3,710 research outputs found
DNA conformation and protein DNA interaction
Issued as Preliminary report, Project no. G-41-B05 (continues G-41-B04; continued by G-41-B06
Kinetics of protein-DNA interaction: facilitated target location in sequence-dependent potential
Recognition and binding of specific sites on DNA by proteins is central for
many cellular functions such as transcription, replication, and recombination.
In the process of recognition, a protein rapidly searches for its specific site
on a long DNA molecule and then strongly binds this site. Here we aim to find a
mechanism that can provide both a fast search (1-10 sec) and high stability of
the specific protein-DNA complex ( M).
Earlier studies have suggested that rapid search involves the sliding of a
protein along the DNA. Here we consider sliding as a one-dimensional (1D)
diffusion in a sequence-dependent rough energy landscape. We demonstrate that,
in spite of the landscape's roughness, rapid search can be achieved if 1D
sliding is accompanied by 3D diffusion. We estimate the range of the specific
and non-specific DNA-binding energy required for rapid search and suggest
experiments that can test our mechanism. We show that optimal search requires a
protein to spend half of time sliding along the DNA and half diffusing in 3D.
We also establish that, paradoxically, realistic energy functions cannot
provide both rapid search and strong binding of a rigid protein. To reconcile
these two fundamental requirements we propose a search-and-fold mechanism that
involves the coupling of protein binding and partial protein folding.
Proposed mechanism has several important biological implications for search
in the presence of other proteins and nucleosomes, simultaneous search by
several proteins etc. Proposed mechanism also provides a new framework for
interpretation of experimental and structural data on protein-DNA interactions
ChIPOTle: a user-friendly tool for the analysis of ChIP-chip data
ChIPOTle (Chromatin ImmunoPrecipitation On Tiled arrays) takes advantage of two unique properties of ChIP-chip data: the single-tailed nature of the data, caused by specific enrichment but not specific depletion of genomic fragments; and the predictable enrichment of DNA fragments adjacent to sites of direct protein-DNA interaction. Implemented as a Microsoft Excel macro written in Visual Basic, ChIPOTle uses a sliding window approach that yields improvements in the identification of bona fide sites of protein-DNA interaction
Rational design of DNA sequence-specific zinc fingers
AbstractWe developed a rational scheme for designing DNA binding proteins. The scheme was applied for a zinc finger protein and the designed sequences were experimentally characterized with high DNA sequence specificity. Starting with the backbone of a known finger structure, we initially calculated amino acid sequences compatible with the expected structure and the secondary structures of the designed fingers were then experimentally confirmed. The DNA-binding function was added to the designed finger by reconsidering a section of the amino acid sequence and computationally selecting amino acids to have the lowest protein–DNA interaction energy for the target DNA sequences. Among the designed proteins, one had a gap between the lowest and second lowest protein–DNA interaction energies that was sufficient to give DNA sequence-specificity
Predicting variation of DNA shape preferences in protein-DNA interaction in cancer cells with a new biophysical model
DNA shape readout is an important mechanism of target site recognition by
transcription factors, in addition to the sequence readout. Several models of
transcription factor-DNA binding which consider DNA shape have been developed
in recent years. We present a new biophysical model of protein-DNA interaction
by considering the DNA shape features, which is based on a neighbour
dinucleotide dependency model BayesPI2. The parameters of the new model are
restricted to a subspace spanned by the 2-mer DNA shape features, which
allowing a biophysical interpretation of the new parameters as
position-dependent preferences towards certain values of the features. Using
the new model, we explore the variation of DNA shape preferences in several
transcription factors across cancer cell lines and cellular conditions. We find
evidence of DNA shape variations at FOXA1 binding sites in MCF7 cells after
treatment with steroids. The new model is useful for elucidating finer details
of transcription factor-DNA interaction. It may be used to improve the
prediction of cancer mutation effects in the future
Fluorescent microplate-based analysis of protein-DNA interactions I:immobilized protein
A simple protein-DNA interaction analysis has been developed using a high-affinity/high-specificity zinc finger protein. In essence, purified protein samples are immobilized directly onto the surface of microplate wells, and fluorescently labeled DNA is added in solution. After incubation and washing, bound DNA is detected in a standard microplate reader. The minimum sensitivity of the assay is approximately 0.2 nM DNA. Since the detection of bound DNA is noninvasive and the protein-DNA interaction is not disrupted during detection, iterative readings may be taken from the same well, after successive alterations in interaction conditions, if required. In this respect, the assay may therefore be considered real time and permits appropriate interaction conditions to be determined quantitatively. The assay format is ideally suited to investigate the interactions of purified unlabeled DNA binding proteins in a high-throughput format
Design of a combinatorial DNA microarray for protein-DNA interaction studies
BACKGROUND: Discovery of precise specificity of transcription factors is an important step on the way to understanding the complex mechanisms of gene regulation in eukaryotes. Recently, double-stranded protein-binding microarrays were developed as a potentially scalable approach to tackle transcription factor binding site identification. RESULTS: Here we present an algorithmic approach to experimental design of a microarray that allows for testing full specificity of a transcription factor binding to all possible DNA binding sites of a given length, with optimally efficient use of the array. This design is universal, works for any factor that binds a sequence motif and is not species-specific. Furthermore, simulation results show that data produced with the designed arrays is easier to analyze and would result in more precise identification of binding sites. CONCLUSION: In this study, we present a design of a double stranded DNA microarray for protein-DNA interaction studies and show that our algorithm allows optimally efficient use of the arrays for this purpose. We believe such a design will prove useful for transcription factor binding site identification and other biological problems
Base pair opening and bubble transport in a DNA double helix induced by a protein molecule in a viscous medium
We study the nonlinear dynamics of a protein-DNA molecular system by treating
DNA as a set of two coupled linear chains and protein in the form of a single
linear chain sliding along the DNA at the physiological temperature in a
viscous medium. The nonlinear dynamics of the above molecular system in general
is governed by a perturbed nonlinear Schr\"{o}dinger equation. In the
non-viscous limit, the equation reduces to the completely integrable nonlinear
Schr\"{o}dinger (NLS) equation which admits N-soliton solutions. The soliton
excitations of the DNA bases make localized base pair opening and travel along
the DNA chain in the form of a bubble. This may represent the bubble generated
during the transcription process when an RNA-polymerase binds to a promoter
site in the DNA double helical chain. The perturbed NLS equation is solved
using a perturbation theory by treating the viscous effect due to surrounding
as a weak perturbation and the results show that the viscosity of the solvent
in the surrounding damps out the amplitude of the soliton.Comment: 4. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
The long reach of DNA sequence heterogeneity in diffusive processes
Many biological processes involve one dimensional diffusion over a correlated
inhomogeneous energy landscape with a correlation length . Typical
examples are specific protein target location on DNA, nucleosome repositioning,
or DNA translocation through a nanopore, in all cases with 10
nm. We investigate such transport processes by the mean first passage time
(MFPT) formalism, and find diffusion times which exhibit strong sample to
sample fluctuations. For a a displacement , the average MFPT is diffusive,
while its standard deviation over the ensemble of energy profiles scales as
with a large prefactor. Fluctuations are thus dominant for
displacements smaller than a characteristic : typical values are
much less than the mean, and governed by an anomalous diffusion rule. Potential
biological consequences of such random walks, composed of rapid scans in the
vicinity of favorable energy valleys and occasional jumps to further valleys,
is discussed
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