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Sample records for constructing rna dynamical

  1. A constructive approach to gene expression dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ochiai, T.; Nacher, J.C.; Akutsu, T.

    2004-01-01

    Recently, experiments on mRNA abundance (gene expression) have revealed that gene expression shows a stationary organization described by a scale-free distribution. Here we propose a constructive approach to gene expression dynamics which restores the scale-free exponent and describes the intermediate state dynamics. This approach requires only one assumption: Markov property

  2. Structure and Dynamics of RNA Repeat Expansions That Cause Huntington's Disease and Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jonathan L; VanEtten, Damian M; Fountain, Matthew A; Yildirim, Ilyas; Disney, Matthew D

    2017-07-11

    RNA repeat expansions cause a host of incurable, genetically defined diseases. The most common class of RNA repeats consists of trinucleotide repeats. These long, repeating transcripts fold into hairpins containing 1 × 1 internal loops that can mediate disease via a variety of mechanism(s) in which RNA is the central player. Two of these disorders are Huntington's disease and myotonic dystrophy type 1, which are caused by r(CAG) and r(CUG) repeats, respectively. We report the structures of two RNA constructs containing three copies of a r(CAG) [r(3×CAG)] or r(CUG) [r(3×CUG)] motif that were modeled with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and simulated annealing with restrained molecular dynamics. The 1 × 1 internal loops of r(3×CAG) are stabilized by one-hydrogen bond (cis Watson-Crick/Watson-Crick) AA pairs, while those of r(3×CUG) prefer one- or two-hydrogen bond (cis Watson-Crick/Watson-Crick) UU pairs. Assigned chemical shifts for the residues depended on the identity of neighbors or next nearest neighbors. Additional insights into the dynamics of these RNA constructs were gained by molecular dynamics simulations and a discrete path sampling method. Results indicate that the global structures of the RNA are A-form and that the loop regions are dynamic. The results will be useful for understanding the dynamic trajectory of these RNA repeats but also may aid in the development of therapeutics.

  3. ConStruct: Improved construction of RNA consensus structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steger Gerhard

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Aligning homologous non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs correctly in terms of sequence and structure is an unresolved problem, due to both mathematical complexity and imperfect scoring functions. High quality alignments, however, are a prerequisite for most consensus structure prediction approaches, homology searches, and tools for phylogeny inference. Automatically created ncRNA alignments often need manual corrections, yet this manual refinement is tedious and error-prone. Results We present an extended version of CONSTRUCT, a semi-automatic, graphical tool suitable for creating RNA alignments correct in terms of both consensus sequence and consensus structure. To this purpose CONSTRUCT combines sequence alignment, thermodynamic data and various measures of covariation. One important feature is that the user is guided during the alignment correction step by a consensus dotplot, which displays all thermodynamically optimal base pairs and the corresponding covariation. Once the initial alignment is corrected, optimal and suboptimal secondary structures as well as tertiary interaction can be predicted. We demonstrate CONSTRUCT's ability to guide the user in correcting an initial alignment, and show an example for optimal secondary consensus structure prediction on very hard to align SECIS elements. Moreover we use CONSTRUCT to predict tertiary interactions from sequences of the internal ribosome entry site of CrP-like viruses. In addition we show that alignments specifically designed for benchmarking can be easily be optimized using CONSTRUCT, although they share very little sequence identity. Conclusion CONSTRUCT's graphical interface allows for an easy alignment correction based on and guided by predicted and known structural constraints. It combines several algorithms for prediction of secondary consensus structure and even tertiary interactions. The CONSTRUCT package can be downloaded from the URL listed in the Availability and

  4. A construct with fluorescent indicators for conditional expression of miRNA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xia Xugang

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Transgenic RNAi holds promise as a simple, low-cost, and fast method for reverse genetics in mammals. It may be particularly useful for producing animal models for hypomorphic gene function. Inducible RNAi that permits spatially and temporally controllable gene silencing in vivo will enhance the power of transgenic RNAi approach. Furthermore, because microRNA (miRNA targeting specific genes can be expressed simultaneously with protein coding genes, incorporation of fluorescent marker proteins can simplify the screening and analysis of transgenic RNAi animals. Results We sought to optimally express a miRNA simultaneously with a fluorescent marker. We compared two construct designs. One expressed a red fluorescent protein (RFP and a miRNA placed in its 3' untranslated region (UTR. The other expressed the same RFP and miRNA, but the precursor miRNA (pre-miRNA coding sequence was placed in an intron that was inserted into the 3'-UTR. We found that the two constructs expressed comparable levels of miRNA. However, the intron-containing construct expressed a significantly higher level of RFP than the intron-less construct. Further experiments indicate that the 3'-UTR intron enhances RFP expression by its intrinsic gene-expression-enhancing activity and by eliminating the inhibitory effect of the pre-miRNA on the expression of RFP. Based on these findings, we incorporated the intron-embedded pre-miRNA design into a conditional expression construct that employed the Cre-loxP system. This construct initially expressed EGFP gene, which was flanked by loxP sites. After exposure to Cre recombinase, the transgene stopped EGFP expression and began expression of RFP and a miRNA, which silenced the expression of specific cellular genes. Conclusion We have designed and tested a conditional miRNA-expression construct and showed that this construct expresses both the marker genes strongly and can silence the target gene efficiently upon Cre

  5. Hydration dependent dynamics in RNA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olsen, Greg L.; Bardaro, Michael F.; Echodu, Dorothy C.; Drobny, Gary P.; Varani, Gabriele

    2009-01-01

    The essential role played by local and collective motions in RNA function has led to a growing interest in the characterization of RNA dynamics. Recent investigations have revealed that even relatively simple RNAs experience complex motions over multiple time scales covering the entire ms-ps motional range. In this work, we use deuterium solid-state NMR to systematically investigate motions in HIV-1 TAR RNA as a function of hydration. We probe dynamics at three uridine residues in different structural environments ranging from helical to completely unrestrained. We observe distinct and substantial changes in 2 H solid-state relaxation times and lineshapes at each site as hydration levels increase. By comparing solid-state and solution state 13 C relaxation measurements, we establish that ns-μs motions that may be indicative of collective dynamics suddenly arise in the RNA as hydration reaches a critical point coincident with the onset of bulk hydration. Beyond that point, we observe smaller changes in relaxation rates and lineshapes in these highly hydrated solid samples, compared to the dramatic activation of motion occurring at moderate hydration

  6. Atomistic mechanism of microRNA translation upregulation via molecular dynamics simulations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Ye

    Full Text Available MicroRNAs are endogenous 23-25 nt RNAs that play important gene-regulatory roles in animals and plants. Recently, miR369-3 was found to upregulate translation of TNFα mRNA in quiescent (G0 mammalian cell lines. Knock down and immunofluorescence experiments suggest that microRNA-protein complexes (with FXR1 and AGO2 are necessary for the translation upregulation. However the molecular mechanism of microRNA translation activation is poorly understood. In this study we constructed the microRNA-mRNA-AGO2-FXR1 quadruple complex by bioinformatics and molecular modeling, followed with all atom molecular dynamics simulations in explicit solvent to investigate the interaction mechanisms for the complex. A combined analysis of experimental and computational data suggests that AGO2-FXR1 complex relocalize microRNA:mRNA duplex to polysomes in G0. The two strands of dsRNA are then separated upon binding of AGO2 and FXR1. Finally, polysomes may improve the translation efficiency of mRNA. The mutation research confirms the stability of microRNA-mRNA-FXR1 and illustrates importance of key residue of Ile304. This possible mechanism can shed more light on the microRNA-dependent upregulation of translation.

  7. Dynamical analysis of mCAT2 gene models with CTN-RNA nuclear retention

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Qianliang; Zhou, Tianshou

    2015-01-01

    As an experimentally well-studied nuclear-retained RNA, CTN-RNA plays a significant role in many aspects of mouse cationic amino acid transporter 2 (mCAT2) gene expression, but relevant dynamical mechanisms have not been completely clarified. Here we first show that CTN-RNA nuclear retention can not only reduce pre-mCAT2 RNA noise but also mediate its coding partner noise. Then, by collecting experimental observations, we conjecture a heterodimer formed by two proteins, p54 nrb and PSP1, named p54 nrb -PSP1, by which CTN-RNA can positively regulate the expression of nuclear mCAT2 RNA. Therefore, we construct a sequestration model at the molecular level. By analyzing the dynamics of this model system, we demonstrate why most nuclear-retained CTN-RNAs stabilize at the periphery of paraspeckles, how CTN-RNA regulates its protein-coding partner, and how the mCAT2 gene can maintain a stable expression. In particular, we obtain results that can easily explain the experimental phenomena observed in two cases, namely, when cells are stressed and unstressed. Our entire analysis not only reveals that CTN-RNA nuclear retention may play an essential role in indirectly preventing diseases but also lays the foundation for further study of other members of the nuclear-regulatory RNA family with more complicated molecular mechanisms. (paper)

  8. Construction of RNA nanocages by re-engineering the packaging RNA of Phi29 bacteriophage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Chenhui; Li, Xiang; Tian, Cheng; Jiang, Wen; Wang, Guansong; Mao, Chengde

    2014-05-01

    RNA nanotechnology promises rational design of RNA nanostructures with wide array of structural diversities and functionalities. Such nanostructures could be used in applications such as small interfering RNA delivery and organization of in vivo chemical reactions. Though having impressive development in recent years, RNA nanotechnology is still quite limited and its programmability and complexity could not rival the degree of its closely related cousin: DNA nanotechnology. Novel strategies are needed for programmed RNA self-assembly. Here, we have assembled RNA nanocages by re-engineering a natural, biological RNA motif: the packaging RNA of phi29 bacteriophage. The resulting RNA nanostructures have been thoroughly characterized by gel electrophoresis, cryogenic electron microscopy imaging and dynamic light scattering.

  9. Construction of lentiviral shRNA expression vector targeting ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DNA oligo was cloned into lentiviral expression vector, and then polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing analyses were conducted to verify the constructs. The verified vectors were co-transfected into 293FT cells that could produce lentiviral. shRNA lentiviruses from the selected constructs were propagated and ...

  10. Temperature Dependence of Logarithmic-like Relaxational Dynamics of Hydrated tRNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, Xiang-Qiang; Mamontov, Eugene; O'Neill, Hugh; Zhang, Qiu

    2013-03-21

    The dynamics of RNA within the β-relaxation region of 10 ps to 1 ns is crucial to its biological function. Because of its simpler chemical building blocks and the lack of the side methyl groups, faster relaxational dynamics of RNA compared to proteins can be expected. However, the situation is actually opposite. In this work, the relaxational dynamics of tRNA is measured by quasielastic neutron scattering and analyzed using the mode coupling theory, originally developed for glass-forming liquids. Our results reveal that the dynamics of tRNA follows a log-decay within the β-relaxation region, which is an important trait demonstrated by the dynamics of proteins. The dynamics of hydrated tRNA and lysozyme compared in the time domain further demonstrate that the slower dynamics of tRNA relative to proteins originates from the difference in the folded states of tRNA and proteins, as well as the influence of their hydration water.

  11. Thermodynamic matchers for the construction of the cuckoo RNA family.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinkensmeier, Jan; Giegerich, Robert

    2015-01-01

    RNA family models describe classes of functionally related, non-coding RNAs based on sequence and structure conservation. The most important method for modeling RNA families is the use of covariance models, which are stochastic models that serve in the discovery of yet unknown, homologous RNAs. However, the performance of covariance models in finding remote homologs is poor for RNA families with high sequence conservation, while for families with high structure but low sequence conservation, these models are difficult to built in the first place. A complementary approach to RNA family modeling involves the use of thermodynamic matchers. Thermodynamic matchers are RNA folding programs, based on the established thermodynamic model, but tailored to a specific structural motif. As thermodynamic matchers focus on structure and folding energy, they unfold their potential in discovering homologs, when high structure conservation is paired with low sequence conservation. In contrast to covariance models, construction of thermodynamic matchers does not require an input alignment, but requires human design decisions and experimentation, and hence, model construction is more laborious. Here we report a case study on an RNA family that was constructed by means of thermodynamic matchers. It starts from a set of known but structurally different members of the same RNA family. The consensus secondary structure of this family consists of 2 to 4 adjacent hairpins. Each hairpin loop carries the same motif, CCUCCUCCC, while the stems show high variability in their nucleotide content. The present study describes (1) a novel approach for the integration of the structurally varying family into a single RNA family model by means of the thermodynamic matcher methodology, and (2) provides the results of homology searches that were conducted with this model in a wide spectrum of bacterial species.

  12. Construction and analysis of lncRNA-lncRNA synergistic networks to reveal clinically relevant lncRNAs in cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yongsheng; Chen, Juan; Zhang, Jinwen; Wang, Zishan; Shao, Tingting; Jiang, Chunjie; Xu, Juan; Li, Xia

    2015-09-22

    Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play key roles in diverse biological processes. Moreover, the development and progression of cancer often involves the combined actions of several lncRNAs. Here we propose a multi-step method for constructing lncRNA-lncRNA functional synergistic networks (LFSNs) through co-regulation of functional modules having three features: common coexpressed genes of lncRNA pairs, enrichment in the same functional category and close proximity within protein interaction networks. Applied to three cancers, we constructed cancer-specific LFSNs and found that they exhibit a scale free and modular architecture. In addition, cancer-associated lncRNAs tend to be hubs and are enriched within modules. Although there is little synergistic pairing of lncRNAs across cancers, lncRNA pairs involved in the same cancer hallmarks by regulating same or different biological processes. Finally, we identify prognostic biomarkers within cancer lncRNA expression datasets using modules derived from LFSNs. In summary, this proof-of-principle study indicates synergistic lncRNA pairs can be identified through integrative analysis of genome-wide expression data sets and functional information.

  13. Thiol-linked alkylation of RNA to assess expression dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herzog, Veronika A; Reichholf, Brian; Neumann, Tobias; Rescheneder, Philipp; Bhat, Pooja; Burkard, Thomas R; Wlotzka, Wiebke; von Haeseler, Arndt; Zuber, Johannes; Ameres, Stefan L

    2017-12-01

    Gene expression profiling by high-throughput sequencing reveals qualitative and quantitative changes in RNA species at steady state but obscures the intracellular dynamics of RNA transcription, processing and decay. We developed thiol(SH)-linked alkylation for the metabolic sequencing of RNA (SLAM seq), an orthogonal-chemistry-based RNA sequencing technology that detects 4-thiouridine (s 4 U) incorporation in RNA species at single-nucleotide resolution. In combination with well-established metabolic RNA labeling protocols and coupled to standard, low-input, high-throughput RNA sequencing methods, SLAM seq enabled rapid access to RNA-polymerase-II-dependent gene expression dynamics in the context of total RNA. We validated the method in mouse embryonic stem cells by showing that the RNA-polymerase-II-dependent transcriptional output scaled with Oct4/Sox2/Nanog-defined enhancer activity, and we provide quantitative and mechanistic evidence for transcript-specific RNA turnover mediated by post-transcriptional gene regulatory pathways initiated by microRNAs and N 6 -methyladenosine. SLAM seq facilitates the dissection of fundamental mechanisms that control gene expression in an accessible, cost-effective and scalable manner.

  14. Construction of permanently inducible miRNA-based expression vectors using site-specific recombinases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garwick-Coppens Sara E

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background RNA interference (RNAi is a conserved gene silencing mechanism mediated by small inhibitory microRNAs (miRNAs. Promoter-driven miRNA expression vectors have emerged as important tools for delivering natural or artificially designed miRNAs to eukaryotic cells and organisms. Such systems can be used to query the normal or pathogenic functions of natural miRNAs or messenger RNAs, or to therapeutically silence disease genes. Results As with any molecular cloning procedure, building miRNA-based expression constructs requires a time investment and some molecular biology skills. To improve efficiency and accelerate the construction process, we developed a method to rapidly generate miRNA expression vectors using recombinases instead of more traditional cut-and-paste molecular cloning techniques. In addition to streamlining the construction process, our cloning strategy provides vectors with added versatility. In our system, miRNAs can be constitutively expressed from the U6 promoter, or inducibly expressed by Cre recombinase. We also engineered a built-in mechanism to destroy the vector with Flp recombinase, if desired. Finally, to further simplify the construction process, we developed a software package that automates the prediction and design of optimal miRNA sequences using our system. Conclusions We designed and tested a modular system to rapidly clone miRNA expression cassettes. Our strategy reduces the hands-on time required to successfully generate effective constructs, and can be implemented in labs with minimal molecular cloning expertise. This versatile system provides options that permit constitutive or inducible miRNA expression, depending upon the needs of the end user. As such, it has utility for basic or translational applications.

  15. RNA versatility, flexibility, and thermostability for practice in RNA nanotechnology and biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haque, Farzin; Pi, Fengmei; Zhao, Zhengyi; Gu, Shanqing; Hu, Haibo; Yu, Hang; Guo, Peixuan

    2018-01-01

    In recent years, RNA has attracted widespread attention as a unique biomaterial with distinct biophysical properties for designing sophisticated architectures in the nanometer scale. RNA is much more versatile in structure and function with higher thermodynamic stability compared to its nucleic acid counterpart DNA. Larger RNA molecules can be viewed as a modular structure built from a combination of many 'Lego' building blocks connected via different linker sequences. By exploiting the diversity of RNA motifs and flexibility of structure, varieties of RNA architectures can be fabricated with precise control of shape, size, and stoichiometry. Many structural motifs have been discovered and characterized over the years and the crystal structures of many of these motifs are available for nanoparticle construction. For example, using the flexibility and versatility of RNA structure, RNA triangles, squares, pentagons, and hexagons can be constructed from phi29 pRNA three-way-junction (3WJ) building block. This review will focus on 2D RNA triangles, squares, and hexamers; 3D and 4D structures built from basic RNA building blocks; and their prospective applications in vivo as imaging or therapeutic agents via specific delivery and targeting. Methods for intracellular cloning and expression of RNA molecules and the in vivo assembly of RNA nanoparticles will also be reviewed. WIREs RNA 2018, 9:e1452. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1452 This article is categorized under: RNA Methods > RNA Nanotechnology RNA Structure and Dynamics > RNA Structure, Dynamics and Chemistry RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > Regulatory RNAs. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. Independent alignment of RNA for dynamic studies using residual dipolar couplings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bardaro, Michael F.; Varani, Gabriele, E-mail: varani@chem.washington.edu [University of Washington, Department of Chemistry (United States)

    2012-09-15

    Molecular motion and dynamics play an essential role in the biological function of many RNAs. An important source of information on biomolecular motion can be found in residual dipolar couplings which contain dynamics information over the entire ms-ps timescale. However, these methods are not fully applicable to RNA because nucleic acid molecules tend to align in a highly collinear manner in different alignment media. As a consequence, information on dynamics that can be obtained with this method is limited. In order to overcome this limitation, we have generated a chimeric RNA containing both the wild type TAR RNA, the target of our investigation of dynamics, as well as the binding site for U1A protein. When U1A protein was bound to the portion of the chimeric RNA containing its binding site, we obtained independent alignment of TAR by exploiting the physical chemical characteristics of this protein. This technique can allow the extraction of new information on RNA dynamics, which is particularly important for time scales not covered by relaxation methods where important RNA motions occur.

  17. Design, Construction, and Validation of Artificial MicroRNA Vectors Using Agrobacterium-Mediated Transient Expression System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhagwat, Basdeo; Chi, Ming; Han, Dianwei; Tang, Haifeng; Tang, Guiliang; Xiang, Yu

    2016-01-01

    Artificial microRNA (amiRNA) technology utilizes microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis pathway to produce artificially selected small RNAs using miRNA gene backbone. It provides a feasible strategy for inducing loss of gene function, and has been applied in functional genomics study, improvement of crop quality and plant virus disease resistance. A big challenge in amiRNA applications is the unpredictability of silencing efficacy of the designed amiRNAs and not all constructed amiRNA candidates would be expressed effectively in plant cells. We and others found that high efficiency and specificity in RNA silencing can be achieved by designing amiRNAs with perfect or almost perfect sequence complementarity to their targets. In addition, we recently demonstrated that Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression system can be used to validate amiRNA constructs, which provides a simple, rapid and effective method to select highly expressible amiRNA candidates for stable genetic transformation. Here, we describe the methods for design of amiRNA candidates with perfect or almost perfect base-pairing to the target gene or gene groups, incorporation of amiRNA candidates in miR168a gene backbone by one step inverse PCR amplification, construction of plant amiRNA expression vectors, and assay of transient expression of amiRNAs in Nicotiana benthamiana through agro-infiltration, small RNA extraction, and amiRNA Northern blot.

  18. Construction and analysis of circular RNA molecular regulatory networks in liver cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Shuangchun; Xin, Zhuoyuan; Xu, Yinyan; Xu, Jianting; Wang, Guoqing

    2017-01-01

    Liver cancer is the sixth most prevalent cancer, and the third most frequent cause of cancer-related deaths. Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a kind of special endogenous ncRNAs, have been coming back to the forefront of cancer genomics research. In this study, we used a systems biology approach to construct and analyze the circRNA molecular regulatory networks in the context of liver cancer. We detected a total of 127 differentially expressed circRNAs and 3,235 differentially expressed mRNAs. We selected the top-5 upregulated circRNAs to construct a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network. We enriched the pathways and gene ontology items and determined their participation in cancer-related pathways such as p53 signaling pathway and pathways involved in angiogenesis and cell cycle. Quantitative real-time PCR was performed to verify the top-five circRNAs. ROC analysis showed circZFR, circFUT8, circIPO11 could significantly distinguish the cancer samples, with an AUC of 0.7069, 0.7575, and 0.7103, respectively. Our results suggest the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network may help us further understand the molecular mechanisms of tumor progression in liver cancer, and reveal novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

  19. Transcriptome dynamics of the microRNA inhibition response

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wen, Jiayu; Leucci, Elenora; Vendramin, Roberto

    2015-01-01

    We report a high-resolution time series study of transcriptome dynamics following antimiR-mediated inhibition of miR-9 in a Hodgkin lymphoma cell-line-the first such dynamic study of the microRNA inhibition response-revealing both general and specific aspects of the physiological response. We show...... validate the key observations with independent time series qPCR and we experimentally validate key predicted miR-9 targets. Methodologically, we developed sensitive functional data analytic predictive methods to analyse the weak response inherent in microRNA inhibition experiments. The methods...... of this study will be applicable to similar high-resolution time series transcriptome analyses and provides the context for more accurate experimental design and interpretation of future microRNA inhibition studies....

  20. Molecular dynamics simulations of RNA motifs

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Csaszar, K.; Špačková, Naďa; Šponer, Jiří; Leontis, N. B.

    2002-01-01

    Roč. 223, - (2002), s. 154 ISSN 0065-7727. [Annual Meeting of the American Chemistry Society /223./. 07.04.2002-11.04.2002, Orlando ] Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5004920 Keywords : molecular dynamics * RNA * hydration Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics

  1. Dynamics of prebiotic RNA reproduction illuminated by chemical game theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeates, Jessica A M; Hilbe, Christian; Zwick, Martin; Nowak, Martin A; Lehman, Niles

    2016-05-03

    Many origins-of-life scenarios depict a situation in which there are common and potentially scarce resources needed by molecules that compete for survival and reproduction. The dynamics of RNA assembly in a complex mixture of sequences is a frequency-dependent process and mimics such scenarios. By synthesizing Azoarcus ribozyme genotypes that differ in their single-nucleotide interactions with other genotypes, we can create molecules that interact among each other to reproduce. Pairwise interplays between RNAs involve both cooperation and selfishness, quantifiable in a 2 × 2 payoff matrix. We show that a simple model of differential equations based on chemical kinetics accurately predicts the outcomes of these molecular competitions using simple rate inputs into these matrices. In some cases, we find that mixtures of different RNAs reproduce much better than each RNA type alone, reflecting a molecular form of reciprocal cooperation. We also demonstrate that three RNA genotypes can stably coexist in a rock-paper-scissors analog. Our experiments suggest a new type of evolutionary game dynamics, called prelife game dynamics or chemical game dynamics. These operate without template-directed replication, illustrating how small networks of RNAs could have developed and evolved in an RNA world.

  2. Dynamics of prebiotic RNA reproduction illuminated by chemical game theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeates, Jessica A. M.; Hilbe, Christian; Zwick, Martin; Nowak, Martin A.; Lehman, Niles

    2016-01-01

    Many origins-of-life scenarios depict a situation in which there are common and potentially scarce resources needed by molecules that compete for survival and reproduction. The dynamics of RNA assembly in a complex mixture of sequences is a frequency-dependent process and mimics such scenarios. By synthesizing Azoarcus ribozyme genotypes that differ in their single-nucleotide interactions with other genotypes, we can create molecules that interact among each other to reproduce. Pairwise interplays between RNAs involve both cooperation and selfishness, quantifiable in a 2 × 2 payoff matrix. We show that a simple model of differential equations based on chemical kinetics accurately predicts the outcomes of these molecular competitions using simple rate inputs into these matrices. In some cases, we find that mixtures of different RNAs reproduce much better than each RNA type alone, reflecting a molecular form of reciprocal cooperation. We also demonstrate that three RNA genotypes can stably coexist in a rock–paper–scissors analog. Our experiments suggest a new type of evolutionary game dynamics, called prelife game dynamics or chemical game dynamics. These operate without template-directed replication, illustrating how small networks of RNAs could have developed and evolved in an RNA world. PMID:27091972

  3. Construction of RNA-Quantum Dot Chimera for Nanoscale Resistive Biomemory Application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Taek; Yagati, Ajay Kumar; Pi, Fengmei; Sharma, Ashwani; Choi, Jeong-Woo; Guo, Peixuan

    2015-07-28

    RNA nanotechnology offers advantages to construct thermally and chemically stable nanoparticles with well-defined shape and structure. Here we report the development of an RNA-QD (quantum dot) chimera for resistive biomolecular memory application. Each QD holds two copies of the pRNA three-way junction (pRNA-3WJ) of the bacteriophage phi29 DNA packaging motor. The fixed quantity of two RNAs per QD was achieved by immobilizing the pRNA-3WJ with a Sephadex aptamer for resin binding. Two thiolated pRNA-3WJ serve as two feet of the chimera that stand on the gold plate. The RNA nanostructure served as both an insulator and a mediator to provide defined distance between the QD and gold. Immobilization of the chimera nanoparticle was confirmed with scanning tunneling microscopy. As revealed by scanning tunneling spectroscopy, the conjugated pRNA-3WJ-QD chimera exhibited an excellent electrical bistability signal for biomolecular memory function, demonstrating great potential for the development of resistive biomolecular memory and a nano-bio-inspired electronic device for information processing and computing.

  4. The ribosome structure controls and directs mRNA entry, translocation and exit dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurkcuoglu, Ozge; Doruker, Pemra; Jernigan, Robert L; Sen, Taner Z; Kloczkowski, Andrzej

    2008-01-01

    The protein-synthesizing ribosome undergoes large motions to effect the translocation of tRNAs and mRNA; here, the domain motions of this system are explored with a coarse-grained elastic network model using normal mode analysis. Crystal structures are used to construct various model systems of the 70S complex with/without tRNA, elongation factor Tu and the ribosomal proteins. Computed motions reveal the well-known ratchet-like rotational motion of the large subunits, as well as the head rotation of the small subunit and the high flexibility of the L1 and L7/L12 stalks, even in the absence of ribosomal proteins. This result indicates that these experimentally observed motions during translocation are inherently controlled by the ribosomal shape and only partially dependent upon GTP hydrolysis. Normal mode analysis further reveals the mobility of A- and P-tRNAs to increase in the absence of the E-tRNA. In addition, the dynamics of the E-tRNA is affected by the absence of the ribosomal protein L1. The mRNA in the entrance tunnel interacts directly with helicase proteins S3 and S4, which constrain the mRNA in a clamp-like fashion, as well as with protein S5, which likely orients the mRNA to ensure correct translation. The ribosomal proteins S7, S11 and S18 may also be involved in assuring translation fidelity by constraining the mRNA at the exit site of the channel. The mRNA also interacts with the 16S 3' end forming the Shine–Dalgarno complex at the initiation step; the 3' end may act as a 'hook' to reel in the mRNA to facilitate its exit

  5. Efficient construction of an inverted minimal H1 promoter driven siRNA expression cassette: facilitation of promoter and siRNA sequence exchange.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hoorig Nassanian

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available RNA interference (RNAi, mediated by small interfering RNA (siRNA, is an effective method used to silence gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Upon introduction into target cells, siRNAs incorporate into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC. The antisense strand of the siRNA duplex then "guides" the RISC to the homologous mRNA, leading to target degradation and gene silencing. In recent years, various vector-based siRNA expression systems have been developed which utilize opposing polymerase III promoters to independently drive expression of the sense and antisense strands of the siRNA duplex from the same template.We show here the use of a ligase chain reaction (LCR to develop a new vector system called pInv-H1 in which a DNA sequence encoding a specific siRNA is placed between two inverted minimal human H1 promoters (approximately 100 bp each. Expression of functional siRNAs from this construct has led to efficient silencing of both reporter and endogenous genes. Furthermore, the inverted H1 promoter-siRNA expression cassette was used to generate a retrovirus vector capable of transducing and silencing expression of the targeted protein by>80% in target cells.The unique design of this construct allows for the efficient exchange of siRNA sequences by the directional cloning of short oligonucleotides via asymmetric restriction sites. This provides a convenient way to test the functionality of different siRNA sequences. Delivery of the siRNA cassette by retroviral transduction suggests that a single copy of the siRNA expression cassette efficiently knocks down gene expression at the protein level. We note that this vector system can potentially be used to generate a random siRNA library. The flexibility of the ligase chain reaction suggests that additional control elements can easily be introduced into this siRNA expression cassette.

  6. Studying Dynamic Features in Myocardial Infarction Progression by Integrating miRNA-Transcription Factor Co-Regulatory Networks and Time-Series RNA Expression Data from Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongbo Shi

    Full Text Available Myocardial infarction (MI is a serious heart disease and a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Although some molecules (genes, miRNAs and transcription factors (TFs associated with MI have been studied in a specific pathological context, their dynamic characteristics in gene expressions, biological functions and regulatory interactions in MI progression have not been fully elucidated to date. In the current study, we analyzed time-series RNA expression data from peripheral blood mononuclear cells. We observed that significantly differentially expressed genes were sharply up- or down-regulated in the acute phase of MI, and then changed slowly until the chronic phase. Biological functions involved at each stage of MI were identified. Additionally, dynamic miRNA-TF co-regulatory networks were constructed based on the significantly differentially expressed genes and miRNA-TF co-regulatory motifs, and the dynamic interplay of miRNAs, TFs and target genes were investigated. Finally, a new panel of candidate diagnostic biomarkers (STAT3 and ICAM1 was identified to have discriminatory capability for patients with or without MI, especially the patients with or without recurrent events. The results of the present study not only shed new light on the understanding underlying regulatory mechanisms involved in MI progression, but also contribute to the discovery of true diagnostic biomarkers for MI.

  7. RNA Structural Dynamics As Captured by Molecular Simulations: A Comprehensive Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-01-01

    With both catalytic and genetic functions, ribonucleic acid (RNA) is perhaps the most pluripotent chemical species in molecular biology, and its functions are intimately linked to its structure and dynamics. Computer simulations, and in particular atomistic molecular dynamics (MD), allow structural dynamics of biomolecular systems to be investigated with unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution. We here provide a comprehensive overview of the fast-developing field of MD simulations of RNA molecules. We begin with an in-depth, evaluatory coverage of the most fundamental methodological challenges that set the basis for the future development of the field, in particular, the current developments and inherent physical limitations of the atomistic force fields and the recent advances in a broad spectrum of enhanced sampling methods. We also survey the closely related field of coarse-grained modeling of RNA systems. After dealing with the methodological aspects, we provide an exhaustive overview of the available RNA simulation literature, ranging from studies of the smallest RNA oligonucleotides to investigations of the entire ribosome. Our review encompasses tetranucleotides, tetraloops, a number of small RNA motifs, A-helix RNA, kissing-loop complexes, the TAR RNA element, the decoding center and other important regions of the ribosome, as well as assorted others systems. Extended sections are devoted to RNA–ion interactions, ribozymes, riboswitches, and protein/RNA complexes. Our overview is written for as broad of an audience as possible, aiming to provide a much-needed interdisciplinary bridge between computation and experiment, together with a perspective on the future of the field. PMID:29297679

  8. Noncoding transcription by alternative rna polymerases dynamically regulates an auxin-driven chromatin loop

    KAUST Repository

    Ariel, Federico D.; Jé gu, Teddy; Latrasse, David; Romero-Barrios, Natali; Christ, Auré lie; Benhamed, Moussa; Crespi, Martí n D.

    2014-01-01

    The eukaryotic epigenome is shaped by the genome topology in three-dimensional space. Dynamic reversible variations in this epigenome structure directly influence the transcriptional responses to developmental cues. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis long intergenic noncoding RNA (lincRNA) APOLO is transcribed by RNA polymerases II and V in response to auxin, a phytohormone controlling numerous facets of plant development. This dual APOLO transcription regulates the formation of a chromatin loop encompassing the promoter of its neighboring gene PID, a key regulator of polar auxin transport. Altering APOLO expression affects chromatin loop formation, whereas RNA-dependent DNA methylation, active DNA demethylation, and Polycomb complexes control loop dynamics. This dynamic chromatin topology determines PID expression patterns. Hence, the dual transcription of a lincRNA influences local chromatin topology and directs dynamic auxin-controlled developmental outputs on neighboring genes. This mechanism likely underscores the adaptive success of plants in diverse environments and may be widespread in eukaryotes. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.

  9. Noncoding transcription by alternative rna polymerases dynamically regulates an auxin-driven chromatin loop

    KAUST Repository

    Ariel, Federico D.

    2014-08-01

    The eukaryotic epigenome is shaped by the genome topology in three-dimensional space. Dynamic reversible variations in this epigenome structure directly influence the transcriptional responses to developmental cues. Here, we show that the Arabidopsis long intergenic noncoding RNA (lincRNA) APOLO is transcribed by RNA polymerases II and V in response to auxin, a phytohormone controlling numerous facets of plant development. This dual APOLO transcription regulates the formation of a chromatin loop encompassing the promoter of its neighboring gene PID, a key regulator of polar auxin transport. Altering APOLO expression affects chromatin loop formation, whereas RNA-dependent DNA methylation, active DNA demethylation, and Polycomb complexes control loop dynamics. This dynamic chromatin topology determines PID expression patterns. Hence, the dual transcription of a lincRNA influences local chromatin topology and directs dynamic auxin-controlled developmental outputs on neighboring genes. This mechanism likely underscores the adaptive success of plants in diverse environments and may be widespread in eukaryotes. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.

  10. Parameter optimization for constructing competing endogenous RNA regulatory network in glioblastoma multiforme and other cancers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu, Yu-Chiao; Hsiao, Tzu-Hung; Chen, Yidong; Chuang, Eric Y

    2015-01-01

    In addition to direct targeting and repressing mRNAs, recent studies reported that microRNAs (miRNAs) can bridge up an alternative layer of post-transcriptional gene regulatory networks. The competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulation depicts the scenario where pairs of genes (ceRNAs) sharing, fully or partially, common binding miRNAs (miRNA program) can establish coexpression through competition for a limited pool of the miRNA program. While the dynamics of ceRNA regulation among cellular conditions have been verified based on in silico and in vitro experiments, comprehensive investigation into the strength of ceRNA regulation in human datasets remains largely unexplored. Furthermore, pan-cancer analysis of ceRNA regulation, to our knowledge, has not been systematically investigated. In the present study we explored optimal conditions for ceRNA regulation, investigated functions governed by ceRNA regulation, and evaluated pan-cancer effects. We started by investigating how essential factors, such as the size of miRNA programs, the number of miRNA program binding sites, and expression levels of miRNA programs and ceRNAs affect the ceRNA regulation capacity in tumors derived from glioblastoma multiforme patients captured by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We demonstrated that increased numbers of common targeting miRNAs as well as the abundance of binding sites enhance ceRNA regulation and strengthen coexpression of ceRNA pairs. Also, our investigation revealed that the strength of ceRNA regulation is dependent on expression levels of both miRNA programs and ceRNAs. Through functional annotation analysis, our results indicated that ceRNA regulation is highly associated with essential cellular functions and diseases including cancer. Furthermore, the highly intertwined ceRNA regulatory relationship enables constitutive and effective intra-function regulation of genes in diverse types of cancer. Using gene and microRNA expression datasets from TCGA, we successfully

  11. Ribosome dynamics and tRNA movement by time-resolved electron cryomicroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, Niels; Konevega, Andrey L; Wintermeyer, Wolfgang; Rodnina, Marina V; Stark, Holger

    2010-07-15

    The translocation step of protein synthesis entails large-scale rearrangements of the ribosome-transfer RNA (tRNA) complex. Here we have followed tRNA movement through the ribosome during translocation by time-resolved single-particle electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM). Unbiased computational sorting of cryo-EM images yielded 50 distinct three-dimensional reconstructions, showing the tRNAs in classical, hybrid and various novel intermediate states that provide trajectories and kinetic information about tRNA movement through the ribosome. The structures indicate how tRNA movement is coupled with global and local conformational changes of the ribosome, in particular of the head and body of the small ribosomal subunit, and show that dynamic interactions between tRNAs and ribosomal residues confine the path of the tRNAs through the ribosome. The temperature dependence of ribosome dynamics reveals a surprisingly flat energy landscape of conformational variations at physiological temperature. The ribosome functions as a Brownian machine that couples spontaneous conformational changes driven by thermal energy to directed movement.

