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J E Hearst

Publications and source records attributed to J E Hearst.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Spin-labeled psoralen probes for the study of DNA dynamics.

Six nitroxide spin-labeled psoralen derivative have been synthesized and evaluated as probes for structural and dynamic studies. Sequence specific photoaddition of these derivatives to DNA oligonucleotides resulted in site-specifically cross-linked and spin-labeled oligomers. Comparison of the general line shape features of the observed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of several duplexes ranging in size from 8 to 46 base pairs with simulated EPR spectra indicate that the nitroxide spin-label probe reports the global tumbling motion of the oligomers. While there is no apparent large amplitude motion of the psoralen other than the overall tumbling of the DNA on the time scales investigated, there are some indications of bending and other residual motions. The (A)BC excinuclease DNA repair system detects structural or dynamic features of the DNA that distinguish between damaged and undamaged DNA and are independent of the intrinsic structure of the lesion. NMR studies have shown that psoralen-cross-linked DNA has altered backbone dynamics and conformational populations in the immediate vicinity of the adduct [Emsley et al. (1993) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 115, 7765-7771; Spielmann et al. (1995) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 92, 2345-2349]. We suggested that the signal for recognition of a lesion to be repaired is in the sugar--phosphate backbone and not in the damaged base(s).

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Solution structures of psoralen monoadducted and cross-linked DNA oligomers by NMR spectroscopy and restrained molecular dynamics.

We have used two-dimensional 1H NMR spectroscopy to determine the solution structures of the 4'-(hydroxymethyl)-4,5',8-trimethylpsoralen (HMT) furanside monoadducted (MAf) and the photoisomeric HMT interstrand cross-linked (XL) DNA oligonucleotide d(5'-GCGTACGC-3')2. The determination of the structure was based on total relaxation matrix analysis of the NOESY cross-peak intensities using the program MARDIGRAS. Improved procedures to consider the experimental "noise" in NOESY spectra during these calculations have been employed. The NOE-derived distance restraints were applied in restrained molecular dynamics calculations. Twenty final structures each were generated for both the MAf and XL from both A-form and B-form dsDNA starting structures. The root-mean-square (rms) deviations of the coordinates for the 40 structures for the MAf and XL were 1.12 and 1.10 A, respectively. The rmsd of the MAf with respect to the XL is 2.20 A. The local DNA structure is distorted in both adducts, with the helix unwound by 34 degrees and 25 degrees for the MAf and XL, respectively, and an overall helical repeat of 11 base pairs, caused by intercalation of the HMT. The MAf is a photochemical intermediate on the path to interstrand XL. Considerable local structural distortion is induced by both adducts, but the DNA returns to B-form structure within three base pairs of the damage site. There is no significant bend in the helix axis of either the MAf or the XL. We have evaluated the accuracy of the two major methods of converting NOESY data into interproton distances, the isolated spin-pair approximation (ISPA) and the complete relaxation rate matrix analysis (RMA). Both methods were evaluated by comparing the resulting calculated interproton distances generated to known covalently fixed distances in the HMT. The overall structures were evaluated by checking their agreement with biophysical evidence from non-NMR techniques. Only the modified RMA method gave correct interproton distances.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1995

A random-walk/giant-loop model for interphase chromosomes.

Fluorescence in situ hybridization data on distances between defined genomic sequences are used to construct a quantitative model for the overall geometric structure of a human chromosome. We suggest that the large-scale geometry during the G0/G1 part of the cell cycle may consist of flexible chromatin loops, averaging approximately 3 million bp, with a random-walk backbone. A fully explicit, three-parametric polymer model of this random-walk/giant-loop structure can account well for the data. More general models consistent with the data are briefly discussed.

Base Composition↗
PubMed1995

DNA structural reorganization upon conversion of a psoralen furan-side monoadduct to an interstrand cross-link: implications for DNA repair.

