Flap Endonuclease Disengages Dna2 Helicase/Nuclease from Okazaki Fragment Flaps

Okazaki fragments contain an initiator RNA/DNA primer that must be removed before the fragments are joined. In eukaryotes, the primer region is raised into a flap by the strand displacement activity of DNA polymerase {delta}. The Dna2 helicase/nuclease and then flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) are proposed to act sequentially in flap removal. Dna2 and FEN1 both employ a tracking mechanism to enter the flap 5' end and move toward the base for cleavage. In the current model, Dna2 must enter first, but FEN1 makes the final cut at the flap base, raising the issue of how FEN1 passes the Dna2. To address this, nuclease-inactive Dna2 was incubated with a DNA flap substrate and found to bind with high affinity. FEN1 was then added, and surprisingly, there was little inhibition of FEN1 cleavage activity. FEN1 was later shown, by gel shift analysis, to remove the wild type Dna2 from the flap. RNA can be cleaved by FEN1 but not by Dna2. Pre-bound wild type Dna2 was shown to bind an RNA flap but not inhibit subsequent FEN1 cleavage. These results indicate that there is a novel interaction between the two proteins in which FEN1 disengages the Dna2 tracking mechanism. This interaction is consistent with the idea that the two proteins have evolved a special ability to cooperate in Okazaki fragment processing

Dna2p Helicase/Nuclease Is a Tracking Protein, Like FEN1, for Flap Cleavage during Okazaki Fragment Maturation

During cellular DNA replication the lagging strand is generated as discontinuous segments called Okazaki fragments. Each contains an initiator RNA primer that is removed prior to joining of the strands. Primer removal in eukaryotes requires displacement of the primer into a flap that is cleaved off by flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1). FEN1 employs a unique tracking mechanism that requires the recognition of the free 5' terminus and then movement to the base of the flap for cleavage. Abnormally long flaps are coated by replication protein A (RPA), inhibiting FEN1 cleavage. A second nuclease, Dna2p, is needed to cleave an RPA-coated flap producing a short RPA-free flap, favored by FEN1. Here we show that Dna2p is also a tracking protein. Annealed primers or conjugated biotin-streptavidin complex block Dna2p entry and movement. Single-stranded binding protein-coated flaps inhibit Dna2p cleavage. Like FEN1, Dna2p can track over substrates with a non-Watson Crick base, such as a biotin, or a missing base within a chain. Unlike FEN1, Dna2p shows evidence of a "threading-like" mechanism that does not support tracking over a branched substrate. We propose that the two nucleases both track, Dna2p first and then FEN1, to remove initiator RNA via long flap intermediates

Controls on Syenite-Hosted Gold Mineralization in the Western Timmins Camp

The Abitibi granite-greenstone belt has long been known for its’ world-class Archean lode gold deposits. With exploration and production commencing in the early nineteen hundreds and continuing into the twenty-first century, this prolific mining camp is rich in history, research and precious/base metals. The Thunder Creek deposit and Hwy-144 gold prospect are two recently discovered and exploited syenite associated gold plays in the Timmins Camp. The research compares the Thunder Creek and Hwy-144 properties providing new observations on the variable mechanisms for gold mineralization that can change over a short strike distance (0.5-1.5 km’s) hosted in a geologically similar environment. While both properties show broad similarities like; syenite hosted mineralization and quartz vein + pyrite associated with mineralization; differences including alteration assemblages and pyrite geochemistry explain the disparity in mineralization intensity between the two properties. Disseminated pyrite mineralization at Thunder Creek is synchronous with gold mineralization. This style of mineralization is overprinted by the main stage of mineralization expressed by the formation of V1 and V2 quartz veins carrying the bulk of gold mineralization. Vein-formation occurred in response to D3 deformation in the adjacent Rusk Shear Zone, with silicification the main alteration assemblage. At Hwy-144, hematitic and potassic alteration vary in intensity and appear to be only loosely associated with gold mineralization. Pyrite geochemistry reveals that pyrite crystallized out of a gold-poor fluid. Gold mineralization is restricted primarily to vein-hosted pyrite grains with inclusions of gold likely deposited by late auriferous fluids that corroded pyrite grains

Dynamic removal of replication protein A by Dna2 facilitates primer cleavage during Okazaki fragment processing in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Eukaryotic Okazaki fragments are initiated by an RNA/DNA primer, which is removed before the fragments are joined. Polymerase d displaces the primer into a flap for processing. Dna2 nuclease/helicase and flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1) are proposed to cleave the flap. The single-stranded DNA binding protein, replication protein A (RPA), governs cleavage activity. Flap-bound RPA inhibits FEN1. This necessitates cleavage by Dna2, which is stimulated by RPA. FEN1 then cuts the remaining RPA-free flap to create a nick for ligation. Cleavage by Dna2 requires that it enter the 5'-end and track down the flap. Since Dna2 cleaves the RPA-bound flap, we investigated the mechanism by which Dna2 accesses the protein-coated flap for cleavage. Using a nuclease-defective Dna2 mutant, we showed that just binding of Dna2 dissociates the flap-bound RPA. Facile dissociation is specific to substrates with a genuine flap, and will not occur with an RPA-coated single strand. We also compared the cleavage patterns of Dna2 with and without RPA to better define RPA stimulation of Dna2. Stimulation derived from removal of DNA folding in the flap. Apparently, coordinated with its dissociation, RPA relinquishes the flap to Dna2 for tracking in a way that does not allow flap structure to reform. We also found that RPA strand melting activity promotes excessive flap elongation, but it is suppressed by Dna2-promoted RPA dissociation. Overall, results indicate that Dna2 and RPA coordinate their functions for efficient flap cleavage and preparation for FEN1