  12. Dynamics of HIV-1 RNA Near the Plasma Membrane during Virus Assembly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sardo, Luca; Hatch, Steven C; Chen, Jianbo; Nikolaitchik, Olga; Burdick, Ryan C; Chen, De; Westlake, Christopher J; Lockett, Stephen; Pathak, Vinay K; Hu, Wei-Shau

    2015-11-01

    To increase our understanding of the events that lead to HIV-1 genome packaging, we examined the dynamics of viral RNA and Gag-RNA interactions near the plasma membrane by using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. We labeled HIV-1 RNA with a photoconvertible Eos protein via an RNA-binding protein that recognizes stem-loop sequences engineered into the viral genome. Near-UV light exposure causes an irreversible structural change in Eos and alters its emitted fluorescence from green to red. We studied the dynamics of HIV-1 RNA by photoconverting Eos near the plasma membrane, and we monitored the population of photoconverted red-Eos-labeled RNA signals over time. We found that in the absence of Gag, most of the HIV-1 RNAs stayed near the plasma membrane transiently, for a few minutes. The presence of Gag significantly increased the time that RNAs stayed near the plasma membrane: most of the RNAs were still detected after 30 min. We then quantified the proportion of HIV-1 RNAs near the plasma membrane that were packaged into assembling viral complexes. By tagging Gag with blue fluorescent protein, we observed that only a portion, ∼13 to 34%, of the HIV-1 RNAs that reached the membrane were recruited into assembling particles in an hour, and the frequency of HIV-1 RNA packaging varied with the Gag expression level. Our studies reveal the HIV-1 RNA dynamics on the plasma membrane and the efficiency of RNA recruitment and provide insights into the events leading to the generation of infectious HIV-1 virions. Nascent HIV-1 particles assemble on plasma membranes. During the assembly process, HIV-1 RNA genomes must be encapsidated into viral complexes to generate infectious particles. To gain insights into the RNA packaging and virus assembly mechanisms, we labeled and monitored the HIV-1 RNA signals near the plasma membrane. Our results showed that most of the HIV-1 RNAs stayed near the plasma membrane for only a few minutes in the absence of Gag, whereas

  13. Construction Worker Fatigue Prediction Model Based on System Dynamic

    OpenAIRE

    Wahyu Adi Tri Joko; Ayu Ratnawinanda Lila

    2017-01-01

    Construction accident can be caused by internal and external factors such as worker fatigue and unsafe project environment. Tight schedule of construction project forcing construction worker to work overtime in long period. This situation leads to worker fatigue. This paper proposes a model to predict construction worker fatigue based on system dynamic (SD). System dynamic is used to represent correlation among internal and external factors and to simulate level of worker fatigue. To validate...

  14. Visualizing double-stranded RNA distribution and dynamics in living cells by dsRNA binding-dependent fluorescence complementation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheng, Xiaofei [Southern Crop Protection and Food Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, Ontario N5V 4T3 (Canada); College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310036 (China); Deng, Ping; Cui, Hongguang [Southern Crop Protection and Food Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, Ontario N5V 4T3 (Canada); Wang, Aiming, E-mail: aiming.wang@agr.gc.ca [Southern Crop Protection and Food Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, London, Ontario N5V 4T3 (Canada)

    2015-11-15

    Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is an important type of RNA that plays essential roles in diverse cellular processes in eukaryotic organisms and a hallmark in infections by positive-sense RNA viruses. Currently, no in vivo technology has been developed for visualizing dsRNA in living cells. Here, we report a dsRNA binding-dependent fluorescence complementation (dRBFC) assay that can be used to efficiently monitor dsRNA distribution and dynamics in vivo. The system consists of two dsRNA-binding proteins, which are fused to the N- and C-terminal halves of the yellow fluorescent protein (YFP). Binding of the two fusion proteins to a common dsRNA brings the split YFP halves in close proximity, leading to the reconstitution of the fluorescence-competent structure and restoration of fluorescence. Using this technique, we were able to visualize the distribution and trafficking of the replicative RNA intermediates of positive-sense RNA viruses in living cells. - Highlights: • A live-cell imaging system was developed for visualizing dsRNA in vivo. • It uses dsRNA binding proteins fused with two halves of a fluorescent protein. • Binding to a common dsRNA enables the reporter to become fluorescent. • The system can efficiently monitor viral RNA replication in living cells.

  15. Visualizing double-stranded RNA distribution and dynamics in living cells by dsRNA binding-dependent fluorescence complementation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, Xiaofei; Deng, Ping; Cui, Hongguang; Wang, Aiming

    2015-01-01

    Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is an important type of RNA that plays essential roles in diverse cellular processes in eukaryotic organisms and a hallmark in infections by positive-sense RNA viruses. Currently, no in vivo technology has been developed for visualizing dsRNA in living cells. Here, we report a dsRNA binding-dependent fluorescence complementation (dRBFC) assay that can be used to efficiently monitor dsRNA distribution and dynamics in vivo. The system consists of two dsRNA-binding proteins, which are fused to the N- and C-terminal halves of the yellow fluorescent protein (YFP). Binding of the two fusion proteins to a common dsRNA brings the split YFP halves in close proximity, leading to the reconstitution of the fluorescence-competent structure and restoration of fluorescence. Using this technique, we were able to visualize the distribution and trafficking of the replicative RNA intermediates of positive-sense RNA viruses in living cells. - Highlights: • A live-cell imaging system was developed for visualizing dsRNA in vivo. • It uses dsRNA binding proteins fused with two halves of a fluorescent protein. • Binding to a common dsRNA enables the reporter to become fluorescent. • The system can efficiently monitor viral RNA replication in living cells.

  16. Repression of multiple CYP2D genes in mouse primary hepatocytes with a single siRNA construct.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elraghy, Omaima; Baldwin, William S

    2015-01-01

    The Cyp2d subfamily is the second most abun-dant subfamily of hepatic drug-metabolizing CYPs. In mice, there are nine Cyp2d members that are believed to have redundant catalytic activity. We are testing and optimizing the ability of one short interfering RNA (siRNA) construct to knockdown the expression of multiple mouse Cyp2ds in primary hepatocytes. Expression of Cyp2d10, Cyp2d11, Cyp2d22, and Cyp2d26 was observed in the primary male mouse hepatocytes. Cyp2d9, which is male-specific and growth hormone-dependent, was not expressed in male primary hepatocytes, potentially because of its dependence on pulsatile growth hormone release from the anterior pituitary. Several different siRNAs at different concentrations and with different reagents were used to knockdown Cyp2d expression. siRNA constructs designed to repress only one construct often mildly repressed several Cyp2d isoforms. A construct designed to knockdown every Cyp2d isoform provided the best results, especially when incubated with transfection reagents designed specifically for primary cell culture. Interestingly, a construct designed to knockdown all Cyp2d isoforms, except Cyp2d10, caused a 2.5× increase in Cyp2d10 expression, presumably because of a compensatory response. However, while RNA expression is repressed 24 h after siRNA treatment, associated changes in Cyp2d-mediated metabolism are tenuous. Overall, this study provides data on the expression of murine Cyp2ds in primary cell lines, valuable information on designing siRNAs for silencing multiple murine CYPs, and potential pros and cons of using siRNA as a tool for repressing Cyp2d and estimating Cyp2d's role in murine xenobiotic metabolism.

  17. Generation of miRNA sponge constructs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kluiver, Joost; Slezak-Prochazka, Izabella; Smigielska-Czepiel, Katarzyna; Halsema, Nancy; Kroesen, Bart-Jan; van den Berg, Anke

    2012-01-01

    MicroRNA (miRNA) sponges are RNA molecules with repeated miRNA antisense sequences that can sequester miRNAs from their endogenous targets and thus serve as a decoy. Stably expressed miRNA sponges are especially valuable for long-term loss-of-function studies and can be used in vitro and in vivo. We

  18. NMR-study of dynamic structural transtions in RNA-molecules

    OpenAIRE

    Fürtig, Boris

    2007-01-01

    The following thesis is concerned with the elucidation of structural changes of RNA molecules during the time course of dynamic processes that are commonly denoted as folding reactions. In contrast to the field of protein folding, the concept of RNA folding comprises not only folding reactions itself but also refolding- or conformational switching- and assembly processes (see chapter III). The method in this thesis to monitor these diverse processes is high resolution liquid-state NMR spectro...

  19. Structure and Dynamics of the tRNA-like Structure Domain of Brome Mosaic Virus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vieweger, Mario; Nesbitt, David

    2014-03-01

    Conformational switching is widely accepted as regulatory mechanism in gene expression in bacterial systems. More recently, similar regulation mechanisms are emerging for viral systems. One of the most abundant and best studied systems is the tRNA-like structure domain that is found in a number of plant viruses across eight genera. In this work, the folding dynamics of the tRNA-like structure domain of Brome Mosaic Virus are investigated using single-molecule Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer techniques. In particular, Burst fluorescence is applied to observe metal-ion induced folding in freely diffusing RNA constructs resembling the 3'-terminal 169nt of BMV RNA3. Histograms of EFRET probabilities reveal a complex equilibrium of three distinct populations. A step-wise kinetic model for TLS folding is developed in accord with the evolution of conformational populations and structural information in the literature. In this mechanism, formation of functional TLS domains from unfolded RNAs requires two consecutive steps; 1) hybridization of a long-range stem interaction followed by 2) formation of a 3' pseudoknot. This three-state equilibrium is well described by step-wise dissociation constants K1(328(30) μM) and K2(1092(183) μM) for [Mg2+] and K1(74(6) mM) and K2(243(52) mM) for [Na+]-induced folding. The kinetic model is validated by oligo competition with the STEM interaction. Implications of this conformational folding mechanism are discussed in regards to regulation of virus replication.

  20. Balancing gene expression without library construction via a reusable sRNA pool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghodasara, Amar; Voigt, Christopher A

    2017-07-27

    Balancing protein expression is critical when optimizing genetic systems. Typically, this requires library construction to vary the genetic parts controlling each gene, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Here, we develop sRNAs corresponding to 15nt 'target' sequences that can be inserted upstream of a gene. The targeted gene can be repressed from 1.6- to 87-fold by controlling sRNA expression using promoters of different strength. A pool is built where six sRNAs are placed under the control of 16 promoters that span a ∼103-fold range of strengths, yielding ∼107 combinations. This pool can simultaneously optimize up to six genes in a system. This requires building only a single system-specific construct by placing a target sequence upstream of each gene and transforming it with the pre-built sRNA pool. The resulting library is screened and the top clone is sequenced to determine the promoter controlling each sRNA, from which the fold-repression of the genes can be inferred. The system is then rebuilt by rationally selecting parts that implement the optimal expression of each gene. We demonstrate the versatility of this approach by using the same pool to optimize a metabolic pathway (β-carotene) and genetic circuit (XNOR logic gate). © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  1. Construction Worker Fatigue Prediction Model Based on System Dynamic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wahyu Adi Tri Joko

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Construction accident can be caused by internal and external factors such as worker fatigue and unsafe project environment. Tight schedule of construction project forcing construction worker to work overtime in long period. This situation leads to worker fatigue. This paper proposes a model to predict construction worker fatigue based on system dynamic (SD. System dynamic is used to represent correlation among internal and external factors and to simulate level of worker fatigue. To validate the model, 93 construction workers whom worked in a high rise building construction projects, were used as case study. The result shows that excessive workload, working elevation and age, are the main factors lead to construction worker fatigue. Simulation result also shows that these factors can increase worker fatigue level to 21.2% times compared to normal condition. Beside predicting worker fatigue level this model can also be used as early warning system to prevent construction worker accident

  2. Mechanism of microRNA-target interaction: molecular dynamics simulations and thermodynamics analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yonghua Wang

    Full Text Available MicroRNAs (miRNAs are endogenously produced approximately 21-nt riboregulators that associate with Argonaute (Ago proteins to direct mRNA cleavage or repress the translation of complementary RNAs. Capturing the molecular mechanisms of miRNA interacting with its target will not only reinforce the understanding of underlying RNA interference but also fuel the design of more effective small-interfering RNA strands. To address this, in the present work the RNA-bound (Ago-miRNA, Ago-miRNA-target and RNA-free Ago forms were analyzed by performing both molecular dynamics simulations and thermodynamic analysis. Based on the principal component analysis results of the simulation trajectories as well as the correlation analysis in fluctuations of residues, we discover that: 1 three important (PAZ, Mid and PIWI domains exist in Argonaute which define the global dynamics of the protein; 2 the interdomain correlated movements are so crucial for the interaction of Ago-RNAs that they not only facilitate the relaxation of the interactions between residues surrounding the RNA binding channel but also induce certain conformational changes; and 3 it is just these conformational changes that expand the cavity of the active site and open putative pathways for both the substrate uptake and product release. In addition, by thermodynamic analysis we also discover that for both the guide RNA 5'-end recognition and the facilitated site-specific cleavage of the target, the presence of two metal ions (of Mg(2+ plays a predominant role, and this conclusion is consistent with the observed enzyme catalytic cleavage activity in the ternary complex (Ago-miRNA-mRNA. Our results find that it is the set of arginine amino acids concentrated in the nucleotide-binding channel in Ago, instead of the conventionally-deemed seed base-paring, that makes greater contributions in stabilizing the binding of the nucleic acids to Ago.

  3. Mechanism of microRNA-target interaction: molecular dynamics simulations and thermodynamics analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yonghua; Li, Yan; Ma, Zhi; Yang, Wei; Ai, Chunzhi

    2010-07-29

    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenously produced approximately 21-nt riboregulators that associate with Argonaute (Ago) proteins to direct mRNA cleavage or repress the translation of complementary RNAs. Capturing the molecular mechanisms of miRNA interacting with its target will not only reinforce the understanding of underlying RNA interference but also fuel the design of more effective small-interfering RNA strands. To address this, in the present work the RNA-bound (Ago-miRNA, Ago-miRNA-target) and RNA-free Ago forms were analyzed by performing both molecular dynamics simulations and thermodynamic analysis. Based on the principal component analysis results of the simulation trajectories as well as the correlation analysis in fluctuations of residues, we discover that: 1) three important (PAZ, Mid and PIWI) domains exist in Argonaute which define the global dynamics of the protein; 2) the interdomain correlated movements are so crucial for the interaction of Ago-RNAs that they not only facilitate the relaxation of the interactions between residues surrounding the RNA binding channel but also induce certain conformational changes; and 3) it is just these conformational changes that expand the cavity of the active site and open putative pathways for both the substrate uptake and product release. In addition, by thermodynamic analysis we also discover that for both the guide RNA 5'-end recognition and the facilitated site-specific cleavage of the target, the presence of two metal ions (of Mg(2+)) plays a predominant role, and this conclusion is consistent with the observed enzyme catalytic cleavage activity in the ternary complex (Ago-miRNA-mRNA). Our results find that it is the set of arginine amino acids concentrated in the nucleotide-binding channel in Ago, instead of the conventionally-deemed seed base-paring, that makes greater contributions in stabilizing the binding of the nucleic acids to Ago.

  4. Membrane recognition and dynamics of the RNA degradosome.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henrik Strahl

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available RNase E, which is the central component of the multienzyme RNA degradosome, serves as a scaffold for interaction with other enzymes involved in mRNA degradation including the DEAD-box RNA helicase RhlB. Epifluorescence microscopy under live cell conditions shows that RNase E and RhlB are membrane associated, but neither protein forms cytoskeletal-like structures as reported earlier by Taghbalout and Rothfield. We show that association of RhlB with the membrane depends on a direct protein interaction with RNase E, which is anchored to the inner cytoplasmic membrane through an MTS (Membrane Targeting Sequence. Molecular dynamics simulations show that the MTS interacts with the phospholipid bilayer by forming a stabilized amphipathic α-helix with the helical axis oriented parallel to the plane of the bilayer and hydrophobic side chains buried deep in the acyl core of the membrane. Based on the molecular dynamics simulations, we propose that the MTS freely diffuses in the membrane by a novel mechanism in which a large number of weak contacts are rapidly broken and reformed. TIRFm (Total Internal Reflection microscopy shows that RNase E in live cells rapidly diffuses over the entire inner membrane forming short-lived foci. Diffusion could be part of a scanning mechanism facilitating substrate recognition and cooperativity. Remarkably, RNase E foci disappear and the rate of RNase E diffusion increases with rifampicin treatment. Control experiments show that the effect of rifampicin is specific to RNase E and that the effect is not a secondary consequence of the shut off of E. coli transcription. We therefore interpret the effect of rifampicin as being due to the depletion of RNA substrates for degradation. We propose a model in which formation of foci and constraints on diffusion arise from the transient clustering of RNase E into cooperative degradation bodies.

  5. Dynamics of picornavirus RNA replication within infected cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Belsham, Graham; Normann, Preben

    2008-01-01

    Replication of many picornaviruses is inhibited by low concentrations of guanidine. Guanidine-resistant mutants are readily isolated and the mutations map to the coding region for the 2C protein. Using in vitro replication assays it has been determined previously that guanidine blocks the initiat......Replication of many picornaviruses is inhibited by low concentrations of guanidine. Guanidine-resistant mutants are readily isolated and the mutations map to the coding region for the 2C protein. Using in vitro replication assays it has been determined previously that guanidine blocks...... the initiation of negative-strand synthesis. We have now examined the dynamics of RNA replication, measured by quantitative RT-PCR, within cells infected with either swine vesicular disease virus (an enterovirus) or foot-and-mouth disease virus as regulated by the presence or absence of guanidine. Following...... the removal of guanidine from the infected cells, RNA replication occurs after a significant lag phase. This restoration of RNA synthesis requires de novo protein synthesis. Viral RNA can be maintained for at least 72 h within cells in the absence of apparent replication but guanidine-resistant virus can...

  6. Architecture and dynamics of overlapped RNA regulatory networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lapointe, Christopher P; Preston, Melanie A; Wilinski, Daniel; Saunders, Harriet A J; Campbell, Zachary T; Wickens, Marvin

    2017-11-01

    A single protein can bind and regulate many mRNAs. Multiple proteins with similar specificities often bind and control overlapping sets of mRNAs. Yet little is known about the architecture or dynamics of overlapped networks. We focused on three proteins with similar structures and related RNA-binding specificities-Puf3p, Puf4p, and Puf5p of S. cerevisiae Using RNA Tagging, we identified a "super-network" comprised of four subnetworks: Puf3p, Puf4p, and Puf5p subnetworks, and one controlled by both Puf4p and Puf5p. The architecture of individual subnetworks, and thus the super-network, is determined by competition among particular PUF proteins to bind mRNAs, their affinities for binding elements, and the abundances of the proteins. The super-network responds dramatically: The remaining network can either expand or contract. These strikingly opposite outcomes are determined by an interplay between the relative abundance of the RNAs and proteins, and their affinities for one another. The diverse interplay between overlapping RNA-protein networks provides versatile opportunities for regulation and evolution. © 2017 Lapointe et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press for the RNA Society.

  7. A Robust and Efficient Numerical Method for RNA-Mediated Viral Dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir Reinharz

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The multiscale model of hepatitis C virus (HCV dynamics, which includes intracellular viral RNA (vRNA replication, has been formulated in recent years in order to provide a new conceptual framework for understanding the mechanism of action of a variety of agents for the treatment of HCV. We present a robust and efficient numerical method that belongs to the family of adaptive stepsize methods and is implicit, a Rosenbrock type method that is highly suited to solve this problem. We provide a Graphical User Interface that applies this method and is useful for simulating viral dynamics during treatment with anti-HCV agents that act against HCV on the molecular level.

  8. An improved method for RNA isolation and cDNA library construction from immature seeds of Jatropha curcas L

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaur Jatinder

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background RNA quality and quantity is sometimes unsuitable for cDNA library construction, from plant seeds rich in oil, polysaccharides and other secondary metabolites. Seeds of jatropha (Jatropha curcas L. are rich in fatty acids/lipids, storage proteins, polysaccharides, and a number of other secondary metabolites that could either bind and/or co-precipitate with RNA, making it unsuitable for downstream applications. Existing RNA isolation methods and commercial kits often fail to deliver high-quality total RNA from immature jatropha seeds for poly(A+ RNA purification and cDNA synthesis. Findings A protocol has been developed for isolating good quality total RNA from immature jatropha seeds, whereby a combination of the CTAB based RNA extraction method and a silica column of a commercial plant RNA extraction kit is used. The extraction time was reduced from two days to about 3 hours and the RNA was suitable for poly(A+ RNA purification, cDNA synthesis, cDNA library construction, RT-PCR, and Northern hybridization. Based on sequence information from selected clones and amplified PCR product, the cDNA library seems to be a good source of full-length jatropha genes. The method was equally effective for isolating RNA from mustard and rice seeds. Conclusions This is a simple CTAB + silica column method to extract high quality RNA from oil rich immature jatropha seeds that is suitable for several downstream applications. This method takes less time for RNA extraction and is equally effective for other tissues where the quality and quantity of RNA is highly interfered by the presence of fatty acids, polysaccharides and polyphenols.

  9. New instruments for dynamic building-construction : Computer as partner in construction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Rees, R.

    2007-01-01

    For dynamic processes to become possible in Building-Construction, ICT support is needed. Data access and data exchange needs to be ubiquitous. Existing research often only targets elaborate international standards (that don't really get off the ground because of international differences) or it

  10. Dynamic behavior of RNA nanoparticles analyzed by AFM on a mica/air interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sajja, Sameer; Chandler, Morgan; Federov, Dmitry; Kasprzak, Wojciech K; Lushnikov, Alexander Y; Viard, Mathias; Shah, Ankit; Dang, Dylan; Dahl, Jared; Worku, Beamlak; Dobrovolskaia, Marina A; Krasnoslobodtsev, Alexey; Shapiro, Bruce A; Afonin, Kirill A

    2018-04-18

    RNA is an attractive biopolymer for engineering self-assembling materials suitable for biomedical applications. Previously, programmable hexameric RNA rings were developed for the controlled delivery of up to six different functionalities. To increase the potential for functionalization with little impact on nanoparticle topology, we introduce gaps into the double-stranded regions of the RNA rings. Molecular dynamic simulations are used to assess the dynamic behavior and the changes in the flexibility of novel designs. The changes suggested by simulations, however, cannot be clearly confirmed by the conventional techniques such as non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (native-PAGE) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Also, an in vitro analysis in primary cultures of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells does not reveal any discrepancy in immunological recognition of new assemblies. To address these deficiencies, we introduce a computer-assisted quantification strategy. This strategy is based on an algorithmic atomic force microscopy (AFM)-resolved deformation analysis of the RNA nanoparticles studied on a mica/air interface. We validate this computational method by manual image analysis and fitting it to the simulation-predicted results. The presented nanoparticle modification strategy and subsequent AFM-based analysis are anticipated to provide a broad spectrum approach for the future development of nucleic acid-based nanotechnology.

  11. A PCR-Based Method to Construct Lentiviral Vector Expressing Double Tough Decoy for miRNA Inhibition.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huiling Qiu

    Full Text Available DNA vector-encoded Tough Decoy (TuD miRNA inhibitor is attracting increased attention due to its high efficiency in miRNA suppression. The current methods used to construct TuD vectors are based on synthesizing long oligonucleotides (~90 mer, which have been costly and problematic because of mutations during synthesis. In this study, we report a PCR-based method for the generation of double Tough Decoy (dTuD vector in which only two sets of shorter oligonucleotides (< 60 mer were used. Different approaches were employed to test the inhibitory potency of dTuDs. We demonstrated that dTuD is the most efficient method in miRNA inhibition in vitro and in vivo. Using this method, a mini dTuD library against 88 human miRNAs was constructed and used for a high-throughput screening (HTS of AP-1 pathway-related miRNAs. Seven miRNAs (miR-18b-5p, -101-3p, -148b-3p, -130b-3p, -186-3p, -187-3p and -1324 were identified as candidates involved in AP-1 pathway regulation. This novel method allows for an accurate and cost-effective generation of dTuD miRNA inhibitor, providing a powerful tool for efficient miRNA suppression in vitro and in vivo.

  12. Genetic algorithm optimization for dynamic construction site layout planning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farmakis Panagiotis M.

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The dynamic construction site layout planning (DCSLP problem refers to the efficient placement and relocation of temporary construction facilities within a dynamically changing construction site environment considering the characteristics of facilities and work interrelationships, the shape and topography of the construction site, and the time-varying project needs. A multi-objective dynamic optimization model is developed for this problem that considers construction and relocation costs of facilities, transportation costs of resources moving from one facility to another or to workplaces, as well as safety and environmental considerations resulting from facilities’ operations and interconnections. The latter considerations are taken into account in the form of preferences or constraints regarding the proximity or remoteness of particular facilities to other facilities or work areas. The analysis of multiple project phases and the dynamic facility relocation from phase to phase highly increases the problem size, which, even in its static form, falls within the NP (for Nondeterministic Polynomial time- hard class of combinatorial optimization problems. For this reason, a genetic algorithm has been implemented for the solution due to its capability to robustly search within a large solution space. Several case studies and operational scenarios have been implemented through the Palisade’s Evolver software for model testing and evaluation. The results indi­cate satisfactory model response to time-varying input data in terms of solution quality and computation time. The model can provide decision support to site managers, allowing them to examine alternative scenarios and fine-tune optimal solutions according to their experience by introducing desirable preferences or constraints in the decision process.

  13. Enhanced Dynamics of Hydrated tRNA on Nanodiamond Surfaces: A Combined Neutron Scattering and MD Simulation Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhindsa, Gurpreet K; Bhowmik, Debsindhu; Goswami, Monojoy; O'Neill, Hugh; Mamontov, Eugene; Sumpter, Bobby G; Hong, Liang; Ganesh, Panchapakesan; Chu, Xiang-Qiang

    2016-09-14

    Nontoxic, biocompatible nanodiamonds (ND) have recently been implemented in rational, systematic design of optimal therapeutic use in nanomedicines. However, hydrophilicity of the ND surface strongly influences structure and dynamics of biomolecules that restrict in situ applications of ND. Therefore, fundamental understanding of the impact of hydrophilic ND surface on biomolecules at the molecular level is essential. For tRNA, we observe an enhancement of dynamical behavior in the presence of ND contrary to generally observed slow motion at strongly interacting interfaces. We took advantage of neutron scattering experiments and computer simulations to demonstrate this atypical faster dynamics of tRNA on ND surface. The strong attractive interactions between ND, tRNA, and water give rise to unlike dynamical behavior and structural changes of tRNA in front of ND compared to without ND. Our new findings may provide new design principles for safer, improved drug delivery platforms.

  14. Guidance for RNA-seq co-expression network construction and analysis: safety in numbers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballouz, S; Verleyen, W; Gillis, J

    2015-07-01

    RNA-seq co-expression analysis is in its infancy and reasonable practices remain poorly defined. We assessed a variety of RNA-seq expression data to determine factors affecting functional connectivity and topology in co-expression networks. We examine RNA-seq co-expression data generated from 1970 RNA-seq samples using a Guilt-By-Association framework, in which genes are assessed for the tendency of co-expression to reflect shared function. Minimal experimental criteria to obtain performance on par with microarrays were >20 samples with read depth >10 M per sample. While the aggregate network constructed shows good performance (area under the receiver operator characteristic curve ∼0.71), the dependency on number of experiments used is nearly identical to that present in microarrays, suggesting thousands of samples are required to obtain 'gold-standard' co-expression. We find a major topological difference between RNA-seq and microarray co-expression in the form of low overlaps between hub-like genes from each network due to changes in the correlation of expression noise within each technology. jgillis@cshl.edu or sballouz@cshl.edu Networks are available at: http://gillislab.labsites.cshl.edu/supplements/rna-seq-networks/ and supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Concerted motions in HIV-1 TAR RNA may allow access to bound state conformations: RNA dynamics from NMR residual dipolar couplings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Hashimi, Hashim M; Gosser, Yuying; Gorin, Andrey; Hu, Weidong; Majumdar, Ananya; Patel, Dinshaw J

    2002-01-11

    Ground-state dynamics in RNA is a critical precursor for structural adaptation observed ubiquitously in protein-RNA recognition. A tertiary conformational analysis of the stem-loop structural element in the transactivation response element (TAR) from human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-I) RNA is presented using recently introduced NMR methods that rely on the measurement of residual dipolar couplings (RDC) in partially oriented systems. Order matrix analysis of RDC data provides evidence for inter-helical motions that are of amplitude 46(+/-4) degrees, of random directional character, and that are executed about an average conformation with an inter-helical angle between 44 degrees and 54 degrees. The generated ensemble of TAR conformations have different organizations of functional groups responsible for interaction with the trans-activator protein Tat, including conformations similar to the previously characterized bound-state conformation. These results demonstrate the utility of RDC-NMR for simultaneously characterizing RNA tertiary dynamics and average conformation, and indicate an avenue for TAR complex formation involving tertiary structure capture. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

  16. Mechanistic profiling of the siRNA delivery dynamics of lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colombo, Stefano; Cun, Dongmei; Remaut, Katrien; Bunker, Matt; Zhang, Jianxin; Martin-Bertelsen, Birte; Yaghmur, Anan; Braeckmans, Kevin; Nielsen, Hanne M; Foged, Camilla

    2015-03-10

    Understanding the delivery dynamics of nucleic acid nanocarriers is fundamental to improve their design for therapeutic applications. We investigated the carrier structure-function relationship of lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPNs) consisting of poly(DL-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanocarriers modified with the cationic lipid dioleoyltrimethyl-ammoniumpropane (DOTAP). A library of siRNA-loaded LPNs was prepared by systematically varying the nitrogen-to-phosphate (N/P) ratio. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) combined with small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) studies suggested that the siRNA-loaded LPNs are characterized by a core-shell structure consisting of a PLGA matrix core coated with lamellar DOTAP structures with siRNA localized both in the core and in the shell. Release studies in buffer and serum-containing medium combined with in vitro gene silencing and quantification of intracellular siRNA suggested that this self-assembling core-shell structure influences the siRNA release kinetics and the delivery dynamics. A main delivery mechanism appears to be mediated via the release of transfection-competent siRNA-DOTAP lipoplexes from the LPNs. Based on these results, we suggest a model for the nanostructural characteristics of the LPNs, in which the siRNA is organized in lamellar superficial assemblies and/or as complexes entrapped in the polymeric matrix. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Efficient computation of co-transcriptional RNA-ligand interaction dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolfinger, Michael T; Flamm, Christoph; Hofacker, Ivo L

    2018-05-04

    Riboswitches form an abundant class of cis-regulatory RNA elements that mediate gene expression by binding a small metabolite. For synthetic biology applications, they are becoming cheap and accessible systems for selectively triggering transcription or translation of downstream genes. Many riboswitches are kinetically controlled, hence knowledge of their co-transcriptional mechanisms is essential. We present here an efficient implementation for analyzing co-transcriptional RNA-ligand interaction dynamics. This approach allows for the first time to model concentration-dependent metabolite binding/unbinding kinetics. We exemplify this novel approach by means of the recently studied I-A 2 ' -deoxyguanosine (2 ' dG)-sensing riboswitch from Mesoplasma florum. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Expanding the informational chemistries of life: peptide/RNA networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taran, Olga; Chen, Chenrui; Omosun, Tolulope O.; Hsieh, Ming-Chien; Rha, Allisandra; Goodwin, Jay T.; Mehta, Anil K.; Grover, Martha A.; Lynn, David G.

    2017-11-01

    The RNA world hypothesis simplifies the complex biopolymer networks underlining the informational and metabolic needs of living systems to a single biopolymer scaffold. This simplification requires abiotic reaction cascades for the construction of RNA, and this chemistry remains the subject of active research. Here, we explore a complementary approach involving the design of dynamic peptide networks capable of amplifying encoded chemical information and setting the stage for mutualistic associations with RNA. Peptide conformational networks are known to be capable of evolution in disease states and of co-opting metal ions, aromatic heterocycles and lipids to extend their emergent behaviours. The coexistence and association of dynamic peptide and RNA networks appear to have driven the emergence of higher-order informational systems in biology that are not available to either scaffold independently, and such mutualistic interdependence poses critical questions regarding the search for life across our Solar System and beyond. This article is part of the themed issue 'Reconceptualizing the origins of life'.

  19. Molecular insights into the specific recognition between the RNA binding domain qRRM2 of hnRNP F and G-tract RNA: A molecular dynamics study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lingyun; Yan, Feng

    2017-12-09

    Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein F (hnRNP F) controls the expression of various genes through regulating the alternative splicing of pre-mRNAs in the nucleus. It uses three quasi-RNA recognition motifs (qRRMs) to recognize G-tract RNA which contains at least three consecutive guanines. The structures containing qRRMs of hnRNP F in complex with G-tract RNA have been determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, shedding light on the recognition mechanism of qRRMs with G-tract RNA. However, knowledge of the recognition details is still lacking. To investigate how qRRMs specifically bind with G-tract RNA and how the mutations of any guanine to an adenine in the G-tract affect the binding, molecular dynamics simulations with binding free energy analysis were performed based on the NMR structure of qRRM2 in complex with G-tract RNA. Simulation results demonstrate that qRRM2 binds strongly with G-tract RNA, but any mutation of the G-tract leads to a drastic reduction of the binding free energy. Further comparisons of the energetic components reveal that van der Waals and non-polar interactions play essential roles in the binding between qRRM2 and G-tract RNA, but the interactions are weakened by the effect of RNA mutations. Structural and dynamical analyses indicate that when qRRM2 binds with G-tract RNA, both qRRM2 and G-tract maintain stabilized structures and dynamics; however, the stability is disrupted by the mutations of the G-tract. These results provide novel insights into the recognition mechanism of qRRM2 with G-tract RNA that are not elucidated by the NMR technique. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Improved Ribosome-Footprint and mRNA Measurements Provide Insights into Dynamics and Regulation of Yeast Translation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-02-11

    unlimited. Improved Ribosome-Footprint and mRNA Measurements Provide Insights into Dynamics and Regulation of Yeast Translation The views, opinions and...into Dynamics and Regulation of Yeast Translation Report Title Ribosome-footprint profiling provides genome-wide snapshots of translation, but...tend to slow translation. With the improved mRNA measurements, the variation attributable to translational control in exponentially growing yeast was

  1. Elucidating Mechanisms of Molecular Recognition Between Human Argonaute and miRNA Using Computational Approaches

    KAUST Repository

    Jiang, Hanlun

    2016-12-06

    MicroRNA (miRNA) and Argonaute (AGO) protein together form the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) that plays an essential role in the regulation of gene expression. Elucidating the underlying mechanism of AGO-miRNA recognition is thus of great importance not only for the in-depth understanding of miRNA function but also for inspiring new drugs targeting miRNAs. In this chapter we introduce a combined computational approach of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, Markov state models (MSMs), and protein-RNA docking to investigate AGO-miRNA recognition. Constructed from MD simulations, MSMs can elucidate the conformational dynamics of AGO at biologically relevant timescales. Protein-RNA docking can then efficiently identify the AGO conformations that are geometrically accessible to miRNA. Using our recent work on human AGO2 as an example, we explain the rationale and the workflow of our method in details. This combined approach holds great promise to complement experiments in unraveling the mechanisms of molecular recognition between large, flexible, and complex biomolecules.

  2. Elucidating Mechanisms of Molecular Recognition Between Human Argonaute and miRNA Using Computational Approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Hanlun; Zhu, Lizhe; Héliou, Amélie; Gao, Xin; Bernauer, Julie; Huang, Xuhui

    2017-01-01

    MicroRNA (miRNA) and Argonaute (AGO) protein together form the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) that plays an essential role in the regulation of gene expression. Elucidating the underlying mechanism of AGO-miRNA recognition is thus of great importance not only for the in-depth understanding of miRNA function but also for inspiring new drugs targeting miRNAs. In this chapter we introduce a combined computational approach of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, Markov state models (MSMs), and protein-RNA docking to investigate AGO-miRNA recognition. Constructed from MD simulations, MSMs can elucidate the conformational dynamics of AGO at biologically relevant timescales. Protein-RNA docking can then efficiently identify the AGO conformations that are geometrically accessible to miRNA. Using our recent work on human AGO2 as an example, we explain the rationale and the workflow of our method in details. This combined approach holds great promise to complement experiments in unraveling the mechanisms of molecular recognition between large, flexible, and complex biomolecules.

  3. Best practices for system dynamics model design and construction with powersim studio.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Malczynski, Leonard A.

    2011-06-01

    This guide addresses software quality in the construction of Powersim{reg_sign} Studio 8 system dynamics simulation models. It is the result of almost ten years of experience with the Powersim suite of system dynamics modeling tools (Constructor and earlier Studio versions). It is a guide that proposes a common look and feel for the construction of Powersim Studio system dynamics models.

  4. Recognition of RNA by amide modified backbone nucleic acids: molecular dynamics simulations of DNA-RNA hybrids in aqueous solution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nina, Mafalda; Fonné-Pfister, Raymonde; Beaudegnies, Renaud; Chekatt, Habiba; Jung, Pierre M J; Murphy-Kessabi, Fiona; De Mesmaeker, Alain; Wendeborn, Sebastian

    2005-04-27

    Thermodynamic and structural properties of a chemically modified DNA-RNA hybrid in which a phosphodiester linkage is replaced by a neutral amide-3 linkage (3'-CH(2)-CONH-5') were investigated using UV melting experiments, molecular dynamics simulations in explicit water, and continuum solvent models. van't Hoff analysis of the experimental UV melting curves suggests that the significant increase of the thermodynamic stability of a 15-mer DNA-RNA with seven alternated amide-3 modifications (+11 degrees C) is mainly due to an increased binding enthalpy. To further evaluate the origin in the observed affinities differences, the electrostatic contribution to the binding free energy was calculated by solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation numerically. The nonelectrostatic contribution was estimated as the product of a hydrophobic surface tension coefficient and the surface area that is buried upon double strand formation. Structures were taken from 10 ns molecular dynamics simulations computed in a consistent fashion using explicit solvent, counterions, and the particle-mesh Ewald procedure. The present preliminary thermodynamic study suggests that the favorable binding free energy of the amide-3 DNA single strand to the complementary RNA is equally driven by electrostatic and nonpolar contributions to the binding compared to their natural analogues. In addition, molecular dynamics simulations in explicit water were performed on an amide-3 DNA single strand and the corresponding natural DNA. Results from the conformations cluster analysis of the simulated amide-3 DNA single strand ensembles suggest that the 25% of the population sampled within 10 ns has a pre-organized conformation where the sugar C3' endo pucker is favored at the 3'-flanking nucleotides. These structural and thermodynamic features contribute to the understanding of the observed increased affinities of the amide-3 DNA-RNA hybrids at the microscopic level.

