Biomedical subjects

Jonathan H Davis

Publications and source records attributed to Jonathan H Davis.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Solution structure of an informationally complex high-affinity RNA aptamer to GTP.

Higher-affinity RNA aptamers to GTP are more informationally complex than lower-affinity aptamers. Analog binding studies have shown that the additional information needed to improve affinity does not specify more interactions with the ligand. In light of those observations, we would like to understand the structural characteristics that enable complex aptamers to bind their ligands with higher affinity. Here we present the solution structure of the 41-nt Class I GTP aptamer (K(d) = 75 nM) as determined by NMR. The backbone of the aptamer forms a reverse-S that shapes the binding pocket. The ligand nucleobase stacks between purine platforms and makes hydrogen bonds with the edge of another base. Interestingly, the local modes of interaction for the Class I aptamer and an RNA aptamer that binds ATP with a K(d) of 6 microM are very much alike. The aptamers exhibit nearly identical levels of binding specificity and fraction of ligand sequestered from the solvent (81%-85%). However, the GTP aptamer is more informationally complex (approximately 45 vs. 35 bits) and has a larger recognition bulge (15 vs. 12 nucleotides) with many more stabilizing base-base interactions. Because the aptamers have similar modes of ligand binding, we conclude that the stabilizing structural elements in the Class I aptamer are responsible for much of the difference in K(d). These results are consistent with the hypothesis that increasing the number of intra-RNA interactions, rather than adding specific contacts to the ligand, is the simplest way to improve binding affinity.

Aptamers, Nucleotide↗

PubMed2004

Informational complexity and functional activity of RNA structures.

Very little is known about the distribution of functional DNA, RNA, and protein molecules in sequence space. The question of how the number and complexity of distinct solutions to a particular biochemical problem varies with activity is an important aspect of this general problem. Here we present a comparison of the structures and activities of eleven distinct GTP-binding RNAs (aptamers). By experimentally measuring the amount of information required to specify each optimal binding structure, we show that defining a structure capable of 10-fold tighter binding requires approximately 10 additional bits of information. This increase in information content is equivalent to specifying the identity of five additional nucleotide positions and corresponds to an approximately 1000-fold decrease in abundance in a sample of random sequences. We observe a similar relationship between structural complexity and activity in a comparison of two catalytic RNAs (ribozyme ligases), raising the possibility of a general relationship between the complexity of RNA structures and their functional activity. Describing how information varies with activity in other heteropolymers, both biological and synthetic, may lead to an objective means of comparing their functional properties. This approach could be useful in predicting the functional utility of novel heteropolymers.

Base Composition↗

PubMed2002

Isolation of high-affinity GTP aptamers from partially structured RNA libraries.

Aptamers, RNA sequences that bind to target ligands, are typically isolated by in vitro selection from RNA libraries containing completely random sequences. To see whether higher-affinity aptamers can be isolated from partially structured RNA libraries, we selected for aptamers that bind GTP, starting from a mixture of fully random and partially structured libraries. Because stem-loops are common motifs in previously characterized aptamers, we designed the partially structured library to contain a centrally located stable stem-loop. We used an off-rate selection protocol designed to maximize the enrichment of high-affinity aptamers. The selection produced a surprisingly large number of distinct sequence motifs and secondary structures, including seven different aptamers with K(d)s ranging from 500 to 25 nanomolar. The engineered stem-loop was present in the three highest affinity aptamers, and in 12 of 13 independent isolates with a single consensus sequence, suggesting that its inclusion increased the abundance of high-affinity aptamers in the starting pool.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed2002

Energetic landscape of alpha-lytic protease optimizes longevity through kinetic stability.

During the evolution of proteins the pressure to optimize biological activity is moderated by a need for efficient folding. For most proteins, this is accomplished through spontaneous folding to a thermodynamically stable and active native state. However, in the extracellular bacterial alpha-lytic protease (alphaLP) these two processes have become decoupled. The native state of alphaLP is thermodynamically unstable, and when denatured, requires millennia (t1/2 approximately 1,800 years) to refold. Folding is made possible by an attached folding catalyst, the pro-region, which is degraded on completion of folding, leaving alphaLP trapped in its native state by a large kinetic unfolding barrier (t1/2 approximately 1.2 years). alphaLP faces two very different folding landscapes: one in the presence of the pro-region controlling folding, and one in its absence restricting unfolding. Here we demonstrate that this separation of folding and unfolding pathways has removed constraints placed on the folding of thermodynamically stable proteins, and allowed the evolution of a native state having markedly reduced dynamic fluctuations. This, in turn, has led to a significant extension of the functional lifetime of alphaLP by the optimal suppression of proteolytic sensitivity.

Animals↗