Part:BBa_K5237004
Half-Staple: Oct1-DBD
Oct1-DBD is the DNA-binding domain of the human Oct1 transcription factor, it can be readily fused with other DNA-bindig proteins to form a functional staple for DNA-DNA proximity. We used this part as a component for our Simple staple (BBa_K5237006) resulting in a bivalent DNA binding staple, and also fused to mNeonGreen, as part of a FRET readout system (BBa_K5237016).
Contents
The 3D organization of the genome plays a crucial role in regulating gene expression in eukaryotic cells,
impacting cellular behavior, evolution, and disease. Beyond the linear DNA sequence, the spatial arrangement of
chromatin, influenced by DNA-DNA interactions, shapes pathways of gene regulation. However, the tools to precisely
manipulate this genomic architecture remain limited, rendering it challenging to explore the full potential of the
3D genome in synthetic biology. We - iGEM Team Heidelberg 2024 - have developed PICasSO, a powerful molecular
toolbox based on various DNA-binding proteins to address this issue.
The PICasSO part collection offers a comprehensive, modular platform for precise manipulation and re-programming of DNA-DNA interactions using protein staples in living cells, enabling researchers to recreate natural 3D genomic interactions, such as enhancer hijacking, or to design entirely new spatial architectures for gene regulation. Beyond its versatility, PICasSO includes robust assay systems to support the engineering, optimization, and testing of new staples, ensuring functionality in vitro and in vivo. We took special care to include parts crucial for testing every step of the cycle (design, build, test, learn) when engineering new parts
At its heart, the PICasSO part collection consists of three categories.
(i) Our DNA-binding proteins
include our
finalized enhancer hijacking Cas staple as well as half staples that can be used by scientists to compose entirely
new Cas staples in the future. We also include our simple staples that serve as controls for successful stapling
and can be further engineered to create alternative, simpler and more compact staples.
(ii) As functional elements, we list additional parts that enhance the functionality of our Cas and Basic staples. These
consist of
protease-cleavable peptide linkers and inteins that allow condition-specific, dynamic stapling in vivo.
Besides staple functionality, we also include the parts to enable the efficient delivery of PICasSO's constructs with our
interkingdom conjugation system.
(iii) As the final component of our collection, we provide parts that support the use of our custom readout
systems. These include components of our established FRET-based proximity assay system, enabling users to
confirm
accurate stapling. Additionally, we offer a complementary, application-oriented testing system for functional
readout via a luciferase reporter, which allows for straightforward experimental simulation of enhancer hijacking.
The following table gives a complete overview of all parts in our PICasSO toolbox. The highlighted parts showed
exceptional performance as described on our iGEM wiki and can serve as a reference. The other parts in the
collection are versatile building blocks designed to provide future iGEMers with the flexibility to engineer their
own custom Cas staples, enabling further optimization and innovation.
Our part collection includes:
| DNA-binding proteins: The building blocks for engineering of custom staples for DNA-DNA interactions with a modular system ensuring easy assembly. | ||
| BBa_K5237000 | fgRNA Entryvector MbCas12a-SpCas9 | Entryvector for simple fgRNA cloning via SapI |
| BBa_K5237001 | Staple subunit: dMbCas12a-Nucleoplasmin NLS | Staple subunit that can be combined to form a functional staple, for example with fgRNA and dCas9 |
| BBa_K5237002 | Staple subunit: SV40 NLS-dSpCas9-SV40 NLS | Staple subunit that can be combined to form a functional staple, for example with our fgRNA or dCas12a |
| BBa_K5237003 | Cas-Staple: SV40 NLS-dMbCas12a-dSpCas9-Nucleoplasmin NLS | Functional Cas staple that can be combined with sgRNA or fgRNA to bring two DNA strands in close proximity |
| BBa_K5237004 | Staple subunit: Oct1-DBD | Staple subunit that can be combined to form a functional staple, for example with TetR. Can also be combined with a fluorescent protein as part of the FRET proximity assay |
