Novel genomic island modifies DNA with 7-deazaguanine derivatives

The discovery of ∼20-kb gene clusters containing a family of paralogs of tRNA guanosine transglycosylase genes, called tgtA5, alongside 7-cyano-7-deazaguanine (preQ[subscript 0]) synthesis and DNA metabolism genes, led to the hypothesis that 7-deazaguanine derivatives are inserted in DNA. This was established by detecting 2’-deoxy-preQ[subscript 0] and 2’-deoxy-7-amido-7-deazaguanosine in enzymatic hydrolysates of DNA extracted from the pathogenic, Gram-negative bacteria Salmonella enterica serovar Montevideo. These modifications were absent in the closely related S. enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2 and from a mutant of S. Montevideo, each lacking the gene cluster. This led us to rename the genes of the S. Montevideo cluster as dpdA-K for 7-deazapurine in DNA. Similar gene clusters were analyzed in ∼150 phylogenetically diverse bacteria, and the modifications were detected in DNA from other organisms containing these clusters, including Kineococcus radiotolerans, Comamonas testosteroni, and Sphingopyxis alaskensis. Comparative genomic analysis shows that, in Enterobacteriaceae, the cluster is a genomic island integrated at the leuX locus, and the phylogenetic analysis of the TgtA5 family is consistent with widespread horizontal gene transfer. Comparison of transformation efficiencies of modified or unmodified plasmids into isogenic S. Montevideo strains containing or lacking the cluster strongly suggests a restriction–modification role for the cluster in Enterobacteriaceae. Another preQ[subscript 0] derivative, 2’-deoxy-7-formamidino-7-deazaguanosine, was found in the Escherichia coli bacteriophage 9g, as predicted from the presence of homologs of genes involved in the synthesis of the archaeosine tRNA modification. These results illustrate a deep and unexpected evolutionary connection between DNA and tRNA metabolism.Deutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftSingapore-MIT Alliance in Research and Technology (SMART

Metabolic fate of endogenous molecular damage: Urinary glutathione conjugates of DNA-derived base propenals as markers of inflammation

Although mechanistically linked to disease, cellular molecules damaged by endogenous processes have not emerged as significant biomarkers of inflammation and disease risk, due in part to poor understanding of their pharmacokinetic fate from tissue to excretion. Here, we use systematic metabolite profiling to define the fate of a common DNA oxidation product, base propenals, to discover such a biomarker. Based on known chemical reactivity and metabolism in liver cell extracts, 15 candidate metabolites were identified for liquid chromatography-coupled tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) quantification in urine and bile of rats treated with thymine propenal (Tp). Analysis of urine revealed three metabolites (6% of Tp dose): thymine propenoate and two mercapturate derivatives of glutathione conjugates. Bile contained an additional four metabolites (22% of Tp dose): cysteinylglycine and cysteine derivatives of glutathione adducts. A bis-mercapturate was observed in urine of untreated rats and increased approximately three- to fourfold following CCl[subscript 4]-induced oxidative stress or treatment with the DNA-cleaving antitumor agent, bleomycin. Systematic metabolite profiling thus provides evidence for a metabolized DNA damage product as a candidate biomarker of inflammation and oxidative stress in humans.National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (CA026731