Cas3 nuclease activity is regulated by an iHDA1 region located at the interface between HD and RecA1 domain

CRISPR Cas3 is a crucial protein effector for type I CRISPR interference. It couples actions of helicase and nuclease domains to eliminate mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in response to the recognition of protospacer sequences on foreign DNA by the Cascade complex that recruits Cas3. The DNA cleavage...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: He, Liu
Format: Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/69106/
_version_ 1848800533463171072
author He, Liu
author_facet He, Liu
author_sort He, Liu
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description CRISPR Cas3 is a crucial protein effector for type I CRISPR interference. It couples actions of helicase and nuclease domains to eliminate mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in response to the recognition of protospacer sequences on foreign DNA by the Cascade complex that recruits Cas3. The DNA cleavage efficacy of Cas3 determines whether or not the host cell survives infection caused by MGEs. Cascade stimulates Cas3 DNA hydrolysis activity, and Cas3 possesses structure and functions characteristics that are Cascade-independent and may be additionally modulated by other factors. These challenges previous understanding of Cas3 mechanism in CRISPR interference and in potentially other aspects of bacterial physiology. This work reported in this thesis investigated Cas3 structure-function. A crucial Cas3 region, termed iHDA1, is highlighted for its role in determining whether DNA can access the Cas3 HD nuclease sites. This iHDA1 region accommodates the Trp-406 amino acid that can cause a steric block in the DNA channel within Cas3; therefore, we define this tryptophan amino acid as a ‘gate’. Extrinsic factors also impact Cas3 function, we propose by stimulating the iHDA1 region to undergo conformational changes. As reported here, these are temperature, the CRISPR adaptation protein Cas1, and a predicted post-translational modification targeting a predicted redox switch in the iHDA1 region. In addition, a novel protein interaction between Cas3 and DNA polymerase I was discovered.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T20:53:04Z
format Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
id nottingham-69106
institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-14T20:53:04Z
publishDate 2022
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling nottingham-691062025-02-28T15:15:17Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/69106/ Cas3 nuclease activity is regulated by an iHDA1 region located at the interface between HD and RecA1 domain He, Liu CRISPR Cas3 is a crucial protein effector for type I CRISPR interference. It couples actions of helicase and nuclease domains to eliminate mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in response to the recognition of protospacer sequences on foreign DNA by the Cascade complex that recruits Cas3. The DNA cleavage efficacy of Cas3 determines whether or not the host cell survives infection caused by MGEs. Cascade stimulates Cas3 DNA hydrolysis activity, and Cas3 possesses structure and functions characteristics that are Cascade-independent and may be additionally modulated by other factors. These challenges previous understanding of Cas3 mechanism in CRISPR interference and in potentially other aspects of bacterial physiology. This work reported in this thesis investigated Cas3 structure-function. A crucial Cas3 region, termed iHDA1, is highlighted for its role in determining whether DNA can access the Cas3 HD nuclease sites. This iHDA1 region accommodates the Trp-406 amino acid that can cause a steric block in the DNA channel within Cas3; therefore, we define this tryptophan amino acid as a ‘gate’. Extrinsic factors also impact Cas3 function, we propose by stimulating the iHDA1 region to undergo conformational changes. As reported here, these are temperature, the CRISPR adaptation protein Cas1, and a predicted post-translational modification targeting a predicted redox switch in the iHDA1 region. In addition, a novel protein interaction between Cas3 and DNA polymerase I was discovered. 2022-07-29 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/69106/1/Liu%20He%2014296121%2C%20May%202022%2C%20new.pdf He, Liu (2022) Cas3 nuclease activity is regulated by an iHDA1 region located at the interface between HD and RecA1 domain. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham. CRISPR; Genetics; Mobile genetic elements; Prokaryotes; Nucleases
spellingShingle CRISPR; Genetics; Mobile genetic elements; Prokaryotes; Nucleases
He, Liu
Cas3 nuclease activity is regulated by an iHDA1 region located at the interface between HD and RecA1 domain
title Cas3 nuclease activity is regulated by an iHDA1 region located at the interface between HD and RecA1 domain
title_full Cas3 nuclease activity is regulated by an iHDA1 region located at the interface between HD and RecA1 domain
title_fullStr Cas3 nuclease activity is regulated by an iHDA1 region located at the interface between HD and RecA1 domain
title_full_unstemmed Cas3 nuclease activity is regulated by an iHDA1 region located at the interface between HD and RecA1 domain
title_short Cas3 nuclease activity is regulated by an iHDA1 region located at the interface between HD and RecA1 domain
title_sort cas3 nuclease activity is regulated by an ihda1 region located at the interface between hd and reca1 domain
topic CRISPR; Genetics; Mobile genetic elements; Prokaryotes; Nucleases
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/69106/