Mandarin Market Segments Based on Consumer Sensory Evaluations

Ninety-five consumers in seven grocery stores tasted unidentified peeled sections of three mandarins (a tangerine, a satsuma, and a clementine), and provided demographic and purchase information. Forty-four percent of the respondents preferred tangerines, 34 percent satsumas, and 22 percent clementines. The probability of preferring each of type of mandarin was estimated from internal quality analysis of paired samples, as well as from demographic and purchase responses. Model simulations were used to recommend harvest standards for satsumas based on Brix-to-acid ratios.Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

A Gel Probe Equilibrium Sampler for Measuring Arsenic Porewater Profiles and Sorption Gradients in Sediments: I. Laboratory Development

A gel probe equilibrium sampler has been developed to study arsenic (As) geochemistry and sorption behavior in sediment porewater. The gels consist of a hydrated polyacrylamide polymer, which has a 92% water content. Two types of gels were used in this study. Undoped (clear) gels were used to measure concentrations of As and other elements in sediment porewater. The polyacrylamide gel was also doped with hydrous ferric oxide (HFO), an amorphous iron (Fe) oxyhydroxide. When deployed in the field, HFO-doped gels introduce a fresh sorbent into the subsurface thus allowing assessment of in situ sorption. In this study, clear and HFO-doped gels were tested under laboratory conditions to constrain the gel behavior prior to field deployment. Both types of gels were allowed to equilibrate with solutions of varying composition and re-equilibrated in acid for analysis. Clear gels accurately measured solution concentrations (±1%), and As was completely recovered from HFO-doped gels (±4%). Arsenic speciation was determined in clear gels through chromatographic separation of the re-equilibrated solution. For comparison to speciation in solution, mixtures of As(III) and As(V) adsorbed on HFO embedded in gel were measured in situ using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Sorption densities for As(III) and As(V) on HFO embedded in gel were obtained from sorption isotherms at pH 7.1. When As and phosphate were simultaneously equilibrated (in up to 50-fold excess of As) with HFO-doped gels, phosphate inhibited As sorption by up to 85% and had a stronger inhibitory effect on As(V) than As(III). Natural organic matter (>200 ppm) decreased As adsorption by up to 50%, and had similar effects on As(V) and As(III). The laboratory results provide a basis for interpreting results obtained by deploying the gel probe in the field and elucidating the mechanisms controlling As partitioning between solid and dissolved phases in the environment

Inverse wing design in transonic flow including viscous interaction

Several inverse methods were compared and initial results indicate that differences in results are primarily due to coordinate systems and fuselage representations and not to design procedures. Further, results from a direct-inverse method that includes 3-D wing boundary layer effects, wake curvature, and wake displacement are represented. These results show that boundary layer displacements must be included in the design process for accurate results

Pif1 Helicase Lengthens Some Okazaki Fragment Flaps Necessitating Dna2 Nuclease/Helicase Action in the Two-nuclease Processing Pathway

We have developed a system to reconstitute all of the proposed steps of Okazaki fragment processing using purified yeast proteins and model substrates. DNA polymerase δ was shown to extend an upstream fragment to displace a downstream fragment into a flap. In most cases, the flap was removed by flap endonuclease 1 (FEN1), in a reaction required to remove initiator RNA in vivo. The nick left after flap removal could be sealed by DNA ligase I to complete fragment joining. An alternative pathway involving FEN1 and the nuclease/helicase Dna2 has been proposed for flaps that become long enough to bind replication protein A (RPA). RPA binding can inhibit FEN1, but Dna2 can shorten RPA-bound flaps so that RPA dissociates. Recent reconstitution results indicated that Pif1 helicase, a known component of fragment processing, accelerated flap displacement, allowing the inhibitory action of RPA. In results presented here, Pif1 promoted DNA polymerase δ to displace strands that achieve a length to bind RPA, but also to be Dna2 substrates. Significantly, RPA binding to long flaps inhibited the formation of the final ligation products in the reconstituted system without Dna2. However, Dna2 reversed that inhibition to restore efficient ligation. These results suggest that the two-nuclease pathway is employed in cells to process long flap intermediates promoted by Pif1

Innovative Computational Methods for Pharmaceutical Problem Solving a Review Part I: The Drug Development Process

Computational methods have provided pharmaceutical scientists and engineers a means to go beyond what\u27s possible with experimental testing alone. Providing a means to study active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), excipients, and drug interactions at or near-atomic levels. This paper provides a review of this and other innovative computational methods used for solving pharmaceutical problems throughout the drug development process. Part one of two this paper will emphasize the role of computational methods and game theory in solving pharmaceutical challenges