  5. Efficient dynamic graph construction for inductive semi-supervised learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dornaika, F; Dahbi, R; Bosaghzadeh, A; Ruichek, Y

    2017-10-01

    Most of graph construction techniques assume a transductive setting in which the whole data collection is available at construction time. Addressing graph construction for inductive setting, in which data are coming sequentially, has received much less attention. For inductive settings, constructing the graph from scratch can be very time consuming. This paper introduces a generic framework that is able to make any graph construction method incremental. This framework yields an efficient and dynamic graph construction method that adds new samples (labeled or unlabeled) to a previously constructed graph. As a case study, we use the recently proposed Two Phase Weighted Regularized Least Square (TPWRLS) graph construction method. The paper has two main contributions. First, we use the TPWRLS coding scheme to represent new sample(s) with respect to an existing database. The representative coefficients are then used to update the graph affinity matrix. The proposed method not only appends the new samples to the graph but also updates the whole graph structure by discovering which nodes are affected by the introduction of new samples and by updating their edge weights. The second contribution of the article is the application of the proposed framework to the problem of graph-based label propagation using multiple observations for vision-based recognition tasks. Experiments on several image databases show that, without any significant loss in the accuracy of the final classification, the proposed dynamic graph construction is more efficient than the batch graph construction. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. A large collapsed-state RNA can exhibit simple exponential single-molecule dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Glenna J; Lee, Kang Taek; Qu, Xiaohui; Xie, Zheng; Pesic, Jelena; Sosnick, Tobin R; Pan, Tao; Scherer, Norbert F

    2008-05-09

    The process of large RNA folding is believed to proceed from many collapsed structures to a unique functional structure requiring precise organization of nucleotides. The diversity of possible structures and stabilities of large RNAs could result in non-exponential folding kinetics (e.g. stretched exponential) under conditions where the molecules have not achieved their native state. We describe a single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) study of the collapsed-state region of the free energy landscape of the catalytic domain of RNase P RNA from Bacillus stearothermophilus (C(thermo)). Ensemble measurements have shown that this 260 residue RNA folds cooperatively to its native state at >or=1 mM Mg(2+), but little is known about the conformational dynamics at lower ionic strength. Our measurements of equilibrium conformational fluctuations reveal simple exponential kinetics that reflect a small number of discrete states instead of the expected inhomogeneous dynamics. The distribution of discrete dwell times, collected from an "ensemble" of 300 single molecules at each of a series of Mg(2+) concentrations, fit well to a double exponential, which indicates that the RNA conformational changes can be described as a four-state system. This finding is somewhat unexpected under [Mg(2+)] conditions in which this RNA does not achieve its native state. Observation of discrete well-defined conformations in this large RNA that are stable on the seconds timescale at low [Mg(2+)] (<0.1 mM) suggests that even at low ionic strength, with a tremendous number of possible (weak) interactions, a few critical interactions may produce deep energy wells that allow for rapid averaging of motions within each well, and yield kinetics that are relatively simple.

  7. [Construction of lentiviral mediated CyPA siRNA and its functions in non-small cell lung cancer].

    Science.gov (United States)

    FENG, Yan-ming; WU, Yi-ming; TU, Xin-ming; XU, Zheng-shun; WU, Wei-dong

    2010-02-01

    To construct a lentiviral-vector-mediated CyPA small interference RNA (siRNA) and study its function in non-small cell lung cancer. First, four target sequences were selected according to CyPA mRNA sequence, the complementary DNA contained both sense and antisense oligonucleotides were designed, synthesized and cloned into the pGCL-GFP vector, which contained U6 promoter and green fluorescent protein (GFP). The resulting lentiviral vector containing CyPA shRNA was named Lv-shCyPA, and it was confirmed by PCR and sequencing. Next, it was cotransfected by Lipofectamine 2000 along with pHelper1.0 and pHelper 2.0 into 293T cells to package lentivirus particles. At the same time, the packed virus infected non-small cell lung cancer cell (A549), the level of CyPA protein at 5 d after infection was detected by Western Blot to screen the target of CyPA. A549 were infected with Lv-shCyPA and grown as xenografts in severe combined immunodeficient mice. Cell cycle and apoptosis were measured by FCM. It was confirmed by PCR and DNA sequencing that lentiviral-vector-mediated CyPA siRNA (Lv-shCyPA) producing CyPA shRNA was constructed successfully. The titer of concentrated virus were 1 x 10(7) TU/ml. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated G2-M phase (11.40% +/- 0.68%) was decreased relatively in A549/LvshCyPA compared with control groups (14.52% +/- 1.19%) (Ppathways may lead to new targeted therapies for non-small cell lung cancer.

  8. A Poisson Log-Normal Model for Constructing Gene Covariation Network Using RNA-seq Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Yoonha; Coram, Marc; Peng, Jie; Tang, Hua

    2017-07-01

    Constructing expression networks using transcriptomic data is an effective approach for studying gene regulation. A popular approach for constructing such a network is based on the Gaussian graphical model (GGM), in which an edge between a pair of genes indicates that the expression levels of these two genes are conditionally dependent, given the expression levels of all other genes. However, GGMs are not appropriate for non-Gaussian data, such as those generated in RNA-seq experiments. We propose a novel statistical framework that maximizes a penalized likelihood, in which the observed count data follow a Poisson log-normal distribution. To overcome the computational challenges, we use Laplace's method to approximate the likelihood and its gradients, and apply the alternating directions method of multipliers to find the penalized maximum likelihood estimates. The proposed method is evaluated and compared with GGMs using both simulated and real RNA-seq data. The proposed method shows improved performance in detecting edges that represent covarying pairs of genes, particularly for edges connecting low-abundant genes and edges around regulatory hubs.

  9. Molecular dynamics simulations of electrostatics and hydration distributions around RNA and DNA motifs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marlowe, Ashley E.; Singh, Abhishek; Semichaevsky, Andrey V.; Yingling, Yaroslava G.

    2009-03-01

    Nucleic acid nanoparticles can self-assembly through the formation of complementary loop-loop interactions or stem-stem interactions. Presence and concentration of ions can significantly affect the self-assembly process and the stability of the nanostructure. In this presentation we use explicit molecular dynamics simulations to examine the variations in cationic distributions and hydration environment around DNA and RNA helices and loop-loop interactions. Our simulations show that the potassium and sodium ionic distributions are different around RNA and DNA motifs which could be indicative of ion mediated relative stability of loop-loop complexes. Moreover in RNA loop-loop motifs ions are consistently present and exchanged through a distinct electronegative channel. We will also show how we used the specific RNA loop-loop motif to design a RNA hexagonal nanoparticle.

  10. Internationalisation of construction business and e-commerce: Innovation, integration and dynamic capabilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thayaparan Gajendran

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Despite the role of internet and web based applications in delivering competitive advantage through e-business process is widely acknowledged, little is done by way of research to use the dynamic capability framework, in exploring the role of ecommerce in the construction business internationalisation. The aim of this paper is to present a literature based theoretical exploration using dynamic capability view to discuss internationalising construction businesses through electronic commerce (e-commerce platforms. This paper contextualises the opportunities for internationalising construction, using a mix of supply chain paradigms, embedded with e-commerce platforms. The paper concludes by identifying the potential of dynamic capabilities of a firm, exploiting the innovation and integration potential of different e-business systems, in contributing to the internationalisation of construction businesses. It proposes that contracting firms with developed dynamic capabilities, has the potential to exploit e-commerce platforms to channel upstream activities to an international destination, and also offers the firm’s products/services to international markets.

  11. Global Analysis of miRNA Gene Clusters and Gene Families Reveals Dynamic and Coordinated Expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Guo

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available To further understand the potential expression relationships of miRNAs in miRNA gene clusters and gene families, a global analysis was performed in 4 paired tumor (breast cancer and adjacent normal tissue samples using deep sequencing datasets. The compositions of miRNA gene clusters and families are not random, and clustered and homologous miRNAs may have close relationships with overlapped miRNA species. Members in the miRNA group always had various expression levels, and even some showed larger expression divergence. Despite the dynamic expression as well as individual difference, these miRNAs always indicated consistent or similar deregulation patterns. The consistent deregulation expression may contribute to dynamic and coordinated interaction between different miRNAs in regulatory network. Further, we found that those clustered or homologous miRNAs that were also identified as sense and antisense miRNAs showed larger expression divergence. miRNA gene clusters and families indicated important biological roles, and the specific distribution and expression further enrich and ensure the flexible and robust regulatory network.

  12. Uncovering genes with divergent mRNA-protein dynamics in Streptomyces coelicolor.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karthik P Jayapal

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Many biological processes are intrinsically dynamic, incurring profound changes at both molecular and physiological levels. Systems analyses of such processes incorporating large-scale transcriptome or proteome profiling can be quite revealing. Although consistency between mRNA and proteins is often implicitly assumed in many studies, examples of divergent trends are frequently observed. Here, we present a comparative transcriptome and proteome analysis of growth and stationary phase adaptation in Streptomyces coelicolor, taking the time-dynamics of process into consideration. These processes are of immense interest in microbiology as they pertain to the physiological transformations eliciting biosynthesis of many naturally occurring therapeutic agents. A shotgun proteomics approach based on mass spectrometric analysis of isobaric stable isotope labeled peptides (iTRAQ enabled identification and rapid quantification of approximately 14% of the theoretical proteome of S. coelicolor. Independent principal component analyses of this and DNA microarray-derived transcriptome data revealed that the prominent patterns in both protein and mRNA domains are surprisingly well correlated. Despite this overall correlation, by employing a systematic concordance analysis, we estimated that over 30% of the analyzed genes likely exhibited significantly divergent patterns, of which nearly one-third displayed even opposing trends. Integrating this data with biological information, we discovered that certain groups of functionally related genes exhibit mRNA-protein discordance in a similar fashion. Our observations suggest that differences between mRNA and protein synthesis/degradation mechanisms are prominent in microbes while reaffirming the plausibility of such mechanisms acting in a concerted fashion at a protein complex or sub-pathway level.

  13. Characterization of conformational dynamics of bistable RNA by equilibrium and non-equilibrium NMR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fürtig, Boris; Reining, Anke; Sochor, Florian; Oberhauser, Eva Marie; Heckel, Alexander; Schwalbe, Harald

    2014-12-19

    Unlike proteins, a given RNA sequence can adopt more than a single conformation. The two (or more) conformations are long-lived and have similar stabilities, but interconvert only slowly. Such bi- or multistability is often linked to the biological functions of the RNA. This unit describes how nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy can be used to characterize the conformational dynamics of bistable RNAs. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  14. Are Amyloid Fibrils RNA-Traps? A Molecular Dynamics Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Massimiliano Meli

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The self-assembly of proteins and peptides into amyloids is a key feature of an increasing number of diseases. Amyloid fibrils display a unique surface reactivity endowing the sequestration of molecules such as MicroRNAs, which can be the active moiety of the toxic action. To test this hypothesis we studied the recognition between a model RNA and two different steric zipper spines using molecular dynamics simulations. We found that the interaction occurs and displays peptide-sequence dependence. Interestingly, interactions with polar zipper surfaces such as the formed by SNQNNF are more stable and favor the formation of β-barrel like complexes resembling the structures of toxic oligomers. These sequence-structure-recognition relationships of the two different assemblies may be exploited for the design of compounds targeting the fibers or competing with RNA-amyloid attachment

  15. A New Theoretical Approach to Single-Molecule Fluorescence Optical Studies of RNA Dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Xinghai; Shan Guangcun; Bao Shuying

    2011-01-01

    Single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy in condensed phases has many important chemical and biological applications. The single-molecule fluorescence measurements contain information about conformational dynamics on a vast range of time scales. Based on the data analysis protocols methodology proposed by X. Sunney Xie, the theoretical study here mainly focuses on the single-molecule studies of single RNA with interconversions among different conformational states, to with a single FRET pair attached. We obtain analytical expressions for fluorescence lifetime correlation functions that relate changes in fluorescence lifetime to the distance-dependent FRET mechanism within the context of the Smoluchowski diffusion model. The present work establishes useful guideline for the single-molecule studies of biomolecules to reveal the complicated folding dynamics of single RNA molecules at nanometer scale.

  16. Dissection of functional lncRNAs in Alzheimer's disease by construction and analysis of lncRNA-mRNA networks based on competitive endogenous RNAs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lian-Kun; Chen, Xiao-Feng; He, Dan-Dan; Li, You; Fu, Jin

    2017-04-08

    Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) are one of the pathological features of AD. Recent studies have suggested long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in AD. Competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) is a mechanism that has recently been proposed, in which lncRNAs compete for common miRNA-binding sites with mRNAs. However, the roles of lncRNAs and ceRNA in AD NFTs is limited. In this study, we constructed a global triple network based on ceRNA theory, then an AD NFT lncRNA-mRNA network (NFTLMN) was generated. By analyzing the NFTLMN, three lncRNAs (AP000265.1, KB-1460A1.5 and RP11-145M9.4), which are highly related with AD NFTs were identified. To further explore the cross-talk between mRNAs and lncRNAs, a clustering module analysis was performed on the NFTLMN and two AD NFT related modules were identified. Our study provides a better understanding of the molecular basis of AD NFTs and may offer novel treatment strategies for AD. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  17. Mechanistic profiling of the siRNA delivery dynamics of lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Colombo, Stefano; Cun, Dongmei; Remaut, Katrien

    2015-01-01

    Understanding the delivery dynamics of nucleic acid nanocarriers is fundamental to improve their design for therapeutic applications. We investigated the carrier structure-function relationship of lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPNs) consisting of poly(dl-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nano...... of transfection-competent siRNA-DOTAP lipoplexes from the LPNs. Based on these results, we suggest a model for the nanostructural characteristics of the LPNs, in which the siRNA is organized in lamellar superficial assemblies and/or as complexes entrapped in the polymeric matrix.......Understanding the delivery dynamics of nucleic acid nanocarriers is fundamental to improve their design for therapeutic applications. We investigated the carrier structure-function relationship of lipid-polymer hybrid nanoparticles (LPNs) consisting of poly(dl-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA......) nanocarriers modified with the cationic lipid dioleoyltrimethyl-ammoniumpropane (DOTAP). A library of siRNA-loaded LPNs was prepared by systematically varying the nitrogen-to-phosphate (N/P) ratio. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) combined with small angle X...

  18. On RNA-RNA interaction structures of fixed topological genus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Benjamin M M; Han, Hillary S W; Reidys, Christian M

    2015-04-01

    Interacting RNA complexes are studied via bicellular maps using a filtration via their topological genus. Our main result is a new bijection for RNA-RNA interaction structures and a linear time uniform sampling algorithm for RNA complexes of fixed topological genus. The bijection allows to either reduce the topological genus of a bicellular map directly, or to lose connectivity by decomposing the complex into a pair of single stranded RNA structures. Our main result is proved bijectively. It provides an explicit algorithm of how to rewire the corresponding complexes and an unambiguous decomposition grammar. Using the concept of genus induction, we construct bicellular maps of fixed topological genus g uniformly in linear time. We present various statistics on these topological RNA complexes and compare our findings with biological complexes. Furthermore we show how to construct loop-energy based complexes using our decomposition grammar. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Dynamical construction of Horava-Lifshitz geometry

    OpenAIRE

    Banerjee, Rabin; Mukherjee, Pradip

    2015-01-01

    We derive the projectable version of Horava - Lifshitz gravity from the localisation of the Galilean symmetry. Specifically we provide a dynamical construction of the metric, from first principles, that reproduces the transformations of the physical variables - lapse, shift and spatial component of the metric. Also, the measure defining the action is reproduced. The geometrical basis of the Horava-Lifshitz gravity is thereby revealed which also elucidates its difference from the Newton-Cartan...

  20. Structure, dynamics and RNA binding of the multi-domain splicing factor TIA-1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Iren; Hennig, Janosch; Jagtap, Pravin Kumar Ankush; Sonntag, Miriam; Valcárcel, Juan; Sattler, Michael

    2014-01-01

    Alternative pre-messenger ribonucleic acid (pre-mRNA) splicing is an essential process in eukaryotic gene regulation. The T-cell intracellular antigen-1 (TIA-1) is an apoptosis-promoting factor that modulates alternative splicing of transcripts, including the pre-mRNA encoding the membrane receptor Fas. TIA-1 is a multi-domain ribonucleic acid (RNA) binding protein that recognizes poly-uridine tract RNA sequences to facilitate 5′ splice site recognition by the U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP). Here, we characterize the RNA interaction and conformational dynamics of TIA-1 by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Our NMR-derived solution structure of TIA-1 RRM2–RRM3 (RRM2,3) reveals that RRM2 adopts a canonical RNA recognition motif (RRM) fold, while RRM3 is preceded by an non-canonical helix α0. NMR and SAXS data show that all three RRMs are largely independent structural modules in the absence of RNA, while RNA binding induces a compact arrangement. RRM2,3 binds to pyrimidine-rich FAS pre-mRNA or poly-uridine (U9) RNA with nanomolar affinities. RRM1 has little intrinsic RNA binding affinity and does not strongly contribute to RNA binding in the context of RRM1,2,3. Our data unravel the role of binding avidity and the contributions of the TIA-1 RRMs for recognition of pyrimidine-rich RNAs. PMID:24682828

  1. Dynamic testing in schizophrenia: does training change the construct validity of a test?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiedl, Karl H; Schöttke, Henning; Green, Michael F; Nuechterlein, Keith H

    2004-01-01

    Dynamic testing typically involves specific interventions for a test to assess the extent to which test performance can be modified, beyond level of baseline (static) performance. This study used a dynamic version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) that is based on cognitive remediation techniques within a test-training-test procedure. From results of previous studies with schizophrenia patients, we concluded that the dynamic and static versions of the WCST should have different construct validity. This hypothesis was tested by examining the patterns of correlations with measures of executive functioning, secondary verbal memory, and verbal intelligence. Results demonstrated a specific construct validity of WCST dynamic (i.e., posttest) scores as an index of problem solving (Tower of Hanoi) and secondary verbal memory and learning (Auditory Verbal Learning Test), whereas the impact of general verbal capacity and selective attention (Verbal IQ, Stroop Test) was reduced. It is concluded that the construct validity of the test changes with dynamic administration and that this difference helps to explain why the dynamic version of the WCST predicts functional outcome better than the static version.

  2. System Dynamics Model and Simulation of Employee Work-Family Conflict in the Construction Industry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Guangdong; Duan, Kaifeng; Zuo, Jian; Yang, Jianlin; Wen, Shiping

    2016-01-01

    The construction industry is a demanding work environment where employees’ work-family conflict is particularly prominent. This conflict has a significant impact on job and family satisfaction and performance of employees. In order to analyze the dynamic evolution of construction industry employee’s work-family conflict between work and family domains, this paper constructs a bi-directional dynamic model framework of work-family conflict by referring to the relevant literature. Consequently, a system dynamics model of employee’s work-family conflict in the construction industry is established, and a simulation is conducted. The simulation results indicate that construction industry employees experience work interference with family conflict (WIFC) levels which are significantly greater than the family interference with work conflict (FIWC) levels. This study also revealed that improving work flexibility and organizational support can have a positive impact on the satisfaction and performance of construction industry employees from a work and family perspective. Furthermore, improving family support can only significantly improve employee job satisfaction. PMID:27801857

  3. System Dynamics Model and Simulation of Employee Work-Family Conflict in the Construction Industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Guangdong; Duan, Kaifeng; Zuo, Jian; Yang, Jianlin; Wen, Shiping

    2016-10-28

    The construction industry is a demanding work environment where employees' work-family conflict is particularly prominent. This conflict has a significant impact on job and family satisfaction and performance of employees. In order to analyze the dynamic evolution of construction industry employee's work-family conflict between work and family domains, this paper constructs a bi-directional dynamic model framework of work-family conflict by referring to the relevant literature. Consequently, a system dynamics model of employee's work-family conflict in the construction industry is established, and a simulation is conducted. The simulation results indicate that construction industry employees experience work interference with family conflict (WIFC) levels which are significantly greater than the family interference with work conflict (FIWC) levels. This study also revealed that improving work flexibility and organizational support can have a positive impact on the satisfaction and performance of construction industry employees from a work and family perspective. Furthermore, improving family support can only significantly improve employee job satisfaction.

  4. System Dynamics Model and Simulation of Employee Work-Family Conflict in the Construction Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guangdong Wu

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The construction industry is a demanding work environment where employees’ work-family conflict is particularly prominent. This conflict has a significant impact on job and family satisfaction and performance of employees. In order to analyze the dynamic evolution of construction industry employee’s work-family conflict between work and family domains, this paper constructs a bi-directional dynamic model framework of work-family conflict by referring to the relevant literature. Consequently, a system dynamics model of employee’s work-family conflict in the construction industry is established, and a simulation is conducted. The simulation results indicate that construction industry employees experience work interference with family conflict (WIFC levels which are significantly greater than the family interference with work conflict (FIWC levels. This study also revealed that improving work flexibility and organizational support can have a positive impact on the satisfaction and performance of construction industry employees from a work and family perspective. Furthermore, improving family support can only significantly improve employee job satisfaction.

  5. Inverse folding of RNA pseudoknot structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Linda YM

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background RNA exhibits a variety of structural configurations. Here we consider a structure to be tantamount to the noncrossing Watson-Crick and G-U-base pairings (secondary structure and additional cross-serial base pairs. These interactions are called pseudoknots and are observed across the whole spectrum of RNA functionalities. In the context of studying natural RNA structures, searching for new ribozymes and designing artificial RNA, it is of interest to find RNA sequences folding into a specific structure and to analyze their induced neutral networks. Since the established inverse folding algorithms, RNAinverse, RNA-SSD as well as INFO-RNA are limited to RNA secondary structures, we present in this paper the inverse folding algorithm Inv which can deal with 3-noncrossing, canonical pseudoknot structures. Results In this paper we present the inverse folding algorithm Inv. We give a detailed analysis of Inv, including pseudocodes. We show that Inv allows to design in particular 3-noncrossing nonplanar RNA pseudoknot 3-noncrossing RNA structures-a class which is difficult to construct via dynamic programming routines. Inv is freely available at http://www.combinatorics.cn/cbpc/inv.html. Conclusions The algorithm Inv extends inverse folding capabilities to RNA pseudoknot structures. In comparison with RNAinverse it uses new ideas, for instance by considering sets of competing structures. As a result, Inv is not only able to find novel sequences even for RNA secondary structures, it does so in the context of competing structures that potentially exhibit cross-serial interactions.

  6. Mg2+ Effect on Argonaute and RNA Duplex by Molecular Dynamics and Bioinformatics Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nam, Seungyoon; Ryu, Hyojung; Son, Won-joon; Kim, Yon Hui; Kim, Kyung Tae; Balch, Curt; Nephew, Kenneth P.; Lee, Jinhyuk

    2014-01-01

    RNA interference (RNAi), mediated by small non-coding RNAs (e.g., miRNAs, siRNAs), influences diverse cellular functions. Highly complementary miRNA-target RNA (or siRNA-target RNA) duplexes are recognized by an Argonaute family protein (Ago2), and recent observations indicate that the concentration of Mg2+ ions influences miRNA targeting of specific mRNAs, thereby modulating miRNA-mRNA networks. In the present report, we studied the thermodynamic effects of differential [Mg2+] on slicing (RNA silencing cycle) through molecular dynamics simulation analysis, and its subsequent statistical analysis. Those analyses revealed different structural conformations of the RNA duplex in Ago2, depending on Mg2+ concentration. We also demonstrate that cation effects on Ago2 structural flexibility are critical to its catalytic/functional activity, with low [Mg2+] favoring greater Ago2 flexibility (e.g., greater entropy) and less miRNA/mRNA duplex stability, thus favoring slicing. The latter finding was supported by a negative correlation between expression of an Mg2+ influx channel, TRPM7, and one miRNA’s (miR-378) ability to downregulate its mRNA target, TMEM245. These results imply that thermodynamics could be applied to siRNA-based therapeutic strategies, using highly complementary binding targets, because Ago2 is also involved in RNAi slicing by exogenous siRNAs. However, the efficacy of a siRNA-based approach will differ, to some extent, based on the Mg2+ concentration even within the same disease type; therefore, different siRNA-based approaches might be considered for patient-to-patient needs. PMID:25330448

  7. Dynamical modeling of microRNA action on the protein translation process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zinovyev, Andrei; Morozova, Nadya; Nonne, Nora; Barillot, Emmanuel; Harel-Bellan, Annick; Gorban, Alexander N

    2010-02-24

    Protein translation is a multistep process which can be represented as a cascade of biochemical reactions (initiation, ribosome assembly, elongation, etc.), the rate of which can be regulated by small non-coding microRNAs through multiple mechanisms. It remains unclear what mechanisms of microRNA action are the most dominant: moreover, many experimental reports deliver controversial messages on what is the concrete mechanism actually observed in the experiment. Nissan and Parker have recently demonstrated that it might be impossible to distinguish alternative biological hypotheses using the steady state data on the rate of protein synthesis. For their analysis they used two simple kinetic models of protein translation. In contrary to the study by Nissan and Parker, we show that dynamical data allow discriminating some of the mechanisms of microRNA action. We demonstrate this using the same models as developed by Nissan and Parker for the sake of comparison but the methods developed (asymptotology of biochemical networks) can be used for other models. We formulate a hypothesis that the effect of microRNA action is measurable and observable only if it affects the dominant system (generalization of the limiting step notion for complex networks) of the protein translation machinery. The dominant system can vary in different experimental conditions that can partially explain the existing controversy of some of the experimental data. Our analysis of the transient protein translation dynamics shows that it gives enough information to verify or reject a hypothesis about a particular molecular mechanism of microRNA action on protein translation. For multiscale systems only that action of microRNA is distinguishable which affects the parameters of dominant system (critical parameters), or changes the dominant system itself. Dominant systems generalize and further develop the old and very popular idea of limiting step. Algorithms for identifying dominant systems in multiscale

  8. Dynamical modeling of microRNA action on the protein translation process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barillot Emmanuel

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Protein translation is a multistep process which can be represented as a cascade of biochemical reactions (initiation, ribosome assembly, elongation, etc., the rate of which can be regulated by small non-coding microRNAs through multiple mechanisms. It remains unclear what mechanisms of microRNA action are the most dominant: moreover, many experimental reports deliver controversial messages on what is the concrete mechanism actually observed in the experiment. Nissan and Parker have recently demonstrated that it might be impossible to distinguish alternative biological hypotheses using the steady state data on the rate of protein synthesis. For their analysis they used two simple kinetic models of protein translation. Results In contrary to the study by Nissan and Parker, we show that dynamical data allow discriminating some of the mechanisms of microRNA action. We demonstrate this using the same models as developed by Nissan and Parker for the sake of comparison but the methods developed (asymptotology of biochemical networks can be used for other models. We formulate a hypothesis that the effect of microRNA action is measurable and observable only if it affects the dominant system (generalization of the limiting step notion for complex networks of the protein translation machinery. The dominant system can vary in different experimental conditions that can partially explain the existing controversy of some of the experimental data. Conclusions Our analysis of the transient protein translation dynamics shows that it gives enough information to verify or reject a hypothesis about a particular molecular mechanism of microRNA action on protein translation. For multiscale systems only that action of microRNA is distinguishable which affects the parameters of dominant system (critical parameters, or changes the dominant system itself. Dominant systems generalize and further develop the old and very popular idea of limiting step

  9. Structure of Lipid Nanoparticles Containing siRNA or mRNA by Dynamic Nuclear Polarization-Enhanced NMR Spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viger-Gravel, Jasmine; Schantz, Anna; Pinon, Arthur C; Rossini, Aaron J; Schantz, Staffan; Emsley, Lyndon

    2018-02-22

    Here, we show how dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) NMR spectroscopy experiments permit the atomic level structural characterization of loaded and empty lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). The LNPs used here were synthesized by the microfluidic mixing technique and are composed of ionizable cationic lipid (DLin-MC3-DMA), a phospholipid (distearoylphosphatidylcholine, DSPC), cholesterol, and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) (dimyristoyl phosphatidyl ethanolamine (DMPE)-PEG 2000), as well as encapsulated cargoes that are either phosphorothioated siRNA (50 or 100%) or mRNA. We show that LNPs form physically stable complexes with bioactive drug siRNA for a period of 94 days. Relayed DNP experiments are performed to study 1 H- 1 H spin diffusion and to determine the spatial location of the various components of the LNP by studying the average enhancement factors as a function of polarization time. We observe a striking feature of LNPs in the presence and in the absence of encapsulating siRNA or mRNA by comparing our experimental results to numerical spin-diffusion modeling. We observe that LNPs form a layered structure, and we detect that DSPC and DMPE-PEG 2000 lipids form a surface rich layer in the presence (or absence) of the cargoes and that the cholesterol and ionizable cationic lipid are embedded in the core. Furthermore, relayed DNP 31 P solid-state NMR experiments allow the location of the cargo encapsulated in the LNPs to be determined. On the basis of the results, we propose a new structural model for the LNPs that features a homogeneous core with a tendency for layering of DSPC and DMPE-PEG at the surface.

  10. Dynamics of breast milk HIV-1 RNA with unilateral mastitis or abscess.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Semrau, Katherine; Kuhn, Louise; Brooks, Daniel R; Cabral, Howard; Sinkala, Moses; Kankasa, Chipepo; Thea, Donald M; Aldrovandi, Grace M

    2013-03-01

    Mastitis and abscess in HIV-infected women increase the risk of breastfeeding transmission of HIV. Guidelines encourage women to stop breastfeeding on the affected breast and feed on the contralateral breast. However, impact of breast pathology on breast milk HIV dynamics is unknown. HIV RNA was quantified in 211 breast milk samples collected before, during, and after a clinical mastitis or an abscess diagnosis from 38 HIV-infected women participating in a Zambian breastfeeding study. HIV RNA quantity was compared between affected and unaffected breasts over time using generalized estimating equation models. A sample of 115 women without breast pathology was selected as a control group. In the affected breast, breast milk HIV RNA quantity increased from the pre- to during-pathology period by log(10) 0.45 copies per milliliter [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.16 to 0.74], and after symptom resolution, HIV RNA levels were no different from prepathology levels (log10 -0.04 copies per milliliter 95% CI: -0.33 to 0.25). In the contralateral, unaffected breast, HIV RNA quantity did not significantly increase (log(10) 0.15 copies per milliliter, 95% CI: -0.41 to 0.10). Increase was more marked in women with abscess or with a greater number of mastitis symptoms. HIV RNA was not significantly different between affected and unaffected women, except at the time of diagnosis. Breast milk HIV RNA increased modestly in the affected breast with unilateral mastitis or abscess and returned to prepathology levels with symptom resolution. Contralateral HIV RNA was not affected. Results support guidelines encouraging feeding from the contralateral breast to minimize the risk of HIV transmission associated with unilateral breast pathology.

  11. Molecular dynamics simulations and quantum chemistry as useful complements to RNA structural bioinformatics

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šponer, Jiří

    2009-01-01

    Roč. 26, č. 6 (2009), s. 824-825 ISSN 0739-1102. [The 17th Conversation . 16.06.2009-20.06.2009, Albany] Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50040507; CEZ:AV0Z50040702 Keywords : molecular dynamics * RNA Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics

  12. [Selection and construction of cell line stably expressing survivin gene in lower level through eukaryotic plasmid vector of shRNA].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Wen-Xia; Sun, Shan-Zhen; Song, Ying

    2008-06-01

    To construct a short hairpin RNA(shRNA) interference expression plasmid vector of survivin gene, transfect tongue squamous cell carcinoma line Tca8113 which expressed survivin gene in a high level, and choose the cells whose survivin gene were suppressed significantly. Two pairs of oligonucleotide sequences specific for survivin gene were designed and synthesized, and cloned into pSilencer-2.1U6-neo plasmid. The recombinant plasmids (named PS1 and PS2) were amplified in Ecoli. DH5alpha was identified by restriction digestion, PCR and sequencing. The vectors were transfected into Tca8113 cells with lipofectamine 2000. After selection with G418, the stable cell clones were attained. Survivn expression was assayed with real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting. SAS8.0 software package was used for Student t test. Two vectors were constructed successfully and stable cell clones with PS1 or PS2 plasmid were obtained. As compared with those of control, survivin expression of transfected cell with PS1 or PS2 in mRNA level was significantly suppressed (P<0.05). In protein level, only those of transfected cell with PS2 was significantly suppressed (P<0.01). The shRNA interference expression plasmid vectors of survivin gene are successfully constructed, and Tca8113 cells which express survivin gene in a stable lower level are attained, which enable us to carry out further research on gene therapy of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.30572056).

  13. Mechanism of mRNA-STAR domain interaction: Molecular dynamics simulations of Mammalian Quaking STAR protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Monika; Anirudh, C R

    2017-10-03

    STAR proteins are evolutionary conserved mRNA-binding proteins that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression at all stages of RNA metabolism. These proteins possess conserved STAR domain that recognizes identical RNA regulatory elements as YUAAY. Recently reported crystal structures show that STAR domain is composed of N-terminal QUA1, K-homology domain (KH) and C-terminal QUA2, and mRNA binding is mediated by KH-QUA2 domain. Here, we present simulation studies done to investigate binding of mRNA to STAR protein, mammalian Quaking protein (QKI). We carried out conventional MD simulations of STAR domain in presence and absence of mRNA, and studied the impact of mRNA on the stability, dynamics and underlying allosteric mechanism of STAR domain. Our unbiased simulations results show that presence of mRNA stabilizes the overall STAR domain by reducing the structural deviations, correlating the 'within-domain' motions, and maintaining the native contacts information. Absence of mRNA not only influenced the essential modes of motion of STAR domain, but also affected the connectivity of networks within STAR domain. We further explored the dissociation of mRNA from STAR domain using umbrella sampling simulations, and the results suggest that mRNA binding to STAR domain occurs in multi-step: first conformational selection of mRNA backbone conformations, followed by induced fit mechanism as nucleobases interact with STAR domain.

  14. Problem of dynamic impacts upon NPP buildings and constructions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kosterev, A.E.

    1998-01-01

    Activities of IAEA member-states dealing with the problems of taking into account external natural and technogenic impacts (earthquakes, cyclones, hurricanes, aircraft crushes, air shock waves) when designing NPP buildings and constructions important for nuclear and radiation safety are briefly discussed. It is concluded that development of IAEA general recommendations for taking into account specific dynamic impacts will improve noticeably safety of NPPs being in operation both in Russia and all over the World as a result of reconstruction of safety-important buildings and constructions

  15. The Dynamics and Facilitation of a Living Lab Construct

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brønnum, Louise; Nielsen, Louise Møller

    2013-01-01

    During the last decade Living Labs have established itself as an attractive innovation approach. Living Labs are an interesting construction because it offers a collaboration platform for dynamic interaction with users in all the project phases. Living Labs frame knowledge about actors in their o...

  16. Dynamic cost control information system for nuclear power plant construction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Yongqing; Liu Wei

    1998-01-01

    The authors first introduce the cost control functions of some overseas popular project management software at present and the specific ways of cost control of nuclear power plant construction in China. Then the authors stress the necessity of cost and schedule control integration and present the concept of dynamic cost control, the design scheme of dynamic cost control information system and the data structure modeling. Based on the above, the authors can develop the system which has the functions of dynamic estimate, cash flow management and cost optimization for nuclear engineering

  17. Numerical integration methods and layout improvements in the context of dynamic RNA visualization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shabash, Boris; Wiese, Kay C

    2017-05-30

    RNA visualization software tools have traditionally presented a static visualization of RNA molecules with limited ability for users to interact with the resulting image once it is complete. Only a few tools allowed for dynamic structures. One such tool is jViz.RNA. Currently, jViz.RNA employs a unique method for the creation of the RNA molecule layout by mapping the RNA nucleotides into vertexes in a graph, which we call the detailed graph, and then utilizes a Newtonian mechanics inspired system of forces to calculate a layout for the RNA molecule. The work presented here focuses on improvements to jViz.RNA that allow the drawing of RNA secondary structures according to common drawing conventions, as well as dramatic run-time performance improvements. This is done first by presenting an alternative method for mapping the RNA molecule into a graph, which we call the compressed graph, and then employing advanced numerical integration methods for the compressed graph representation. Comparing the compressed graph and detailed graph implementations, we find that the compressed graph produces results more consistent with RNA drawing conventions. However, we also find that employing the compressed graph method requires a more sophisticated initial layout to produce visualizations that would require minimal user interference. Comparing the two numerical integration methods demonstrates the higher stability of the Backward Euler method, and its resulting ability to handle much larger time steps, a high priority feature for any software which entails user interaction. The work in this manuscript presents the preferred use of compressed graphs to detailed ones, as well as the advantages of employing the Backward Euler method over the Forward Euler method. These improvements produce more stable as well as visually aesthetic representations of the RNA secondary structures. The results presented demonstrate that both the compressed graph representation, as well as the Backward

  18. Dynamic Proteomics Emphasizes the Importance of Selective mRNA Translation and Protein Turnover during Arabidopsis Seed Germination*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galland, Marc; Huguet, Romain; Arc, Erwann; Cueff, Gwendal; Job, Dominique; Rajjou, Loïc

    2014-01-01

    During seed germination, the transition from a quiescent metabolic state in a dry mature seed to a proliferative metabolic state in a vigorous seedling is crucial for plant propagation as well as for optimizing crop yield. This work provides a detailed description of the dynamics of protein synthesis during the time course of germination, demonstrating that mRNA translation is both sequential and selective during this process. The complete inhibition of the germination process in the presence of the translation inhibitor cycloheximide established that mRNA translation is critical for Arabidopsis seed germination. However, the dynamics of protein turnover and the selectivity of protein synthesis (mRNA translation) during Arabidopsis seed germination have not been addressed yet. Based on our detailed knowledge of the Arabidopsis seed proteome, we have deepened our understanding of seed mRNA translation during germination by combining two-dimensional gel-based proteomics with dynamic radiolabeled proteomics using a radiolabeled amino acid precursor, namely [35S]-methionine, in order to highlight de novo protein synthesis, stability, and turnover. Our data confirm that during early imbibition, the Arabidopsis translatome keeps reflecting an embryonic maturation program until a certain developmental checkpoint. Furthermore, by dividing the seed germination time lapse into discrete time windows, we highlight precise and specific patterns of protein synthesis. These data refine and deepen our knowledge of the three classical phases of seed germination based on seed water uptake during imbibition and reveal that selective mRNA translation is a key feature of seed germination. Beyond the quantitative control of translational activity, both the selectivity of mRNA translation and protein turnover appear as specific regulatory systems, critical for timing the molecular events leading to successful germination and seedling establishment. PMID:24198433

  19. Overview of methods in RNA nanotechnology: synthesis, purification, and characterization of RNA nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haque, Farzin; Guo, Peixuan

    2015-01-01

    RNA nanotechnology encompasses the use of RNA as a construction material to build homogeneous nanostructures by bottom-up self-assembly with defined size, structure, and stoichiometry; this pioneering concept demonstrated in 1998 (Guo et al., Molecular Cell 2:149-155, 1998; featured in Cell) has emerged as a new field that also involves materials engineering and synthetic structural biology (Guo, Nature Nanotechnology 5:833-842, 2010). The field of RNA nanotechnology has skyrocketed over the last few years, as evidenced by the burst of publications in prominent journals on RNA nanostructures and their applications in nanomedicine and nanotechnology. Rapid advances in RNA chemistry, RNA biophysics, and RNA biology have created new opportunities for translating basic science into clinical practice. RNA nanotechnology holds considerable promise in this regard. Increased evidence also suggests that substantial part of the 98.5 % of human genome (Lander et al. Nature 409:860-921, 2001) that used to be called "junk DNA" actually codes for noncoding RNA. As we understand more on how RNA structures are related to function, we can fabricate synthetic RNA nanoparticles for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. This chapter provides a brief overview of the field regarding the design, construction, purification, and characterization of RNA nanoparticles for diverse applications in nanotechnology and nanomedicince.

  20. Queering Constructs: Proposing a Dynamic Gender and Sexuality Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jourian, T. J.

    2015-01-01

    Higher education educators commonly understand social identities, including gender, to be fluid and dynamic. Lev's (2004) model of four components of sexual identity is commonly used to demonstrate the fluidity of sex, gender, and sexuality for individuals, but it does little to address the fixedness of those constructs. Through a multipronged…

  1. Teachers' Use of Computational Tools to Construct and Explore Dynamic Mathematical Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos-Trigo, Manuel; Reyes-Rodriguez, Aaron

    2011-01-01

    To what extent does the use of computational tools offer teachers the possibility of constructing dynamic models to identify and explore diverse mathematical relations? What ways of reasoning or thinking about the problems emerge during the model construction process that involves the use of the tools? These research questions guided the…

  2. Spatial Organization and Dynamics of Transcription Elongation and Pre-mRNA Processing in Live Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Sánchez-Álvarez

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available During the last 30 years, systematic biochemical and functional studies have significantly expanded our knowledge of the transcriptional molecular components and the pre-mRNA processing machinery of the cell. However, our current understanding of how these functions take place spatiotemporally within the highly compartmentalized eukaryotic nucleus remains limited. Moreover, it is increasingly clear that “the whole is more than the sum of its parts” and that an understanding of the dynamic coregulation of genes is essential for fully characterizing complex biological phenomena and underlying diseases. Recent technological advances in light microscopy in addition to novel cell and molecular biology approaches have led to the development of new tools, which are being used to address these questions and may contribute to achieving an integrated and global understanding of how the genome works at a cellular level. Here, we review major hallmarks and novel insights in RNA polymerase II activity and pre-mRNA processing in the context of nuclear organization, as well as new concepts and challenges arising from our ability to gather extensive dynamic information at the single-cell resolution.

  3. A dynamic Bayesian network based approach to safety decision support in tunnel construction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Xianguo; Liu, Huitao; Zhang, Limao; Skibniewski, Miroslaw J.; Deng, Qianli; Teng, Jiaying

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents a systemic decision approach with step-by-step procedures based on dynamic Bayesian network (DBN), aiming to provide guidelines for dynamic safety analysis of the tunnel-induced road surface damage over time. The proposed DBN-based approach can accurately illustrate the dynamic and updated feature of geological, design and mechanical variables as the construction progress evolves, in order to overcome deficiencies of traditional fault analysis methods. Adopting the predictive, sensitivity and diagnostic analysis techniques in the DBN inference, this approach is able to perform feed-forward, concurrent and back-forward control respectively on a quantitative basis, and provide real-time support before and after an accident. A case study in relating to dynamic safety analysis in the construction of Wuhan Yangtze Metro Tunnel in China is used to verify the feasibility of the proposed approach, as well as its application potential. The relationships between the DBN-based and BN-based approaches are further discussed according to analysis results. The proposed approach can be used as a decision tool to provide support for safety analysis in tunnel construction, and thus increase the likelihood of a successful project in a dynamic project environment. - Highlights: • A dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) based approach for safety decision support is developed. • This approach is able to perform feed-forward, concurrent and back-forward analysis and control. • A case concerning dynamic safety analysis in Wuhan Yangtze Metro Tunnel in China is presented. • DBN-based approach can perform a higher accuracy than traditional static BN-based approach

  4. microRNA as a potential vector for the propagation of robustness in protein expression and oscillatory dynamics within a ceRNA network.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claude Gérard

    Full Text Available microRNAs (miRNAs are small noncoding RNAs that are important post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. miRNAs can induce thresholds in protein synthesis. Such thresholds in protein output can be also achieved by oligomerization of transcription factors (TF for the control of gene expression. First, we propose a minimal model for protein expression regulated by miRNA and by oligomerization of TF. We show that miRNA and oligomerization of TF generate a buffer, which increases the robustness of protein output towards molecular noise as well as towards random variation of kinetics parameters. Next, we extend the model by considering that the same miRNA can bind to multiple messenger RNAs, which accounts for the dynamics of a minimal competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs network. The model shows that, through common miRNA regulation, TF can control the expression of all proteins formed by the ceRNA network, even if it drives the expression of only one gene in the network. The model further suggests that the threshold in protein synthesis mediated by the oligomerization of TF can be propagated to the other genes, which can increase the robustness of the expression of all genes in such ceRNA network. Furthermore, we show that a miRNA could increase the time delay of a "Goodwin-like" oscillator model, which may favor the occurrence of oscillations of large amplitude. This result predicts important roles of miRNAs in the control of the molecular mechanisms leading to the emergence of biological rhythms. Moreover, a model for the latter oscillator embedded in a ceRNA network indicates that the oscillatory behavior can be propagated, via the shared miRNA, to all proteins formed by such ceRNA network. Thus, by means of computational models, we show that miRNAs could act as vectors allowing the propagation of robustness in protein synthesis as well as oscillatory behaviors within ceRNA networks.

  5. A qrr noncoding RNA deploys four different regulatory mechanisms to optimize quorum-sensing dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Lihui; Rutherford, Steven T; Papenfort, Kai; Bagert, John D; van Kessel, Julia C; Tirrell, David A; Wingreen, Ned S; Bassler, Bonnie L

    2015-01-15

    Quorum sensing is a cell-cell communication process that bacteria use to transition between individual and social lifestyles. In vibrios, homologous small RNAs called the Qrr sRNAs function at the center of quorum-sensing pathways. The Qrr sRNAs regulate multiple mRNA targets including those encoding the quorum-sensing regulatory components luxR, luxO, luxM, and aphA. We show that a representative Qrr, Qrr3, uses four distinct mechanisms to control its particular targets: the Qrr3 sRNA represses luxR through catalytic degradation, represses luxM through coupled degradation, represses luxO through sequestration, and activates aphA by revealing the ribosome binding site while the sRNA itself is degraded. Qrr3 forms different base-pairing interactions with each mRNA target, and the particular pairing strategy determines which regulatory mechanism occurs. Combined mathematical modeling and experiments show that the specific Qrr regulatory mechanism employed governs the potency, dynamics, and competition of target mRNA regulation, which in turn, defines the overall quorum-sensing response. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Quantitative tissue-specific dynamics of in vivo GILZ mRNA expression and regulation by endogenous and exogenous glucocorticoids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayyar, Vivaswath S; Almon, Richard R; Jusko, William J; DuBois, Debra C

    2015-06-01

    Glucocorticoids (GC) are steroid hormones, which regulate metabolism and immune function. Synthetic GCs, or corticosteroids (CS), have appreciable clinical utility via their ability to suppress inflammation in immune-mediated diseases like asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Recent work has provided insight to novel GC-induced genes that mediate their anti-inflammatory effects, including glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper (GILZ). Since GILZ comprises an important part of GC action, its regulation by both drug and hormone will influence CS therapy. In addition, GILZ expression is often employed as a biomarker of GC action, which requires judicious selection of sampling time. Understanding the in vivo regulation of GILZ mRNA expression over time will provide insight into both the physiological regulation of GILZ by endogenous GC and the dynamics of its enhancement by CS. A highly quantitative qRT-PCR assay was developed for measuring GILZ mRNA expression in tissues obtained from normal and CS-treated rats. This assay was applied to measure GILZ mRNA expression in eight tissues; to determine its endogenous regulation over time; and to characterize its dynamics in adipose tissue, muscle, and liver following treatment with CS. We demonstrate that GILZ mRNA is expressed in several tissues. GILZ mRNA expression in adipose tissue displayed a robust circadian rhythm that was entrained with the circadian oscillation of endogenous corticosterone; and is strongly enhanced by acute and chronic dosing. Single dosing also enhanced GILZ mRNA in muscle and liver, but the dynamics varied. In conclusion, GILZ is widely expressed in the rat and highly regulated by endogenous and exogenous GCs. © 2015 The Authors. Physiological Reports published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American Physiological Society and The Physiological Society.

  7. TargetRNA: a tool for predicting targets of small RNA action in bacteria

    OpenAIRE

    Tjaden, Brian

    2008-01-01

    Many small RNA (sRNA) genes in bacteria act as posttranscriptional regulators of target messenger RNAs. Here, we present TargetRNA, a web tool for predicting mRNA targets of sRNA action in bacteria. TargetRNA takes as input a genomic sequence that may correspond to an sRNA gene. TargetRNA then uses a dynamic programming algorithm to search each annotated message in a specified genome for mRNAs that evince basepair-binding potential to the input sRNA sequence. Based on the calculated basepair-...

  8. Designing synthetic RNA for delivery by nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jedrzejczyk, Dominika; Pawlowska, Roza; Chworos, Arkadiusz; Gendaszewska-Darmach, Edyta

    2017-01-01

    The rapid development of synthetic biology and nanobiotechnology has led to the construction of various synthetic RNA nanoparticles of different functionalities and potential applications. As they occur naturally, nucleic acids are an attractive construction material for biocompatible nanoscaffold and nanomachine design. In this review, we provide an overview of the types of RNA and nucleic acid’s nanoparticle design, with the focus on relevant nanostructures utilized for gene-expression regulation in cellular models. Structural analysis and modeling is addressed along with the tools available for RNA structural prediction. The functionalization of RNA-based nanoparticles leading to prospective applications of such constructs in potential therapies is shown. The route from the nanoparticle design and modeling through synthesis and functionalization to cellular application is also described. For a better understanding of the fate of targeted RNA after delivery, an overview of RNA processing inside the cell is also provided. (topical review)

  9. Ecology and Evolution in the RNA World Dynamics and Stability of Prebiotic Replicator Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szilágyi, András; Kun, Ádám; Könnyű, Balázs; Czárán, Tamás

    2017-01-01

    As of today, the most credible scientific paradigm pertaining to the origin of life on Earth is undoubtedly the RNA World scenario. It is built on the assumption that catalytically active replicators (most probably RNA-like macromolecules) may have been responsible for booting up life almost four billion years ago. The many different incarnations of nucleotide sequence (string) replicator models proposed recently are all attempts to explain on this basis how the genetic information transfer and the functional diversity of prebiotic replicator systems may have emerged, persisted and evolved into the first living cell. We have postulated three necessary conditions for an RNA World model system to be a dynamically feasible representation of prebiotic chemical evolution: (1) it must maintain and transfer a sufficient diversity of information reliably and indefinitely, (2) it must be ecologically stable and (3) it must be evolutionarily stable. In this review, we discuss the best-known prebiotic scenarios and the corresponding models of string-replicator dynamics and assess them against these criteria. We suggest that the most popular of prebiotic replicator systems, the hypercycle, is probably the worst performer in almost all of these respects, whereas a few other model concepts (parabolic replicator, open chaotic flows, stochastic corrector, metabolically coupled replicator system) are promising candidates for development into coherent models that may become experimentally accessible in the future. PMID:29186916

  10. Screening of miRNA profiles and construction of regulation networks in early and late lactation of dairy goat mammary glands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Zhibin; Liu, Zhaohua; Chao, Tianle; Hou, Lei; Fan, Rui; He, Rongyan; Wang, Guizhi; Wang, Jianmin

    2017-09-20

    In recent years, studies related to the expression profiles of miRNAs in the dairy goat mammary gland were performed, but regulatory mechanisms in the physiological environment and the dynamic homeostasis of mammary gland development and lactation are not clear. In the present study, sequencing data analysis of early and late lactation uncovered a total of 1,487 unique miRNAs, including 45 novel miRNA candidates and 1,442 known and conserved miRNAs, of which 758 miRNAs were co-expressed and 378 differentially expressed with P pathways. Additionally, 18 predicted target genes of 214 miRNAs were directly annotated in mammary gland development and used to construct regulatory networks based on GO annotation and the KEGG pathway. The expression levels of seven known miRNAs and three novel miRNAs were examined using quantitative real-time PCR. The results showed that miRNAs might play important roles in early and late lactation during dairy goat mammary gland development, which will be helpful to obtain a better understanding of the genetic control of mammary gland lactation and development.

  11. Linear programming model to construct phylogenetic network for 16S rRNA sequences of photosynthetic organisms and influenza viruses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathur, Rinku; Adlakha, Neeru

    2014-06-01

    Phylogenetic trees give the information about the vertical relationships of ancestors and descendants but phylogenetic networks are used to visualize the horizontal relationships among the different organisms. In order to predict reticulate events there is a need to construct phylogenetic networks. Here, a Linear Programming (LP) model has been developed for the construction of phylogenetic network. The model is validated by using data sets of chloroplast of 16S rRNA sequences of photosynthetic organisms and Influenza A/H5N1 viruses. Results obtained are in agreement with those obtained by earlier researchers.

  12. Fast pairwise structural RNA alignments by pruning of the dynamical programming matrix

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Havgaard, Jakob Hull; Torarinsson, Elfar; Gorodkin, Jan

    2007-01-01

    and backtracked in a normal fashion. Finally, the FOLDALIGN algorithm has also been updated with a better memory implementation and an improved energy model. With these improvements in the algorithm, the FOLDALIGN software package provides the molecular biologist with an efficient and user-friendly tool...... the advantage of providing the constraints dynamically. This has been included in a new implementation of the FOLDALIGN algorithm for pairwise local or global structural alignment of RNA sequences. It is shown that time and memory requirements are dramatically lowered while overall performance is maintained....... Furthermore, a new divide and conquer method is introduced to limit the memory requirement during global alignment and backtrack of local alignment. All branch points in the computed RNA structure are found and used to divide the structure into smaller unbranched segments. Each segment is then realigned...

  13. Identification of Subtype Specific miRNA-mRNA Functional Regulatory Modules in Matched miRNA-mRNA Expression Data: Multiple Myeloma as a Case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yunpeng Zhang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Identification of miRNA-mRNA modules is an important step to elucidate their combinatorial effect on the pathogenesis and mechanisms underlying complex diseases. Current identification methods primarily are based upon miRNA-target information and matched miRNA and mRNA expression profiles. However, for heterogeneous diseases, the miRNA-mRNA regulatory mechanisms may differ between subtypes, leading to differences in clinical behavior. In order to explore the pathogenesis of each subtype, it is important to identify subtype specific miRNA-mRNA modules. In this study, we integrated the Ping-Pong algorithm and multiobjective genetic algorithm to identify subtype specific miRNA-mRNA functional regulatory modules (MFRMs through integrative analysis of three biological data sets: GO biological processes, miRNA target information, and matched miRNA and mRNA expression data. We applied our method on a heterogeneous disease, multiple myeloma (MM, to identify MM subtype specific MFRMs. The constructed miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks provide modular outlook at subtype specific miRNA-mRNA interactions. Furthermore, clustering analysis demonstrated that heterogeneous MFRMs were able to separate corresponding MM subtypes. These subtype specific MFRMs may aid in the further elucidation of the pathogenesis of each subtype and may serve to guide MM subtype diagnosis and treatment.

  14. RNA-SSPT: RNA Secondary Structure Prediction Tools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Freed; Mahboob, Shahid; Gulzar, Tahsin; Din, Salah U; Hanif, Tanzeela; Ahmad, Hifza; Afzal, Muhammad

    2013-01-01

    The prediction of RNA structure is useful for understanding evolution for both in silico and in vitro studies. Physical methods like NMR studies to predict RNA secondary structure are expensive and difficult. Computational RNA secondary structure prediction is easier. Comparative sequence analysis provides the best solution. But secondary structure prediction of a single RNA sequence is challenging. RNA-SSPT is a tool that computationally predicts secondary structure of a single RNA sequence. Most of the RNA secondary structure prediction tools do not allow pseudoknots in the structure or are unable to locate them. Nussinov dynamic programming algorithm has been implemented in RNA-SSPT. The current studies shows only energetically most favorable secondary structure is required and the algorithm modification is also available that produces base pairs to lower the total free energy of the secondary structure. For visualization of RNA secondary structure, NAVIEW in C language is used and modified in C# for tool requirement. RNA-SSPT is built in C# using Dot Net 2.0 in Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional edition. The accuracy of RNA-SSPT is tested in terms of Sensitivity and Positive Predicted Value. It is a tool which serves both secondary structure prediction and secondary structure visualization purposes.

  15. Fast pairwise structural RNA alignments by pruning of the dynamical programming matrix.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jakob H Havgaard

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available It has become clear that noncoding RNAs (ncRNA play important roles in cells, and emerging studies indicate that there might be a large number of unknown ncRNAs in mammalian genomes. There exist computational methods that can be used to search for ncRNAs by comparing sequences from different genomes. One main problem with these methods is their computational complexity, and heuristics are therefore employed. Two heuristics are currently very popular: pre-folding and pre-aligning. However, these heuristics are not ideal, as pre-aligning is dependent on sequence similarity that may not be present and pre-folding ignores the comparative information. Here, pruning of the dynamical programming matrix is presented as an alternative novel heuristic constraint. All subalignments that do not exceed a length-dependent minimum score are discarded as the matrix is filled out, thus giving the advantage of providing the constraints dynamically. This has been included in a new implementation of the FOLDALIGN algorithm for pairwise local or global structural alignment of RNA sequences. It is shown that time and memory requirements are dramatically lowered while overall performance is maintained. Furthermore, a new divide and conquer method is introduced to limit the memory requirement during global alignment and backtrack of local alignment. All branch points in the computed RNA structure are found and used to divide the structure into smaller unbranched segments. Each segment is then realigned and backtracked in a normal fashion. Finally, the FOLDALIGN algorithm has also been updated with a better memory implementation and an improved energy model. With these improvements in the algorithm, the FOLDALIGN software package provides the molecular biologist with an efficient and user-friendly tool for searching for new ncRNAs. The software package is available for download at http://foldalign.ku.dk.

  16. Diverging affinity of tospovirus RNA silencing suppressor proteins, NSs, for various RNA duplex molecules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnettler, Esther; Hemmes, Hans; Huismann, Rik; Goldbach, Rob; Prins, Marcel; Kormelink, Richard

    2010-11-01

    The tospovirus NSs protein was previously shown to suppress the antiviral RNA silencing mechanism in plants. Here the biochemical analysis of NSs proteins from different tospoviruses, using purified NSs or NSs containing cell extracts, is described. The results showed that all tospoviral NSs proteins analyzed exhibited affinity to small double-stranded RNA molecules, i.e., small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and micro-RNA (miRNA)/miRNA* duplexes. Interestingly, the NSs proteins from tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV), and groundnut ringspot virus (GRSV) also showed affinity to long double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), whereas tomato yellow ring virus (TYRV) NSs did not. The TSWV NSs protein was shown to be capable of inhibiting Dicer-mediated cleavage of long dsRNA in vitro. In addition, it suppressed the accumulation of green fluorescent protein (GFP)-specific siRNAs during coinfiltration with an inverted-repeat-GFP RNA construct in Nicotiana benthamiana. In vivo interference of TSWV NSs in the miRNA pathway was shown by suppression of an enhanced GFP (eGFP) miRNA sensor construct. The ability to stabilize miRNA/miRNA* by different tospovirus NSs proteins in vivo was demonstrated by increased accumulation and detection of both miRNA171c and miRNA171c* in tospovirus-infected N. benthamiana. All together, these data suggest that tospoviruses interfere in the RNA silencing pathway by sequestering siRNA and miRNA/miRNA* molecules before they are uploaded into their respective RNA-induced silencing complexes. The observed affinity to long dsRNA for only a subset of the tospoviruses studied is discussed in light of evolutional divergence and their ancestral relation to the animal-infecting members of the Bunyaviridae.

  17. System dynamic modeling on construction waste management in Shenzhen, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tam, Vivian W Y; Li, Jingru; Cai, Hong

    2014-05-01

    This article examines the complexity of construction waste management in Shenzhen, Mainland China. In-depth analysis of waste generation, transportation, recycling, landfill and illegal dumping of various inherent management phases is explored. A system dynamics modeling using Stella model is developed. Effects of landfill charges and also penalties from illegal dumping are also simulated. The results show that the implementation of comprehensive policy on both landfill charges and illegal dumping can effectively control the illegal dumping behavior, and achieve comprehensive construction waste minimization. This article provides important recommendations for effective policy implementation and explores new perspectives for Shenzhen policy makers.

  18. Pyrite footprinting of RNA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schlatterer, Jörg C.; Wieder, Matthew S.; Jones, Christopher D.; Pollack, Lois; Brenowitz, Michael

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► RNA structure is mapped by pyrite mediated · OH footprinting. ► Repetitive experiments can be done in a powdered pyrite filled cartridge. ► High · OH reactivity of nucleotides imply dynamic role in Diels–Alderase catalysis. -- Abstract: In RNA, function follows form. Mapping the surface of RNA molecules with chemical and enzymatic probes has revealed invaluable information about structure and folding. Hydroxyl radicals ( · OH) map the surface of nucleic acids by cutting the backbone where it is accessible to solvent. Recent studies showed that a microfluidic chip containing pyrite (FeS 2 ) can produce sufficient · OH to footprint DNA. The 49-nt Diels–Alder RNA enzyme catalyzes the C–C bond formation between a diene and a dienophile. A crystal structure, molecular dynamics simulation and atomic mutagenesis studies suggest that nucleotides of an asymmetric bulge participate in the dynamic architecture of the ribozyme’s active center. Of note is that residue U42 directly interacts with the product in the crystallized RNA/product complex. Here, we use powdered pyrite held in a commercially available cartridge to footprint the Diels–Alderase ribozyme with single nucleotide resolution. Residues C39 to U42 are more reactive to · OH than predicted by the solvent accessibility calculated from the crystal structure suggesting that this loop is dynamic in solution. The loop’s flexibility may contribute to substrate recruitment and product release. Our implementation of pyrite-mediated · OH footprinting is a readily accessible approach to gleaning information about the architecture of small RNA molecules.

  19. Genetic and epigenetic variation in 5S ribosomal RNA genes reveals genome dynamics in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, Lauriane; Rabanal, Fernando A; Dubos, Tristan; Oliver, Cecilia; Lauber, Damien; Poulet, Axel; Vogt, Alexander; Mandlbauer, Ariane; Le Goff, Samuel; Sommer, Andreas; Duborjal, Hervé; Tatout, Christophe; Probst, Aline V

    2018-04-06

    Organized in tandem repeat arrays in most eukaryotes and transcribed by RNA polymerase III, expression of 5S rRNA genes is under epigenetic control. To unveil mechanisms of transcriptional regulation, we obtained here in depth sequence information on 5S rRNA genes from the Arabidopsis thaliana genome and identified differential enrichment in epigenetic marks between the three 5S rDNA loci situated on chromosomes 3, 4 and 5. We reveal the chromosome 5 locus as the major source of an atypical, long 5S rRNA transcript characteristic of an open chromatin structure. 5S rRNA genes from this locus translocated in the Landsberg erecta ecotype as shown by linkage mapping and chromosome-specific FISH analysis. These variations in 5S rDNA locus organization cause changes in the spatial arrangement of chromosomes in the nucleus. Furthermore, 5S rRNA gene arrangements are highly dynamic with alterations in chromosomal positions through translocations in certain mutants of the RNA-directed DNA methylation pathway and important copy number variations among ecotypes. Finally, variations in 5S rRNA gene sequence, chromatin organization and transcripts indicate differential usage of 5S rDNA loci in distinct ecotypes. We suggest that both the usage of existing and new 5S rDNA loci resulting from translocations may impact neighboring chromatin organization.

  20. Hash function construction using weighted complex dynamical networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song Yu-Rong; Jiang Guo-Ping

    2013-01-01

    A novel scheme to construct a hash function based on a weighted complex dynamical network (WCDN) generated from an original message is proposed in this paper. First, the original message is divided into blocks. Then, each block is divided into components, and the nodes and weighted edges are well defined from these components and their relations. Namely, the WCDN closely related to the original message is established. Furthermore, the node dynamics of the WCDN are chosen as a chaotic map. After chaotic iterations, quantization and exclusive-or operations, the fixed-length hash value is obtained. This scheme has the property that any tiny change in message can be diffused rapidly through the WCDN, leading to very different hash values. Analysis and simulation show that the scheme possesses good statistical properties, excellent confusion and diffusion, strong collision resistance and high efficiency. (general)

  1. A multi-Poisson dynamic mixture model to cluster developmental patterns of gene expression by RNA-seq.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Meixia; Wang, Zhong; Wang, Yaqun; Wu, Rongling

    2015-03-01

    Dynamic changes of gene expression reflect an intrinsic mechanism of how an organism responds to developmental and environmental signals. With the increasing availability of expression data across a time-space scale by RNA-seq, the classification of genes as per their biological function using RNA-seq data has become one of the most significant challenges in contemporary biology. Here we develop a clustering mixture model to discover distinct groups of genes expressed during a period of organ development. By integrating the density function of multivariate Poisson distribution, the model accommodates the discrete property of read counts characteristic of RNA-seq data. The temporal dependence of gene expression is modeled by the first-order autoregressive process. The model is implemented with the Expectation-Maximization algorithm and model selection to determine the optimal number of gene clusters and obtain the estimates of Poisson parameters that describe the pattern of time-dependent expression of genes from each cluster. The model has been demonstrated by analyzing a real data from an experiment aimed to link the pattern of gene expression to catkin development in white poplar. The usefulness of the model has been validated through computer simulation. The model provides a valuable tool for clustering RNA-seq data, facilitating our global view of expression dynamics and understanding of gene regulation mechanisms. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. MicroRNA-Mediated Dynamic Bidirectional Shift between the Subclasses of Glioblastoma Stem-like Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arun K. Rooj

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Large-scale transcriptomic profiling of glioblastoma (GBM into subtypes has provided remarkable insight into the pathobiology and heterogeneous nature of this disease. The mechanisms of speciation and inter-subtype transitions of these molecular subtypes require better characterization to facilitate the development of subtype-specific targeting strategies. The deregulation of microRNA expression among GBM subtypes and their subtype-specific targeting mechanisms are poorly understood. To reveal the underlying basis of microRNA-driven complex subpopulation dynamics within the heterogeneous intra-tumoral ecosystem, we characterized the expression of the subtype-enriched microRNA-128 (miR-128 in transcriptionally and phenotypically diverse subpopulations of patient-derived glioblastoma stem-like cells. Because microRNAs are capable of re-arranging the molecular landscape in a cell-type-specific manner, we argue that alterations in miR-128 levels are a potent mechanism of bidirectional transitions between GBM subpopulations, resulting in intermediate hybrid stages and emphasizing highly intricate intra-tumoral networking.

  3. Construction of an Aptamer-SiRNA Chimera-Modified Tissue-Engineered Blood Vessel for Cell-Type-Specific Capture and Delivery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wen; Zeng, Wen; Sun, Jiansen; Yang, Mingcan; Li, Li; Zhou, Jingting; Wu, Yangxiao; Sun, Jun; Liu, Ge; Tang, Rui; Tan, Ju; Zhu, Chuhong

    2015-06-23

    The application of tissue-engineered blood vessels (TEBVs) is the main developmental direction of vascular replacement therapy. Due to few and/or dysfunctional endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), it is difficult to successfully construct EPC capture TEBVs in diabetes. RNA has a potential application in cell protection and diabetes treatment, but poor specificity and low efficiency of RNA transfection in vivo limit the application of RNA. On the basis of an acellular vascular matrix, we propose an aptamer-siRNA chimera-modified TEBV that can maintain a satisfactory patency in diabetes. This TEBV consists of two parts, CD133-adenosine kinase (ADK) chimeras and a TEBV scaffold. Our results showed that CD133-ADK chimeras could selectively capture the CD133-positive cells in vivo, and then captured cells can internalize the bound chimeras to achieve RNA self-transfection. Subsequently, CD133-ADK chimeras were cut into ADK siRNA by a dicer, resulting in depletion of ADK. An ADK-deficient cell may act as a bioreactor that sustainably releases adenosine. To reduce nonspecific RNA transfection, we increased the proportion of HAuCl4 during the material preparation, through which the transfection capacity of polyethylenimine (PEI)/polyethylene glycol (PEG)-capped gold nanoparticles (PEI/PEG-AuNPs) was significantly decreased and the ability of TEBV to resist tensile and liquid shear stress was greatly enhanced. PEG and 2'-O-methyl modification was used to enhance the in vivo stability of RNA chimeras. At day 30 postgrafting, the patency rate of CD133-ADK chimera-modified TEBVs reached 90% in diabetic rats and good endothelialization was observed.

  4. Step-by-Step Construction of Gene Co-expression Networks from High-Throughput Arabidopsis RNA Sequencing Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Contreras-López, Orlando; Moyano, Tomás C; Soto, Daniela C; Gutiérrez, Rodrigo A

    2018-01-01

    The rapid increase in the availability of transcriptomics data generated by RNA sequencing represents both a challenge and an opportunity for biologists without bioinformatics training. The challenge is handling, integrating, and interpreting these data sets. The opportunity is to use this information to generate testable hypothesis to understand molecular mechanisms controlling gene expression and biological processes (Fig. 1). A successful strategy to generate tractable hypotheses from transcriptomics data has been to build undirected network graphs based on patterns of gene co-expression. Many examples of new hypothesis derived from network analyses can be found in the literature, spanning different organisms including plants and specific fields such as root developmental biology.In order to make the process of constructing a gene co-expression network more accessible to biologists, here we provide step-by-step instructions using published RNA-seq experimental data obtained from a public database. Similar strategies have been used in previous studies to advance root developmental biology. This guide includes basic instructions for the operation of widely used open source platforms such as Bio-Linux, R, and Cytoscape. Even though the data we used in this example was obtained from Arabidopsis thaliana, the workflow developed in this guide can be easily adapted to work with RNA-seq data from any organism.

  5. Structural and dynamic properties of the C-terminal region of the Escherichia coli RNA chaperone Hfq: integrative experimental and computational studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Bin; Wang, Weiwei; Zhang, Jiahai; Gong, Qingguo; Shi, Yunyu; Wu, Jihui; Zhang, Zhiyong

    2017-08-09

    In Escherichia coli, hexameric Hfq is an important RNA chaperone that facilitates small RNA-mediated post-transcriptional regulation. The Hfq monomer consists of an evolutionarily conserved Sm domain (residues 1-65) and a flexible C-terminal region (residues 66-102). It has been recognized that the existence of the C-terminal region is important for the function of Hfq, but its detailed structural and dynamic properties remain elusive due to its disordered nature. In this work, using integrative experimental techniques, such as nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering, as well as multi-scale computational simulations, new insights into the structure and dynamics of the C-terminal region in the context of the Hfq hexamer are provided. Although the C-terminal region is intrinsically disordered, some residues (83-86) are motionally restricted. The hexameric core may affect the secondary structure propensity of the C-terminal region, due to transient interactions between them. The residues at the rim and the proximal side of the core have significantly more transient contacts with the C-terminal region than those residues at the distal side, which may facilitate the function of the C-terminal region in the release of double-stranded RNAs and the cycling of small non-coding RNAs. Structure ensembles constructed by fitting the experimental data also support that the C-terminal region prefers to locate at the proximal side. From multi-scale simulations, we propose that the C-terminal region may play a dual role of steric effect (especially at the proximal side) and recruitment (at the both sides) in the binding process of RNA substrates. Interestingly, we have found that these motionally restricted residues may serve as important binding sites for the incoming RNAs that is probably driven by favorable electrostatic interactions. These integrative studies may aid in our understanding of the functional role of the C-terminal region of Hfq.

  6. Analysis of IAV Replication and Co-infection Dynamics by a Versatile RNA Viral Genome Labeling Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dan Dou

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Genome delivery to the proper cellular compartment for transcription and replication is a primary goal of viruses. However, methods for analyzing viral genome localization and differentiating genomes with high identity are lacking, making it difficult to investigate entry-related processes and co-examine heterogeneous RNA viral populations. Here, we present an RNA labeling approach for single-cell analysis of RNA viral replication and co-infection dynamics in situ, which uses the versatility of padlock probes. We applied this method to identify influenza A virus (IAV infections in cells and lung tissue with single-nucleotide specificity and to classify entry and replication stages by gene segment localization. Extending the classification strategy to co-infections of IAVs with single-nucleotide variations, we found that the dependence on intracellular trafficking places a time restriction on secondary co-infections necessary for genome reassortment. Altogether, these data demonstrate how RNA viral genome labeling can help dissect entry and co-infections.

  7. Real-time dynamics of RNA Polymerase II clustering in live human cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cisse, Ibrahim

    2014-03-01

    Transcription is the first step in the central dogma of molecular biology, when genetic information encoded on DNA is made into messenger RNA. How this fundamental process occurs within living cells (in vivo) is poorly understood,[1] despite extensive biochemical characterizations with isolated biomolecules (in vitro). For high-order organisms, like humans, transcription is reported to be spatially compartmentalized in nuclear foci consisting of clusters of RNA Polymerase II, the enzyme responsible for synthesizing all messenger RNAs. However, little is known of when these foci assemble or their relative stability. We developed an approach based on photo-activation localization microscopy (PALM) combined with a temporal correlation analysis, which we refer to as tcPALM. The tcPALM method enables the real-time characterization of biomolecular spatiotemporal organization, with single-molecule sensitivity, directly in living cells.[2] Using tcPALM, we observed that RNA Polymerase II clusters form transiently, with an average lifetime of 5.1 (+/- 0.4) seconds. Stimuli affecting transcription regulation yielded orders of magnitude changes in the dynamics of the polymerase clusters, implying that clustering is regulated and plays a role in the cells ability to effect rapid response to external signals. Our results suggest that the transient crowding of enzymes may aid in rate-limiting steps of genome regulation.

  8. Mutant allele of rna14 in fission yeast affects pre-mRNA splicing

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    transcript. Rna14 protein in budding yeast has been implicated in cleavage and ... Subsequently, genetic interaction of Rna14 with prp1 and physical .... molecular yeast techniques as described by Moreno et al. ..... To elucidate the role of Rna14 in splicing, RT-PCR analysis ..... design principles of a dynamic RNP machine.

  9. Neuron-specific RNA interference using lentiviral vectors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Troels Tolstrup; Marion, Ingrid van; Hasholt, Lis

    2009-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Viral vectors have been used in several different settings for the delivery of small hairpin (sh) RNAs. However, most vectors have utilized ubiquitously-expressing polymerase (pol) III promoters to drive expression of the hairpin as a result of the strict requirement for precise...... transcriptional initiation and termination. Recently, pol II promoters have been used to construct vectors for RNA interference (RNAi). By embedding the shRNA into a micro RNA-context (miRNA) the endogenous miRNA processing machinery is exploited to achieve the mature synthetic miRNA (smiRNA), thereby expanding...... the possible promoter choices and eventually allowing cell type specific down-regulation of target genes. METHODS: In the present study, we constructed lentiviral vectors expressing smiRNAs under the control of pol II promoters to knockdown gene expression in cell culture and in the brain. RESULTS: We...

  10. Constructing Dynamic Event Trees from Markov Models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paolo Bucci; Jason Kirschenbaum; Tunc Aldemir; Curtis Smith; Ted Wood

    2006-01-01

    In the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) of process plants, Markov models can be used to model accurately the complex dynamic interactions between plant physical process variables (e.g., temperature, pressure, etc.) and the instrumentation and control system that monitors and manages the process. One limitation of this approach that has prevented its use in nuclear power plant PRAs is the difficulty of integrating the results of a Markov analysis into an existing PRA. In this paper, we explore a new approach to the generation of failure scenarios and their compilation into dynamic event trees from a Markov model of the system. These event trees can be integrated into an existing PRA using software tools such as SAPHIRE. To implement our approach, we first construct a discrete-time Markov chain modeling the system of interest by: (a) partitioning the process variable state space into magnitude intervals (cells), (b) using analytical equations or a system simulator to determine the transition probabilities between the cells through the cell-to-cell mapping technique, and, (c) using given failure/repair data for all the components of interest. The Markov transition matrix thus generated can be thought of as a process model describing the stochastic dynamic behavior of the finite-state system. We can therefore search the state space starting from a set of initial states to explore all possible paths to failure (scenarios) with associated probabilities. We can also construct event trees of arbitrary depth by tracing paths from a chosen initiating event and recording the following events while keeping track of the probabilities associated with each branch in the tree. As an example of our approach, we use the simple level control system often used as benchmark in the literature with one process variable (liquid level in a tank), and three control units: a drain unit and two supply units. Each unit includes a separate level sensor to observe the liquid level in the tank

  11. Eigenvectors determination of the ribosome dynamics model during mRNA translation using the Kleene Star algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ernawati; Carnia, E.; Supriatna, A. K.

    2018-03-01

    Eigenvalues and eigenvectors in max-plus algebra have the same important role as eigenvalues and eigenvectors in conventional algebra. In max-plus algebra, eigenvalues and eigenvectors are useful for knowing dynamics of the system such as in train system scheduling, scheduling production systems and scheduling learning activities in moving classes. In the translation of proteins in which the ribosome move uni-directionally along the mRNA strand to recruit the amino acids that make up the protein, eigenvalues and eigenvectors are used to calculate protein production rates and density of ribosomes on the mRNA. Based on this, it is important to examine the eigenvalues and eigenvectors in the process of protein translation. In this paper an eigenvector formula is given for a ribosome dynamics during mRNA translation by using the Kleene star algorithm in which the resulting eigenvector formula is simpler and easier to apply to the system than that introduced elsewhere. This paper also discusses the properties of the matrix {B}λ \\otimes n of model. Among the important properties, it always has the same elements in the first column for n = 1, 2,… if the eigenvalue is the time of initiation, λ = τin , and the column is the eigenvector of the model corresponding to λ.

  12. Membrane recognition and dynamics of the RNA degradosome

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Strahl, H.; Turlan, C.; Khalid, S.; Bond, P.J.; Kebalo, J.M.; Peyron, P.; Poljak, L.; Bouvier, M.; Hamoen, L.; Luisi, B.F.; Carpousis, A.J.

    2015-01-01

    RNase E, which is the central component of the multienzyme RNA degradosome, serves as a scaffold for interaction with other enzymes involved in mRNA degradation including the DEAD-box RNA helicase RhlB. Epifluorescence microscopy under live cell conditions shows that RNase E and RhlB are membrane

  13. Advances in targeted delivery of small interfering RNA using simple bioconjugates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Christoffer; Kjems, Jørgen; Sorensen, Kristine Rothaus

    2014-01-01

    with a targeting moiety, in a simple bioconjugate construct. We discuss the use of different types of targeting moieties, as well as the different conjugation strategies employed for preparing these bioconjugate constructs that deliver the siRNA to target cells. We focus especially on the in-built or passive......Introduction: Development of drugs based on RNA interference by small interfering RNA (siRNA) has been progressing slowly due to a number of challenges associated with the in vivo behavior of siRNA. A central problem is controlling siRNA delivery to specific cell types. Here, we review existing...... literature on one type of strategy for solving the issue of cell-specific delivery of siRNA, namely delivering the siRNA as part of simple bioconjugate constructs. Areas covered: This review presents current experience from strategies aimed at targeting siRNA to specific cell types, by associating the siRNA...

  14. Is Acculturation a Dynamic Construct?: The Influence of Method of Priming Culture on Acculturation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lechuga, Julia

    2008-01-01

    Recent evidence suggests that culture is a dynamic construct activated in response to cues encountered in a given situation. Research on acculturation indicates that this is a complex construct that might be domain specific. Two studies were undertaken to investigate the effect of two ways of priming culture on acculturation and enculturation…

  15. Thermo-sensitive nanoparticles for triggered release of siRNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Zheng; Cheng, Qiang; Jiang, Qian; Deng, Liandong; Liang, Zicai; Dong, Anjie

    2015-01-01

    Efficient delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) is crucially required for cancer gene therapy. Herein, a thermo-sensitive copolymer with a simple structure, poly (ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate-b-poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (mPEG-b-PNIPAM) was developed. A novel kind of thermo-sensitive nanoparticles (DENPs) was constructed for the cold-shock triggered release of siRNA by double emulsion-solvent evaporation method using mPEG-b-PNIPAM and a cationic lipid, 3β [N-(N', N'-dimethylaminoethane)-carbamoyl] cholesterol [DC-Chol]. DENPs were observed by transmission electron microscopy and dynamical light scattering before and after 'cold shock' treatment. The encapsulation efficiency (EE) of siRNA in DENPs, which was measured by fluorescence spectrophotometer was 96.8% while it was significantly reduced to be 23.2% when DC-Chol was absent. DENPs/siRNA NPs exhibited a thermo-sensitive siRNA release character that the cumulatively released amount of siRNA from cold shock was approximately 2.2 folds higher after 7 days. In vitro luciferase silencing experiments indicated that DENPs showed potent gene silencing efficacy in HeLa-Luc cells (HeLa cells steadily expressed luciferase), which was further enhanced by a cold shock. Furthermore, MTT assay showed that cell viability with DENPs/siRNA up to 200 nM remained above 80%. We also observed that most of siRNA was accumulated in kidney mediated by DENPs instead of liver and spleen in vivo experiments. Thus, DENPs as a cold shock responsive quick release model for siRNA or hydrophilic macromolecules delivery provide a new way to nanocarrier design and clinic therapy.

  16. Development of support tools for efficient construction of dynamic simulation program for engineering systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gofuku, Akio

    1993-01-01

    In this study, two support tools are developed for construction of a dynamic simulation program for engineering systems (especially nuclear systems) by combining software modules. These are (1) a sub-system to support the module selection suitable for dynamic simulation and (2) a graphical user interface to support visual construction of simulation programs. The support tools are designed to be independent on the conception of software modules (data communication methods between modules). In the module selection sub-system of item 1, a module is characterized beforehand by keywords for several criteria. The similarity between the characteristic of requested module by users and that of registered modules in the module library is estimated by a weighted average of similarity indexes for criteria. In the module selection sub-system, the weights are flexibly extracted from users by applying the analytic hierarchy process. The graphical user interface helps users to specify both calling order of modules and data transfer between two modules. The availability of the support tools is evaluated by several sample problems of module selection and dynamic simulation model construction. The support tools will be a strong tool for the efficient usage of software modules. (author)

  17. Free-energy landscape of a hyperstable RNA tetraloop.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miner, Jacob C; Chen, Alan A; García, Angel E

    2016-06-14

    We report the characterization of the energy landscape and the folding/unfolding thermodynamics of a hyperstable RNA tetraloop obtained through high-performance molecular dynamics simulations at microsecond timescales. Sampling of the configurational landscape is conducted using temperature replica exchange molecular dynamics over three isochores at high, ambient, and negative pressures to determine the thermodynamic stability and the free-energy landscape of the tetraloop. The simulations reveal reversible folding/unfolding transitions of the tetraloop into the canonical A-RNA conformation and the presence of two alternative configurations, including a left-handed Z-RNA conformation and a compact purine Triplet. Increasing hydrostatic pressure shows a stabilizing effect on the A-RNA conformation and a destabilization of the left-handed Z-RNA. Our results provide a comprehensive description of the folded free-energy landscape of a hyperstable RNA tetraloop and highlight the significant advances of all-atom molecular dynamics in describing the unbiased folding of a simple RNA secondary structure motif.

  18. Characterizing system dynamics with a weighted and directed network constructed from time series data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Xiaoran; Small, Michael; Zhao, Yi; Xue, Xiaoping

    2014-01-01

    In this work, we propose a novel method to transform a time series into a weighted and directed network. For a given time series, we first generate a set of segments via a sliding window, and then use a doubly symbolic scheme to characterize every windowed segment by combining absolute amplitude information with an ordinal pattern characterization. Based on this construction, a network can be directly constructed from the given time series: segments corresponding to different symbol-pairs are mapped to network nodes and the temporal succession between nodes is represented by directed links. With this conversion, dynamics underlying the time series has been encoded into the network structure. We illustrate the potential of our networks with a well-studied dynamical model as a benchmark example. Results show that network measures for characterizing global properties can detect the dynamical transitions in the underlying system. Moreover, we employ a random walk algorithm to sample loops in our networks, and find that time series with different dynamics exhibits distinct cycle structure. That is, the relative prevalence of loops with different lengths can be used to identify the underlying dynamics

  19. Characterizing system dynamics with a weighted and directed network constructed from time series data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun, Xiaoran, E-mail: sxr0806@gmail.com [Shenzhen Graduate School, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055 (China); School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Western Australia, Crawley WA 6009 (Australia); Small, Michael, E-mail: michael.small@uwa.edu.au [School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Western Australia, Crawley WA 6009 (Australia); Zhao, Yi [Shenzhen Graduate School, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055 (China); Xue, Xiaoping [Department of Mathematics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150025 (China)

    2014-06-15

    In this work, we propose a novel method to transform a time series into a weighted and directed network. For a given time series, we first generate a set of segments via a sliding window, and then use a doubly symbolic scheme to characterize every windowed segment by combining absolute amplitude information with an ordinal pattern characterization. Based on this construction, a network can be directly constructed from the given time series: segments corresponding to different symbol-pairs are mapped to network nodes and the temporal succession between nodes is represented by directed links. With this conversion, dynamics underlying the time series has been encoded into the network structure. We illustrate the potential of our networks with a well-studied dynamical model as a benchmark example. Results show that network measures for characterizing global properties can detect the dynamical transitions in the underlying system. Moreover, we employ a random walk algorithm to sample loops in our networks, and find that time series with different dynamics exhibits distinct cycle structure. That is, the relative prevalence of loops with different lengths can be used to identify the underlying dynamics.

  20. RNA synthetic biology inspired from bacteria: construction of transcription attenuators under antisense regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawid, Alexandre; Cayrol, Bastien; Isambert, Hervé

    2009-07-01

    Among all biopolymers, ribonucleic acids or RNA have unique functional versatility, which led to the early suggestion that RNA alone (or a closely related biopolymer) might have once sustained a primitive form of life based on a single type of biopolymer. This has been supported by the demonstration of processive RNA-based replication and the discovery of 'riboswitches' or RNA switches, which directly sense their metabolic environment. In this paper, we further explore the plausibility of this 'RNA world' scenario and show, through synthetic molecular design guided by advanced RNA simulations, that RNA can also perform elementary regulation tasks on its own. We demonstrate that RNA synthetic regulatory modules directly inspired from bacterial transcription attenuators can efficiently activate or repress the expression of other RNA by merely controlling their folding paths 'on the fly' during transcription through simple RNA-RNA antisense interaction. Factors, such as NTP concentration and RNA synthesis rate, affecting the efficiency of this kinetic regulation mechanism are also studied and discussed in the light of evolutionary constraints. Overall, this suggests that direct coupling among synthesis, folding and regulation of RNAs may have enabled the early emergence of autonomous RNA-based regulation networks in absence of both DNA and protein partners.

  1. Dynamic Programming Approach for Construction of Association Rule Systems

    KAUST Repository

    Alsolami, Fawaz

    2016-11-18

    In the paper, an application of dynamic programming approach for optimization of association rules from the point of view of knowledge representation is considered. The association rule set is optimized in two stages, first for minimum cardinality and then for minimum length of rules. Experimental results present cardinality of the set of association rules constructed for information system and lower bound on minimum possible cardinality of rule set based on the information obtained during algorithm work as well as obtained results for length.

  2. Dynamic Programming Approach for Construction of Association Rule Systems

    KAUST Repository

    Alsolami, Fawaz; Amin, Talha M.; Chikalov, Igor; Moshkov, Mikhail; Zielosko, Beata

    2016-01-01

    In the paper, an application of dynamic programming approach for optimization of association rules from the point of view of knowledge representation is considered. The association rule set is optimized in two stages, first for minimum cardinality and then for minimum length of rules. Experimental results present cardinality of the set of association rules constructed for information system and lower bound on minimum possible cardinality of rule set based on the information obtained during algorithm work as well as obtained results for length.

  3. Constructing the reduced dynamical models of interannual climate variability from spatial-distributed time series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukhin, Dmitry; Gavrilov, Andrey; Loskutov, Evgeny; Feigin, Alexander

    2016-04-01

    We suggest a method for empirical forecast of climate dynamics basing on the reconstruction of reduced dynamical models in a form of random dynamical systems [1,2] derived from observational time series. The construction of proper embedding - the set of variables determining the phase space the model works in - is no doubt the most important step in such a modeling, but this task is non-trivial due to huge dimension of time series of typical climatic fields. Actually, an appropriate expansion of observational time series is needed yielding the number of principal components considered as phase variables, which are to be efficient for the construction of low-dimensional evolution operator. We emphasize two main features the reduced models should have for capturing the main dynamical properties of the system: (i) taking into account time-lagged teleconnections in the atmosphere-ocean system and (ii) reflecting the nonlinear nature of these teleconnections. In accordance to these principles, in this report we present the methodology which includes the combination of a new way for the construction of an embedding by the spatio-temporal data expansion and nonlinear model construction on the basis of artificial neural networks. The methodology is aplied to NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data including fields of sea level pressure, geopotential height, and wind speed, covering Northern Hemisphere. Its efficiency for the interannual forecast of various climate phenomena including ENSO, PDO, NAO and strong blocking event condition over the mid latitudes, is demonstrated. Also, we investigate the ability of the models to reproduce and predict the evolution of qualitative features of the dynamics, such as spectral peaks, critical transitions and statistics of extremes. This research was supported by the Government of the Russian Federation (Agreement No. 14.Z50.31.0033 with the Institute of Applied Physics RAS) [1] Y. I. Molkov, E. M. Loskutov, D. N. Mukhin, and A. M. Feigin, "Random

  4. RNA synthetic biology inspired from bacteria: construction of transcription attenuators under antisense regulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dawid, Alexandre; Cayrol, Bastien; Isambert, Hervé

    2009-01-01

    Among all biopolymers, ribonucleic acids or RNA have unique functional versatility, which led to the early suggestion that RNA alone (or a closely related biopolymer) might have once sustained a primitive form of life based on a single type of biopolymer. This has been supported by the demonstration of processive RNA-based replication and the discovery of 'riboswitches' or RNA switches, which directly sense their metabolic environment. In this paper, we further explore the plausibility of this 'RNA world' scenario and show, through synthetic molecular design guided by advanced RNA simulations, that RNA can also perform elementary regulation tasks on its own. We demonstrate that RNA synthetic regulatory modules directly inspired from bacterial transcription attenuators can efficiently activate or repress the expression of other RNA by merely controlling their folding paths 'on the fly' during transcription through simple RNA–RNA antisense interaction. Factors, such as NTP concentration and RNA synthesis rate, affecting the efficiency of this kinetic regulation mechanism are also studied and discussed in the light of evolutionary constraints. Overall, this suggests that direct coupling among synthesis, folding and regulation of RNAs may have enabled the early emergence of autonomous RNA-based regulation networks in absence of both DNA and protein partners

  5. Application of Live-Cell RNA Imaging Techniques to the Study of Retroviral RNA Trafficking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darrin V. Bann

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Retroviruses produce full-length RNA that serves both as a genomic RNA (gRNA, which is encapsidated into virus particles, and as an mRNA, which directs the synthesis of viral structural proteins. However, we are only beginning to understand the cellular and viral factors that influence trafficking of retroviral RNA and the selection of the RNA for encapsidation or translation. Live cell imaging studies of retroviral RNA trafficking have provided important insight into many aspects of the retrovirus life cycle including transcription dynamics, nuclear export of viral RNA, translational regulation, membrane targeting, and condensation of the gRNA during virion assembly. Here, we review cutting-edge techniques to visualize single RNA molecules in live cells and discuss the application of these systems to studying retroviral RNA trafficking.

  6. Molecular modeling and molecular dynamics simulation study of archaeal leucyl-tRNA synthetase in complex with different mischarged tRNA in editing conformation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rayevsky, A V; Sharifi, M; Tukalo, M A

    2017-09-01

    Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) play important roles in maintaining the accuracy of protein synthesis. Some aaRSs accomplish this via editing mechanisms, among which leucyl-tRNA synthetase (LeuRS) edits non-cognate amino acid norvaline mainly by post-transfer editing. However, the molecular basis for this pathway for eukaryotic and archaeal LeuRS remain unclear. In this study, a complex of archaeal P. horikoshii LeuRS (PhLeuRS) with misacylated tRNA Leu was modeled wherever tRNA's acceptor stem was oriented directly into the editing site. To understand the distinctive features of organization we reconstructed a complex of PhLeuRS with tRNA and visualize post-transfer editing interactions mode by performing molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies. To study molecular basis for substrate selectivity by PhLeuRS's editing site we utilized MD simulation of the entire LeuRS complexes using a diverse charged form of tRNAs, namely norvalyl-tRNA Leu and isoleucyl-tRNA Leu . In general, the editing site organization of LeuRS from P.horikoshii has much in common with bacterial LeuRS. The MD simulation results revealed that the post-transfer editing substrate norvalyl-A76, binds more strongly than isoleucyl-A76. Moreover, the branched side chain of isoleucine prevents water molecules from being closer and hence the hydrolysis reaction slows significantly. To investigate a possible mechanism of the post-transfer editing reaction, by PhLeuRS we have determined that two water molecules (the attacking and assisting water molecules) are localized near the carbonyl group of the amino acid to be cleaved off. These water molecules approach the substrate from the opposite side to that observed for Thermus thermophilus LeuRS (TtLeuRS). Based on the results obtained, it was suggested that the post-transfer editing mechanism of PhLeuRS differs from that of prokaryotic TtLeuRS. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Computer-Aided Design of RNA Origami Structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sparvath, Steffen L; Geary, Cody W; Andersen, Ebbe S

    2017-01-01

    RNA nanostructures can be used as scaffolds to organize, combine, and control molecular functionalities, with great potential for applications in nanomedicine and synthetic biology. The single-stranded RNA origami method allows RNA nanostructures to be folded as they are transcribed by the RNA polymerase. RNA origami structures provide a stable framework that can be decorated with functional RNA elements such as riboswitches, ribozymes, interaction sites, and aptamers for binding small molecules or protein targets. The rich library of RNA structural and functional elements combined with the possibility to attach proteins through aptamer-based binding creates virtually limitless possibilities for constructing advanced RNA-based nanodevices.In this chapter we provide a detailed protocol for the single-stranded RNA origami design method using a simple 2-helix tall structure as an example. The first step involves 3D modeling of a double-crossover between two RNA double helices, followed by decoration with tertiary motifs. The second step deals with the construction of a 2D blueprint describing the secondary structure and sequence constraints that serves as the input for computer programs. In the third step, computer programs are used to design RNA sequences that are compatible with the structure, and the resulting outputs are evaluated and converted into DNA sequences to order.

  8. Comprehensive characterization of lncRNA-mRNA related ceRNA network across 12 major cancers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Li; Li, Feng; Sun, Zeguo; Wu, Tan; Shi, Xinrui; Li, Jing; Li, Xia

    2016-01-01

    Recent studies indicate that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can act as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) to indirectly regulate mRNAs through shared microRNAs, which represents a novel layer of RNA crosstalk and plays critical roles in the development of tumor. However, the global regulation landscape and characterization of these lncRNA related ceRNA crosstalk in cancers is still largely unknown. Here, we systematically characterized the lncRNA related ceRNA interactions across 12 major cancers and the normal physiological states by integrating multidimensional molecule profiles of more than 5000 samples. Our study suggest the large difference of ceRNA regulation between normal and tumor states and the higher similarity across similar tissue origin of tumors. The ceRNA related molecules have more conserved features in tumor networks and they play critical roles in both the normal and tumorigenesis processes. Besides, lncRNAs in the pan-cancer ceRNA network may be potential biomarkers of tumor. By exploring hub lncRNAs, we found that these conserved key lncRNAs dominate variable tumor hallmark processes across pan-cancers. Network dynamic analysis highlights the critical roles of ceRNA regulation in tumorigenesis. By analyzing conserved ceRNA interactions, we found that miRNA mediate ceRNA regulation showed different patterns across pan-cancer; while analyzing the cancer specific ceRNA interactions reveal that lncRNAs synergistically regulated tumor driver genes of cancer hallmarks. Finally, we found that ceRNA modules have the potential to predict patient survival. Overall, our study systematically dissected the lncRNA related ceRNA networks in pan-cancer that shed new light on understanding the molecular mechanism of tumorigenesis. PMID:27580177

  9. Azobenzene as a photoregulator covalently attached to RNA: a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics-surface hopping dynamics study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mondal, Padmabati; Granucci, Giovanni; Rastädter, Dominique; Persico, Maurizio; Burghardt, Irene

    2018-05-28

    The photoregulation of nucleic acids by azobenzene photoswitches has recently attracted considerable interest in the context of emerging biotechnological applications. To understand the mechanism of photoinduced isomerisation and conformational control in these complex biological environments, we employ a Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics (QM/MM) approach in conjunction with nonadiabatic Surface Hopping (SH) dynamics. Two representative RNA-azobenzene complexes are investigated, both of which contain the azobenzene chromophore covalently attached to an RNA double strand via a β-deoxyribose linker. Due to the pronounced constraints of the local RNA environment, it is found that trans -to- cis isomerization is slowed down to a time scale of ∼10-15 picoseconds, in contrast to 500 femtoseconds in vacuo , with a quantum yield reduced by a factor of two. By contrast, cis -to- trans isomerization remains in a sub-picosecond regime. A volume-conserving isomerization mechanism is found, similarly to the pedal-like mechanism previously identified for azobenzene in solution phase. Strikingly, the chiral RNA environment induces opposite right-handed and left-handed helicities of the ground-state cis -azobenzene chromophore in the two RNA-azobenzene complexes, along with an almost completely chirality conserving photochemical pathway for these helical enantiomers.

  10. Molecular dynamics study of the RNA ring nanostructure: a phenomenon of self-stabilization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paliy, Maxim; Melnik, Roderick; Shapiro, Bruce A

    2009-01-01

    We study mechanical and thermodynamic properties of RNA nanostructures focusing on a hexagonal nanoring discussed in Yingling and Shapiro (2007 Nano Lett. 7 2328). We are concerned with the following main issues: (i) the stability of the nanoring versus temperature; (ii) the effect of the environment (solvent, counterions) on its stability; (iii) conformations and dynamics under external force. The process of evaporation of the ions from the ring upon temperature drop has been found, demonstrating a surprising feature—the uptake of ions by the nanoring increases with the temperature. The connection of this behavior to the dielectric constant of water, hydration and structural changes in the nanoring is discussed. Several properties of the nanoring, such as elastic and transport coefficients, have been determined. A measure of the tensile elasticity of the ring against its uniform 2D in-plane compression has been given, as K eff ≤ 0.01 GPa, which is a much lower value compared to typical values found for soft matter other than RNA

  11. Efficient and dynamic nuclear localization of green fluorescent protein via RNA binding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kitamura, Akira; Nakayama, Yusaku; Kinjo, Masataka, E-mail: kinjo@sci.hokudai.ac.jp

    2015-07-31

    Classical nuclear localization signal (NLS) sequences have been used for artificial localization of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the nucleus as a positioning marker or for measurement of the nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling rate in living cells. However, the detailed mechanism of nuclear retention of GFP-NLS remains unclear. Here, we show that a candidate mechanism for the strong nuclear retention of GFP-NLS is via the RNA-binding ability of the NLS sequence. GFP tagged with a classical NLS derived from Simian virus 40 (GFP-NLS{sup SV40}) localized not only in the nucleoplasm, but also to the nucleolus, the nuclear subdomain in which ribosome biogenesis takes place. GFP-NLS{sup SV40} in the nucleolus was mobile, and intriguingly, the diffusion coefficient, which indicates the speed of diffusing molecules, was 1.5-fold slower than in the nucleoplasm. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) analysis showed that GFP-NLS{sup SV40} formed oligomers via RNA binding, the estimated molecular weight of which was larger than the limit for passive nuclear export into the cytoplasm. These findings suggest that the nuclear localization of GFP-NLS{sup SV40} likely results from oligomerization mediated via RNA binding. The analytical technique used here can be applied for elucidating the details of other nuclear localization mechanisms, including those of several types of nuclear proteins. In addition, GFP-NLS{sup SV40} can be used as an excellent marker for studying both the nucleoplasm and nucleolus in living cells. - Highlights: • Nuclear localization signal-tagged GFP (GFP-NLS) showed clear nuclear localization. • The GFP-NLS dynamically localized not only in the nucleoplasm, but also to the nucleolus. • The nuclear localization of GFP-NLS results from transient oligomerization mediated via RNA binding. • Our NLS-tagging procedure is ideal for use in artificial sequestration of proteins in the nucleus.

  12. Efficient and dynamic nuclear localization of green fluorescent protein via RNA binding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitamura, Akira; Nakayama, Yusaku; Kinjo, Masataka

    2015-01-01

    Classical nuclear localization signal (NLS) sequences have been used for artificial localization of green fluorescent protein (GFP) in the nucleus as a positioning marker or for measurement of the nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling rate in living cells. However, the detailed mechanism of nuclear retention of GFP-NLS remains unclear. Here, we show that a candidate mechanism for the strong nuclear retention of GFP-NLS is via the RNA-binding ability of the NLS sequence. GFP tagged with a classical NLS derived from Simian virus 40 (GFP-NLS SV40 ) localized not only in the nucleoplasm, but also to the nucleolus, the nuclear subdomain in which ribosome biogenesis takes place. GFP-NLS SV40 in the nucleolus was mobile, and intriguingly, the diffusion coefficient, which indicates the speed of diffusing molecules, was 1.5-fold slower than in the nucleoplasm. Fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) analysis showed that GFP-NLS SV40 formed oligomers via RNA binding, the estimated molecular weight of which was larger than the limit for passive nuclear export into the cytoplasm. These findings suggest that the nuclear localization of GFP-NLS SV40 likely results from oligomerization mediated via RNA binding. The analytical technique used here can be applied for elucidating the details of other nuclear localization mechanisms, including those of several types of nuclear proteins. In addition, GFP-NLS SV40 can be used as an excellent marker for studying both the nucleoplasm and nucleolus in living cells. - Highlights: • Nuclear localization signal-tagged GFP (GFP-NLS) showed clear nuclear localization. • The GFP-NLS dynamically localized not only in the nucleoplasm, but also to the nucleolus. • The nuclear localization of GFP-NLS results from transient oligomerization mediated via RNA binding. • Our NLS-tagging procedure is ideal for use in artificial sequestration of proteins in the nucleus

  13. Force-dynamic cultural models in a scalar adjectival construction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Kim Ebensgaard

    MAG NationalGeographic) (3) If the making of a revolution is drama, punctuated with tragedies too numerous to count, making peace is long-form prose requiring iterations of conversation between people. (COCA 2011 MAG TechReview) (4) I'm too young to get married. (COCA 2011 FIC Callaloo) (5) I......'m in a certain group that's almost too old to hire. (COCA 2011 NEWS Denver) (6) Mr. Turman insisted he was too busy to meet at any other time. (COCA 2011 NEWS NYTimes) In all instances, semantic relations of force-dynamics are set up between the adjective and verb positions, such that the adjective describes...... that the constructional semantics may interact with underlying cultural models (Holland & Quinn 1987, Ungerer & Schmid 2006: 51-59) of force-dynamics or causation (d'Andrade 1987: 117-118). In their study of the English into-causative, Gries & Stefanowitsch (2004: 232-234) suggest that collexeme combinations...

  14. Developing a system dynamics model to analyse environmental problem in construction site

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haron, Fatin Fasehah; Hawari, Nurul Nazihah

    2017-11-01

    This study aims to develop a system dynamics model at a construction site to analyse the impact of environmental problem. Construction sites may cause damages to the environment, and interference in the daily lives of residents. A proper environmental management system must be used to reduce pollution, enhance bio-diversity, conserve water, respect people and their local environment, measure performance and set targets for the environment and sustainability. This study investigates the damaging impact normally occur during the construction stage. Environmental problem will cause costly mistake in project implementation, either because of the environmental damages that are likely to arise during project implementation, or because of modification that may be required subsequently in order to make the action environmentally acceptable. Thus, findings from this study has helped in significantly reducing the damaging impact towards environment, and improve the environmental management system performance at construction site.

  15. Construction of lentiviral shRNA expression vector targeting ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ajl yemi

    2011-10-26

    Oct 26, 2011 ... was then selected, while the titer of lentiviral packing PLD2-shRNA was 3.47 × 104 TU/ml and the virus was successfully ... MATERIALS AND METHODS .... such as: transfecting cells not only in mitotic active phase but also in ...

  16. Characteristics and Prediction of RNA Structure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hengwu Li

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available RNA secondary structures with pseudoknots are often predicted by minimizing free energy, which is NP-hard. Most RNAs fold during transcription from DNA into RNA through a hierarchical pathway wherein secondary structures form prior to tertiary structures. Real RNA secondary structures often have local instead of global optimization because of kinetic reasons. The performance of RNA structure prediction may be improved by considering dynamic and hierarchical folding mechanisms. This study is a novel report on RNA folding that accords with the golden mean characteristic based on the statistical analysis of the real RNA secondary structures of all 480 sequences from RNA STRAND, which are validated by NMR or X-ray. The length ratios of domains in these sequences are approximately 0.382L, 0.5L, 0.618L, and L, where L is the sequence length. These points are just the important golden sections of sequence. With this characteristic, an algorithm is designed to predict RNA hierarchical structures and simulate RNA folding by dynamically folding RNA structures according to the above golden section points. The sensitivity and number of predicted pseudoknots of our algorithm are better than those of the Mfold, HotKnots, McQfold, ProbKnot, and Lhw-Zhu algorithms. Experimental results reflect the folding rules of RNA from a new angle that is close to natural folding.

  17. The dynamics and efficacy of antiviral RNA silencing: A model study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hogeweg Paulien

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Mathematical modeling is important to provide insight in the complicated pathway of RNA silencing. RNA silencing is an RNA based mechanism that is widely used by eukaryotes to fight viruses, and to control gene expression. Results We here present the first mathematical model that combines viral growth with RNA silencing. The model involves a plus-strand RNA virus that replicates through a double-strand RNA intermediate. The model of the RNA silencing pathway consists of cleavage of viral RNA into siRNA by Dicer, target cleavage of viral RNA via the RISC complex, and a secondary response. We found that, depending on the strength of the silencing response, different viral growth patterns can occur. Silencing can decrease viral growth, cause oscillations, or clear the virus completely. Our model can explain various observed phenomena, even when they seem contradictory at first: the diverse responses to the removal of RNA dependent RNA polymerase; different viral growth curves; and the great diversity in observed siRNA ratios. Conclusion The model presented here is an important step in the understanding of the natural functioning of RNA silencing in viral infections.

  18. Cancer-Related Triplets of mRNA-lncRNA-miRNA Revealed by Integrative Network in Uterine Corpus Endometrial Carcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chenglin Liu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The regulation of transcriptome expression level is a complex process involving multiple-level interactions among molecules such as protein coding RNA (mRNA, long noncoding RNA (lncRNA, and microRNA (miRNA, which are essential for the transcriptome stability and maintenance and regulation of body homeostasis. The availability of multilevel expression data enables a comprehensive view of the regulatory network. In this study, we analyzed the coding and noncoding gene expression profiles of 301 patients with uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC. A new method was proposed to construct a genome-wide integrative network based on variance inflation factor (VIF regression method. The cross-regulation relations of mRNA, lncRNA, and miRNA were then selected based on clique-searching algorithm from the network, when any two molecules of the three were shown as interacting according to the integrative network. Such relation, which we call the mRNA-lncRNA-miRNA triplet, demonstrated the complexity in transcriptome regulation process. Finally, six UCEC-related triplets were selected in which the mRNA participates in endometrial carcinoma pathway, such as CDH1 and TP53. The multi-type RNAs are proved to be cross-regulated as to each of the six triplets according to literature. All the triplets demonstrated the association with the initiation and progression of UCEC. Our method provides a comprehensive strategy for the investigation of transcriptome regulation mechanism.

  19. RNA-SeQC: RNA-seq metrics for quality control and process optimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeLuca, David S; Levin, Joshua Z; Sivachenko, Andrey; Fennell, Timothy; Nazaire, Marc-Danie; Williams, Chris; Reich, Michael; Winckler, Wendy; Getz, Gad

    2012-06-01

    RNA-seq, the application of next-generation sequencing to RNA, provides transcriptome-wide characterization of cellular activity. Assessment of sequencing performance and library quality is critical to the interpretation of RNA-seq data, yet few tools exist to address this issue. We introduce RNA-SeQC, a program which provides key measures of data quality. These metrics include yield, alignment and duplication rates; GC bias, rRNA content, regions of alignment (exon, intron and intragenic), continuity of coverage, 3'/5' bias and count of detectable transcripts, among others. The software provides multi-sample evaluation of library construction protocols, input materials and other experimental parameters. The modularity of the software enables pipeline integration and the routine monitoring of key measures of data quality such as the number of alignable reads, duplication rates and rRNA contamination. RNA-SeQC allows investigators to make informed decisions about sample inclusion in downstream analysis. In summary, RNA-SeQC provides quality control measures critical to experiment design, process optimization and downstream computational analysis. See www.genepattern.org to run online, or www.broadinstitute.org/rna-seqc/ for a command line tool.

  20. Examining “Elite” Power Dynamics in Informant–Research Relations and Its Impact on Ethnographic Data Construction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jana Declercq

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This article explores how power dynamics between informants and field researchers shape ethnographic data construction, drawing on fieldwork at a pharmaceutical company. Pharmaceutical companies are considered elite settings, and often assumed to be powerful in relation to the researcher and dominating the data construction. However, such a view conceptualizes power in terms of fixed categories, in which there is a superior and subordinate position. We reconsider the impact of elite informants in the light of a constructivist, interactionist view on power, in which power is dynamic and not necessarily entailing domination. We answer the following research questions: (1 How can we observe power dynamics, as conceptualized in a constructionist and interaction orientation, in ethnographic research? and (2 How can we reflect on what these power dynamics mean for data construction, based on our experiences in elite settings? To do so, we make use of discursive and interactional analytic methods and propose three levels of analysis: (1 the level of conversation, (2 the level of ethnography, and (3 the level of the organization in society. They respectively shed light on power in relation to (1 what is said and how, (2 the meanings attached to the ethnographic events, and (3 the meaning of the ethnography in relation to the discourses on the organization in society. With this article, we aim to provide researchers with a methodological tool to approach and to reflect on the significance of power relations in the context of ethnography and interviewing and its impact on data construction.

  1. RNA-Seq of Bacillus licheniformis: active regulatory RNA features expressed within a productive fermentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background The production of enzymes by an industrial strain requires a complex adaption of the bacterial metabolism to the conditions within the fermenter. Regulatory events within the process result in a dynamic change of the transcriptional activity of the genome. This complex network of genes is orchestrated by proteins as well as regulatory RNA elements. Here we present an RNA-Seq based study considering selected phases of an industry-oriented fermentation of Bacillus licheniformis. Results A detailed analysis of 20 strand-specific RNA-Seq datasets revealed a multitude of transcriptionally active genomic regions. 3314 RNA features encoded by such active loci have been identified and sorted into ten functional classes. The identified sequences include the expected RNA features like housekeeping sRNAs, metabolic riboswitches and RNA switches well known from studies on Bacillus subtilis as well as a multitude of completely new candidates for regulatory RNAs. An unexpectedly high number of 855 RNA features are encoded antisense to annotated protein and RNA genes, in addition to 461 independently transcribed small RNAs. These antisense transcripts contain molecules with a remarkable size range variation from 38 to 6348 base pairs in length. The genome of the type strain B. licheniformis DSM13 was completely reannotated using data obtained from RNA-Seq analyses and from public databases. Conclusion The hereby generated data-sets represent a solid amount of knowledge on the dynamic transcriptional activities during the investigated fermentation stages. The identified regulatory elements enable research on the understanding and the optimization of crucial metabolic activities during a productive fermentation of Bacillus licheniformis strains. PMID:24079885

  2. RNA-Seq of Bacillus licheniformis: active regulatory RNA features expressed within a productive fermentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiegand, Sandra; Dietrich, Sascha; Hertel, Robert; Bongaerts, Johannes; Evers, Stefan; Volland, Sonja; Daniel, Rolf; Liesegang, Heiko

    2013-10-01

    The production of enzymes by an industrial strain requires a complex adaption of the bacterial metabolism to the conditions within the fermenter. Regulatory events within the process result in a dynamic change of the transcriptional activity of the genome. This complex network of genes is orchestrated by proteins as well as regulatory RNA elements. Here we present an RNA-Seq based study considering selected phases of an industry-oriented fermentation of Bacillus licheniformis. A detailed analysis of 20 strand-specific RNA-Seq datasets revealed a multitude of transcriptionally active genomic regions. 3314 RNA features encoded by such active loci have been identified and sorted into ten functional classes. The identified sequences include the expected RNA features like housekeeping sRNAs, metabolic riboswitches and RNA switches well known from studies on Bacillus subtilis as well as a multitude of completely new candidates for regulatory RNAs. An unexpectedly high number of 855 RNA features are encoded antisense to annotated protein and RNA genes, in addition to 461 independently transcribed small RNAs. These antisense transcripts contain molecules with a remarkable size range variation from 38 to 6348 base pairs in length. The genome of the type strain B. licheniformis DSM13 was completely reannotated using data obtained from RNA-Seq analyses and from public databases. The hereby generated data-sets represent a solid amount of knowledge on the dynamic transcriptional activities during the investigated fermentation stages. The identified regulatory elements enable research on the understanding and the optimization of crucial metabolic activities during a productive fermentation of Bacillus licheniformis strains.

  3. Constructing networks from a dynamical system perspective for multivariate nonlinear time series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Tomomichi; Tanizawa, Toshihiro; Small, Michael

    2016-03-01

    We describe a method for constructing networks for multivariate nonlinear time series. We approach the interaction between the various scalar time series from a deterministic dynamical system perspective and provide a generic and algorithmic test for whether the interaction between two measured time series is statistically significant. The method can be applied even when the data exhibit no obvious qualitative similarity: a situation in which the naive method utilizing the cross correlation function directly cannot correctly identify connectivity. To establish the connectivity between nodes we apply the previously proposed small-shuffle surrogate (SSS) method, which can investigate whether there are correlation structures in short-term variabilities (irregular fluctuations) between two data sets from the viewpoint of deterministic dynamical systems. The procedure to construct networks based on this idea is composed of three steps: (i) each time series is considered as a basic node of a network, (ii) the SSS method is applied to verify the connectivity between each pair of time series taken from the whole multivariate time series, and (iii) the pair of nodes is connected with an undirected edge when the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. The network constructed by the proposed method indicates the intrinsic (essential) connectivity of the elements included in the system or the underlying (assumed) system. The method is demonstrated for numerical data sets generated by known systems and applied to several experimental time series.

  4. A new technique in constructing closed-form solutions for nonlinear PDEs appearing in fluid mechanics and gas dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Panayotounakos D. E.

    1996-01-01

    Full Text Available We develop a new unique technique in constructing closed-form solutions for several nonlinear partial differential systems appearing in fluid mechanics and gas dynamics. The obtained solutions include fewer arbitrary functions than needed for general solutions, fact that permits us to specify them according to the initial state, or the geometry, of each specific problem under consideration. In order to apply the before mentioned technique we construct closed-form solutions concerning the gas-dynamic equations with constant pressure, the dynamic equations of an ideal gas in isentropic flow, and the two-dimensional incompressible boundary layer flow.

  5. Ecology and evolution in the RNA world dynamics and stability of prebiotic replicator systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Szilágyi, András; Zachar, István; Scheuring, István

    2017-01-01

    billion years ago. The many different incarnations of nucleotide sequence (string) replicator models proposed recently are all attempts to explain on this basis how the genetic information transfer and the functional diversity of prebiotic replicator systems may have emerged, persisted and evolved...... into the first living cell. We have postulated three necessary conditions for an RNA World model system to be a dynamically feasible representation of prebiotic chemical evolution: (1) it must maintain and transfer a sufficient diversity of information reliably and indefinitely, (2) it must be ecologically...... stable and (3) it must be evolutionarily stable. In this review, we discuss the best-known prebiotic scenarios and the corresponding models of string-replicator dynamics and assess them against these criteria. We suggest that the most popular of prebiotic replicator systems, the hypercycle, is probably...

