Modular Protein-DNA Cocrystals as Precise, Programmable Assembly Scaffolds.

ABSTRACT: High-precision nanomaterials to entrap DNA-binding molecules are sought after for applications such as controlled drug delivery and scaffold-assisted structural biology. Here, we engineered protein-DNA cocrystals to serve as scaffolds for DNA-binding molecules. The designed cocrystals, isoreticular cocrystals, contain DNA-binding protein and cognate DNA blocks where the DNA-DNA junctions stack end-to-end. Furthermore, the crystal symmetry allows topology preserving (isoreticular) expansion of the DNA stack without breaking protein-protein contacts, hence providing larger solvent channels for guest diffusion. Experimentally, the resulting designed isoreticular cocrystal adopted an interpenetrating I222 lattice, a phenomenon previously observed in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). The

SUBMITTER: Orun AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10373652 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature