Diethyl Pyrocarbonate
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Proc. Nati. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 82, pp. 8009-8013, December 1985 Biochemistry Diethyl pyrocarbonate: A chemical probe for secondary structure in negatively supercoiled DNA (chemical modification/alternating purines and pyrimidines/pBR322/Z-DNA) WINSHIP HERR Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724 Communicated by J. D. Watson, August 9, 1985 ABSTRACT Purine residues located within regions of ity, which can change with the linking number of the DNA, DNA that have the potential to form left-handed Z-helical and (ii) binding ofantibodies directed against the Z-form. The structures are modified preferentially by diethyl pyrocarbon- first method detects the loss of supercoils and, therefore, ate; this hyperreactivity is dependent on the degree of negative decreasing linking number caused by the transition from a superhelicity of the circular DNA molecules. As negative right-handed B-helix to the left-handed Z-form. With the superhelical density increases, guanosines in a 32-base-pair second method, anti-Z-DNA antibodies are bound to nega- alternating G-C sequence and adenosines (but not guanosines) tively supercoiled molecules, and binding sites are identified in a 64-base-pair alternating A-C/G-T sequence become 5- to either by electron microscopy or by the retention ofantibody- 10-fold more reactive to diethyl pyrocarbonate. The negative bound DNAs to nitrocellulose filters (7). An advantage ofthe superhelical densities at which enhanced reactivity occurs are electrophoretic analyses is that formation of Z-DNA cannot similar to those reported for the point at which left-handed be affected by interactions with antibodies. Alternatively, the helices form within plasmids carrying these DNA sequences. antibody studies have the advantages that sites of Z-DNA Probing of negatively supercoiled pBR322 with diethyl formation can be identified at higher negative superhelical pyrocarbonate reveals a hyperreactive region 31 base pairs in densities and the Z-DNA sites can be more readily mapped. length of which only 9 base pairs are a perfect alternating Neither ofthe methods, however, maps Z-DNA formation at purine and pyrimidine sequence; the reactivity of purines the nucleotide level. within this sequence indicates that purines in the anti confor- A method that does identify structure at the nucleotide mation, or guanosines in the syn conformation with neighbor- level in both DNA and RNA is chemical modification ing 3' thymidines, are not hyperreactive in the Z-DNA form. followed by strand scission at the modified sites (11, 12). This strategy relies on conformation-dependent reactivity ofbases DNA is a flexible molecule that can exist in a variety of to particular reagents. Diethyl pyrocarbonate, which conformations. One of the parameters influencing the equi- carbethoxylates purines at the N-7 atom (13, 14), is one such librium between these conformations is the stress created by reagent. In RNA, purines in double-stranded but not single- negative supercoils; increasing the negative supercoil density stranded regions are refractory to diethyl pyrocarbonate within closed circular DNA molecules has been shown to modification (12). In double-stranded DNA, however, stabilize the formation of single-stranded DNA, cruciform purines are accessible to this reagent (15). One interpretation structures, and the double-stranded Z-DNA form (1). Of of these results is that diethyl pyrocarbonate is less reactive these structures, Z-DNA is the best characterized, because of to purines in an RNA A-helix than to purines in a DNA the molecular detail afforded by high-resolution x-ray dif- B-helix. Such a possible conformational sensitivity suggested fraction studies (reviewed in ref. 2). that diethyl pyrocarbonate might serve to distinguish differ- Z-DNA is a left-handed double helix with a dinucleotide ent helical structures in DNA, in particular the B- and repeating unit. In the dinucleotide repeat, the bases along Z-forms. I therefore compared the relative diethyl pyro- each strand alternate between the syn and anti conforma- carbonate reactivity of purines within three sequences fa- tions; these two conformations are differentiated by a 180° vored for Z-DNA formation under negative superhelical rotation of the base around the glycosyl bond. Both stress: (i) an alternating G-C sequence, (ii) an alternating pyrimidines and purines are equally stable in the anti con- A-C/G-T sequence, and (ifi) a region ofpBR322 containing a formation (the structure found in the right-handed helix of stretch of nine alternating purines and pyrimidines (5-9, 16, B-DNA); in the syn conformation, however, pyrimidines are 17). I report here that, indeed, certain purines within all three less stable than purines (3, 4). The relative instability of of these sequences become hyperreactive to diethyl pyro- pyrimidines in the syn conformation offers an explanation for carbonate upon negative supercoiling. the fact that certain stretches of alternating purines and