State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing210009, China.
Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing210009, China.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2021 Sep 27;49(17):9938-9952. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkab725.
Casposase, a homolog of Cas1 integrase, is encoded by a superfamily of mobile genetic elements known as casposons. While family 2 casposase has been well documented in both function and structure, little is known about the other three casposase families. Here, we studied the family 1 casposase lacking the helix-turn-helix (HTH) domain from Candidatus Nitrosopumilus koreensis AR1 (Ca. N. koreensis). The determinants for integration by Ca. N. koreensis casposase were extensively investigated, and it was found that a 13-bp target site duplication (TSD) sequence, a minimal 3-bp leader and three different nucleotides of the TSD sequences are indispensable for target specific integration. Significantly, the casposase can site-specifically integrate a broad range of terminal inverted repeat (TIR)-derived oligonucleotides ranging from 7-nt to ∼4000-bp, and various oligonucleotides lacking the 5'-TTCTA-3' motif at the 3' end of TIR sequence can be integrated efficiently. Furthermore, similar to some Cas1 homologs, the casposase utilizes a 5'-ATAA-3' motif in the TSD as a molecular ruler to dictate nucleophilic attack at 9-bp downstream of the end of the ruler during the spacer-side integration. By characterizing the family 1 Ca. N. koreensis casposase, we have extended our understanding on mechanistic similarities and evolutionary connections between casposons and the adaptation elements of CRISPR-Cas immunity.
Casposase 是一种与 Cas1 整合酶同源的蛋白,由一类被称为 casposons 的移动遗传元件所编码。虽然家族 2 的 casposase 在功能和结构方面已经得到了很好的研究,但对于其他三种 casposase 家族知之甚少。在这里,我们研究了来自 Candidatus Nitrosopumilus koreensis AR1(Ca. N. koreensis)的缺少螺旋-转角-螺旋(HTH)结构域的家族 1 casposase。我们广泛研究了 Ca. N. koreensis casposase 整合的决定因素,发现 13 个碱基对的靶位点重复(TSD)序列、最小的 3 个碱基对的前导序列和 TSD 序列的三个不同核苷酸对于靶特异性整合是必不可少的。重要的是,casposase 可以特异性地整合广泛的末端反向重复(TIR)衍生的寡核苷酸,范围从 7-nt 到约 4000-bp,并且各种缺乏 TIR 序列 3'端 5'-TTCTA-3' 基序的寡核苷酸也可以有效地被整合。此外,与一些 Cas1 同源物类似,casposase 在 TSD 中利用 5'-ATAA-3' 基序作为分子标尺,在间隔区侧整合过程中,在标尺末端下游 9 个碱基处决定亲核攻击。通过对家族 1 Ca. N. koreensis casposase 的特征分析,我们扩展了对 casposons 和 CRISPR-Cas 免疫的适应元件之间的机制相似性和进化联系的理解。