Polarized displacement by transcription activator-like effectors for regulatory circuits

Nat Chem Biol. 2019 Jan;15(1):80-87. doi: 10.1038/s41589-018-0163-8. Epub 2018 Nov 19.

Abstract

The interplay between DNA-binding proteins plays an important role in transcriptional regulation and could increase the precision and complexity of designed regulatory circuits. Here we show that a transcription activator-like effector (TALE) can displace another TALE protein from DNA in a highly polarized manner, displacing only the 3'- but not 5'-bound overlapping or adjacent TALE. We propose that the polarized displacement by TALEs is based on its multipartite nature of binding to DNA. The polarized TALE displacement provides strategies for the specific regulation of gene expression, for construction of all two-input Boolean genetic logic circuits based on the robust propagation of the displacement across multiple neighboring sites, for displacement of zinc finger-based transcription factors and for suppression of Cas9-gRNA-mediated genome cleavage, enriching the synthetic biology toolbox and contributing to the understanding of the underlying principles of the facilitated displacement.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Binding Sites
  • CRISPR-Associated Protein 9 / genetics
  • DNA / genetics
  • DNA / metabolism*
  • Early Growth Response Protein 1 / genetics
  • Early Growth Response Protein 1 / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation*
  • Gene Regulatory Networks
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Models, Theoretical
  • RNA, Guide, CRISPR-Cas Systems
  • Transcription Activator-Like Effectors / genetics
  • Transcription Activator-Like Effectors / metabolism*
  • Zinc Fingers

Substances

  • EGR1 protein, human
  • Early Growth Response Protein 1
  • Transcription Activator-Like Effectors
  • DNA
  • CRISPR-Associated Protein 9