Structure and function of animal cryptochromes.

Cryptochrome (CRY) is a photolyase-like flavoprotein with no DNA-repair activity but with known or presumed blue-light receptor function. Animal CRYs have DNA-binding and autokinase activities, and their flavin cofactor is reduced by photoinduced electron transfer. In Drosophila, CRY is a major circadian photoreceptor, and in mammals, the two CRY proteins are core components of the molecular clock and potential circadian photoreceptors. In mammals, CRYs participate in cell cycle regulation and the cellular response to DNA damage by controlling the expression of some cell cycle genes and by directly interacting with checkpoint proteins.

Functional redundancy of cryptochromes and classical photoreceptors for nonvisual ocular photoreception in mice.

The daily light-dark (LD) cycle exerts a powerful influence on the temporal organization of behavior and physiology. Much of this influence is preserved in behaviorally blind retinally degenerate mice; the photoreceptors underlying this nonvisual phototransduction are unknown. The mammalian eye contains at least two classes of photoactive pigments, the vitamin A-based opsins and the vitamin B(2)-based cryptochromes. To genetically define the roles of these pigments in light modulation of behavior, we generated rd/rd;mCry1(-)/mCry1(-);mCry2(-)/mCry2(-) mutant mice lacking rods and most cones as well as both cryptochrome proteins. The response of the mutant mouse to photic input was analyzed at both behavioral and molecular levels. Behaviorally, mice lacking either classical photoreceptors or cryptochromes exhibited strongly rhythmic locomotor responses to 10 and 100 lux daily LD 12 h/12-h cycles; however, triple mutant mice carrying both cryptochrome and retinal degenerate mutations were nearly arrhythmic under both LD cycles and in constant darkness. At the molecular level, the light induction of c-fos transcription in the suprachiasmatic nucleus was markedly reduced in the triple mutant mouse compared with either rd/rd or cryptochrome mutant mice. These data indicate that classical opsins and cryptochromes serve functionally redundant roles in the transduction of light information to behavioral modulation and suggest a pleomorphic role for cryptochromes in both photoreception and central clock mechanism.

Differential regulation of mammalian period genes and circadian rhythmicity by cryptochromes 1 and 2.

Cryptochromes regulate the circadian clock in animals and plants. Humans and mice have two cryptochrome (Cry) genes. A previous study showed that mice lacking the Cry2 gene had reduced sensitivity to acute light induction of the circadian gene mPer1 in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and had an intrinsic period 1 hr longer than normal. In this study, Cry1(-/-) and Cry1(-/-)Cry2(-/-) mice were generated and their circadian clocks were analyzed at behavioral and molecular levels. Behaviorally, the Cry1(-/-) mice had a circadian period 1 hr shorter than wild type and the Cry1(-/-)Cry2(-/-) mice were arrhythmic in constant darkness (DD). Biochemically, acute light induction of mPer1 mRNA in the SCN was blunted in Cry1(-/-) and abolished in Cry1(-/-)Cry2(-/-) mice. In contrast, the acute light induction of mPer2 in the SCN was intact in Cry1(-/-) and Cry1(-/-)Cry2(-/-) animals. Importantly, in double mutants, mPer1 expression was constitutively elevated and no rhythmicity was detected in either 12-hr light/12-hr dark or DD, whereas mPer2 expression appeared rhythmic in 12-hr light/12-hr dark, but nonrhythmic in DD with intermediate levels. These results demonstrate that Cry1 and Cry2 are required for the normal expression of circadian behavioral rhythms, as well as circadian rhythms of mPer1 and mPer2 in the SCN. The differential regulation of mPer1 and mPer2 by light in Cry double mutants reveals a surprising complexity in the role of cryptochromes in mammals.

Human transcription release factor 2 dissociates RNA polymerases I and II stalled at a cyclobutane thymine dimer.

RNA polymerase II stalled at a lesion in the transcribed strand is thought to constitute a signal for transcription-coupled repair. Transcription factors that act on RNA polymerase in elongation mode potentially influence this mode of repair. Previously, it was shown that transcription elongation factors TFIIS and Cockayne's syndrome complementation group B protein did not disrupt the ternary complex of RNA polymerase II stalled at a thymine cyclobutane dimer, nor did they enable RNA polymerase II to bypass the dimer. Here we investigated the effect of the transcription factor 2 on RNA polymerase II and RNA polymerase I stalled at thymine dimers. Transcription factor 2 is known to release transcripts from RNA polymerase II early elongation complex generated by pulse-transcription. We found that factor 2 (which is also called release factor) disrupts the ternary complex of RNA polymerase II at a thymine dimer and surprisingly exerts the same effect on RNA polymerase I. These findings show that in mammalian cells a RNA polymerase I or RNA polymerase II transcript truncated by a lesion in the template strand may be discarded unless repair is accomplished rapidly by a mechanism that does not displace stalled RNA polymerases.