  6. Conformations of flanking bases in HIV-1 RNA DIS kissing complexes studied by molecular dynamics

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Réblová, Kamila; Fadrná, E.; Sarzynska, J.; Kulinski, T.; Kulhánek, P.; Ennifar, E.; Koča, J.; Šponer, Jiří

    2007-01-01

    Roč. 93, č. 11 (2007), s. 3932-3949 ISSN 0006-3495 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LC06030; GA ČR(CZ) GA203/05/0009; GA ČR(CZ) GA203/05/0388; GA AV ČR(CZ) 1QS500040581 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50040507; CEZ:AV0Z50040702 Keywords : molecular dynamics * RNA * virus Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 4.627, year: 2007

  7. Polycistronic tRNA and CRISPR guide-RNA enables highly efficient multiplexed genome engineering in human cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Fengping; Xie, Kabin; Chen, Yueying; Yang, Yinong; Mao, Yingwei

    2017-01-22

    CRISPR/Cas9 has been widely used for genomic editing in many organisms. Many human diseases are caused by multiple mutations. The CRISPR/Cas9 system provides a potential tool to introduce multiple mutations in a genome. To mimic complicated genomic variants in human diseases, such as multiple gene deletions or mutations, two or more small guide RNAs (sgRNAs) need to be introduced all together. This can be achieved by separate Pol III promoters in a construct. However, limited enzyme sites and increased insertion size lower the efficiency to make a construct. Here, we report a strategy to quickly assembly multiple sgRNAs in one construct using a polycistronic-tRNA-gRNA (PTG) strategy. Taking advantage of the endogenous tRNA processing system in mammalian cells, we efficiently express multiple sgRNAs driven using only one Pol III promoter. Using an all-in-one construct carrying PTG, we disrupt the deacetylase domain in multiple histone deacetylases (HDACs) in human cells simultaneously. We demonstrate that multiple HDAC deletions significantly affect the activation of the Wnt-signaling pathway. Thus, this method enables to efficiently target multiple genes and provide a useful tool to establish mutated cells mimicking human diseases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Functional and structural insights revealed by molecular dynamics simulations of an essential RNA editing ligase in Trypanosoma brucei.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rommie E Amaro

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available RNA editing ligase 1 (TbREL1 is required for the survival of both the insect and bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei, the parasite responsible for the devastating tropical disease African sleeping sickness. The type of RNA editing that TbREL1 is involved in is unique to the trypanosomes, and no close human homolog is known to exist. In addition, the high-resolution crystal structure revealed several unique features of the active site, making this enzyme a promising target for structure-based drug design. In this work, two 20 ns atomistic molecular dynamics (MD simulations are employed to investigate the dynamics of TbREL1, both with and without the ATP substrate present. The flexibility of the active site, dynamics of conserved residues and crystallized water molecules, and the interactions between TbREL1 and the ATP substrate are investigated and discussed in the context of TbREL1's function. Differences in local and global motion upon ATP binding suggest that two peripheral loops, unique to the trypanosomes, may be involved in interdomain signaling events. Notably, a significant structural rearrangement of the enzyme's active site occurs during the apo simulations, opening an additional cavity adjacent to the ATP binding site that could be exploited in the development of effective inhibitors directed against this protozoan parasite. Finally, ensemble averaged electrostatics calculations over the MD simulations reveal a novel putative RNA binding site, a discovery that has previously eluded scientists. Ultimately, we use the insights gained through the MD simulations to make several predictions and recommendations, which we anticipate will help direct future experimental studies and structure-based drug discovery efforts against this vital enzyme.

  9. Construction of dynamic model of CANDU-SCWR using moving boundary method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun Peiwei; Jiang Jin; Shan Jianqiang

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → A dynamic model of a CANDU-SCWR is developed. → The advantages of the moving boundary method are demonstrated. → The dynamic behaviours of the CANDU-SCWR are obtained by simulation. → The model can predict the dynamic behaviours of the CANDU-SCWR. → Linear dynamic models for CANDU-SCWR are derived by system identification techniques. - Abstract: CANDU-SCWR (Supercritical Water-Cooled Reactor) is one type of Generation IV reactors being developed in Canada. Its dynamic characteristics are different from existing CANDU reactors due to the supercritical conditions of the coolant. To study the behaviours of such reactors under disturbances and to design adequate control systems, it is essential to have an accurate dynamic model to describe such a reactor. One dynamic model is developed for CANDU-SCWR in this paper. In the model construction process, three regions have been considered: Liquid Region I, Liquid Region II and Vapour Region, depending on bulk and wall temperatures being higher or lower the pseudo-critical temperature. A moving boundary method is used to describe the movement of boundaries across these regions. Some benefits of adopting moving boundary method are illustrated by comparing with the fixed boundary method. The results of the steady-state simulation based on the developed model agree well with the design parameters. The transient simulations demonstrate that the model can predict the dynamic behaviours of CANDU-SCWR. Furthermore, to investigate the responses of the reactor to small amplitude perturbations and to facilitate control system designs, a least-square based system identification technique is used to obtain a set of linear dynamic models around the design point. The responses based on the linear dynamic models are validated with simulation results from nonlinear CANDU-SCWR dynamic model.

  10. A Bayesian method for construction of Markov models to describe dynamics on various time-scales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rains, Emily K; Andersen, Hans C

    2010-10-14

    The dynamics of many biological processes of interest, such as the folding of a protein, are slow and complicated enough that a single molecular dynamics simulation trajectory of the entire process is difficult to obtain in any reasonable amount of time. Moreover, one such simulation may not be sufficient to develop an understanding of the mechanism of the process, and multiple simulations may be necessary. One approach to circumvent this computational barrier is the use of Markov state models. These models are useful because they can be constructed using data from a large number of shorter simulations instead of a single long simulation. This paper presents a new Bayesian method for the construction of Markov models from simulation data. A Markov model is specified by (τ,P,T), where τ is the mesoscopic time step, P is a partition of configuration space into mesostates, and T is an N(P)×N(P) transition rate matrix for transitions between the mesostates in one mesoscopic time step, where N(P) is the number of mesostates in P. The method presented here is different from previous Bayesian methods in several ways. (1) The method uses Bayesian analysis to determine the partition as well as the transition probabilities. (2) The method allows the construction of a Markov model for any chosen mesoscopic time-scale τ. (3) It constructs Markov models for which the diagonal elements of T are all equal to or greater than 0.5. Such a model will be called a "consistent mesoscopic Markov model" (CMMM). Such models have important advantages for providing an understanding of the dynamics on a mesoscopic time-scale. The Bayesian method uses simulation data to find a posterior probability distribution for (P,T) for any chosen τ. This distribution can be regarded as the Bayesian probability that the kinetics observed in the atomistic simulation data on the mesoscopic time-scale τ was generated by the CMMM specified by (P,T). An optimization algorithm is used to find the most

  11. The distribution of RNA polymerase in Escherichia coli is dynamic and sensitive to environmental cues | Center for Cancer Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Despite extensive genetic, biochemical and structural studies on Escherichia coli RNA polymerase (RNAP), little is known about its location and distribution in response to environmental changes. To visualize the RNAP by fluorescence microscopy in E. coli under different physiological conditions, we constructed a functional rpoC-gfp gene fusion on the chromosome.

  12. Dynamics of miRNA biogenesis and nuclear transport

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kotipalli Aneesh

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available MicroRNAs (miRNAs are short noncoding RNA sequences ~22 nucleotides in length that play an important role in gene regulation-transcription and translation. The processing of these miRNAs takes place in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm while the final maturation occurs in the cytoplasm. Some mature miRNAs with nuclear localisation signals (NLS are transported back to the nucleus and some remain in the cytoplasm. The functional roles of these miRNAs are seen in both the nucleus and the cytoplasm. In the nucleus, miRNAs regulate gene expression by binding to the targeted promoter sequences and affect either the transcriptional gene silencing (TGS or transcriptional gene activation (TGA. In the cytoplasm, targeted mRNAs are translationally repressed or cleaved based on the complementarity between the two sequences at the seed region of miRNA and mRNA. The selective transport of mature miRNAs to the nucleus follows the classical nuclear import mechanism. The classical nuclear import mechanism is a highly regulated process, involving exportins and importins. The nuclear pore complex (NPC regulates all these transport events like a gate keeper. The half-life of miRNAs is rather low, so within a short time miRNAs perform their function. Temporal studies of miRNA biogenesis are, therefore, useful. We have carried out simulation studies for important miRNA biogenesis steps and also classical nuclear import mechanism using ordinary differential equation (ODE solver in the Octave software.

  13. Regulatory RNA at the root of animals: dynamic expression of developmental lincRNAs in the calcisponge Sycon ciliatum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bråte, Jon; Adamski, Marcin; Neumann, Ralf S; Shalchian-Tabrizi, Kamran; Adamska, Maja

    2015-12-22

    Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important regulatory roles during animal development, and it has been hypothesized that an RNA-based gene regulation was important for the evolution of developmental complexity in animals. However, most studies of lncRNA gene regulation have been performed using model animal species, and very little is known about this type of gene regulation in non-bilaterians. We have therefore analysed RNA-Seq data derived from a comprehensive set of embryogenesis stages in the calcareous sponge Sycon ciliatum and identified hundreds of developmentally expressed intergenic lncRNAs (lincRNAs) in this species. In situ hybridization of selected lincRNAs revealed dynamic spatial and temporal expression during embryonic development. More than 600 lincRNAs constitute integral parts of differentially expressed gene modules, which also contain known developmental regulatory genes, e.g. transcription factors and signalling molecules. This study provides insights into the non-coding gene repertoire of one of the earliest evolved animal lineages, and suggests that RNA-based gene regulation was probably present in the last common ancestor of animals. © 2015 The Authors.

  14. Construction of an miRNA-Regulated Pathway Network Reveals Candidate Biomarkers for Postmenopausal Osteoporosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Min Shao

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available We aimed to identify risk pathways for postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP via establishing an microRNAs- (miRNA- regulated pathway network (MRPN. Firstly, we identified differential pathways through calculating gene- and pathway-level statistics based on the accumulated normal samples using the individual pathway aberrance score (iPAS. Significant pathways based on differentially expressed genes (DEGs using DAVID were extracted, followed by identifying the common pathways between iPAS and DAVID methods. Next, miRNAs prediction was implemented via calculating TargetScore values with precomputed input (log fold change (FC, TargetScan context score (TSCS, and probabilities of conserved targeting (PCT. An MRPN construction was constructed using the common genes in the common pathways and the predicted miRNAs. Using false discovery rate (FDR < 0.05, 279 differential pathways were identified. Using the criteria of FDR < 0.05 and log⁡FC≥2, 39 DEGs were retrieved, and these DEGs were enriched in 64 significant pathways identified by DAVID. Overall, 27 pathways were the common ones between two methods. Importantly, MAPK signaling pathway and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway were the first and second significantly enriched ones, respectively. These 27 common pathways separated PMOP from controls with the accuracy of 0.912. MAPK signaling pathway and PI3K/Akt signaling pathway might play crucial roles in PMOP.

  15. RNA-PAIRS: RNA probabilistic assignment of imino resonance shifts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bahrami, Arash; Clos, Lawrence J.; Markley, John L.; Butcher, Samuel E.; Eghbalnia, Hamid R.

    2012-01-01

    The significant biological role of RNA has further highlighted the need for improving the accuracy, efficiency and the reach of methods for investigating RNA structure and function. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is vital to furthering the goals of RNA structural biology because of its distinctive capabilities. However, the dispersion pattern in the NMR spectra of RNA makes automated resonance assignment, a key step in NMR investigation of biomolecules, remarkably challenging. Herein we present RNA Probabilistic Assignment of Imino Resonance Shifts (RNA-PAIRS), a method for the automated assignment of RNA imino resonances with synchronized verification and correction of predicted secondary structure. RNA-PAIRS represents an advance in modeling the assignment paradigm because it seeds the probabilistic network for assignment with experimental NMR data, and predicted RNA secondary structure, simultaneously and from the start. Subsequently, RNA-PAIRS sets in motion a dynamic network that reverberates between predictions and experimental evidence in order to reconcile and rectify resonance assignments and secondary structure information. The procedure is halted when assignments and base-parings are deemed to be most consistent with observed crosspeaks. The current implementation of RNA-PAIRS uses an initial peak list derived from proton-nitrogen heteronuclear multiple quantum correlation ( 1 H– 15 N 2D HMQC) and proton–proton nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy ( 1 H– 1 H 2D NOESY) experiments. We have evaluated the performance of RNA-PAIRS by using it to analyze NMR datasets from 26 previously studied RNAs, including a 111-nucleotide complex. For moderately sized RNA molecules, and over a range of comparatively complex structural motifs, the average assignment accuracy exceeds 90%, while the average base pair prediction accuracy exceeded 93%. RNA-PAIRS yielded accurate assignments and base pairings consistent with imino resonances for a

  16. RNA-PAIRS: RNA probabilistic assignment of imino resonance shifts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bahrami, Arash; Clos, Lawrence J.; Markley, John L.; Butcher, Samuel E. [National Magnetic Resonance Facility at Madison (United States); Eghbalnia, Hamid R., E-mail: eghbalhd@uc.edu [University of Cincinnati, Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology (United States)

    2012-04-15

    The significant biological role of RNA has further highlighted the need for improving the accuracy, efficiency and the reach of methods for investigating RNA structure and function. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is vital to furthering the goals of RNA structural biology because of its distinctive capabilities. However, the dispersion pattern in the NMR spectra of RNA makes automated resonance assignment, a key step in NMR investigation of biomolecules, remarkably challenging. Herein we present RNA Probabilistic Assignment of Imino Resonance Shifts (RNA-PAIRS), a method for the automated assignment of RNA imino resonances with synchronized verification and correction of predicted secondary structure. RNA-PAIRS represents an advance in modeling the assignment paradigm because it seeds the probabilistic network for assignment with experimental NMR data, and predicted RNA secondary structure, simultaneously and from the start. Subsequently, RNA-PAIRS sets in motion a dynamic network that reverberates between predictions and experimental evidence in order to reconcile and rectify resonance assignments and secondary structure information. The procedure is halted when assignments and base-parings are deemed to be most consistent with observed crosspeaks. The current implementation of RNA-PAIRS uses an initial peak list derived from proton-nitrogen heteronuclear multiple quantum correlation ({sup 1}H-{sup 15}N 2D HMQC) and proton-proton nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy ({sup 1}H-{sup 1}H 2D NOESY) experiments. We have evaluated the performance of RNA-PAIRS by using it to analyze NMR datasets from 26 previously studied RNAs, including a 111-nucleotide complex. For moderately sized RNA molecules, and over a range of comparatively complex structural motifs, the average assignment accuracy exceeds 90%, while the average base pair prediction accuracy exceeded 93%. RNA-PAIRS yielded accurate assignments and base pairings consistent with imino

  17. On the Construction and Properties of Weak Solutions Describing Dynamic Cavitation

    KAUST Repository

    Miroshnikov, Alexey

    2014-08-21

    We consider the problem of dynamic cavity formation in isotropic compressible nonlinear elastic media. For the equations of radial elasticity we construct self-similar weak solutions that describe a cavity emanating from a state of uniform deformation. For dimensions d=2,3 we show that cavity formation is necessarily associated with a unique precursor shock. We also study the bifurcation diagram and do a detailed analysis of the singular asymptotics associated to cavity initiation as a function of the cavity speed of the self-similar profiles. We show that for stress free cavities the critical stretching associated with dynamically cavitating solutions coincides with the critical stretching in the bifurcation diagram of equilibrium elasticity. Our analysis treats both stress-free cavities and cavities with contents.

  18. Topology and prediction of RNA pseudoknots

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reidys, Christian; Huang, Fenix; Andersen, Jørgen Ellegaard

    2011-01-01

    Motivation: Several dynamic programming algorithms for predicting RNA structures with pseudoknots have been proposed that differ dramatically from one another in the classes of structures considered. Results: Here, we use the natural topological classification of RNA structures in terms...

  19. Dynamic Processes of Conceptual Change: Analysis of Constructing Mental Models of Chemical Equilibrium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu, Mei-Hung; Chou, Chin-Cheng; Liu, Chia-Ju

    2002-01-01

    Investigates students' mental models of chemical equilibrium using dynamic science assessments. Reports that students at various levels have misconceptions about chemical equilibrium. Involves 10th grade students (n=30) in the study doing a series of hands-on chemical experiments. Focuses on the process of constructing mental models, dynamic…

  20. Dynamic Construction Scheme for Virtualization Security Service in Software-Defined Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Zhaowen; Tao, Dan; Wang, Zhenji

    2017-04-21

    For a Software Defined Network (SDN), security is an important factor affecting its large-scale deployment. The existing security solutions for SDN mainly focus on the controller itself, which has to handle all the security protection tasks by using the programmability of the network. This will undoubtedly involve a heavy burden for the controller. More devastatingly, once the controller itself is attacked, the entire network will be paralyzed. Motivated by this, this paper proposes a novel security protection architecture for SDN. We design a security service orchestration center in the control plane of SDN, and this center physically decouples from the SDN controller and constructs SDN security services. We adopt virtualization technology to construct a security meta-function library, and propose a dynamic security service composition construction algorithm based on web service composition technology. The rule-combining method is used to combine security meta-functions to construct security services which meet the requirements of users. Moreover, the RETE algorithm is introduced to improve the efficiency of the rule-combining method. We evaluate our solutions in a realistic scenario based on OpenStack. Substantial experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our solutions that contribute to achieve the effective security protection with a small burden of the SDN controller.

  1. Construction of new synthetic biology tools for the control of gene expression in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zess, Erin K; Begemann, Matthew B; Pfleger, Brian F

    2016-02-01

    Predictive control of gene expression is an essential tool for developing synthetic biological systems. The current toolbox for controlling gene expression in cyanobacteria is a barrier to more in-depth genetic analysis and manipulation. Towards relieving this bottleneck, this work describes the use of synthetic biology to construct an anhydrotetracycline-based induction system and adapt a trans-acting small RNA (sRNA) system for use in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002. An anhydrotetracycline-inducible promoter was developed to maximize intrinsic strength and dynamic range. The resulting construct, PEZtet , exhibited tight repression and a maximum 32-fold induction upon addition of anhydrotetracycline. Additionally, a sRNA system based on the Escherichia coli IS10 RNA-IN/OUT regulator was adapted for use in Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002. This system exhibited 70% attenuation of target gene expression, providing a demonstration of the use of sRNAs for differential gene expression in cyanobacteria. These systems were combined to produce an inducible sRNA system, which demonstrated 59% attenuation of target gene expression. Lastly, the role of Hfq, a critical component of sRNA systems in E. coli, was investigated. Genetic studies showed that the Hfq homolog in Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 did not impact repression by the engineered sRNA system. In summary, this work describes new synthetic biology tools that can be applied to physiological studies, metabolic engineering, or sRNA platforms in Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. The mechanisms of substrates interaction with the active site of Mycobacterium tuberculosis tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase studied by molecular dynamics simulations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mykuliak V. V.

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Aim. To study the mechanisms of substrates interaction with the active site of Mycobacterium tuberculosis tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (MtTyrRS. Methods. Complexes of MtTyrRS with tyrosine, ATP and tyrosyl adenylate were constructed by superposition of the MtTyrRS structure and crystallographic structures of bacterial TyrRS. All complexes of MtTyrRS with substrates were investigated by molecular dynamics (MD simulations in solution. Results. It was shown the formation of network of hydrogen bonds between substrates and the MtTyrRS active center, which were stable in the course of MD simulations. ATP binds in the active site both by hydrogen bonds and via electrostatic interactions with Lys231 and Lys234 of catalytic KFGKS motif. Conclusions. The L-tyrosine binding site in the enzyme active site is negatively charged, whereas the ATP binding site contains positive Lys231 and Lys234 residues of catalytic KFGKS motif. The occupancy of H-bonds between substrates and the enzyme evidences a significant conformational mobility of the active site.

  3. 2'-O-methylation in mRNA disrupts tRNA decoding during translation elongation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Junhong; Indrisiunaite, Gabriele; DeMirci, Hasan; Ieong, Ka-Weng; Wang, Jinfan; Petrov, Alexey; Prabhakar, Arjun; Rechavi, Gideon; Dominissini, Dan; He, Chuan; Ehrenberg, Måns; Puglisi, Joseph D

    2018-03-01

    Chemical modifications of mRNA may regulate many aspects of mRNA processing and protein synthesis. Recently, 2'-O-methylation of nucleotides was identified as a frequent modification in translated regions of human mRNA, showing enrichment in codons for certain amino acids. Here, using single-molecule, bulk kinetics and structural methods, we show that 2'-O-methylation within coding regions of mRNA disrupts key steps in codon reading during cognate tRNA selection. Our results suggest that 2'-O-methylation sterically perturbs interactions of ribosomal-monitoring bases (G530, A1492 and A1493) with cognate codon-anticodon helices, thereby inhibiting downstream GTP hydrolysis by elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) and A-site tRNA accommodation, leading to excessive rejection of cognate aminoacylated tRNAs in initial selection and proofreading. Our current and prior findings highlight how chemical modifications of mRNA tune the dynamics of protein synthesis at different steps of translation elongation.

  4. A path-based measurement for human miRNA functional similarities using miRNA-disease associations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Pingjian; Luo, Jiawei; Xiao, Qiu; Chen, Xiangtao

    2016-09-01

    Compared with the sequence and expression similarity, miRNA functional similarity is so important for biology researches and many applications such as miRNA clustering, miRNA function prediction, miRNA synergism identification and disease miRNA prioritization. However, the existing methods always utilized the predicted miRNA target which has high false positive and false negative to calculate the miRNA functional similarity. Meanwhile, it is difficult to achieve high reliability of miRNA functional similarity with miRNA-disease associations. Therefore, it is increasingly needed to improve the measurement of miRNA functional similarity. In this study, we develop a novel path-based calculation method of miRNA functional similarity based on miRNA-disease associations, called MFSP. Compared with other methods, our method obtains higher average functional similarity of intra-family and intra-cluster selected groups. Meanwhile, the lower average functional similarity of inter-family and inter-cluster miRNA pair is obtained. In addition, the smaller p-value is achieved, while applying Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Kruskal-Wallis test to different miRNA groups. The relationship between miRNA functional similarity and other information sources is exhibited. Furthermore, the constructed miRNA functional network based on MFSP is a scale-free and small-world network. Moreover, the higher AUC for miRNA-disease prediction indicates the ability of MFSP uncovering miRNA functional similarity.

  5. [Construction of RNA-containing virus-like nanoparticles expression vector with cysteine residues on surface and fluorescent decoration].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Yang-Jian; Liang, Ji-Xuan; Li, Qing-Ge

    2005-08-01

    Site-directed mutagenesis was performed at the codon 15 of the MS2 bacteriophage coat protein gene,which had been cloned to the virus-like particles expression vector containing non-self RNA fragment. The produced expression vector,termed pARSC, was transformed to E. coli DH5alpha. The positive clones were selected and proliferated. The harvested cells were treated with sonication and the supernatant was then subjected to linear sucrose density gradients centrifugation (15% to 60%) at 32000 r/min for 4 h at 4 degrees C. The virus-like particles, VLP-Cy, were collected at 35% sucrose density. The particles were examined by transmission electron microscopy and the spherical viral particles of approximately 27 nm in diameter were found. The thiolated VLP-Cy was then chemically modified with fluorescein -5'-maleimide. The covalent fluorescent labeling was confirmed by absorption analysis, SDS-PAGE and MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy. This is the first report of preparation of RNA-containing natural fluorescent nanoparticles. The study highlight the versatility of MS2 bacteriophage capsids as building blocks for functional nanomaterials construction for a variety of application purposes.

  6. The Role of piRNA-Mediated Epigenetic Silencing in the Population Dynamics of Transposable Elements in Drosophila melanogaster.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuh Chwen G Lee

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNA are small RNAs that target selfish transposable elements (TEs in many animal genomes. Until now, piRNAs' role in TE population dynamics has only been discussed in the context of their suppression of TE transposition, which alone is not sufficient to account for the skewed frequency spectrum and stable containment of TEs. On the other hand, euchromatic TEs can be epigenetically silenced via piRNA-dependent heterochromatin formation and, similar to the widely known "Position-effect variegation", heterochromatin induced by TEs can "spread" into nearby genes. We hypothesized that the piRNA-mediated spread of heterochromatin from TEs into adjacent genes has deleterious functional effects and leads to selection against individual TEs. Unlike previously identified deleterious effects of TEs due to the physical disruption of DNA, the functional effect we investigated here is mediated through the epigenetic influences of TEs. We found that the repressive chromatin mark, H3K9me, is elevated in sequences adjacent to euchromatic TEs at multiple developmental stages in Drosophila melanogaster. Furthermore, the heterochromatic states of genes depend not only on the number of and distance from adjacent TEs, but also on the likelihood that their nearest TEs are targeted by piRNAs. These variations in chromatin status probably have functional consequences, causing genes near TEs to have lower expression. Importantly, we found stronger selection against TEs that lead to higher H3K9me enrichment of adjacent genes, demonstrating the pervasive evolutionary consequences of TE-induced epigenetic silencing. Because of the intrinsic biological mechanism of piRNA amplification, spread of TE heterochromatin could result in the theoretically required synergistic deleterious effects of TE insertions for stable containment of TE copy number. The indirect deleterious impact of piRNA-mediated epigenetic silencing of TEs is a previously

  7. Integrated structural biology to unravel molecular mechanisms of protein-RNA recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlundt, Andreas; Tants, Jan-Niklas; Sattler, Michael

    2017-04-15

    Recent advances in RNA sequencing technologies have greatly expanded our knowledge of the RNA landscape in cells, often with spatiotemporal resolution. These techniques identified many new (often non-coding) RNA molecules. Large-scale studies have also discovered novel RNA binding proteins (RBPs), which exhibit single or multiple RNA binding domains (RBDs) for recognition of specific sequence or structured motifs in RNA. Starting from these large-scale approaches it is crucial to unravel the molecular principles of protein-RNA recognition in ribonucleoprotein complexes (RNPs) to understand the underlying mechanisms of gene regulation. Structural biology and biophysical studies at highest possible resolution are key to elucidate molecular mechanisms of RNA recognition by RBPs and how conformational dynamics, weak interactions and cooperative binding contribute to the formation of specific, context-dependent RNPs. While large compact RNPs can be well studied by X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM, analysis of dynamics and weak interaction necessitates the use of solution methods to capture these properties. Here, we illustrate methods to study the structure and conformational dynamics of protein-RNA complexes in solution starting from the identification of interaction partners in a given RNP. Biophysical and biochemical techniques support the characterization of a protein-RNA complex and identify regions relevant in structural analysis. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) is a powerful tool to gain information on folding, stability and dynamics of RNAs and characterize RNPs in solution. It provides crucial information that is complementary to the static pictures derived from other techniques. NMR can be readily combined with other solution techniques, such as small angle X-ray and/or neutron scattering (SAXS/SANS), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), which provide information about overall shapes, internal domain

  8. Dissecting miRNA gene repression on single cell level with an advanced fluorescent reporter system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemus-Diaz, Nicolas; Böker, Kai O.; Rodriguez-Polo, Ignacio; Mitter, Michael; Preis, Jasmin; Arlt, Maximilian; Gruber, Jens

    2017-01-01

    Despite major advances on miRNA profiling and target predictions, functional readouts for endogenous miRNAs are limited and frequently lead to contradicting conclusions. Numerous approaches including functional high-throughput and miRISC complex evaluations suggest that the functional miRNAome differs from the predictions based on quantitative sRNA profiling. To resolve the apparent contradiction of expression versus function, we generated and applied a fluorescence reporter gene assay enabling single cell analysis. This approach integrates and adapts a mathematical model for miRNA-driven gene repression. This model predicts three distinct miRNA-groups with unique repression activities (low, mid and high) governed not just by expression levels but also by miRNA/target-binding capability. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of the system by applying controlled concentrations of synthetic siRNAs and in parallel, altering target-binding capability on corresponding reporter-constructs. Furthermore, we compared miRNA-profiles with the modeled predictions of 29 individual candidates. We demonstrate that expression levels only partially reflect the miRNA function, fitting to the model-projected groups of different activities. Furthermore, we demonstrate that subcellular localization of miRNAs impacts functionality. Our results imply that miRNA profiling alone cannot define their repression activity. The gene regulatory function is a dynamic and complex process beyond a minimalistic conception of “highly expressed equals high repression”. PMID:28338079

  9. MicroRNA-Mediated Myostatin Silencing in Caprine Fetal Fibroblasts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Bushuai; Zhang, Yanli; Yan, Yibo; Wang, Ziyu; Ying, Shijia; Huang, Mingrui; Wang, Feng

    2014-01-01

    Myostatin functions as a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth by suppressing proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts. Dysfunction of the myostatin gene, either due to natural mutation or genetic manipulations such as knockout or knockdown, has been reported to increase muscle mass in mammalian species. RNA interference (RNAi) mediated by microRNAs (miRNAs) is a promising method for gene knockdown studies. In the present study, transient and stable silencing of the myostatin gene in caprine fetal fibroblasts (CFF) was evaluated using the two most effective constructs selected from four different miRNA expression constructs screened in 293FT cells. Using these two miRNA constructs, we achieved up to 84% silencing of myostatin mRNA in transiently transfected CFF cells and up to 31% silencing in stably transfected CFF cells. Moreover, off-target effects due to induction of interferon (IFN) response genes, such as interferon beta (IFN-β) and 2′-5′-oligoadenylate synthetase 2 (OAS2), were markedly fewer in stably transfected CFF cells than in transiently transfected cells. Stable expression of anti-myostatin miRNA with minimal induction of interferon shows great promise for increasing muscle mass in transgenic goats. PMID:25244645

  10. MicroRNA-mediated myostatin silencing in caprine fetal fibroblasts.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bushuai Zhong

    Full Text Available Myostatin functions as a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth by suppressing proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts. Dysfunction of the myostatin gene, either due to natural mutation or genetic manipulations such as knockout or knockdown, has been reported to increase muscle mass in mammalian species. RNA interference (RNAi mediated by microRNAs (miRNAs is a promising method for gene knockdown studies. In the present study, transient and stable silencing of the myostatin gene in caprine fetal fibroblasts (CFF was evaluated using the two most effective constructs selected from four different miRNA expression constructs screened in 293FT cells. Using these two miRNA constructs, we achieved up to 84% silencing of myostatin mRNA in transiently transfected CFF cells and up to 31% silencing in stably transfected CFF cells. Moreover, off-target effects due to induction of interferon (IFN response genes, such as interferon beta (IFN-β and 2'-5'-oligoadenylate synthetase 2 (OAS2, were markedly fewer in stably transfected CFF cells than in transiently transfected cells. Stable expression of anti-myostatin miRNA with minimal induction of interferon shows great promise for increasing muscle mass in transgenic goats.

  11. RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 1 in potato (Solanum tuberosum) and its relationship to other plant RNA-dependent RNA polymerases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, Lydia J R; Brockington, Samuel F; Murphy, Alex M; Pate, Adrienne E; Gruden, Kristina; MacFarlane, Stuart A; Palukaitis, Peter; Carr, John P

    2016-03-16

    Cellular RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RDRs) catalyze synthesis of double-stranded RNAs that can serve to initiate or amplify RNA silencing. Arabidopsis thaliana has six RDR genes; RDRs 1, 2 and 6 have roles in anti-viral RNA silencing. RDR6 is constitutively expressed but RDR1 expression is elevated following plant treatment with defensive phytohormones. RDR1 also contributes to basal virus resistance. RDR1 has been studied in several species including A. thaliana, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), N. benthamiana, N. attenuata and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) but not to our knowledge in potato (S. tuberosum). StRDR1 was identified and shown to be salicylic acid-responsive. StRDR1 transcript accumulation decreased in transgenic potato plants constitutively expressing a hairpin construct and these plants were challenged with three viruses: potato virus Y, potato virus X, and tobacco mosaic virus. Suppression of StRDR1 gene expression did not increase the susceptibility of potato to these viruses. Phylogenetic analysis of RDR genes present in potato and in a range of other plant species identified a new RDR gene family, not present in potato and found only in Rosids (but apparently lost in the Rosid A. thaliana) for which we propose the name RDR7.

  12. The art of editing RNA structural alignments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Ebbe Sloth

    2014-01-01

    Manual editing of RNA structural alignments may be considered more art than science, since it still requires an expert biologist to take multiple levels of information into account and be slightly creative when constructing high-quality alignments. Even though the task is rather tedious, it is re......Manual editing of RNA structural alignments may be considered more art than science, since it still requires an expert biologist to take multiple levels of information into account and be slightly creative when constructing high-quality alignments. Even though the task is rather tedious...

  13. Structural and dynamic characterization of eukaryotic gene regulatory protein domains in solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Andrew Loyd [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemistry

    1996-05-01

    Solution NMR was primarily used to characterize structure and dynamics in two different eukaryotic protein systems: the δ-Al-ε activation domain from c-jun and the Drosophila RNA-binding protein Sex-lethal. The second system is the Drosophila Sex-lethal (Sxl) protein, an RNA-binding protein which is the ``master switch`` in sex determination. Sxl contains two adjacent RNA-binding domains (RBDs) of the RNP consensus-type. The NMR spectrum of the second RBD (Sxl-RBD2) was assigned using multidimensional heteronuclear NMR, and an intermediate-resolution family of structures was calculated from primarily NOE distance restraints. The overall fold was determined to be similar to other RBDs: a βαβ-βαβ pattern of secondary structure, with the two helices packed against a 4-stranded anti-parallel β-sheet. In addition 15N T1, T2, and 15N/1H NOE relaxation measurements were carried out to characterize the backbone dynamics of Sxl-RBD2 in solution. RNA corresponding to the polypyrimidine tract of transformer pre-mRNA was generated and titrated into 3 different Sxl-RBD protein constructs. Combining Sxl-RBD1+2 (bht RBDs) with this RNA formed a specific, high affinity protein/RNA complex that is amenable to further NMR characterization. The backbone 1H, 13C, and 15N resonances of Sxl-RBD1+2 were assigned using a triple-resonance approach, and 15N relaxation experiments were carried out to characterize the backbone dynamics of this complex. The changes in chemical shift in Sxl-RBD1+2 upon binding RNA are observed using Sxl-RBD2 as a substitute for unbound Sxl-RBD1+2. This allowed the binding interface to be qualitatively mapped for the second domain.

  14. Inclusion of methoxy groups inverts the thermodynamic stabilities of DNA-RNA hybrid duplexes: A molecular dynamics simulation study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suresh, Gorle; Priyakumar, U Deva

    2015-09-01

    Modified nucleic acids have found profound applications in nucleic acid based technologies such as antisense and antiviral therapies. Previous studies on chemically modified nucleic acids have suggested that modifications incorporated in furanose sugar especially at 2'-position attribute special properties to nucleic acids when compared to other modifications. 2'-O-methyl modification to deoxyribose sugars of DNA-RNA hybrids is one such modification that increases nucleic acid stability and has become an attractive class of compounds for potential antisense applications. It has been reported that modification of DNA strands with 2'-O-methyl group reverses the thermodynamic stability of DNA-RNA hybrid duplexes. Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed on two hybrid duplexes (DR and RD) which differ from each other and 2'-O-methyl modified counterparts to investigate the effect of 2'-O-methyl modification on their duplex stability. The results obtained suggest that the modification drives the conformations of both the hybrid duplexes towards A-RNA like conformation. The modified hybrid duplexes exhibit significantly contrasting dynamics and hydration patterns compared to respective parent duplexes. In line with the experimental results, the relative binding free energies suggest that the introduced modifications stabilize the less stable DR hybrid, but destabilize the more stable RD duplex. Binding free energy calculations suggest that the increased hydrophobicity is primarily responsible for the reversal of thermodynamic stability of hybrid duplexes. Free energy component analysis further provides insights into the stability of modified duplexes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Backtracking dynamics of RNA polymerase: pausing and error correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahoo, Mamata; Klumpp, Stefan

    2013-01-01

    Transcription by RNA polymerases is frequently interrupted by pauses. One mechanism of such pauses is backtracking, where the RNA polymerase translocates backward with respect to both the DNA template and the RNA transcript, without shortening the transcript. Backtracked RNA polymerases move in a diffusive fashion and can return to active transcription either by diffusive return to the position where backtracking was initiated or by cleaving the transcript. The latter process also provides a mechanism for proofreading. Here we present some exact results for a kinetic model of backtracking and analyse its impact on the speed and the accuracy of transcription. We show that proofreading through backtracking is different from the classical (Hopfield–Ninio) scheme of kinetic proofreading. Our analysis also suggests that, in addition to contributing to the accuracy of transcription, backtracking may have a second effect: it attenuates the slow down of transcription that arises as a side effect of discriminating between correct and incorrect nucleotides based on the stepping rates. (paper)

  16. Backtracking dynamics of RNA polymerase: pausing and error correction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahoo, Mamata; Klumpp, Stefan

    2013-09-01

    Transcription by RNA polymerases is frequently interrupted by pauses. One mechanism of such pauses is backtracking, where the RNA polymerase translocates backward with respect to both the DNA template and the RNA transcript, without shortening the transcript. Backtracked RNA polymerases move in a diffusive fashion and can return to active transcription either by diffusive return to the position where backtracking was initiated or by cleaving the transcript. The latter process also provides a mechanism for proofreading. Here we present some exact results for a kinetic model of backtracking and analyse its impact on the speed and the accuracy of transcription. We show that proofreading through backtracking is different from the classical (Hopfield-Ninio) scheme of kinetic proofreading. Our analysis also suggests that, in addition to contributing to the accuracy of transcription, backtracking may have a second effect: it attenuates the slow down of transcription that arises as a side effect of discriminating between correct and incorrect nucleotides based on the stepping rates.

  17. Combinatorial Control of mRNA Fates by RNA-Binding Proteins and Non-Coding RNAs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentina Iadevaia

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Post-transcriptional control of gene expression is mediated by RNA-binding proteins (RBPs and small non-coding RNAs (e.g., microRNAs that bind to distinct elements in their mRNA targets. Here, we review recent examples describing the synergistic and/or antagonistic effects mediated by RBPs and miRNAs to determine the localisation, stability and translation of mRNAs in mammalian cells. From these studies, it is becoming increasingly apparent that dynamic rearrangements of RNA-protein complexes could have profound implications in human cancer, in synaptic plasticity, and in cellular differentiation.

