show that this approach simplifies the fabrication of complex DNA constructs, such as hairpins, and converts more efficiently the input DNA into construct than the standard PCR-digestion-ligation approach. The protocols we describe here enable the design of a large range of nucleic acid construct for single molecule biophysics experiments.

scholarly journals Solving nucleic acid structures by molecular replacement: examples from group II intron studies

2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (11) ◽  
pp. 2174-2185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Marcia ◽  
Elisabeth Humphris-Narayanan ◽  
Kevin S. Keating ◽  
Srinivas Somarowthu ◽  
Kanagalaghatta Rajashankar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
Molecular Replacement ◽  
Cellular Viability ◽  
Rna Molecules ◽  
Search Models ◽  
Key Players ◽  
Group Ii ◽  
Nucleic Acid Structures ◽  
Near Future

Structured RNA molecules are key players in ensuring cellular viability. It is now emerging that, like proteins, the functions of many nucleic acids are dictated by their tertiary folds. At the same time, the number of known crystal structures of nucleic acids is also increasing rapidly. In this context, molecular replacement will become an increasingly useful technique for phasing nucleic acid crystallographic data in the near future. Here, strategies to select, create and refine molecular-replacement search models for nucleic acids are discussed. Using examples taken primarily from research on group II introns, it is shown that nucleic acids are amenable to different and potentially more flexible and sophisticated molecular-replacement searches than proteins. These observations specifically aim to encourage future crystallographic studies on the newly discovered repertoire of noncoding transcripts.

scholarly journals Challenges and surprises that arise with nucleic acids during model building and refinement

2012 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
William G. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Heavy Atom ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Isomorphous Replacement ◽  
Density Map ◽  
Nucleic Acid Structures ◽  
Electron Density Map ◽  
Experimental Electron Density

The process of building and refining crystal structures of nucleic acids, although similar to that for proteins, has some peculiarities that give rise to both various complications and various benefits. Although conventional isomorphous replacement phasing techniques are typically used to generate an experimental electron-density map for the purposes of determining novel nucleic acid structures, it is also possible to couple the phasing and model-building steps to permit the solution of complex and novel RNA three-dimensional structures without the need for conventional heavy-atom phasing approaches.

scholarly journals Triazole-Modified Nucleic Acids for the Application in Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry

Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 628
Author(s):  
Dagmara Baraniak ◽  
Jerzy Boryski
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Modified Oligonucleotides ◽  
Synthetic Genes ◽  
Chemically Modified ◽  
Amide Linkage ◽  
Dna And Rna ◽  
Modified Dna ◽  
Modified Nucleic Acids ◽  
Non Coding Rnas

This review covers studies which exploit triazole-modified nucleic acids in the range of chemistry and biology to medicine. The 1,2,3-triazole unit, which is obtained via click chemistry approach, shows valuable and unique properties. For example, it does not occur in nature, constitutes an additional pharmacophore with attractive properties being resistant to hydrolysis and other reactions at physiological pH, exhibits biological activity (i.e., antibacterial, antitumor, and antiviral), and can be considered as a rigid mimetic of amide linkage. Herein, it is presented a whole area of useful artificial compounds, from the clickable monomers and dimers to modified oligonucleotides, in the field of nucleic acids sciences. Such modifications of internucleotide linkages are designed to increase the hybridization binding affinity toward native DNA or RNA, to enhance resistance to nucleases, and to improve ability to penetrate cell membranes. The insertion of an artificial backbone is used for understanding effects of chemically modified oligonucleotides, and their potential usefulness in therapeutic applications. We describe the state-of-the-art knowledge on their implications for synthetic genes and other large modified DNA and RNA constructs including non-coding RNAs.

An Investigation of the Anomalous Staining of Chromatin by the Acid Dyes, Methyl Blue and Aniline Blue

1962 ◽  
Vol s3-103 (64) ◽  
pp. 519-530
Author(s):  
R. B. McKAY
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
Methyl Blue ◽  
Aniline Blue ◽  
Acid Dyes ◽  
Dna And Rna ◽  
Basic Dyes ◽  
Blue Stain ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Mechanism Of The Reaction