A third member of the photolyase/blue-light photoreceptor family in Drosophila: a putative circadian photoreceptor.

Two photolyases, specific for cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and (6-4) photoproducts, have been reported in Drosophila. These enzymes share extensive sequence homologies with the plant blue-light photoreceptor. We have now identified a third gene in Drosophila melanogaster with extensive sequence homology to the photolyase gene. The newly identified gene, which we named dCRY, was expressed as a recombinant protein and tested for photolyase activity. The recombinant protein exhibited photochemical properties similar to those of Drosophila pyrimidine dimer and (6-4) photolyases but lacked photolyase activity. In light of recent evidence that blue-light photoreceptors regulate the circadian clock in mammals, we propose that dCRY is the circadian photoreceptor in this organism.

Role of mouse cryptochrome blue-light photoreceptor in circadian photoresponses.

Cryptochromes are photoactive pigments in the eye that have been proposed to function as circadian photopigments. Mice lacking the cryptochrome 2 blue-light photoreceptor gene (mCry2) were tested for circadian clock-related functions. The mutant mice had a lower sensitivity to acute light induction of mPer1 in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) but exhibited normal circadian oscillations of mPer1 and mCry1 messenger RNA in the SCN. Behaviorally, the mutants had an intrinsic circadian period about 1 hour longer than normal and exhibited high-amplitude phase shifts in response to light pulses administered at circadian time 17. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that CRY2 protein modulates circadian responses in mice and suggest that cryptochromes have a role in circadian photoreception in mammals.

Cockayne syndrome group B protein enhances elongation by RNA polymerase II.

Cockayne syndrome (CS) is characterized by impaired physical and mental development. Two complementation groups, CSA and CSB, have been identified. Here we report that the CSB gene product enhances elongation by RNA polymerase II. CSB stimulated the rate of elongation on an undamaged template by a factor of about 3. A thymine-thymine cyclobutane dimer located in the template strand is known to be a strong block to transcription. Addition of CSB to the blocked polymerase resulted in addition of one nucleotide to the nascent transcript. Finally, addition of transcription factor IIS is known to cause polymerase blocked at a thymine-thymine cyclobutane dimer to digest its nascent transcript, and CSB counteracted this transcript shortening action of transcription factor IIS. Thus a deficiency in transcription elongation may contribute to the CS phenotype.

RNA polymerase II stalled at a thymine dimer: footprint and effect on excision repair.

Bulky lesions in the template strand block the progression of RNA polymerase II (RNAP II) and are repaired more rapidly than lesions in the non-transcribed strand, which do not block transcription. In order to better understand the basis of this transcription-coupled repair we developed an in vitro system with purified transcription and nucleotide excision repair proteins and a plasmid containing the adenovirus major late promoter and a thymine dimer in the template strand downstream of the transcription start site. The footprint of RNAP II stalled at the thymine dimer, obtained using DNase I, lambda exonuclease and T4 polymerase 3'-->5'exonuclease, covers approximately 40 nt and is nearly symmetrical around the dimer. The ternary complex formed at the lesion site is rather stable, with a half-life of approximately 20 h. Surprisingly, addition of human repair proteins results in repair of transcription-blocking dimers in the ternary complex. The blocked polymerase neither inhibits nor stimulates repair and repair is observed in the absence of CSB protein, the putative human transcription-repair coupling factor.

Human transcription-repair coupling factor CSB/ERCC6 is a DNA-stimulated ATPase but is not a helicase and does not disrupt the ternary transcription complex of stalled RNA polymerase II.

Transcription is coupled to repair in Escherichia coli and in humans. Proteins encoded by the mfd gene in E. coli and by the ERCC6/CSB gene in humans, both of which possess the so-called helicase motifs, are required for the coupling reaction. It has been shown that the Mfd protein is an ATPase but not a helicase and accomplishes coupling, in part, by disrupting the ternary complex of E. coli RNA polymerase stalled at the site of DNA damage. In this study we overproduced the human CSB protein using the baculovirus vector and purified and characterized the recombinant protein. CSB has an ATPase activity that is stimulated strongly by DNA; however, it neither acts as a helicase nor does it dissociate stalled RNA polymerase II, suggesting a coupling mechanism in humans different from that in prokaryotes. CSB is a DNA-binding protein, and it also binds to XPA, TFIIH, and the p34 subunit of TFIIE. These interactions are likely to play a role in recruiting repair proteins to ternary complexes formed at damage sites.

Structure and function of transcription-repair coupling factor. I. Structural domains and binding properties.