  18. RNA and RNP as Building Blocks for Nanotechnology and Synthetic Biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohno, Hirohisa; Saito, Hirohide

    2016-01-01

    Recent technologies that aimed to elucidate cellular function have revealed essential roles for RNA molecules in living systems. Our knowledge concerning functional and structural information of naturally occurring RNA and RNA-protein (RNP) complexes is increasing rapidly. RNA and RNP interaction motifs are structural units that function as building blocks to constitute variety of complex structures. RNA-central synthetic biology and nanotechnology are constructive approaches that employ the accumulated information and build synthetic RNA (RNP)-based circuits and nanostructures. Here, we describe how to design and construct synthetic RNA (RNP)-based devices and structures at the nanometer-scale for biological and future therapeutic applications. RNA/RNP nanostructures can also be utilized as the molecular scaffold to control the localization or interactions of target molecule(s). Moreover, RNA motifs recognized by RNA-binding proteins can be applied to make protein-responsive translational "switches" that can turn gene expression "on" or "off" depending on the intracellular environment. This "synthetic RNA and RNP world" will expand tools for nanotechnology and synthetic biology. In addition, these reconstructive approaches would lead to a greater understanding of building principle in naturally occurring RNA/RNP molecules and systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Can we always sweep the details of RNA-processing under the carpet?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klironomos, Filippos D; Berg, Johannes; De Meaux, Juliette

    2013-01-01

    RNA molecules follow a succession of enzyme-mediated processing steps from transcription to maturation. The participating enzymes, for example the spliceosome for mRNAs and Drosha and Dicer for microRNAs, are also produced in the cell and their copy-numbers fluctuate over time. Enzyme copy-number changes affect the processing rate of the substrate molecules; high enzyme numbers increase the processing rate, while low enzyme numbers decrease it. We study different RNA-processing cascades where enzyme copy-numbers are either fixed or fluctuate. We find that for the fixed enzyme copy-numbers, the substrates at steady-state are Poisson-distributed, and the whole RNA cascade dynamics can be understood as a single birth–death process of the mature RNA product. In this case, solely fluctuations in the timing of RNA processing lead to variation in the number of RNA molecules. However, we show analytically and numerically that when enzyme copy-numbers fluctuate, the strength of RNA fluctuations increases linearly with the RNA transcription rate. This linear effect becomes stronger as the speed of enzyme dynamics decreases relative to the speed of RNA dynamics. Interestingly, we find that under certain conditions, the RNA cascade can reduce the strength of fluctuations in the expression level of the mature RNA product. Finally, by investigating the effects of processing polymorphisms, we show that it is possible for the effects of transcriptional polymorphisms to be enhanced, reduced or even reversed. Our results provide a framework to understand the dynamics of RNA processing. (paper)

  20. Structural imprints in vivo decode RNA regulatory mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spitale, Robert C; Flynn, Ryan A; Zhang, Qiangfeng Cliff; Crisalli, Pete; Lee, Byron; Jung, Jong-Wha; Kuchelmeister, Hannes Y; Batista, Pedro J; Torre, Eduardo A; Kool, Eric T; Chang, Howard Y

    2015-03-26

    Visualizing the physical basis for molecular behaviour inside living cells is a great challenge for biology. RNAs are central to biological regulation, and the ability of RNA to adopt specific structures intimately controls every step of the gene expression program. However, our understanding of physiological RNA structures is limited; current in vivo RNA structure profiles include only two of the four nucleotides that make up RNA. Here we present a novel biochemical approach, in vivo click selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation and profiling experiment (icSHAPE), which enables the first global view, to our knowledge, of RNA secondary structures in living cells for all four bases. icSHAPE of the mouse embryonic stem cell transcriptome versus purified RNA folded in vitro shows that the structural dynamics of RNA in the cellular environment distinguish different classes of RNAs and regulatory elements. Structural signatures at translational start sites and ribosome pause sites are conserved from in vitro conditions, suggesting that these RNA elements are programmed by sequence. In contrast, focal structural rearrangements in vivo reveal precise interfaces of RNA with RNA-binding proteins or RNA-modification sites that are consistent with atomic-resolution structural data. Such dynamic structural footprints enable accurate prediction of RNA-protein interactions and N(6)-methyladenosine (m(6)A) modification genome wide. These results open the door for structural genomics of RNA in living cells and reveal key physiological structures controlling gene expression.

  1. The Role of Dynamic m6 A RNA Methylation in Photobiology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, Myles; Shah, Palak; Cui, Yan-Hong; He, Yu-Ying

    2018-05-04

    N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) is the most abundant internal RNA modification among numerous post-transcriptional modifications identified in eukaryotic mRNA. m 6 A modification of RNA is catalyzed by the "writer" m 6 A methyltransferase enzyme complex, consisting of METTL3, METTL14, WTAP and KIAA1429. The m 6 A modification is reversible and can be removed by "eraser" m 6 A demethylase enzymes, namely, FTO and ALKBH5. The biological function of m 6 A modification on RNA is carried out by RNA-binding effector proteins called "readers." Varied functions of the reader proteins regulate mRNA metabolism by affecting stability, translation, splicing or nuclear export. The epitranscriptomic gene regulation by m 6 A RNA methylation regulates various pathways, which contribute to basic cellular processes essential for cell maintenance, development and cell fate, and affect response to external stimuli and stressors. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in the regulation and function of m 6 A RNA methylation, with a focus on UV-induced DNA damage response and the circadian clock machinery. Insights into the mechanisms of m 6 A RNA regulation and post-transcriptional regulatory function in these biological processes may facilitate the development of new preventive and therapeutic strategies for various diseases related to dysregulation of UV damage response and circadian rhythm. © 2018 The American Society of Photobiology.

  2. Free energy minimization to predict RNA secondary structures and computational RNA design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Churkin, Alexander; Weinbrand, Lina; Barash, Danny

    2015-01-01

    Determining the RNA secondary structure from sequence data by computational predictions is a long-standing problem. Its solution has been approached in two distinctive ways. If a multiple sequence alignment of a collection of homologous sequences is available, the comparative method uses phylogeny to determine conserved base pairs that are more likely to form as a result of billions of years of evolution than by chance. In the case of single sequences, recursive algorithms that compute free energy structures by using empirically derived energy parameters have been developed. This latter approach of RNA folding prediction by energy minimization is widely used to predict RNA secondary structure from sequence. For a significant number of RNA molecules, the secondary structure of the RNA molecule is indicative of its function and its computational prediction by minimizing its free energy is important for its functional analysis. A general method for free energy minimization to predict RNA secondary structures is dynamic programming, although other optimization methods have been developed as well along with empirically derived energy parameters. In this chapter, we introduce and illustrate by examples the approach of free energy minimization to predict RNA secondary structures.

  3. Comparison of SH3 and SH2 domain dynamics when expressed alone or in an SH(3+2) construct: the role of protein dynamics in functional regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engen, J R; Smithgall, T E; Gmeiner, W H; Smith, D L

    1999-04-02

    Protein dynamics play an important role in protein function and regulation of enzymatic activity. To determine how additional interactions with surrounding structure affects local protein dynamics, we have used hydrogen exchange and mass spectrometry to investigate the SH2 and SH3 domains of the protein tyrosine kinase Hck. Exchange rates of isolated Hck SH3 and SH2 domains were compared with rates for the same domains when part of a larger SH(3+2) construct. Increased deuterium incorporation was observed for the SH3 domain in the joint construct, particularly near the SH2 interface and the short sequence that connects SH3 to SH2, implying greater flexibility of SH3 when it is part of SH(3+2). Slow cooperative unfolding of the SH3 domain occurred at the same rate in isolated SH3 as in the SH(3+2) construct, suggesting a functional significance for this unfolding. The SH2 domain displayed relatively smaller changes in flexibility when part of the SH(3+2) construct. These results suggest that the domains influence each other. Further, our results imply a link between functional regulation and structural dynamics of SH3 and SH2 domains. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

  4. Regulatory effects of cotranscriptional RNA structure formation and transitions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Sheng-Rui; Hu, Chun-Gen; Zhang, Jin-Zhi

    2016-09-01

    RNAs, which play significant roles in many fundamental biological processes of life, fold into sophisticated and precise structures. RNA folding is a dynamic and intricate process, which conformation transition of coding and noncoding RNAs form the primary elements of genetic regulation. The cellular environment contains various intrinsic and extrinsic factors that potentially affect RNA folding in vivo, and experimental and theoretical evidence increasingly indicates that the highly flexible features of the RNA structure are affected by these factors, which include the flanking sequence context, physiochemical conditions, cis RNA-RNA interactions, and RNA interactions with other molecules. Furthermore, distinct RNA structures have been identified that govern almost all steps of biological processes in cells, including transcriptional activation and termination, transcriptional mutagenesis, 5'-capping, splicing, 3'-polyadenylation, mRNA export and localization, and translation. Here, we briefly summarize the dynamic and complex features of RNA folding along with a wide variety of intrinsic and extrinsic factors that affect RNA folding. We then provide several examples to elaborate RNA structure-mediated regulation at the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. Finally, we illustrate the regulatory roles of RNA structure and discuss advances pertaining to RNA structure in plants. WIREs RNA 2016, 7:562-574. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1350 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1-based human RNA quantification to enhance mRNA profiling in forensic biology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dong Zhao

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available RNA analysis offers many potential applications in forensic science, and molecular identification of body fluids by analysis of cell-specific RNA markers represents a new technique for use in forensic cases. However, due to the nature of forensic materials that often admixed with nonhuman cellular components, human-specific RNA quantification is required for the forensic RNA assays. Quantification assay for human RNA has been developed in the present study with respect to body fluid samples in forensic biology. The quantitative assay is based on real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction of mitochondrial RNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and capable of RNA quantification with high reproducibility and a wide dynamic range. The human RNA quantification improves the quality of mRNA profiling in the identification of body fluids of saliva and semen because the quantification assay can exclude the influence of nonhuman components and reduce the adverse affection from degraded RNA fragments.

  6. Single, childless working women's construction of wellbeing: On balance, being dynamic and tensions between them.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engler, Kim; Frohlich, Katherine; Descarries, Francine; Fernet, Mylène

    2011-01-01

    Single, childless working women (SCWW) are a notable proportion of the female workforce. The budding research on this population suggests that they have issues of wellbeing that may be tied to specific needs of both their workplaces and their personal lives, and hence, distinct work-life dynamics that require attention. This study explores how SCWW construct their wellbeing. The sample was composed of 22 SCWW aged 29 to 45. A discourse analysis of the transcripts of semi-structured interviews with these women was performed. Most women drew on an interpretative repertoire of "wellbeing as balance" (e.g., diversification and reasonable dosing of life's dimensions). It was associated with a recurrent subject position we have termed "the dynamic woman" whose intensity transfused talk of the activities in her life. Here, work becomes a "passion" and a source of appreciated challenges. However, a dilemma could arise from these constructions for positioning oneself in relation to the cadence of one's active life or rather, in articulating an unambiguous claim to balance. Balance/dosing and dynamicity/passion can be uneasy bedfellows. Our analyses raise questions about possible counter[balancing] discourses and further argue the relevance of work-life issues for SCWW.

  7. Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of grapefruit with the wild-type and mutant RNA-dependent RNA polymerase genes of Citrus tristeza virus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Citrus paradisi Macf. cv. Duncan was transformed with constructs coding for the wild-type and mutant RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) for exploring replicase-mediated pathogen-derived resistance (RM-PDR). The RdRp gene was amplified from CTV genome and used to gener...

  8. A system dynamics-based environmental performance simulation of construction waste reduction management in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Zhikun; Yi, Guizhen; Tam, Vivian W Y; Huang, Tengyue

    2016-05-01

    A huge amount of construction waste has been generated from increasingly higher number of construction activities than in the past, which has significant negative impacts on the environment if they are not properly managed. Therefore, effective construction waste management is of primary importance for future sustainable development. Based on the theory of planned behaviors, this paper develops a system dynamic model of construction waste reduction management at the construction phase to simulate the environmental benefits of construction waste reduction management. The application of the proposed model is shown using a case study in Shenzhen, China. Vensim is applied to simulate and analyze the model. The simulation results indicate that source reduction is an effective waste reduction measure which can reduce 27.05% of the total waste generation. Sorting behaviors are a premise for improving the construction waste recycling and reuse rates which account for 15.49% of the total waste generated. The environmental benefits of source reduction outweigh those of sorting behaviors. Therefore, to achieve better environmental performance of the construction waste reduction management, attention should be paid to source reduction such as low waste technologies and on-site management performance. In the meantime, sorting behaviors encouragement such as improving stakeholders' waste awareness, refining regulations, strengthening government supervision and controlling illegal dumping should be emphasized. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Rapid NMR screening of RNA secondary structure and binding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Helmling, Christina; Keyhani, Sara; Sochor, Florian; Fürtig, Boris; Hengesbach, Martin; Schwalbe, Harald

    2015-01-01

    Determination of RNA secondary structures by NMR spectroscopy is a useful tool e.g. to elucidate RNA folding space or functional aspects of regulatory RNA elements. However, current approaches of RNA synthesis and preparation are usually time-consuming and do not provide analysis with single nucleotide precision when applied for a large number of different RNA sequences. Here, we significantly improve the yield and 3′ end homogeneity of RNA preparation by in vitro transcription. Further, by establishing a native purification procedure with increased throughput, we provide a shortcut to study several RNA constructs simultaneously. We show that this approach yields μmol quantities of RNA with purities comparable to PAGE purification, while avoiding denaturation of the RNA

  10. Rapid NMR screening of RNA secondary structure and binding

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Helmling, Christina; Keyhani, Sara; Sochor, Florian; Fürtig, Boris; Hengesbach, Martin; Schwalbe, Harald, E-mail: schwalbe@nmr.uni-frankfurt.de [Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Institut für Organische Chemie und Chemische Biologie, Center for Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance (BMRZ) (Germany)

    2015-09-15

    Determination of RNA secondary structures by NMR spectroscopy is a useful tool e.g. to elucidate RNA folding space or functional aspects of regulatory RNA elements. However, current approaches of RNA synthesis and preparation are usually time-consuming and do not provide analysis with single nucleotide precision when applied for a large number of different RNA sequences. Here, we significantly improve the yield and 3′ end homogeneity of RNA preparation by in vitro transcription. Further, by establishing a native purification procedure with increased throughput, we provide a shortcut to study several RNA constructs simultaneously. We show that this approach yields μmol quantities of RNA with purities comparable to PAGE purification, while avoiding denaturation of the RNA.

  11. Surprisal analysis of Glioblastoma Multiform (GBM) microRNA dynamics unveils tumor specific phenotype.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zadran, Sohila; Remacle, Francoise; Levine, Raphael

    2014-01-01

    Gliomablastoma multiform (GBM) is the most fatal form of all brain cancers in humans. Currently there are limited diagnostic tools for GBM detection. Here, we applied surprisal analysis, a theory grounded in thermodynamics, to unveil how biomolecule energetics, specifically a redistribution of free energy amongst microRNAs (miRNAs), results in a system deviating from a non-cancer state to the GBM cancer -specific phenotypic state. Utilizing global miRNA microarray expression data of normal and GBM patients tumors, surprisal analysis characterizes a miRNA system response capable of distinguishing GBM samples from normal tissue biopsy samples. We indicate that the miRNAs contributing to this system behavior is a disease phenotypic state specific to GBM and is therefore a unique GBM-specific thermodynamic signature. MiRNAs implicated in the regulation of stochastic signaling processes crucial in the hallmarks of human cancer, dominate this GBM-cancer phenotypic state. With this theory, we were able to distinguish with high fidelity GBM patients solely by monitoring the dynamics of miRNAs present in patients' biopsy samples. We anticipate that the GBM-specific thermodynamic signature will provide a critical translational tool in better characterizing cancer types and in the development of future therapeutics for GBM.

  12. Green Nanotechnology in Nordic Construction - Eco-innovation strategies and Dynamics in nordic Window Chains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Maj Munch; Sandén, Björn A.; Palmberg, Christopher

    This project analyzes Nordic trends in the development and industrial uptake of green nanotechno-logy in construction. The project applies an evolutionary economic perspective in analyzing the innovation dynamics and firm strategies in the window value chains in three Nordic countries, Denmark......, Finland and Sweden. Hence the project investigates two pervasive parallel market trends: The emergence of the green market and the emergence of nanotechnology. The analysis investigates how a traditional economic sector such as the construction sector reacts to such major trends. Conclusions are multiple...... of nanotechnology in the construction sector in the Nordic countries we do find quite a high number of nanotech applications in the Nordic window chains. Eco-innovation is influencing strongly on the nanotech development. We see several examples of nano-enabled smart, multifunctional green solutions in the Nordic...

  13. A single-stranded architecture for cotranscriptional folding of RNA nanostructures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Geary, Cody; Rothemund, Paul; Andersen, Ebbe Sloth

    2014-01-01

    Artificial DNA and RNA structures have been used as scaffolds for a variety of nanoscale devices. In comparison to DNA structures, RNA structures have been limited in size, but they also have advantages: RNA can fold during transcription and thus can be genetically encoded and expressed in cells....... We introduce an architecture for designing artificial RNA structures that fold from a single strand, in which arrays of antiparallel RNA helices are precisely organized by RNA tertiary motifs and a new type of crossover pattern. We constructed RNA tiles that assemble into hexagonal lattices...

  14. Use of measurement theory for operationalization and quantification of psychological constructs in systems dynamics modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitkov-Norris, Elena; Yeghiazarian, Ara

    2016-11-01

    The analytical tools available to social scientists have traditionally been adapted from tools originally designed for analysis of natural science phenomena. This article discusses the applicability of systems dynamics - a qualitative based modelling approach, as a possible analysis and simulation tool that bridges the gap between social and natural sciences. After a brief overview of the systems dynamics modelling methodology, the advantages as well as limiting factors of systems dynamics to the potential applications in the field of social sciences and human interactions are discussed. The issues arise with regards to operationalization and quantification of latent constructs at the simulation building stage of the systems dynamics methodology and measurement theory is proposed as a ready and waiting solution to the problem of dynamic model calibration, with a view of improving simulation model reliability and validity and encouraging the development of standardised, modular system dynamics models that can be used in social science research.

  15. Theranostic Niosomes for Efficient siRNA/microRNA Delivery and Activatable Near-Infrared Fluorescent Tracking of Stem Cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Chuanxu; Shan, Gao; Song, Ping

    2018-01-01

    RNA interference (RNAi) mediated gene regulation in stem cells offers great potential in regenerative medicine. In this study, we developed a theranostic platform for efficient delivery of small RNAs (siRNA/miRNA) to human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) to promote differentiation, and meanwhile...... OFF/ON activatable fluorescence upon cellular internalization, resulting in efficient NIR labeling and the capability to dynamically monitor stem cells in mice. In addition, iSPN/siRNA achieved simultaneous long-term cell tracking and in vivo gene silencing after implantation in mice. These results...

  16. Prerouted FPGA Cores for Rapid System Construction in a Dynamic Reconfigurable System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oliver TimothyF

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available A method of constructing prerouted FPGA cores, which lays the foundations for a rapid system construction framework for dynamically reconfigurable computing systems, is presented. Two major challenges are considered: how to manage the wires crossing a core's borders; and how to maintain an acceptable level of flexibility for system construction with only a minimum of overhead. In order to maintain FPGA computing performance, it is crucial to thoroughly analyze the issues at the lowest level of device detail in order to ensure that computing circuit encapsulation is as efficient as possible. We present the first methodology that allows a core to scale its interface bandwidth to the maximum available in a routing channel. Cores can be constructed independently from the rest of the system using a framework that is independent of the method used to place and route primitive components within the core. We use an abstract FPGA model and CAD tools that mirror those used in industry. An academic design flow has been modified to include a wire policy and an interface constraints framework that tightly constrains the use of the wires that cross a core's boundaries. Using this tool set we investigate the effect of prerouting on overall system optimality. Abutting cores are instantly connected by colocation of interface wires. Eliminating run-time routing drastically reduces the time taken to construct a system using a set of cores.

  17. Diversity, Dynamics, and Activity of Bacterial Communities during Production of an Artisanal Sicilian Cheese as Evaluated by 16S rRNA Analysis†

    OpenAIRE

    Randazzo, Cinzia L.; Torriani, Sandra; Akkermans, Antoon D. L.; de Vos, Willem M.; Vaughan, Elaine E.

    2002-01-01

    The diversity and dynamics of the microbial communities during the manufacturing of Ragusano cheese, an artisanal cheese produced in Sicily (Italy), were investigated by a combination of classical and culture-independent approaches. The latter included PCR, reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR), and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rRNA genes (rDNA). Bacterial and Lactobacillus group-specific primers were used to amplify the V6 to V8 and V1 to V3 regions of the 16S rRNA gene...

  18. Multiple Regression Analysis of mRNA-miRNA Associations in Colorectal Cancer Pathway

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Fengfeng; Wong, S. C. Cesar; Chan, Lawrence W. C.; Cho, William C. S.; Yip, S. P.; Yung, Benjamin Y. M.

    2014-01-01

    Background. MicroRNA (miRNA) is a short and endogenous RNA molecule that regulates posttranscriptional gene expression. It is an important factor for tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC), and a potential biomarker for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of CRC. Our objective is to identify the related miRNAs and their associations with genes frequently involved in CRC microsatellite instability (MSI) and chromosomal instability (CIN) signaling pathways. Results. A regression model was adopted to identify the significantly associated miRNAs targeting a set of candidate genes frequently involved in colorectal cancer MSI and CIN pathways. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to construct the model and find the significant mRNA-miRNA associations. We identified three significantly associated mRNA-miRNA pairs: BCL2 was positively associated with miR-16 and SMAD4 was positively associated with miR-567 in the CRC tissue, while MSH6 was positively associated with miR-142-5p in the normal tissue. As for the whole model, BCL2 and SMAD4 models were not significant, and MSH6 model was significant. The significant associations were different in the normal and the CRC tissues. Conclusion. Our results have laid down a solid foundation in exploration of novel CRC mechanisms, and identification of miRNA roles as oncomirs or tumor suppressor mirs in CRC. PMID:24895601

  19. Structural basis of RNA folding and recognition in an AMP-RNA aptamer complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, F; Kumar, R A; Jones, R A; Patel, D J

    1996-07-11

    The catalytic properties of RNA and its well known role in gene expression and regulation are the consequence of its unique solution structures. Identification of the structural determinants of ligand recognition by RNA molecules is of fundamental importance for understanding the biological functions of RNA, as well as for the rational design of RNA Sequences with specific catalytic activities. Towards this latter end, Szostak et al. used in vitro selection techniques to isolate RNA sequences ('aptamers') containing a high-affinity binding site for ATP, the universal currency of cellular energy, and then used this motif to engineer ribozymes with polynucleotide kinase activity. Here we present the solution structure, as determined by multidimensional NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics calculations, of both uniformly and specifically 13C-, 15N-labelled 40-mer RNA containing the ATP-binding motif complexed with AMP. The aptamer adopts an L-shaped structure with two nearly orthogonal stems, each capped proximally by a G x G mismatch pair, binding the AMP ligand at their junction in a GNRA-like motif.

  20. DMPD: TLR ignores methylated RNA? [Dynamic Macrophage Pathway CSML Database

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 16111629 TLR ignores methylated RNA? Ishii KJ, Akira S. Immunity. 2005 Aug;23(2):11...1-3. (.png) (.svg) (.html) (.csml) Show TLR ignores methylated RNA? PubmedID 16111629 Title TLR ignores methylated

  1. Bioinspired nanocomplex for spatiotemporal imaging of sequential mRNA expression in differentiating neural stem cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhe; Zhang, Ruili; Wang, Zhongliang; Wang, He-Fang; Wang, Yu; Zhao, Jun; Wang, Fu; Li, Weitao; Niu, Gang; Kiesewetter, Dale O; Chen, Xiaoyuan

    2014-12-23

    Messenger RNA plays a pivotal role in regulating cellular activities. The expression dynamics of specific mRNA contains substantial information on the intracellular milieu. Unlike the imaging of stationary mRNAs, real-time intracellular imaging of the dynamics of mRNA expression is of great value for investigating mRNA biology and exploring specific cellular cascades. In addition to advanced imaging methods, timely extracellular stimulation is another key factor in regulating the mRNA expression repertoire. The integration of effective stimulation and imaging into a single robust system would significantly improve stimulation efficiency and imaging accuracy, producing fewer unwanted artifacts. In this study, we developed a multifunctional nanocomplex to enable self-activating and spatiotemporal imaging of the dynamics of mRNA sequential expression during the neural stem cell differentiation process. This nanocomplex showed improved enzymatic stability, fast recognition kinetics, and high specificity. With a mechanism regulated by endogenous cell machinery, this nanocomplex realized the successive stimulating motif release and the dynamic imaging of chronological mRNA expression during neural stem cell differentiation without the use of transgenetic manipulation. The dynamic imaging montage of mRNA expression ultimately facilitated genetic heterogeneity analysis. In vivo lateral ventricle injection of this nanocomplex enabled endogenous neural stem cell activation and labeling at their specific differentiation stages. This nanocomplex is highly amenable as an alternative tool to explore the dynamics of intricate mRNA activities in various physiological and pathological conditions.

  2. Research on Investment Risk Management of Chinese Prefabricated Construction Projects Based on a System Dynamics Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming Li

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Prefabricated construction, a new direction for the future development of the Chinese construction industry, can maximize the requirements of “green”. As a new form of green building, prefabricated construction is of particular interest. On account of the immature development of the green building market in China, the investment risk for prefabricated construction is higher than for traditional architecture. Hence, it is especially important to improve its investment risk identification and management. This study adopts system dynamics and builds a risk identification feedback chart and risk flow chart, to comprehensively identify investment risks that projects in China may face and to process quantitative estimation of investment risk factors. Key factors influencing project investment risks are found, and corresponding measures are pointedly proposed. This paper may provide guidance and a reference for promoting the sound development of prefabricated construction in China.

  3. tRNA modification profiles of the fast-proliferating cancer cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dong, Chao; Niu, Leilei; Song, Wei [State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100191 (China); Xiong, Xin; Zhang, Xianhua [Departmentof Pharmacy, Peking University Third Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100191 (China); Zhang, Zhenxi; Yang, Yi; Yi, Fan [State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100191 (China); Zhan, Jun; Zhang, Hongquan [Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biology and Tumor Biology, Peking University, Beijing 100191 (China); Yang, Zhenjun; Zhang, Li-He [State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100191 (China); Zhai, Suodi [Departmentof Pharmacy, Peking University Third Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100191 (China); Li, Hua, E-mail: huali88@sina.com [State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100191 (China); Ye, Min, E-mail: yemin@bjmu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100191 (China); Du, Quan, E-mail: quan.du@pku.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Peking University, Beijing 100191 (China)

    2016-08-05

    Despite the recent progress in RNA modification study, a comprehensive modification profile is still lacking for mammalian cells. Using a quantitative HPLC/MS/MS assay, we present here a study where RNA modifications are examined in term of the major RNA species. With paired slow- and fast-proliferating cell lines, distinct RNA modification profiles are first revealed for diverse RNA species. Compared to mRNAs, increased ribose and nucleobase modifications are shown for the highly-structured tRNAs and rRNAs, lending support to their contribution to the formation of high-order structures. This study also reveals a dynamic tRNA modification profile in the fast-proliferating cells. In addition to cultured cells, this unique tRNA profile has been further confirmed with endometrial cancers and their adjacent normal tissues. Taken together, the results indicate that tRNA is a actively regulated RNA species in the fast-proliferating cancer cells, and suggest that they may play a more active role in biological process than expected. -- Highlights: •RNA modifications were first examined in term of the major RNA species. •A dynamic tRNA modifications was characterized for the fast-proliferating cells. •The unique tRNA profile was confirmed with endometrial cancers and their adjacent normal tissues. •tRNA was predicted as an actively regulated RNA species in the fast-proliferating cancer cells.

  4. tRNA modification profiles of the fast-proliferating cancer cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dong, Chao; Niu, Leilei; Song, Wei; Xiong, Xin; Zhang, Xianhua; Zhang, Zhenxi; Yang, Yi; Yi, Fan; Zhan, Jun; Zhang, Hongquan; Yang, Zhenjun; Zhang, Li-He; Zhai, Suodi; Li, Hua; Ye, Min; Du, Quan

    2016-01-01

    Despite the recent progress in RNA modification study, a comprehensive modification profile is still lacking for mammalian cells. Using a quantitative HPLC/MS/MS assay, we present here a study where RNA modifications are examined in term of the major RNA species. With paired slow- and fast-proliferating cell lines, distinct RNA modification profiles are first revealed for diverse RNA species. Compared to mRNAs, increased ribose and nucleobase modifications are shown for the highly-structured tRNAs and rRNAs, lending support to their contribution to the formation of high-order structures. This study also reveals a dynamic tRNA modification profile in the fast-proliferating cells. In addition to cultured cells, this unique tRNA profile has been further confirmed with endometrial cancers and their adjacent normal tissues. Taken together, the results indicate that tRNA is a actively regulated RNA species in the fast-proliferating cancer cells, and suggest that they may play a more active role in biological process than expected. -- Highlights: •RNA modifications were first examined in term of the major RNA species. •A dynamic tRNA modifications was characterized for the fast-proliferating cells. •The unique tRNA profile was confirmed with endometrial cancers and their adjacent normal tissues. •tRNA was predicted as an actively regulated RNA species in the fast-proliferating cancer cells.

  5. Targeted siRNA Delivery and mRNA Knockdown Mediated by Bispecific Digoxigenin-binding Antibodies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Britta Schneider

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Bispecific antibodies (bsAbs that bind to cell surface antigens and to digoxigenin (Dig were used for targeted small interfering RNA (siRNA delivery. They are derivatives of immunoglobulins G (IgGs that bind tumor antigens, such as Her2, IGF1-R, CD22, and LeY, with stabilized Dig-binding variable domains fused to the C-terminal ends of the heavy chains. siRNA that was digoxigeninylated at its 3′end was bound in a 2:1 ratio to the bsAbs. These bsAb–siRNA complexes delivered siRNAs specifically to cells that express the corresponding antigen as demonstrated by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. The complexes internalized into endosomes and Dig-siRNAs separated from bsAbs, but Dig-siRNA was not released into the cytoplasm; bsAb-targeting alone was thus not sufficient for effective mRNA knockdown. This limitation was overcome by formulating the Dig-siRNA into nanoparticles consisting of dynamic polyconjugates (DPCs or into lipid-based nanoparticles (LNPs. The resulting complexes enabled bsAb-targeted siRNA-specific messenger RNA (mRNA knockdown with IC50 siRNA values in the low nanomolar range for a variety of bsAbs, siRNAs, and target cells. Furthermore, pilot studies in mice bearing tumor xenografts indicated mRNA knockdown in endothelial cells following systemic co-administration of bsAbs and siRNA formulated in LNPs that were targeted to the tumor vasculature.

  6. Conformational Selection and Induced Fit for RNA Polymerase and RNA/DNA Hybrid Backtracked Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haifeng eChen

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available RNA polymerase catalyzes transcription with a high fidelity. If DNA/RNA mismatch or DNA damage occurs downstream, a backtracked RNA polymerase can proofread this situation. However, the backtracked mechanism is still poorly understood. Here we have performed multiple explicit-solvent molecular dynamics (MD simulations on bound and apo DNA/RNA hybrid to study backtracked recognition. MD simulations at room temperature suggest that specific electrostatic interactions play key roles in the backtracked recognition between the polymerase and DNA/RNA hybrid. Kinetics analysis at high temperature shows that bound and apo DNA/RNA hybrid unfold via a two-state process. Both kinetics and free energy landscape analyses indicate that bound DNA/RNA hybrid folds in the order of DNA/RNA contracting, the tertiary folding and polymerase binding. The predicted Φ-values suggest that C7, G9, dC12, dC15 and dT16 are key bases for the backtracked recognition of DNA/RNA hybrid. The average RMSD values between the bound structures and the corresponding apo ones and Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS P test analyses indicate that the recognition between DNA/RNA hybrid and polymerase might follow an induced fit mechanism for DNA/RNA hybrid and conformation selection for polymerase. Furthermore, this method could be used to relative studies of specific recognition between nucleic acid and protein.

  7. Natural selection and algorithmic design of mRNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Barry; Skiena, Steven

    2003-01-01

    Messenger RNA (mRNA) sequences serve as templates for proteins according to the triplet code, in which each of the 4(3) = 64 different codons (sequences of three consecutive nucleotide bases) in RNA either terminate transcription or map to one of the 20 different amino acids (or residues) which build up proteins. Because there are more codons than residues, there is inherent redundancy in the coding. Certain residues (e.g., tryptophan) have only a single corresponding codon, while other residues (e.g., arginine) have as many as six corresponding codons. This freedom implies that the number of possible RNA sequences coding for a given protein grows exponentially in the length of the protein. Thus nature has wide latitude to select among mRNA sequences which are informationally equivalent, but structurally and energetically divergent. In this paper, we explore how nature takes advantage of this freedom and how to algorithmically design structures more energetically favorable than have been built through natural selection. In particular: (1) Natural Selection--we perform the first large-scale computational experiment comparing the stability of mRNA sequences from a variety of organisms to random synonymous sequences which respect the codon preferences of the organism. This experiment was conducted on over 27,000 sequences from 34 microbial species with 36 genomic structures. We provide evidence that in all genomic structures highly stable sequences are disproportionately abundant, and in 19 of 36 cases highly unstable sequences are disproportionately abundant. This suggests that the stability of mRNA sequences is subject to natural selection. (2) Artificial Selection--motivated by these biological results, we examine the algorithmic problem of designing the most stable and unstable mRNA sequences which code for a target protein. We give a polynomial-time dynamic programming solution to the most stable sequence problem (MSSP), which is asymptotically no more complex

  8. On topological RNA interaction structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Jing; Reidys, Christian M

    2013-07-01

    Recently a folding algorithm of topological RNA pseudoknot structures was presented in Reidys et al. (2011). This algorithm folds single-stranded γ-structures, that is, RNA structures composed by distinct motifs of bounded topological genus. In this article, we set the theoretical foundations for the folding of the two backbone analogues of γ structures: the RNA γ-interaction structures. These are RNA-RNA interaction structures that are constructed by a finite number of building blocks over two backbones having genus at most γ. Combinatorial properties of γ-interaction structures are of practical interest since they have direct implications for the folding of topological interaction structures. We compute the generating function of γ-interaction structures and show that it is algebraic, which implies that the numbers of interaction structures can be computed recursively. We obtain simple asymptotic formulas for 0- and 1-interaction structures. The simplest class of interaction structures are the 0-interaction structures, which represent the two backbone analogues of secondary structures.

  9. An Archaea 5S rRNA analog is stably expressed in Escherichia coli

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Y.; Fox, G. E.

    1996-01-01

    Mini-genes for 5S-like rRNA were constructed. These genes had a sequence which largely resembles that of the naturally occurring 5S rRNA of a bacterium, Halococcus morrhuae, which phylogenetically belongs to the Archaea. Plasmids carrying the mini-genes were transformed into Escherichia coli (Ec). Ribosomal incorporation was not a prerequisite for stable accumulation of the RNA product. However, only those constructs with a well-base-paired helix I accumulated RNA product. This result strongly implies that this aspect of the structure is likely to be an important condition for stabilizing 5S rRNA-like products. The results are consistent with our current understanding of 5S rRNA processing in Ec. When used in conjunction with rRNA probe technology, the resulting chimeric RNA may be useful as a monitoring tool for genetically engineered microorganisms or naturally occurring organisms that are released into the environment.

  10. Deletions in cox2 mRNA result in loss of splicing and RNA editing and gain of novel RNA editing sites.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefanie Grüttner

    Full Text Available As previously demonstrated, the maize cox2 RNA is fully edited in cauliflower mitochondria. Use of constructs with a deleted cox2 intron, however, led to a loss of RNA editing at almost all editing sites, with only a few sites still partially edited. Likewise, one deletion in exon 1 and three in exon 2 abolish RNA editing at all cox2 sites analyzed. Furthermore, intron splicing is abolished using these deletions. Mutation of a cytosine residue, which is normally edited and localized directly adjacent to the intron, to thymidine did not result in restoration of splicing, indicating that the loss of splicing was not due to loss of RNA editing. One deletion in exon 2 did not lead to loss of splicing. Instead, most editing sites were found to be edited, only three were not edited. Unexpectedly, we observed additional RNA editing events at new sites. Thus it appears that deletions in the cox2 RNA sequence can have a strong effect on RNA processing, leading to loss of splicing, loss of editing at all sites, or even to a gain of new editing sites. As these effects are not limited to the vicinity of the respective deletions, but appear to be widespread or even affect all editing sites, they may not be explained by the loss of PPR binding sites. Instead, it appears that several parts of the cox2 transcript are required for proper RNA processing. This indicates the roles of the RNA sequence and structural elements in the recognition of the editing sites.

  11. Engineering a Functional Small RNA Negative Autoregulation Network with Model-Guided Design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Chelsea Y; Takahashi, Melissa K; Zhang, Yan; Lucks, Julius B

    2018-05-22

    RNA regulators are powerful components of the synthetic biology toolbox. Here, we expand the repertoire of synthetic gene networks built from these regulators by constructing a transcriptional negative autoregulation (NAR) network out of small RNAs (sRNAs). NAR network motifs are core motifs of natural genetic networks, and are known for reducing network response time and steady state signal. Here we use cell-free transcription-translation (TX-TL) reactions and a computational model to design and prototype sRNA NAR constructs. Using parameter sensitivity analysis, we design a simple set of experiments that allow us to accurately predict NAR function in TX-TL. We transfer successful network designs into Escherichia coli and show that our sRNA transcriptional network reduces both network response time and steady-state gene expression. This work broadens our ability to construct increasingly sophisticated RNA genetic networks with predictable function.