We have used 1H NMR spectroscopy to determine the structural changes induced in the DNA oligomer d(5'-GCGTACGC-3')2 upon conversion of the 4'-hydroxy-methyl-4,5',8-trimethylpsoralen-DNA furan-side monoadduct (MAf) to the interstrand cross-link (XL). The MAf is a photochemical intermediate on the path to interstrand XL and has the psoralen intercalated into the helix. The local DNA structure is distorted in both adducts, but it returns to normal within three base pairs. The formation of XL requires displacement of the psoralen toward the initially unmodified strand, accompanied by a change in the hybridization of the thymine C-5 and C-6 carbons and a change in the local helix twist. The MAf is intercalated in the helix. There is no significant bend in the helix axis of either the MAf or XL. There are significant changes in the local helix dynamics upon photoadduct formation that may be recognized by cellular DNA repair enzyme systems. We hypothesize that the repair enzymes target lesions by detecting the conformational flexibility of the sugar-phosphate backbone induced by DNA-damaging agents.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Evidence for the organization of chromatin in megabase pair-sized loops arranged along a random walk path in the human G0/G1 interphase nucleus.

We determined the folding of chromosomes in interphase nuclei by measuring the distance between points on the same chromosome. Over 25,000 measurements were made in G0/G1 nuclei between DNA sequences separated by 0.15-190 megabase pairs (Mbp) on three human chromosomes. The DNA sequences were specifically labeled by fluorescence in situ hybridization. The relationship between mean-square interphase distance and genomic separation has two linear phases, with a transition at approximately 2 Mbp. This biphasic relationship indicates the existence of two organizational levels at scales > 100 kbp. On one level, chromatin appears to be arranged in large loops several Mbp in size. Within each loop, chromatin is randomly folded. On the second level, specific loop-attachment sites are arranged to form a supple, backbonelike structure, which also shows characteristic random walk behavior. This random walk/giant loop model is the simplest model that fully describes the observed large-scale spatial relationships. Additional evidence for large loops comes from measurements among probes in Xq28, where interphase distance increases and then locally decreases with increasing genomic separation.

Cell Cycle↗
PubMed1995

Genes acrA and acrB encode a stress-induced efflux system of Escherichia coli.

Defined mutations of acrA or acrB (formerly acrE) genes increased the susceptibility of Escherichia coli to a range of small inhibitor molecules. Deletion of acrAB increased susceptibility to cephalothin and cephaloridine, but the permeability of these beta-lactams across the outer membrane was not increased. This finding is inconsistent with the earlier hypothesis that acrAB mutations increase drug susceptibility by increasing the permeability of the outer membrane, and supports our model that acrAB codes for a multi-drug efflux pump. The natural environment of an enteric bacterium such as E. coli is enriched in bile salts and fatty acids. An acrAB deletion mutant was found to be hypersusceptible to bile salts and to decanoate. In addition, acrAB expression was elevated by growth in 5 mM decanoate. These results suggest that one major physiological function of AcrAB is to protect E. coli against these and other hydrophobic inhibitors. Transcription of acrAB is increased by other stress conditions including 4% ethanol, 0.5 M NaCl, and stationary phase in Luria-Bertani medium. Finally, acrAB expression was shown to be increased in mar (multiple-antibiotic-resistant) mutants.

ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Mem↗
PubMed1994

Functional assignment of Erwinia herbicola Eho10 carotenoid genes expressed in Escherichia coli.

Erwinia herbicola is a nonphotosynthetic bacterium that is yellow pigmented due to the presence of carotenoids. When the Erwinia carotenoid biosynthetic genes are expressed in Escherichia coli, this bacterium also displays a yellow phenotype. The DNA sequence of the plasmid pPL376, carrying the entire Erwinia carotenoid gene cluster, has been found to contain 12 open reading frames (ORFs). Six of the ORFs have been identified as carotenoid biosynthesis genes that code for all the enzymes required for conversion of farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) to zeaxanthin diglucoside via geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate, phytoene, lycopene, beta-carotene, and zeaxanthin. These enzymatic steps were assigned after disruption of each ORF by a specific mutation and analysis of the accumulated intermediates. Carotenoid intermediates were identified by the absorption spectra of the colored components and by high pressure liquid chromatographic analysis. The six carotenoid genes are arranged in at least two operons. The gene coding for beta-carotene hydroxylase is transcribed in the opposite direction from that of the other carotenoid genes and overlaps with the gene for phytoene synthase.