The 130-kDa mfd gene product is required for coupling transcription to repair in Escherichia coli. Mfd displaces E. coli RNA polymerase (Pol) stalled at a lesion, binds to the damage recognition protein UvrA, and increases the template strand repair rate during transcription. Here, the interactions of Mfd (transcription-repair coupling factor, TRCF) with DNA, RNA Pol, and UvrA were investigated. TRCF bound nonspecifically to double stranded DNA; binding to DNA produced alternating DNase I-protected and -hypersensitive regions, suggesting possible wrapping of the DNA around the enzyme. Weaker binding to single stranded DNA and no binding to single stranded RNA were observed. DNA binding required ATP, and hydrolysis of ATP promoted dissociation. Removal of a stalled RNA Pol also requires ATP hydrolysis. Apparently, TRCF recognizes a stalled elongation complex by directly interacting with RNA Pol, since binding to a synthetic transcription bubble was no stronger than binding to double stranded DNA, and binding to free RNA Pol holoenzyme and to initiation and elongation complexes in the absence of adenosine 5'-O-(thiotriphosphate) were observed. Structure-function analysis showed that residues 379-571 are involved in binding to a stalled RNAP. The helicase motifs region, residues 571-931, binds to ATP and duplex polynucleotide (DNA:DNA or DNA:RNA). Dissociation of the ternary complex upon hydrolysis of ATP also requires the carboxyl terminus of TRCF. Finally, residues 1-378 bind to UvrA and deliver the damage recognition component of the excision nuclease to the lesion.

Structure and function of transcription-repair coupling factor. II. Catalytic properties.

The transcription repair coupling factor (TRCF) of Escherichia coli has the so-called helicase motifs, is a DNA-, RNA Pol-, and UvrA-binding protein, and is required for the coupling of repair to transcription. We investigated the potential helicase, transcription termination, and transcription-repair coupling activities of TRCF on various substrates. We found that TRCF does not have a helicase activity on any of the substrates tested. However, the TRCF releases both RNA Pol and the truncated transcript from a transcriptional road block caused by a lesion, a "missing base," or a DNA-bound protein. It does not have any effect on rho-dependent or rho-independent transcriptional termination. However, some premature terminations were induced by TRCF at other sites. The coupling of transcription to repair occurs with supercoiled and relaxed circular DNA and with linear DNA. However, the coupling with linear DNA is strongly affected by the length of the DNA and does not occur with fragments in which the lesion is closer than 90 nucleotides to the 5' terminus of the template strand. Under transcription conditions the repair of lesions in the promoter region and up to the eleventh transcribed base is inhibited even in the presence of TRCF. Stimulation of repair in the transcribed strand starts at lesions at +15 nucleotides. Stimulation of repair occurs via facilitating the delivery of the A2B1 complex to the lesion site by the TCRF and can be inhibited by excess UvrA which binds to the TRCF off DNA. In vitro, strand-specific repair is not dependent on the MutL and MutS proteins which have recently been implicated in preferential repair in vivo.

Mechanisms of transcription-repair coupling and mutation frequency decline.

Mutation frequency decline is the rapid and irreversible decline in the suppressor mutation frequency of Escherichia coli cells if the cells are kept in nongrowth media immediately following the mutagenic treatment. The gene mfd, which is necessary for mutation frequency decline, encodes a protein of 130 kDa which couples transcription to excision repair by binding to RNA polymerase and to UvrA, which is the damage recognition subunit of the excision repair enzyme. Although current evidence suggests that transcription-repair coupling is the cause of the preferential repair of the transcribed strand of mRNA encoding genes as well as of suppressor tRNA genes, the decline occurs under stringent response conditions in which the tRNA genes are not efficiently transcribed. Thus, the mechanism of strand-specific repair is well understood, but some questions remain regarding the precise mechanism of mutation frequency decline.

Molecular mechanism of transcription-repair coupling.

Lesions in the transcribed strand block transcription and are repaired more rapidly than lesions in the nontranscribed (coding) strand which do not block RNA polymerase (RNAP). It has been shown previously that in Escherichia coli the mfd (mutation frequency decline) gene is necessary for strand-specific repair. The mfd gene was cloned and sequenced and the Mfd protein was purified and used to reconstitute strand-specific repair in a completely defined system. The mfd gene encodes a protein of 130 kilodaltons and contains the so-called "helicase motifs," a leucine zipper motif, and regions of sequence similarity to UvrB and RecG proteins. The Mfd protein was shown to (i) displace RNAP stalled at a lesion in an adenosine triphosphate-dependent reaction, (ii) bind to the damage recognition subunit (UvrA) of the excision nuclease, and (iii) stimulate the repair of the transcribed strand only when transcription is taking place. Thus, Mfd appears to target the transcribed strand for repair by recognizing a stalled RNAP and actively recruiting the repair enzyme to the transcription blocking lesion as it dissociates the stalled RNAP.

Post-incision steps of nucleotide excision repair in Escherichia coli. Disassembly of the UvrBC-DNA complex by helicase II and DNA polymerase I.

