Project description:In order to systematically assess the frequency and origin of stop codon recoding events, we designed a library of reporters. We introduced premature stop codons into mScarlet that enabled high-throughput quantification of protein synthesis termination errors in E. coli using fluorescent microscopy. We found that under stress conditions, stop codon recoding may occur with a rate as high as 80%, depending on the nucleotide context, suggesting that evolution frequently samples stop codon recoding events. The analysis of selected reporters by mass spectrometry and RNA-seq showed that not only translation but also transcription errors contribute to stop codon recoding. The RNA polymerase is more likely to misincorporate a nucleotide at premature stop codons. Proteome-wide detection of stop codon recoding by mass spectrometry revealed that temperature regulates the expression of cryptic sequences generated by stop codon recoding in E. coli. Overall, our findings suggest that the environment influences the accuracy of protein production which increases protein heterogeneity when the organisms need to adapt to new conditions.
Project description:We show here by using genome-wide ChIP-sequencing that lineage segregation involves multiple Sox/Oct partnership. In undifferentiated ES cells Oct4 interacts with Sox2 and both TFs bind on the 'canonical' motif, whereas in cells commited to PrE lineage Oct4 switches from Sox2 to Sox17 interaction and this complex bind to a unique "compressed" motif. ChIP-sequencing has been done for Sox2, Sox17 and Oct4 in the pluripotent context or PrE context
Project description:Helicobacter pylori is a common bacterial infection. It can lead to severe stomach problems, including stomach cancer. Researchers want to look at samples of the bacteria. These H. pylori strains will be taken from chronically infected people. They want to identify the genetic and epigenetic differences in H. pylori strains. This could help predict which people who get infected with the bacteria will get stomach cancer. This could lead to the cancer being detected earlier. It could also mean less people get stomach cancer.
Objectives:
To study genetic variations of H. pylori strains based on samples from chronically infected people. To identify the features of strains that might lead to severe stomach problems or stomach cancer.
Eligibility:
People ages 30-70 years who need an upper endoscopy or who were recently diagnosed with stomach cancer
Design:
Participants will be screened by the doctor who does their procedure and a study nurse.
Participants who have endoscopy will have ~6 biopsies removed. These are tissue samples. They are about the size of a grain of rice. Participants will allow the study team to access reports from their stomach exam.
Participants with stomach cancer will donate some of the tissue that will be removed during their clinical care. They will allow the study team to access reports of their surgery. They will also allow them to access the microscope slides of their stomach.
Project description:Chloroplasts are derived from cyanobacteria and have retained a bacterial-type genome and gene expression machinery. The chloroplast genome encodes many of the core components of the photosynthetic apparatus in the thylakoid membranes. To avoid photooxidative damage and production of harmful reactive oxygen species (ROS) by incompletely assembled thylakoid protein complexes, chloroplast gene expression must be tightly regulated and co-ordinated with gene expression in the nucleus. Little is known about the control of chloroplast gene expression at the genome-wide level in response to internal rhythms and external cues. To obtain a comprehensive picture of organelle transcript levels in the unicellular model alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in diurnal conditions, a qRT-PCR platform was developed and used to quantify 68 chloroplast, 21 mitochondrial as well as 71 nuclear transcripts in cells grown in highly controlled 12 h light/12 h dark cycles. Interestingly, in anticipation of dusk, chloroplast transcripts from genes involved in transcription reached peak levels first, followed by transcripts from genes involved in translation, and finally photosynthesis gene transcripts. This pattern matches perfectly the theoretical demands of a cell "waking up" from the night. A similar trend was observed in the nuclear transcripts. These results suggest a striking internal logic in the expression of the chloroplast genome and a previously unappreciated complexity in the regulation of chloroplast genes.
Project description:To test how inosine in a codon is translated, we synthesized short reporter-transcripts coding for an N-terminal Flag-tag and a test-peptide containing inosine in one defined codon. All codons containing inosines in at least one position were tested. Codons that would lead to ambiguous translation products were omitted. The transcripts were generated using in vitro transcription with ITP instead of GTP and subsequently in vitro translated using rabbit reticulocyte lysate and resulting peptides were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. The templates for in vitro transcription were generated using linearized DNA plasmids.
Project description:Ustilago maydis is an important plant pathogen causing corn-smut disease and an effective biotechnological production host. The lack of a comprehensive metabolic overview hinders a full understanding of the organism’s environmental adaptation and a full use of its metabolic potential. Here, we report the first genome scale metabolic model (GSMM) of Ustilago maydis (iUma22) for the simulation of metabolic activities. iUma22 was reconstructed from sequencing and annotation using PathwayTools, the biomass equation was derived from literature values and from the codon composition. The final model contains over 25% of annotated genes (6,909) in the sequenced genome. Substrate utilization was corrected by Biolog-Phenotype arrays and exponential batch cultivations were used to test growth predictions. The growth data revealed a metabolic phenotype shift at high glucose uptake rates and the model allowed its quantification. A pan-genome of four different U. maydis strains revealed missing metabolic pathways in iUma22. The new model allows studies of metabolic adaptations to different environmental niches as well as for biotechnological applications.
Project description:The ability to genetically encode noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) has empowered proteins with improved or novel properties. However, existing strategies in mammalian cells rely on the introduction of blank codon for incorporating ncAAs, which is very inefficient and limits their widespread applications. Here, we develop a rare codon recoding strategy that takes advantage of the relative rarity of the TCG codon to achieve highly selective and efficient ncAA incorporation through systematic engineering and big data model predictions. We highlight the broad utility of this strategy for the incorporation of dozens of ncAAs into various functional proteins at the wild-type protein expression levels, as well as the synthesis of proteins with up to 6-site ncAAs or 4 distinct ncAAs in mammalian cells for downstream applications.
Project description:The ability to genetically encode noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) has empowered proteins with improved or novel properties. However, existing strategies in mammalian cells rely on the introduction of blank codon for incorporating ncAAs, which is very inefficient and limits their widespread applications. Here, we develop a rare codon recoding strategy that takes advantage of the relative rarity of the TCG codon to achieve highly selective and efficient ncAA incorporation through systematic engineering and big data model predictions. We highlight the broad utility of this strategy for the incorporation of dozens of ncAAs into various functional proteins at the wild-type protein expression levels, as well as the synthesis of proteins with up to 6-site ncAAs or 4 distinct ncAAs in mammalian cells for downstream applications.
Project description:Pseudouridine (Ψ) is known for decades, but its flexibility in base-pairing remains unclear. This study engineers artificial box H/ACA guide RNAs to direct pseudouridylation at the uridine of a premature termination codon (PTC; UAA, UAG, or UGA) within an intron-less mRNA and U36 of the anticodon of a matching tRNA in yeast and human cells. Targeted pseudouridylation leads to the formation of a Ψ-Ψ codon-anticodon pair, which, together with the other two Watson-Crick base pairs in the codon-anticodon duplex, significantly improves codon-anticodon recognition, robustly promoting PTC read-through. The intron-less mRNA level remains unchanged with or without guide RNAs. Additionally, pseudouridylation does not impact tRNA stability or charging. Our results show that nonsense suppression is promoted by the high affinity of the Ψ-Ψ pair, which is verified by melting curve analysis. This work has identified an unusual Ψ-Ψ base pair, which contributes significantly to codon-anticodon recognition and translational recoding.