pyrimidines, e.g., repeating G-C or A-C/G-T stretches, are MATERIALS AND METHODS particularly favored for Z-DNA formation when under neg- ative superhelical stress (5-9). The crystal structure of a Plasmid DNAs. The three plasmid DNAs used, pLP32, nonalternating purine and pyrimidine oligonucleotide that is pAN064, and pBR322, were prepared by alkaline NaDodSO4 in the Z-form (10) implies that certain ofthese sequences can extraction (18) and CsCl equilibrium density gradient cen- also be induced to form Z-DNA under sufficient negative trifugation. DNAs with different linking numbers were pre- superhelical stress. pared by treatment with calf thymus topoisomerase I Two methods that have been used to identify Z-DNA in (Bethesda Research Laboratories) in the presence of closed circular molecules formed as a result of negative ethidium bromide, as described (6, 7), and the average linking supercoiling stress are (i) analysis of electrophoretic mobil- number of each DNA preparation was determined by the band counting method (6, 19). The superhelical density of was determined to DNAs The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge each sample by comparison treated payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact. Abbreviation: bp, base pair(s). 8009 Downloaded by guest on September 26, 2021 8010 Biochemistry: Herr Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82 (1985) with topoisomerase I under the conditions of diethyl pyrimidines near the unique Ava I site with only one pyrocarbonate modification. Linear DNAs were generated nucleotide out of alternation; this region has been identified by digestion with Pvu II for pLP32 and pANO64 and EcoRV as forming a negative-supercoil-dependent Z-DNA segment for pBR322. by antibody binding (7, 16, 17). Diethyl Pyrocarbonate Modification. Linear and super- Plasmid DNAs of different negative superhelical densities coiled plasmid DNAs were modified by diethyl pyrocarbon- were produced as described in Materials and Methods. The ate essentially as described (15). DNAs (1 Ag) were suspend- reactivities of specific bases to diethyl pyrocarbonate were ed in 200 t1 of 50 mM sodium cacodylate, pH 7.1/1 mM measured by modifying the DNAs with diethyl pyrocarbon- EDTA. The tubes were placed on ice and 3 1d of diethyl ate (15), isolating 3' or 5' singly end-labeled fragments pyrocarbonate was added to each sample. The samples were containing the regions of interest, cleaving the DNA at the incubated at 20'C for a total of 15 min. Because diethyl sites of modification with piperidine (11), and electrophores- pyrocarbonate is relatively insoluble in water, the samples ing the cleavage products through denaturing polyacrylamide were thoroughly mixed at the beginning and halfway through gels. the 15-min incubation. The reactions were terminated by the Reactivity of Guanosines Within an Alternating G-C Stretch addition of 50 Al of 1.5 M sodium acetate containing tRNA at to Diethyl Pyrocarbonate. The negative-supercoil-dependent 100 ,ug/ml, followed by two sequential rapid ethanol precip- diethyl pyrocarbonate reactivity of the 32-bp alternating G-C itations, as described (11, 20). The samples were then stretch ofpLP32 is shown in Fig. 1 (lanes 3-7). The reactivity suspended and stored in 50 dul of 10 mM Tris chloride, pH ofthe G-C stretch (identified by brackets in the figure) within 8.0/0.1 mM EDTA. Electrophoresis of the modified samples linear (lane 3) and closed circular pLP32 DNAs with average showed that little nicking ofthe closed circular molecules had superhelical densities of -0.014 (lane 4) and -0.029 (lane 5) occurred during the chemical modification. is similar to the reactivity of purines within the sequences End-Labeling, Strand Cleavage, and Gel Electrophoresis. flanking the G-C stretch. However, at higher superhelical After digestion with the appropriate restriction enzyme, densities [-0.045 (lane 6) and -0.062 (lane 7)], the reactivity modified DNAs were labeled at either the 5' end with of guanine residues within the G-C stretch increases dramat- polynucleotide kinase or the 3' end with the large fragment of ically as shown by the 5- to 10-fold increase in band intensity DNA polymerase I. End-labeled fragments were recleaved (compare lanes 5 and 6). This transition in diethyl pyro- with a second restriction enzyme and purified by electropho- carbonate reactivity correlates with formation of a left-hand- resis through 5% native polyacrylamide gels. Fragments were ed helix within the alternating G-C stretch (see Discussion). eluted by diffusion overnight at room temperature in 0.5 M To demonstrate that the observed diethyl pyrocarbonate ammonium acetate/0.05% NaDodSO4/1 mM EDTA with 10 hyperreactivity of purines was due to modification under the Mug of tRNA carrier. After ethanol precipitation, the strands defined reaction conditions, two identical samples of of the purified fragments were cleaved at the sites of diethyl supercoiled pLP32 were treated with diethyl pyrocarbonate, pyrocarbonate modification by treatment with 25 Al of 1 M but only one of the samples (Fig.