| BBa_K5237005 | Staple subunit: TetR | Staple subunit that can be combined to form a functional staple, for example with Oct1. Can also be combined with a fluorescent protein as part of the FRET proximity assay |
| BBa_K5237006 | Simple taple: TetR-Oct1 | Functional staple that can be used to bring two DNA strands in close proximity |
| BBa_K5237007 | Staple subunit: GCN4 | Staple subunit that can be combined to form a functional staple, for example with rGCN4 |
| BBa_K5237008 | Staple subunit: rGCN4 | Staple subunit that can be combined to form a functional staple, for example with rGCN4 |
| BBa_K5237009 | Mini staple: bGCN4 | Assembled staple with minimal size that can be further engineered | Functional elements: Protease cleavable peptide linkers and inteins are used to control and modify staples for further optimization for custom applications. |
| BBa_K5237010 | Cathepsin B-Cleavable Linker (GFLG) | Cathepsin B cleavable peptide linker, that can be used to combine two staple subunits ,to make responsive staples |
| BBa_K5237011 | Cathepsin B Expression Cassette | Cathepsin B which can be selectively express to cut the cleavable linker |
| BBa_K5237012 | Caged NpuN Intein | Undergoes protein transsplicing after protease activation, can be used to create functionalized staple units |
| BBa_K5237013 | Caged NpuC Intein | Undergoes protein transsplicing after protease activation, can be used to create functionalized staple units |
| BBa_K5237014 | fgRNA processing casette | Processing casette to produce multiple fgRNAs from one transcript, can be used for multiplexing |
| BBa_K5237015 | Intimin anti-EGFR Nanobody | Interkindom conjugation between bacteria and mammalian cells, as alternative delivery tool for large constructs | Readout Systems: FRET and enhancer recruitment to measure proximity of stapled DNA in bacterial and mammalian living cells enabling swift testing and easy development for new systems. |
| BBa_K5237016 | FRET-Donor: mNeonGreen-Oct1 | Donor part for the FRET assay binding the Oct1 binding cassette. Can be used to visualize DNA-DNA proximity |
| BBa_K5237017 | FRET-Acceptor: TetR-mScarlet-I | Acceptor part for the FRET assay binding the TetR binding cassette. Can be used to visualize DNA-DNA proximity |
| BBa_K5237018 | Oct1 Binding Casette | DNA sequence containing 12 Oct1 binding motifs, can be used for different assays such as the FRET proximity assay |
| BBa_K5237019 | TetR Binding Cassette | DNA sequence containing 12 Oct1 binding motifs, can be used for different assays such as the FRET proximity assay | BBa_K5237020 | Cathepsin B-Cleavable Trans-Activator: NLS-Gal4-GFLG-VP64 | Readout system that responds to protease activity. It was used to test Cathepsin-B cleavable linker. |
| BBa_K5237021 | NLS-Gal4-VP64 | Trans-activating enhancer, that can be used to simulate enhancer hijacking. | BBa_K5237022 | mCherry Expression Cassette: UAS, minimal Promotor, mCherry | Readout system for enhancer binding. It was used to test Cathepsin-B cleavable linker. |
| BBa_K5237023 | Oct1 - 5x UAS binding casette | Oct1 and UAS binding cassette, that was used for the simulated enhancer hijacking assay. |
| BBa_K5237024 | TRE-minimal promoter- firefly luciferase | Contains Firefly luciferase controlled by a minimal promoter. It was used as a luminescence readout for simulated enhancer hijacking. |
1. Sequence overview
Sequence and Features
- 10COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[10]
- 12COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[12]
- 21COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[21]
- 23COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[23]
- 25COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[25]
- 1000COMPATIBLE WITH RFC[1000]
2. Usage and Biology
Oct1-DBD is the DNA-binding domain of the human transcription factor Oct1 (POU2F1), which plays a key role in gene regulation, immune response, and stress adaptation in eukaryotic cells. This domain specifically binds to the octamer motif (5'-ATGCAAAT-3') within promoter and enhancer regions, influencing transcriptional activity (Lundbäck et al., 2000). The Oct1-DBD consists of both a POU-specific domain and a POU homeodomain, which work together to form a stable complex with DNA (Park et al., 2013, Stepchenko et al. 2021).
