Molecular dynamics simulations of DNA-free and DNA-bound TAL effectors.

TAL (transcriptional activator-like) effectors (TALEs) are DNA-binding proteins, containing a modular central domain that recognizes specific DNA sequences. Recently, the crystallographic studies of TALEs revealed the structure of DNA-recognition domain. In this article, molecular dynamics (MD) simu...

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Main Authors: Hua Wan, Jian-ping Hu, Kang-shun Li, Xu-hong Tian, Shan Chang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2013-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/24130757/pdf/?tool=EBI
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author Hua Wan
Jian-ping Hu
Kang-shun Li
Xu-hong Tian
Shan Chang
author_facet Hua Wan
Jian-ping Hu
Kang-shun Li
Xu-hong Tian
Shan Chang
author_sort Hua Wan
collection DOAJ
description TAL (transcriptional activator-like) effectors (TALEs) are DNA-binding proteins, containing a modular central domain that recognizes specific DNA sequences. Recently, the crystallographic studies of TALEs revealed the structure of DNA-recognition domain. In this article, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are employed to study two crystal structures of an 11.5-repeat TALE, in the presence and absence of DNA, respectively. The simulated results indicate that the specific binding of RVDs (repeat-variable diresidues) with DNA leads to the markedly reduced fluctuations of tandem repeats, especially at the two ends. In the DNA-bound TALE system, the base-specific interaction is formed mainly by the residue at position 13 within a TAL repeat. Tandem repeats with weak RVDs are unfavorable for the TALE-DNA binding. These observations are consistent with experimental studies. By using principal component analysis (PCA), the dominant motions are open-close movements between the two ends of the superhelical structure in both DNA-free and DNA-bound TALE systems. The open-close movements are found to be critical for the recognition and binding of TALE-DNA based on the analysis of free energy landscape (FEL). The conformational analysis of DNA indicates that the 5' end of DNA target sequence has more remarkable structural deformability than the other sites. Meanwhile, the conformational change of DNA is likely associated with the specific interaction of TALE-DNA. We further suggest that the arrangement of N-terminal repeats with strong RVDs may help in the design of efficient TALEs. This study provides some new insights into the understanding of the TALE-DNA recognition mechanism.
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spelling doaj.art-94794f892bf741ae9a0cadc6fd82d3712022-12-21T21:24:24ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032013-01-01810e7604510.1371/journal.pone.0076045Molecular dynamics simulations of DNA-free and DNA-bound TAL effectors.Hua WanJian-ping HuKang-shun LiXu-hong TianShan ChangTAL (transcriptional activator-like) effectors (TALEs) are DNA-binding proteins, containing a modular central domain that recognizes specific DNA sequences. Recently, the crystallographic studies of TALEs revealed the structure of DNA-recognition domain. In this article, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are employed to study two crystal structures of an 11.5-repeat TALE, in the presence and absence of DNA, respectively. The simulated results indicate that the specific binding of RVDs (repeat-variable diresidues) with DNA leads to the markedly reduced fluctuations of tandem repeats, especially at the two ends. In the DNA-bound TALE system, the base-specific interaction is formed mainly by the residue at position 13 within a TAL repeat. Tandem repeats with weak RVDs are unfavorable for the TALE-DNA binding. These observations are consistent with experimental studies. By using principal component analysis (PCA), the dominant motions are open-close movements between the two ends of the superhelical structure in both DNA-free and DNA-bound TALE systems. The open-close movements are found to be critical for the recognition and binding of TALE-DNA based on the analysis of free energy landscape (FEL). The conformational analysis of DNA indicates that the 5' end of DNA target sequence has more remarkable structural deformability than the other sites. Meanwhile, the conformational change of DNA is likely associated with the specific interaction of TALE-DNA. We further suggest that the arrangement of N-terminal repeats with strong RVDs may help in the design of efficient TALEs. This study provides some new insights into the understanding of the TALE-DNA recognition mechanism.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/24130757/pdf/?tool=EBI
spellingShingle Hua Wan
Jian-ping Hu
Kang-shun Li
Xu-hong Tian
Shan Chang
Molecular dynamics simulations of DNA-free and DNA-bound TAL effectors.
PLoS ONE
title Molecular dynamics simulations of DNA-free and DNA-bound TAL effectors.
title_full Molecular dynamics simulations of DNA-free and DNA-bound TAL effectors.
title_fullStr Molecular dynamics simulations of DNA-free and DNA-bound TAL effectors.
title_full_unstemmed Molecular dynamics simulations of DNA-free and DNA-bound TAL effectors.
title_short Molecular dynamics simulations of DNA-free and DNA-bound TAL effectors.
title_sort molecular dynamics simulations of dna free and dna bound tal effectors
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/24130757/pdf/?tool=EBI
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AT kangshunli moleculardynamicssimulationsofdnafreeanddnaboundtaleffectors
AT xuhongtian moleculardynamicssimulationsofdnafreeanddnaboundtaleffectors
AT shanchang moleculardynamicssimulationsofdnafreeanddnaboundtaleffectors