UvrA, UvrB, and UvrC initiate nucleotide excision repair by incising a damaged DNA strand on each side of the damaged nucleotide. This incision reaction is substoichiometric with regard to UvrB and UvrC, suggesting that both proteins remain bound following incision and do not "turn over." The addition of only helicase II to such reaction mixtures turns over UvrC; UvrB turnover requires the addition of helicase II, DNA polymerase I, and deoxynucleoside triphosphates. Column chromatography and psoralen photocross-linking experiments show that following incision, the damaged oligomer remains associated with the undamaged strand, UvrB, and UvrC in a post-incision complex. Helicase II releases the damaged oligomer and UvrC from this complex, making repair synthesis possible; DNase I footprinting experiments show that UvrB remains bound to the resulting gapped DNA until displaced by DNA polymerase I. The specific binding of UvrB to a psoralen adduct in DNA inhibits psoralen-mediated DNA-DNA cross-linking, yet promotes the formation of UrvB-psoralen-DNA cross-links. The discovery of psoralen-UvrB photocross-linking offers the potential of active-site labeling.

Escherichia coli mfd mutant deficient in "mutation frequency decline" lacks strand-specific repair: in vitro complementation with purified coupling factor.

Mutation frequency decline (MFD) is the rapid decrease in the frequency of certain induced nonsense suppressor mutations occurring when protein synthesis is transiently inhibited immediately after irradiation. MFD is abolished by mutations in the uvrA, -B, or -C genes, which prevent excision repair, or by a mfd mutation, which reduces the rate of excision but does not affect survival. Using an in vitro repair synthesis assay we found that although wild-type cells repair the transcribed (template) strand preferentially, mfd- cells are incapable of strand-specific repair. The deficiency in strand-selective repair of mfd- cell extract was corrected by adding highly purified "transcription-repair coupling factor" to the reaction mixture. We conclude that mfd is, most likely, the gene encoding the transcription-repair coupling factor.

Gene- and strand-specific repair in vitro: partial purification of a transcription-repair coupling factor.

In eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, activity transcribed genes and, in some instances, the template strand of these genes have been found to be repaired 2-10 times more rapidly than nontranscribed genes or the coding strand of transcribed genes. We demonstrate here gene- and template strand-specific repair synthesis in vitro by using an Escherichia coli cell-free extract and a plasmid carrying a gene with the strong tac promoter. Strand-specific repair of UV, 4'-hydroxymethyl1-4,5',8-trimethylpsoralen, and cis-dicholorodiammine platinum(II) damage was dependent upon transcription and a functional nucleotide excision repair system and was stimulated by 6% (wt/vol) polyethylene glycol. A defined system consisting of the transcription and repair proteins in highly purified form did not perform strand-specific repair; however, active fractions of extract conferred strand specificity to the defined system. Transcription-repair coupling activity was partially purified from extract by successive DEAE-agarose and gel filtration chromatography. The coupling factor is heat-labile, with an estimated Mr of 100,000.

Identification of the different intermediates in the interaction of (A)BC excinuclease with its substrates by DNase I footprinting on two uniquely modified oligonucleotides.

(A)BC excinuclease is the enzymatic activity resulting from the joint actions of UvrA, UvrB and UvrC proteins of Escherichia coli. The enzyme removes from DNA many types of adducts of dissimilar structures with different efficiencies. To understand the mechanism of substrate recognition and the basis of enzyme specificity, we investigated the interactions of the three subunits with two synthetic substrates, one containing a psoralen-thymine monoadduct and the other a thymine dimer. Using DNase I as a probe, we found that UvrA makes a 33 base-pair footprint around the psoralen-thymine adduct and that UvrA-UvrB make a 45 base-pair asymmetric footprint characterized by a hypersensitive site 11 nucleotides 5' to the adduct and protection mostly on the 3' side of the damage. Conditions that favor dissociation of UvrA from the UvrA-UvrB-DNA complex, such as addition of excess undamaged DNA to the reaction mixture, resulted in the formation of a 19 base-pair UvrB footprint. In contrast, a thymine dimer in a similar sequence context failed to elicit a UvrA, a UvrA-UvrB or UvrB footprint and gave rise to a relatively weak DNase I hypersensitive site typical of a UvrA-UvrB complex. Dissociation of UvrA from the UvrA-UvrB-DNA complex stimulated the rate of incision of both substrates upon addition of UvrC, leading us to conclude that UvrA is not a part of the incision complex and that it actually interferes with incision. The extent of incision of the two substrates upon addition of UvrC (70% for the psoralen adduct and 20% for the thymine dimer) was proportional to the extent of formation of the UvrA-UvrB-DNA (i.e. UvrB-DNA) complex, indicating that substrate discrimination occurs at the preincision step.