Alkyl and Aryl Transferases↗
PubMed1994

Luminescence energy transfer using a terbium chelate: improvements on fluorescence energy transfer.

We extend the technique of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) by introducing a luminescent terbium chelate as a donor and an organic dye, tetramethylrhodamine, as an acceptor. The results are consistent with a Förster theory of energy transfer, provided the appropriate parameters are used. The use of lanthanide donors, in general, and this pair, in particular, has many advantages over more conventional FRET pairs, which rely solely on organic dyes. The distance at which 50% energy transfer occurs is large, 65 A; the donor lifetime is a single exponential and long (millisecond), making lifetime measurements facile and accurate. Uncertainty in the orientation factor, which creates uncertainty in measured distances, is minimized by the donor's multiple electronic transitions and long lifetime. The sensitized emission of the acceptor can be measured with little or no interfering background, yielding a > 25-fold improvements in the signal-to-background ratio over standard donor-acceptor pairs. These improvements are expected to make distances > 100 A measurable via FRET. We also report measurement of the sensitized emission lifetime, a measurement that is completely insensitive to total concentration and incomplete labeling.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Efflux pumps and drug resistance in gram-negative bacteria.

The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria can only slow down the influx of lipophilic inhibitors, and so these bacteria need active efflux pumps of broad specificity to survive. Pumps such as the Escherichia coli Acr system and its homologs make Gram-negative bacteria resistant to dyes, detergents and antibiotics.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1992

Dynamics of DNA supercoiling by transcription in Escherichia coli.

The relative rotation between RNA polymerase and DNA during transcription elongation can lead to supercoiling of the DNA template. However, the variables that influence the efficiency of supercoiling by RNA polymerase in vivo are poorly understood, despite the importance of supercoiling for DNA metabolism. We describe a model system to measure the rate of supercoiling by transcription and to estimate the rates of topoisomerase turnover in Escherichia coli. Transcription in a strain lacking topoisomerase I can lead to optimal supercoiling, wherein nearly one positive and one negative superturn are produced for each 10.4 base pairs transcribed. This rapid efficient supercoiling is observed during transcription of membrane-associated gene products, encoded by tet (the gene for tetracycline resistance) and phoA (the gene for E. coli alkaline phosphatase), when the genes are oppositely oriented. Replacement of tet by cat, the gene from Tn9 encoding resistance to chloramphenicol, whose gene product is soluble in the cytosol, reduces the efficiency of supercoiling by RNA polymerase. In a wild-type topoisomerase background, both gyrase and topoisomerase I are kinetically competent to relieve superturns produced by transcription. These results suggest that the level of DNA supercoiling in vivo is probably determined by topoisomerase activity, not by transcription.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1992

Functional expression of zeaxanthin glucosyltransferase from Erwinia herbicola and a proposed uridine diphosphate binding site.

Erwinia herbicola, a nonphotosynthetic bacterium, is yellow colored due to the accumulation of unusually polar carotenoids, primarily mono- and diglucosides of zeaxanthin. We have cloned and expressed the gene for the enzyme that catalyzes the glucosylation of zeaxanthin. The enzyme has an apparent molecular mass of 45 kDa on an SDS/polyacrylamide gel, which is consistent with its calculated molecular mass. In vitro enzymatic activity was demonstrated using UDP-[14C]glucose and zeaxanthin as substrates. The product zeaxanthin diglucoside and its intermediate monoglucoside were identified by thin layer chromatography. The optimum pH and temperature ranges of the enzyme are 7.0-7.5 and 32-37 degrees C, respectively. A hydropathy plot indicates no apparent membrane-spanning regions, and biochemical experiments suggest that the enzyme is weakly membrane-associated. The amino acid sequence derived from the zeaxanthin glucosyltransferase gene shows a small region of high similarity with other glucuronosyl- and glucosyltransferases that use either UDP-activated glucuronic acid or a sugar as one of their substrates. Based on these similarities, we propose that this conserved sequence is part of the UDP binding site.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Active site of (A)BC excinuclease. II. Binding, bending, and catalysis mutants of UvrB reveal a direct role in 3' and an indirect role in 5' incision.