Methyl blue and aniline blue, though acid dyes, stain the chromatin of the spermatogenetic cells of the mouse (especially of the primary spermatocytes) strongly. Extraction of the basiphil nucleic acid constituents from the chromatin causes loss of this property, while destruction of acidophilia in the protein constituents does not. It has been concluded that the dyes interact with the nucleic acids. Further, they appear to react with both DNA and RNA in the chromatin, although they show no affinity for the cytoplasm of the exocrine cells in sections of pancreas, which is rich in RNA. The mechanism of the reaction has not been fully elucidated, although apparently the dyes do not behave as basic dyes towards the nucleic acids, and the interaction is non-ionic. Methyl blue and aniline blue stain strongly other ‘acidic’ substrates, such as cellulose and nitrocellulose, and attempts have been made to relate the staining of nucleic acids to the staining of these substrates, particularly cellulose; for the staining properties of this substrate have been intensively investigated elsewhere. No satisfactory correlation, however, has been obtained, for nitrocellulose has been found to be less strongly stained at pH 3.0 than at pH 7.1, while the reverse is true for cellulose. Further, only one of 3 direct cotton dyes used appears to have any affinity for the chromatin of the spermatogenetic cells. Direct cotton dyes have large flat molecules with a high degree of conjugation. It is suggested that these characteristics are essential for interaction with nucleic acids, and also that the molecule must be reasonably compact. Finally, it has been shown that methyl blue, aniline blue, and 3 direct cotton dyes of the azo type have no ability to stain the glycogen in liver cells, yet glycogen is very closely related to cellulose.

Application of constrained real-space refinement of flexible molecular fragments to automatic model building of RNA structures

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frantisek Pavelcik
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Real Space ◽  
Rna Structures ◽  
Molecular Fragments ◽  
Source Codes ◽  
Translation Function ◽  
Base Method ◽  
Nucleic Acid Structures ◽  
Automatic Model Building

New methods have been developed for locating phosphate groups and nucleic acid bases in the electron density of RNA structures. These methods utilize a constrained real-space refinement of molecular fragments and a phased rotation–conformation–translation function. Real-space refinement has also contributed to the improvement of the bone/base method of RNA model building and to redesigning the method of building double helices in nucleic acid structures. This improvement is reflected in the increased accuracy of the model building and the ability to better distinguish between correct and false solutions. A program,RSR, was created, and the programsNUT,HELandDHLwere upgraded and organized into a program system, which is CCP4 oriented. Source codes will also be released.

Phased rotation, conformation and translation function: performance with mononucleotides

2008 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frantisek Pavelcik
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Protein Crystallography ◽  
Torsion Angles ◽  
Heavy Atoms ◽  
Promising Tool ◽  
Translation Function ◽  
Nucleic Acid Structures ◽  
Automatic Model Building

A phased rotation, conformation and translation function (PRCTF) is a novel and promising tool for automatic model building in protein crystallography. Its performance has been tested on nucleic acid structures. A mononucleotide fragment of phosphate-to-phosphate type with seven conformation degrees of freedom was used as a search fragment. The position, orientation and internal torsion angles of all localized fragments are refined by a phased flexible refinement. In general, 50 to 93% of the fragments can be found by the PRCTF. Results depend on resolution and phase quality. The ability of the PRCTF to locate bases is significantly lower (3–30%), owing to the lack of heavy atoms. Individual localized fragments can be connected into polynucleotide chains.

scholarly journals Oligonucleotide-based systems: DNA, microRNAs, DNA/RNA aptamers

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pawan Jolly ◽  
Pedro Estrela ◽  
Michael Ladomery
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Nucleic Acids ◽  
Rna Aptamers ◽  
Locked Nucleic Acid ◽  
Synthetic Analogue ◽  
Dna And Rna ◽  
Naturally Occurring ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Synthetic Oligonucleotides ◽  
Shed Light

There are an increasing number of applications that have been developed for oligonucleotide-based biosensing systems in genetics and biomedicine. Oligonucleotide-based biosensors are those where the probe to capture the analyte is a strand of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), ribonucleic acid (RNA) or a synthetic analogue of naturally occurring nucleic acids. This review will shed light on various types of nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA (particularly microRNAs), their role and their application in biosensing. It will also cover DNA/RNA aptamers, which can be used as bioreceptors for a wide range of targets such as proteins, small molecules, bacteria and even cells. It will also highlight how the invention of synthetic oligonucleotides such as peptide nucleic acid (PNA) or locked nucleic acid (LNA) has pushed the limits of molecular biology and biosensor development to new perspectives. These technologies are very promising albeit still in need of development in order to bridge the gap between the laboratory-based status and the reality of biomedical applications.

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