In synthetic biology, Oct1-DBD was previously used for plasmid display technology due to its strong binding affinity (KD = 9 × 10-11 M). Proteins fused with Oct1-DBD showed increased expression and protein solubility (Parker et al. 2020).
This part was further used in BBa_K5237002 as a fusion with tetR, resulting in a bivalent DNA binding staple, and also fused to mNeonGree, as part of a FRET readout system (BBa_K5237016).
3. Assembly and part evolution
The Oct1-DBD amino acid sequence was obtained from UniProt (P14859, POU domain, class 2, transcription factor 1) and DNA binding domain extracted based on information given from Park et al. 2013 & 2020. An E. coli codon optimized DNA sequence was obtained through gene synthesis and used to clone further constructs
4. Results
Oct1 was N-terminally fused to the His6-mNeonGreen. The fusion protein was expressed from a T7 based expression plasmid and subsequently purified using metal affinity chromatography with Ni-NTA beads.(Figure 3, left) DNA binding affinity was estimated with an electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA). For this, three different buffer conditions were tested (Binding buffer 1: 137 mM NaCl, 2.7 mM KCl, 10 mM Na2HPO4, 1.8 mM KH2HPO4, 0.1 % (v/v) IGEPAL® CA-360, 1 mM EDTA; Binding buffer 2: 10 mM Tris, 50 mM KCl; NaP250: Na2HPO4, 150 mM NaCl, 250 mM Imidazol). DNA binding could only be detected for Binding buffer 1. (Figure 3, right)
Left image:Lane 1: raw lysate of E. coli expression culture after steril-filtration; Lane 2: Flow through of first wash (10 bed volumes of NaP10 (Na2HPO4, 150 mM NaCl, 10 mM Imidazol)); Lane 3: Flow through of second wash (10 bed volumes of NaP20 (Na2HPO4, 150 mM NaCl, 20 mM Imidazol)); Lane 4: Elution of purified protein.
1 µL of each fraction was loaded after mixing and heating with 4x Laeemli buffer, on a 4-15% TGX-Gel. The expected band size of the protein is 56 840.23 Da, highlighted in red on the gel.
Right image Purified mNeonGreen-Oct1 fusion-protein (1000 nM, 100 nM or 10 nM) were equilibrated with 0.5 µM DNA, containing three Oct1 binding sites, in different buffer compositions. (Binding buffer 1: 137 mM NaCl, 2.7 mM KCl, 10 mM Na 2HPO4, 1.8 mM KH2HPO4, 0.1 % (v/v) IGEPAL® CA-360, 1 mM EDTA; Binding buffer 2: 10 mM Tris, 50 mM KCl; NaP250: 50 mM NaH2PO4, 150 mM NaCl, 250 mM Imidazol) Bands were visualized with SYBR-Safe staining.
5. References
Lundbäck, T., Chang, J.-F., Phillips, K., Luisi, B., & Ladbury, J. E. (2000). Characterization of Sequence-Specific DNA Binding by the Transcription Factor Oct-1. Biochemistry, 39(25), 7570–7579. https://doi.org/10.1021/bi000377h
Park, J. H., Kwon, H. W., & Jeong, K. J. (2013). Development of a plasmid display system with an Oct-1 DNA-binding domain suitable for in vitro screening of engineered proteins. Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering, 116(2), 246–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiosc.2013.02.005
Park, Y., Shin, J., Yang, J., Kim, H., Jung, Y., Oh, H., Kim, Y., Hwang, J., Park, M., Ban, C., Jeong, K. J., Kim, S.-K., & Kweon, D.-H. (2020). Plasmid Display for Stabilization of Enzymes Inside the Cell to Improve Whole-Cell Biotransformation Efficiency. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2019.00444
Stepchenko, A. G., Portseva, T. N., Glukhov, I. A., Kotnova, A. P., Lyanova, B. M., Georgieva, S. G., & Pankratova, E. V. (2021). Primate-specific stress-induced transcription factor POU2F1Z protects human neuronal cells from stress. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 18808. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98323-y
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