UvrB plays a central role in (A)BC excinuclease. To study its role in the incision reactions, conserved His and Asp residues in this subunit were mutagenized. All His and the majority of Asp mutants behaved like wild-type protein in vivo and in vitro. However, three mutants, D337A, D478A, and D510A, either completely or partially abolished UvrB activity. All three mutant proteins associate with UvrA normally but D337A and D510A were unable to bind to DNA specifically. The UvrB-D478A mutant bound to DNA specifically but failed to denature and kink the DNA. However, UvrB-D478A was efficiently loaded onto DNA preincised at the 3' site and promoted near-normal incision by UvrC at the 5' site. We propose that D478 is involved in bending DNA and catalysis of the 3' incision and that the 3' incision precedes the 5' incision. UvrB which is missing the carboxyl-terminal 43 amino acids binds to, and kinks DNA but is unable to make the 3' incision suggesting that it is missing a residue involved in catalysis. This residue was identified to be E639 by site-specific mutagenesis.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1992

The crtE gene in Erwinia herbicola encodes geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase.

A cluster of genes essential for the biosynthesis of carotenoids in Erwinia herbicola has been isolated and characterized [Armstrong, G.A., Alberti, M. & Hearst, J. E. (1990) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 87, 9975-9979]. Related gene clusters are found in other carotenoid-producing bacteria. Two of these genes, crtB and crtE, have been assigned to enzymes responsible for conversion of geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGPP) to prephytoene diphosphate and prephytoene diphosphate to phytoene, respectively. We isolated crtE from the Er. herbicola cluster by PCR amplification and cloned the coding region into the Escherichia coli expression vector pARC306N. Es. coli JM101 was transformed with the expression plasmid, and transformants were assayed for GGPP synthase and phytoene synthase activity. Extracts from JM101/pSM145 accumulated [14C]GGPP when incubated with [14C]isopentenyl diphosphate and farnesyl diphosphate, whereas similar incubations with [3H]GGPP did not yield prephytoene diphosphate or phytoene. Thus, crtE encodes GGPP synthase.

Alkyl and Aryl Transferases↗
PubMed1992

Recent advances in the synthesis and structure determination of site specifically psoralen-modified DNA oligonucleotides.

We have developed novel methods for the preparation of multimicromole quantities of extremely pure, uniquely photoadducted psoralen-DNA cross-links, furan-side monoadducted DNA and pyrone-side monoadducts. Psoralen cross-linked and furan-side monoadducted DNA were produced by employing high intensity argon ion and krypton ion lasers as light sources. Pyrone-side monoadducts were prepared by base-catalyzed photoreversal of psoralen cross-links. The various psoralen-adducted DNA oligomers were efficiently purified by high performance liquid chromatography. These methods have permitted us to synthesize 4 mumol each of a self-complementary 8-mer d(GCGTACGC) 4'-(hydroxymethyl)-4,5',8-trimethylpsoralen (HMT) furan-side monoadduct and HMT cross-link. Preliminary nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) data on the HMT cross-linked 8-mer d(GCGTACGC) have been obtained which confirmed the presence of the diadducted psoralen at the unique 5'TpA3' site. NMR data obtained from the 8-mer furan-side monoadduct revealed that the psoralen molecule is intercalated into the DNA double helix. Preliminary crystals of 8-mer cross-linked DNA molecule have been grown. Conditions for the growth of X-ray diffraction-quality crystals and the further analysis of these crystals are now in progress.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Methods for the large-scale synthesis of psoralen furan-side monoadducts and diadducts.

We report methods for the preparation of multimicromole quantities of extremely pure uniquely photo-adducted psoralen-DNA furan-side monoadducts and diadducts (cross-links). The methods use high-intensity krypton and argon ion lasers in the photoreactions and HPLC methods to purify the required oligonucleotides containing the photoadducts. With these methods we have synthesized 2-3 mumol of 8-mer psoralen furan-side monoadduct and diadduct. These methods allow one to generate large amounts of psoralenated DNA oligonucleotides and facilitate their study by NMR and x-ray crystallography.

Base Sequence↗