  12. Non-Target Effects of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP-Derived Double-Stranded RNA (dsRNA-GFP Used in Honey Bee RNA Interference (RNAi Assays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francis M. F. Nunes

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available RNA interference has been frequently applied to modulate gene function in organisms where the production and maintenance of mutants is challenging, as in our model of study, the honey bee, Apis mellifera. A green fluorescent protein (GFP-derived double-stranded RNA (dsRNA-GFP is currently commonly used as control in honey bee RNAi experiments, since its gene does not exist in the A. mellifera genome. Although dsRNA-GFP is not expected to trigger RNAi responses in treated bees, undesirable effects on gene expression, pigmentation or developmental timing are often observed. Here, we performed three independent experiments using microarrays to examine the effect of dsRNA-GFP treatment (introduced by feeding on global gene expression patterns in developing worker bees. Our data revealed that the expression of nearly 1,400 genes was altered in response to dsRNA-GFP, representing around 10% of known honey bee genes. Expression changes appear to be the result of both direct off-target effects and indirect downstream secondary effects; indeed, there were several instances of sequence similarity between putative siRNAs generated from the dsRNA-GFP construct and genes whose expression levels were altered. In general, the affected genes are involved in important developmental and metabolic processes associated with RNA processing and transport, hormone metabolism, immunity, response to external stimulus and to stress. These results suggest that multiple dsRNA controls should be employed in RNAi studies in honey bees. Furthermore, any RNAi studies involving these genes affected by dsRNA-GFP in our studies should use a different dsRNA control.

  13. Non-Target Effects of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)-Derived Double-Stranded RNA (dsRNA-GFP) Used in Honey Bee RNA Interference (RNAi) Assays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nunes, Francis M F; Aleixo, Aline C; Barchuk, Angel R; Bomtorin, Ana D; Grozinger, Christina M; Simões, Zilá L P

    2013-01-04

    RNA interference has been frequently applied to modulate gene function in organisms where the production and maintenance of mutants is challenging, as in our model of study, the honey bee, Apis mellifera. A green fluorescent protein (GFP)-derived double-stranded RNA (dsRNA-GFP) is currently commonly used as control in honey bee RNAi experiments, since its gene does not exist in the A. mellifera genome. Although dsRNA-GFP is not expected to trigger RNAi responses in treated bees, undesirable effects on gene expression, pigmentation or developmental timing are often observed. Here, we performed three independent experiments using microarrays to examine the effect of dsRNA-GFP treatment (introduced by feeding) on global gene expression patterns in developing worker bees. Our data revealed that the expression of nearly 1,400 genes was altered in response to dsRNA-GFP, representing around 10% of known honey bee genes. Expression changes appear to be the result of both direct off-target effects and indirect downstream secondary effects; indeed, there were several instances of sequence similarity between putative siRNAs generated from the dsRNA-GFP construct and genes whose expression levels were altered. In general, the affected genes are involved in important developmental and metabolic processes associated with RNA processing and transport, hormone metabolism, immunity, response to external stimulus and to stress. These results suggest that multiple dsRNA controls should be employed in RNAi studies in honey bees. Furthermore, any RNAi studies involving these genes affected by dsRNA-GFP in our studies should use a different dsRNA control.

  14. Dynamic Blue Light-Inducible T7 RNA Polymerases (Opto-T7RNAPs) for Precise Spatiotemporal Gene Expression Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baumschlager, Armin; Aoki, Stephanie K; Khammash, Mustafa

    2017-11-17

    Light has emerged as a control input for biological systems due to its precise spatiotemporal resolution. The limited toolset for light control in bacteria motivated us to develop a light-inducible transcription system that is independent from cellular regulation through the use of an orthogonal RNA polymerase. Here, we present our engineered blue light-responsive T7 RNA polymerases (Opto-T7RNAPs) that show properties such as low leakiness of gene expression in the dark state, high expression strength when induced with blue light, and an inducible range of more than 300-fold. Following optimization of the system to reduce expression variability, we created a variant that returns to the inactive dark state within minutes once the blue light is turned off. This allows for precise dynamic control of gene expression, which is a key aspect for most applications using optogenetic regulation. The regulators, which only require blue light from ordinary light-emitting diodes for induction, were developed and tested in the bacterium Escherichia coli, which is a crucial cell factory for biotechnology due to its fast and inexpensive cultivation and well understood physiology and genetics. Opto-T7RNAP, with minor alterations, should be extendable to other bacterial species as well as eukaryotes such as mammalian cells and yeast in which the T7 RNA polymerase and the light-inducible Vivid regulator have been shown to be functional. We anticipate that our approach will expand the applicability of using light as an inducer for gene expression independent from cellular regulation and allow for a more reliable dynamic control of synthetic and natural gene networks.

  15. The Dynamic Relationship between Growth and Profitability under Long-Term Recession: The Case of Korean Construction Companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seungkyu Yoo

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available We conducted an empirical analysis of the dynamic relationship between growth and profitability for small- and medium-sized construction companies that faced long-term economic stagnation in Korea. The period of the analysis spanned 2000 to 2014, and the full period was divided into two halves: before the 2008 global financial crisis and after it. Our empirical model was based on the system generalized method of moments model, and 264 construction companies were used as the study sample. The results of the empirical analysis are as follows. (1 A profitability-driven management strategy limits company growth, thus prolonging the economic downturn; (2 When the macroeconomic environment is relatively stable, high growth in the previous period fosters profitability in the current period. This implies that the phenomenon of dynamic increasing returns is present in the Korean construction industry, and learning through growth enhances productivity and profitability. Consequentially, a strategy oriented towards short-term profitability (popular with small- and medium-sized Korean construction companies makes the corporate management less resilient, causing them to select “de-growth” during the long-term stagnation by decreasing their scale of operations. Accordingly, it is important for companies to maintain the balance between growth and profitability.

  16. RNA Binding of T-cell Intracellular Antigen-1 (TIA-1) C-terminal RNA Recognition Motif Is Modified by pH Conditions*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruz-Gallardo, Isabel; Aroca, Ángeles; Persson, Cecilia; Karlsson, B. Göran; Díaz-Moreno, Irene

    2013-01-01

    T-cell intracellular antigen-1 (TIA-1) is a DNA/RNA-binding protein that regulates critical events in cell physiology by the regulation of pre-mRNA splicing and mRNA translation. TIA-1 is composed of three RNA recognition motifs (RRMs) and a glutamine-rich domain and binds to uridine-rich RNA sequences through its C-terminal RRM2 and RRM3 domains. Here, we show that RNA binding mediated by either isolated RRM3 or the RRM23 construct is controlled by slight environmental pH changes due to the protonation/deprotonation of TIA-1 RRM3 histidine residues. The auxiliary role of the C-terminal RRM3 domain in TIA-1 RNA recognition is poorly understood, and this work provides insight into its binding mechanisms. PMID:23902765

  17. Deep RNA sequencing reveals dynamic regulation of myocardial noncoding RNAs in failing human heart and remodeling with mechanical circulatory support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Kai-Chien; Yamada, Kathryn A; Patel, Akshar Y; Topkara, Veli K; George, Isaac; Cheema, Faisal H; Ewald, Gregory A; Mann, Douglas L; Nerbonne, Jeanne M

    2014-03-04

    Microarrays have been used extensively to profile transcriptome remodeling in failing human heart, although the genomic coverage provided is limited and fails to provide a detailed picture of the myocardial transcriptome landscape. Here, we describe sequencing-based transcriptome profiling, providing comprehensive analysis of myocardial mRNA, microRNA (miRNA), and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) expression in failing human heart before and after mechanical support with a left ventricular (LV) assist device (LVAD). Deep sequencing of RNA isolated from paired nonischemic (NICM; n=8) and ischemic (ICM; n=8) human failing LV samples collected before and after LVAD and from nonfailing human LV (n=8) was conducted. These analyses revealed high abundance of mRNA (37%) and lncRNA (71%) of mitochondrial origin. miRNASeq revealed 160 and 147 differentially expressed miRNAs in ICM and NICM, respectively, compared with nonfailing LV. Among these, only 2 (ICM) and 5 (NICM) miRNAs are normalized with LVAD. RNASeq detected 18 480, including 113 novel, lncRNAs in human LV. Among the 679 (ICM) and 570 (NICM) lncRNAs differentially expressed with heart failure, ≈10% are improved or normalized with LVAD. In addition, the expression signature of lncRNAs, but not miRNAs or mRNAs, distinguishes ICM from NICM. Further analysis suggests that cis-gene regulation represents a major mechanism of action of human cardiac lncRNAs. The myocardial transcriptome is dynamically regulated in advanced heart failure and after LVAD support. The expression profiles of lncRNAs, but not mRNAs or miRNAs, can discriminate failing hearts of different pathologies and are markedly altered in response to LVAD support. These results suggest an important role for lncRNAs in the pathogenesis of heart failure and in reverse remodeling observed with mechanical support.

  18. Permanent, lowered HLA class I expression using lentivirus vectors with shRNA constructs: Averting cytotoxicity by alloreactive T lymphocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haga, K; Lemp, N A; Logg, C R; Nagashima, J; Faure-Kumar, E; Gomez, G G; Kruse, C A; Mendez, R; Stripecke, R; Kasahara, N; Kasahara, N A; Cicciarelli, J C

    2006-12-01

    Transplantation of many tissues requires histocompatibility matching of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) to prevent graft rejection, to reduce the level of immunosuppression needed to maintain graft survival, and to minimize the risk of graft-versus-host disease, particularly in the case of bone marrow transplantation. However, recent advances in fields of gene delivery and genetic regulation technologies have opened the possibility of engineering grafts that display reduced levels of HLA expression. Suppression of HLA expression could help to overcome the limitations imposed by extensive HLA polymorphisms that restrict the availability of suitable donors, necessitate the maintenance of large donor registries, and complicate the logistics of procuring and delivering matched tissues and organs to the recipient. Accordingly, we investigated whether knockdown of HLA by RNA interference (RNAi), a ubiquitous regulatory system that can efficiently and selectively inhibit the expression of specific gene products, would enable allogeneic cells to evade immune recognition. For efficient and stable delivery of short hairpin-type RNAi constructs (shRNA), we employed lentivirus-based gene transfer vectors, which provide a delivery system that can achieve integration into genomic DNA, thereby permanently modifying transduced graft cells. Our results show that lentivirus-mediated delivery of shRNA targeting pan-Class I and allele-specific HLA can achieve efficient and dose-dependent reduction in surface expression of HLA in human cells, associated with enhanced resistance to alloreactive T lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity, while avoiding MHC-non-restricted killing. We hypothesize that RNAi-induced silencing of HLA expression has the potential to create histocompatibility-enhanced, and, eventually, perhaps "universally" compatible cellular grafts.

  19. Kinetics from Replica Exchange Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stelzl, Lukas S; Hummer, Gerhard

    2017-08-08

    Transitions between metastable states govern many fundamental processes in physics, chemistry and biology, from nucleation events in phase transitions to the folding of proteins. The free energy surfaces underlying these processes can be obtained from simulations using enhanced sampling methods. However, their altered dynamics makes kinetic and mechanistic information difficult or impossible to extract. Here, we show that, with replica exchange molecular dynamics (REMD), one can not only sample equilibrium properties but also extract kinetic information. For systems that strictly obey first-order kinetics, the procedure to extract rates is rigorous. For actual molecular systems whose long-time dynamics are captured by kinetic rate models, accurate rate coefficients can be determined from the statistics of the transitions between the metastable states at each replica temperature. We demonstrate the practical applicability of the procedure by constructing master equation (Markov state) models of peptide and RNA folding from REMD simulations.

  20. Green nanotechnology in Nordic Construction: Eco-innovation strategies and Dynamics in Nordic Window Value Chains

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Maj Munch

    2010-01-01

    This project analyzes Nordic trends in the development and industrial uptake of green nanotechno-logy in construction. The project applies an evolutionary economic perspective in analyzing the innovation dynamics and firm strategies in the window value chains in three Nordic countries, Denmark......, Finland and Sweden. Hence the project investigates two pervasive parallel market trends: The emergence of the green market and the emergence of nanotechnology. The analysis investigates how a traditional economic sector such as the construction sector reacts to such major trends. Conclusions are multiple...... of nanotechnology in the construction sector in the Nordic countries we do find quite a high number of nanotech applications in the Nordic window chains. Eco-innovation is influencing strongly on the nanotech development. We see several examples of nano-enabled smart, multifunctional green solutions in the Nordic...

  1. Application and Mechanics Analysis of Multi-Function Construction Platforms in Prefabricated-Concrete Construction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Meihua; Li, Rongshuai; Zhang, Wenze

    2017-11-01

    Multi-function construction platforms (MCPs) as an “old construction technology, new application” of the building facade construction equipment, its efforts to reduce labour intensity, improve labour productivity, ensure construction safety, shorten the duration of construction and other aspects of the effect are significant. In this study, the functional analysis of the multi-function construction platforms is carried out in the construction of the assembly building. Based on the general finite element software ANSYS, the static calculation and dynamic characteristics analysis of the MCPs structure are analysed, the simplified finite element model is constructed, and the selection of the unit, the processing and solution of boundary are under discussion and research. The maximum deformation value, the maximum stress value and the structural dynamic characteristic model are obtained. The dangerous parts of the platform structure are analysed, too. Multiple types of MCPs under engineering construction conditions are calculated, so as to put forward the rationalization suggestions for engineering application of the MCPs.

  2. Dynamic Analyses of Alternative Polyadenylation from RNA-Seq Reveal 3′-UTR Landscape Across 7 Tumor Types

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Zheng; Donehower, Lawrence A; Cooper, Thomas A.; Neilson, Joel R.; Wheeler, David A.; Wagner, Eric J.; Li, Wei

    2015-01-01

    Alternative polyadenylation (APA) is a pervasive mechanism in the regulation of most human genes, and its implication in diseases including cancer is only beginning to be appreciated. Since conventional APA profiling has not been widely adopted, global cancer APA studies are very limited. Here we develop a novel bioinformatics algorithm (DaPars) for the de novo identification of dynamic APAs from standard RNA-seq. When applied to 358 TCGA Pan-Cancer tumor/normal pairs across 7 tumor types, DaPars reveals 1,346 genes with recurrent and tumor-specific APAs. Most APA genes (91%) have shorter 3′ UTRs in tumors that can avoid miRNA-mediated repression, including glutaminase (GLS), a key metabolic enzyme for tumor proliferation. Interestingly, selected APA events add strong prognostic power beyond common clinical and molecular variables, suggesting their potential as novel prognostic biomarkers. Finally, our results implicate CstF64, an essential polyadenylation factor, as a master regulator of 3′ UTR shortening across multiple tumor types. PMID:25409906

  3. Mitochondrial tRNA cleavage by tRNA-targeting ribonuclease causes mitochondrial dysfunction observed in mitochondrial disease

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ogawa, Tetsuhiro, E-mail: atetsu@mail.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Shimizu, Ayano; Takahashi, Kazutoshi; Hidaka, Makoto; Masaki, Haruhiko, E-mail: amasaki@mail.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

    2014-08-15

    Highlights: • MTS-tagged ribonuclease was translocated successfully to the mitochondrial matrix. • MTS-tagged ribonuclease cleaved mt tRNA and reduced COX activity. • Easy and reproducible method of inducing mt tRNA dysfunction. - Abstract: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is a genome possessed by mitochondria. Since reactive oxygen species (ROS) are generated during aerobic respiration in mitochondria, mtDNA is commonly exposed to the risk of DNA damage. Mitochondrial disease is caused by mitochondrial dysfunction, and mutations or deletions on mitochondrial tRNA (mt tRNA) genes are often observed in mtDNA of patients with the disease. Hence, the correlation between mt tRNA activity and mitochondrial dysfunction has been assessed. Then, cybrid cells, which are constructed by the fusion of an enucleated cell harboring altered mtDNA with a ρ{sup 0} cell, have long been used for the analysis due to difficulty in mtDNA manipulation. Here, we propose a new method that involves mt tRNA cleavage by a bacterial tRNA-specific ribonuclease. The ribonuclease tagged with a mitochondrial-targeting sequence (MTS) was successfully translocated to the mitochondrial matrix. Additionally, mt tRNA cleavage, which resulted in the decrease of cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity, was observed.

  4. On the dynamics of non-holonomic systems: the construction of a lagrangian and a hamiltonian

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Galvao, C.A.P.; Negri, L.J.

    1982-01-01

    It is shown that once the motion of a non-holonomic system is known it is possible to reduce the system to the holonomic form. A (singular) Lagrangian function and a Hamiltonian which correctly describe the dynamics of the system can be constructed. This procedure is applied to a well known system. (Author) [pt

  5. Single step production of Cas9 mRNA for zygote injection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Redel, Bethany K; Beaton, Benjamin P; Spate, Lee D; Benne, Joshua A; Murphy, Stephanie L; O'Gorman, Chad W; Spate, Anna M; Prather, Randall S; Wells, Kevin D

    2018-03-01

    Production of Cas9 mRNA in vitro typically requires the addition of a 5´ cap and 3´ polyadenylation. A plasmid was constructed that harbored the T7 promoter followed by the EMCV IRES and a Cas9 coding region. We hypothesized that the use of the metastasis associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (Malat1) triplex structure downstream of an IRES/Cas9 expression cassette would make polyadenylation of in vitro produced mRNA unnecessary. A sequence from the mMalat1 gene was cloned downstream of the IRES/Cas9 cassette described above. An mRNA concentration curve was constructed with either commercially available Cas9 mRNA or the IRES/ Cas9/triplex, by injection into porcine zygotes. Blastocysts were genotyped to determine if differences existed in the percent of embryos modified. The concentration curve identified differences due to concentration and RNA type injected. Single step production of Cas9 mRNA provides an alternative source of Cas9 for use in zygote injections.

  6. A cost-effective method for Illumina small RNA-Seq library preparation using T4 RNA ligase 1 adenylated adapters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Yun-Ru

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Deep sequencing is a powerful tool for novel small RNA discovery. Illumina small RNA sequencing library preparation requires a pre-adenylated 3’ end adapter containing a 5’,5’-adenyl pyrophosphoryl moiety. In the absence of ATP, this adapter can be ligated to the 3’ hydroxyl group of small RNA, while RNA self-ligation and concatenation are repressed. Pre-adenylated adapters are one of the most essential and costly components required for library preparation, and few are commercially available. Results We demonstrate that DNA oligo with 5’ phosphate and 3’ amine groups can be enzymatically adenylated by T4 RNA ligase 1 to generate customized pre-adenylated adapters. We have constructed and sequenced a small RNA library for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum using the T4 RNA ligase 1 adenylated adapter. Conclusion We provide an efficient and low-cost method for small RNA sequencing library preparation, which takes two days to complete and costs around $20 per library. This protocol has been tested in several plant species for small RNA sequencing including sweet potato, pepper, watermelon, and cowpea, and could be readily applied to any RNA samples.

  7. Construction of a fuel demand function portraying inter-fuel substitution, a system dynamics approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abada, Ibrahim; Briat, Vincent; Massol, Olivier

    2011-04-01

    Most of the recent numerical market equilibrium models of natural gas markets use imperfect competition assumptions. These models are typically embedded with an oversimplified representation of the demand side, usually a single-variable affine function, that does not capture any dynamic adjustment to past prices. To remedy this, we report an effort to construct an enhanced functional specification using the system dynamics-based model of Moxnes (1987, 1990). Thanks to a vintage representation of capital stock, this putty-clay model captures the effect of both past and current energy prices on fuel consumption. Using a re-calibrated version of this model, we first confirm the pertinence of this modeling framework to represent inter-fuel substitutions at different fuel prices in the industrial sector. Building on these findings, a dynamic functional specification of the demand function for natural gas is then proposed and calibrated. (authors)

  8. RNA viruses in the sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lang, Andrew S; Rise, Matthew L; Culley, Alexander I; Steward, Grieg F

    2009-03-01

    Viruses are ubiquitous in the sea and appear to outnumber all other forms of marine life by at least an order of magnitude. Through selective infection, viruses influence nutrient cycling, community structure, and evolution in the ocean. Over the past 20 years we have learned a great deal about the diversity and ecology of the viruses that constitute the marine virioplankton, but until recently the emphasis has been on DNA viruses. Along with expanding knowledge about RNA viruses that infect important marine animals, recent isolations of RNA viruses that infect single-celled eukaryotes and molecular analyses of the RNA virioplankton have revealed that marine RNA viruses are novel, widespread, and genetically diverse. Discoveries in marine RNA virology are broadening our understanding of the biology, ecology, and evolution of viruses, and the epidemiology of viral diseases, but there is still much that we need to learn about the ecology and diversity of RNA viruses before we can fully appreciate their contributions to the dynamics of marine ecosystems. As a step toward making sense of how RNA viruses contribute to the extraordinary viral diversity in the sea, we summarize in this review what is currently known about RNA viruses that infect marine organisms.

  9. Development of a software tool and criteria evaluation for efficient design of small interfering RNA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaudhary, Aparna; Srivastava, Sonam; Garg, Sanjeev

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → The developed tool predicted siRNA constructs with better thermodynamic stability and total score based on positional and other criteria. → Off-target silencing below score 30 were observed for the best siRNA constructs for different genes. → Immunostimulation and cytotoxicity motifs considered and penalized in the developed tool. → Both positional and compositional criteria were observed to be important. -- Abstract: RNA interference can be used as a tool for gene silencing mediated by small interfering RNAs (siRNA). The critical step in effective and specific RNAi processing is the selection of suitable constructs. Major design criteria, i.e., Reynolds's design rules, thermodynamic stability, internal repeats, immunostimulatory motifs were emphasized and implemented in the siRNA design tool. The tool provides thermodynamic stability score, GC content and a total score based on other design criteria in the output. The viability of the tool was established with different datasets. In general, the siRNA constructs produced by the tool had better thermodynamic score and positional properties. Comparable thermodynamic scores and better total scores were observed with the existing tools. Moreover, the results generated had comparable off-target silencing effect. Criteria evaluations with additional criteria were achieved in WEKA.

  10. A dynamic model for assessing the effects of management strategies on the reduction of construction and demolition waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yuan Hongping; Chini, Abdol R.; Lu Yujie; Shen Liyin

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We proposes a model for projecting C and D waste reduction of construction projects. ► The model can simulate effects of various management strategies on waste reduction. ► The model integrates all essential variables that affect C and D waste reduction. ► By using the model, best strategies could be identified before being implemented. - Abstract: During the past few decades, construction and demolition (C and D) waste has received increasing attention from construction practitioners and researchers worldwide. A plethora of research regarding C and D waste management has been published in various academic journals. However, it has been determined that existing studies with respect to C and D waste reduction are mainly carried out from a static perspective, without considering the dynamic and interdependent nature of the whole waste reduction system. This might lead to misunderstanding about the actual effect of implementing any waste reduction strategies. Therefore, this research proposes a model that can serve as a decision support tool for projecting C and D waste reduction in line with the waste management situation of a given construction project, and more importantly, as a platform for simulating effects of various management strategies on C and D waste reduction. The research is conducted using system dynamics methodology, which is a systematic approach that deals with the complexity – interrelationships and dynamics – of any social, economic and managerial system. The dynamic model integrates major variables that affect C and D waste reduction. In this paper, seven causal loop diagrams that can deepen understanding about the feedback relationships underlying C and D waste reduction system are firstly presented. Then a stock-flow diagram is formulated by using software for system dynamics modeling. Finally, a case study is used to illustrate the validation and application of the proposed model. Results of the case study not only

  11. Dynamic environmental control mechanisms for pneumatic foil constructions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flor, Jan-Frederik; Wu, Yupeng; Beccarelli, Paolo; Chilton, John

    2017-11-01

    Membrane and foil structures have become over the last decades an attractive alternative to conventional materials and building systems with increasing implementation in different typologies and scale. The development of transparent, light, flexible and resistant materials like Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) has triggered a rethinking of the building envelope in the building industry towards lightweight systems. ETFE foil cushions have proven to fulfil the design requirements in terms of structural efficiency and aesthetic values. But the strategies to satisfy increasing demands of energy efficiency and comfort conditions are still under development. The prediction and manipulation of the thermo-optical behaviour of ETFE foil cushion structures currently remain as one of the main challenges for designers and manufacturers. This paper reviews ongoing research regarding the control of the thermo-optical performance of ETFE cushion structures and highlights challenges and possible improvements. An overview of different dynamic and responsive environmental control mechanisms for multilayer foil constructions is provided and the state of the art in building application outlined by the discussion of case studies.

  12. Martini Coarse-Grained Force Field : Extension to RNA

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Uusitalo, Jaakko J.; Ingolfsson, Helgi I.; Marrink, Siewert J.; Faustino, Ignacio

    2017-01-01

    RNA has an important role not only as the messenger of genetic information but also as a regulator of gene expression. Given its central role in cell biology, there is significant interest in studying the structural and dynamic behavior of RNA in relation to other biomolecules. Coarse-grain

  13. A simple and robust vector-based shRNA expression system used for RNA interference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xue-jun; Li, Ying; Huang, Hai; Zhang, Xiu-juan; Xie, Pei-wen; Hu, Wei; Li, Dan-dan; Wang, Sheng-qi

    2013-01-01

    RNA interference (RNAi) mediated by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) or short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) has become a powerful genetic tool for conducting functional studies. Previously, vector-based shRNA-expression strategies capable of inducing RNAi in viable cells have been developed, however, these vector systems have some disadvantages, either because they were error-prone or cost prohibitive. In this report we described the development of a simple, robust shRNA expression system utilizing 1 long oligonucleotide or 2 short oligonucleotides for half the cost of conventional shRNA construction methods and with a >95% cloning success rate. The shRNA loop sequence and stem structure were also compared and carefully selected for better RNAi efficiency. Furthermore, an easier strategy was developed based on isocaudomers which permit rapid combination of the most efficient promoter-shRNA cassettes. Finally, using this method, the conservative target sites for hepatitis B virus (HBV) knockdown were systemically screened and HBV antigen expression shown to be successfully suppressed in the presence of connected multiple shRNAs both in vitro and in vivo. This novel design describes an inexpensive and effective way to clone and express single or multiple shRNAs from the same vector with the capacity for potent and effective silencing of target genes.

  14. cDNA library construction of two human Demodexspecies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, DongLing; Wang, RuiLing; Zhao, YaE; Yang, Rui; Hu, Li; Lei, YuYang; Dan, WeiChao

    2017-06-01

    The research of Demodex, a type of pathogen causing various dermatoses in animals and human beings, is lacking at RNA level. This study aims at extracting RNA and constructing cDNA library for Demodex. First, P. cuniculiand D. farinaewere mixed to establish homogenization method for RNA extraction. Second, D. folliculorumand D. breviswere collected and preserved in Trizol, which were mixed with D. farinaerespectively to extract RNA. Finally, cDNA library was constructed and its quality was assessed. The results indicated that for D. folliculorum& D. farinae, the recombination rate of cDNA library was 90.67% and the library titer was 7.50 × 104 pfu/ml. 17 of the 59 positive clones were predicted to be of D. folliculorum; For D. brevis& D. farinae, the recombination rate was 90.96% and the library titer was 7.85 x104 pfu/ml. 40 of the 59 positive clones were predicted to be of D. brevis. Further detection by specific primers demonstrated that mtDNA cox1, cox3and ATP6 detected from cDNA libraries had 96.52%-99.73% identities with the corresponding sequences in GenBank. In conclusion, the cDNA libraries constructed for Demodexmixed with D. farinaewere successful and could satisfy the requirements for functional genes detection.

  15. A dynamic model for assessing the effects of management strategies on the reduction of construction and demolition waste.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Hongping; Chini, Abdol R; Lu, Yujie; Shen, Liyin

    2012-03-01

    During the past few decades, construction and demolition (C&D) waste has received increasing attention from construction practitioners and researchers worldwide. A plethora of research regarding C&D waste management has been published in various academic journals. However, it has been determined that existing studies with respect to C&D waste reduction are mainly carried out from a static perspective, without considering the dynamic and interdependent nature of the whole waste reduction system. This might lead to misunderstanding about the actual effect of implementing any waste reduction strategies. Therefore, this research proposes a model that can serve as a decision support tool for projecting C&D waste reduction in line with the waste management situation of a given construction project, and more importantly, as a platform for simulating effects of various management strategies on C&D waste reduction. The research is conducted using system dynamics methodology, which is a systematic approach that deals with the complexity - interrelationships and dynamics - of any social, economic and managerial system. The dynamic model integrates major variables that affect C&D waste reduction. In this paper, seven causal loop diagrams that can deepen understanding about the feedback relationships underlying C&D waste reduction system are firstly presented. Then a stock-flow diagram is formulated by using software for system dynamics modeling. Finally, a case study is used to illustrate the validation and application of the proposed model. Results of the case study not only built confidence in the model so that it can be used for quantitative analysis, but also assessed and compared the effect of three designed policy scenarios on C&D waste reduction. One major contribution of this study is the development of a dynamic model for evaluating C&D waste reduction strategies under various scenarios, so that best management strategies could be identified before being implemented

  16. The DEAD-Box RNA Helicase DDX3 Interacts with m6A RNA Demethylase ALKBH5

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdullah Shah

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available DDX3 is a member of the family of DEAD-box RNA helicases. DDX3 is a multifaceted helicase and plays essential roles in key biological processes such as cell cycle, stress response, apoptosis, and RNA metabolism. In this study, we found that DDX3 interacted with ALKBH5, an m6A RNA demethylase. The ATP domain of DDX3 and DSBH domain of ALKBH5 were indispensable to their interaction with each other. Furthermore, DDX3 could modulate the demethylation of mRNAs. We also showed that DDX3 regulated the methylation status of microRNAs and there was an interaction between DDX3 and AGO2. The dynamics of m6A RNA modification is still a field demanding further investigation, and here, we add a link by showing that RNA demethylation can be regulated by proteins such as DDX3.

  17. Equivalent construction of the infinitesimal time translation operator in algebraic dynamics algorithm for partial differential evolution equation

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2010-01-01

    We give an equivalent construction of the infinitesimal time translation operator for partial differential evolution equation in the algebraic dynamics algorithm proposed by Shun-Jin Wang and his students. Our construction involves only simple partial differentials and avoids the derivative terms of δ function which appear in the course of computation by means of Wang-Zhang operator. We prove Wang’s equivalent theorem which says that our construction and Wang-Zhang’s are equivalent. We use our construction to deal with several typical equations such as nonlinear advection equation, Burgers equation, nonlinear Schrodinger equation, KdV equation and sine-Gordon equation, and obtain at least second order approximate solutions to them. These equations include the cases of real and complex field variables and the cases of the first and the second order time derivatives.

  18. In vitro cartilage construct generation from silk fibroin- chitosan porous scaffold and umbilical cord blood derived human mesenchymal stem cells in dynamic culture condition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agrawal, Parinita; Pramanik, Krishna; Biswas, Amit; Ku Patra, Ranjan

    2018-02-01

    Cartilage construct generation includes a scaffold with appropriate composition to mimic matrix of the damaged tissue on which the stem cells grow and differentiate. In this study, umbilical cord blood (UCB) derived human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were seeded on freeze dried porous silk-fibroin (SF)/chitosan (CS) scaffolds. Influence of static and dynamic (spinner flask bioreactor) culture conditions on the developing cartilage construct were studied by in-vitro characterization for viability, proliferation, distribution, and chondrogenic differentiation of hMSCs over the scaffold. Constructs developed in spinner flask consisted of 62% live cells, and exhibited 543% more cell density at the core than constructs cultured in static system. Quantification of DNA and glycosaminoglycans accumulation after 21 days showed the progression of chondrogenic differentiation of hMSCs was higher in dynamic culture compared to static one. In constructs generated under dynamic condition, histology staining for proteoglycan matrix, and fluorescence staining for collagen-II and aggrecan showed positive correlation between early and late stage chondrogenic markers, which was further confirmed by quantitative PCR analysis, showing low collagen-I expression and highly expressed Sox9, collagen-II and aggrecan. The present study demonstrated that construct generated by combining 3D SF/CS scaffold with UCB-hMSCs under dynamic condition using spinner flask bioreactor can be used for cartilage tissue regeneration for future medical treatments. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 397-407, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. Deciphering deterioration mechanisms of complex diseases based on the construction of dynamic networks and systems analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yuanyuan; Jin, Suoqin; Lei, Lei; Pan, Zishu; Zou, Xiufen

    2015-03-01

    The early diagnosis and investigation of the pathogenic mechanisms of complex diseases are the most challenging problems in the fields of biology and medicine. Network-based systems biology is an important technique for the study of complex diseases. The present study constructed dynamic protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks to identify dynamical network biomarkers (DNBs) and analyze the underlying mechanisms of complex diseases from a systems level. We developed a model-based framework for the construction of a series of time-sequenced networks by integrating high-throughput gene expression data into PPI data. By combining the dynamic networks and molecular modules, we identified significant DNBs for four complex diseases, including influenza caused by either H3N2 or H1N1, acute lung injury and type 2 diabetes mellitus, which can serve as warning signals for disease deterioration. Function and pathway analyses revealed that the identified DNBs were significantly enriched during key events in early disease development. Correlation and information flow analyses revealed that DNBs effectively discriminated between different disease processes and that dysfunctional regulation and disproportional information flow may contribute to the increased disease severity. This study provides a general paradigm for revealing the deterioration mechanisms of complex diseases and offers new insights into their early diagnoses.

  20. Computational design of RNA parts, devices, and transcripts with kinetic folding algorithms implemented on multiprocessor clusters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thimmaiah, Tim; Voje, William E; Carothers, James M

    2015-01-01

    With progress toward inexpensive, large-scale DNA assembly, the demand for simulation tools that allow the rapid construction of synthetic biological devices with predictable behaviors continues to increase. By combining engineered transcript components, such as ribosome binding sites, transcriptional terminators, ligand-binding aptamers, catalytic ribozymes, and aptamer-controlled ribozymes (aptazymes), gene expression in bacteria can be fine-tuned, with many corollaries and applications in yeast and mammalian cells. The successful design of genetic constructs that implement these kinds of RNA-based control mechanisms requires modeling and analyzing kinetically determined co-transcriptional folding pathways. Transcript design methods using stochastic kinetic folding simulations to search spacer sequence libraries for motifs enabling the assembly of RNA component parts into static ribozyme- and dynamic aptazyme-regulated expression devices with quantitatively predictable functions (rREDs and aREDs, respectively) have been described (Carothers et al., Science 334:1716-1719, 2011). Here, we provide a detailed practical procedure for computational transcript design by illustrating a high throughput, multiprocessor approach for evaluating spacer sequences and generating functional rREDs. This chapter is written as a tutorial, complete with pseudo-code and step-by-step instructions for setting up a computational cluster with an Amazon, Inc. web server and performing the large numbers of kinefold-based stochastic kinetic co-transcriptional folding simulations needed to design functional rREDs and aREDs. The method described here should be broadly applicable for designing and analyzing a variety of synthetic RNA parts, devices and transcripts.

  1. Methylation of miRNA genes and oncogenesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loginov, V I; Rykov, S V; Fridman, M V; Braga, E A

    2015-02-01

    Interaction between microRNA (miRNA) and messenger RNA of target genes at the posttranscriptional level provides fine-tuned dynamic regulation of cell signaling pathways. Each miRNA can be involved in regulating hundreds of protein-coding genes, and, conversely, a number of different miRNAs usually target a structural gene. Epigenetic gene inactivation associated with methylation of promoter CpG-islands is common to both protein-coding genes and miRNA genes. Here, data on functions of miRNAs in development of tumor-cell phenotype are reviewed. Genomic organization of promoter CpG-islands of the miRNA genes located in inter- and intragenic areas is discussed. The literature and our own results on frequency of CpG-island methylation in miRNA genes from tumors are summarized, and data regarding a link between such modification and changed activity of miRNA genes and, consequently, protein-coding target genes are presented. Moreover, the impact of miRNA gene methylation on key oncogenetic processes as well as affected signaling pathways is discussed.

  2. RNA Nanostructures – Methods and Protocols | Center for Cancer Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    RNA nanotechnology is a young field with many potential applications. The goal is to utilize designed RNA strands, such that the obtained constructs have specific properties in terms of shape and functionality. RNA has potential functionalities that are comparable to that of proteins, but possesses (compared to proteins) simpler design principles akin to DNA. The promise is that designed RNA complexes may make possible novel types of molecular assemblies with applications in medicine (as therapeutics or diagnostics), material science, imaging, structural biology, and basic research.

  3. Identification of the miRNA-mRNA regulatory network of small cell osteosarcoma based on RNA-seq.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Lin; Liao, Yedan; Shen, Lida; Hu, Fengdi; Yu, Sunlin; Zhou, Yonghong; Zhang, Ya; Yang, Yihao; Li, Dongqi; Ren, Minyan; Yuan, Zhongqin; Yang, Zuozhang

    2017-06-27

    Small cell osteosarcoma (SCO) is a rare subtype of osteosarcoma characterized by highly aggressive progression and a poor prognosis. The miRNA and mRNA expression profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were obtained in 3 patients with SCO and 10 healthy individuals using high-throughput RNA-sequencing. We identified 37 dysregulated miRNAs and 1636 dysregulated mRNAs in patients with SCO compared to the healthy controls. Specifically, the 37 dysregulated miRNAs consisted of 27 up-regulated miRNAs and 10 down-regulated miRNAs; the 1636 dysregulated mRNAs consisted of 555 up-regulated mRNAs and 1081 down-regulated mRNAs. The target-genes of miRNAs were predicted, and 1334 negative correlations between miRNAs and mRNAs were used to construct an miRNA-mRNA regulatory network. Dysregulated genes were significantly enriched in pathways related to cancer, mTOR signaling and cell cycle signaling. Specifically, hsa-miR-26b-5p, hsa-miR-221-3p and hsa-miR-125b-2-3p were significantly dysregulated miRNAs and exhibited a high degree of connectivity with target genes. Overall, the expression of dysregulated genes in tumor tissues and peripheral blood samples of patients with SCO measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction corroborated with our bioinformatics analyses based on the expression profiles of PBMCs from patients with SCO. Thus, hsa-miR-26b-5p, hsa-miR-221-3p and hsa-miR-125b-2-3p may be involved in SCO tumorigenesis.

  4. Whole genome analysis of CRISPR Cas9 sgRNA off-target homologies via an efficient computational algorithm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Hong; Zhou, Michael; Li, Daisy; Manthey, Joseph; Lioutikova, Ekaterina; Wang, Hong; Zeng, Xiao

    2017-11-17

    The beauty and power of the genome editing mechanism, CRISPR Cas9 endonuclease system, lies in the fact that it is RNA-programmable such that Cas9 can be guided to any genomic loci complementary to a 20-nt RNA, single guide RNA (sgRNA), to cleave double stranded DNA, allowing the introduction of wanted mutations. Unfortunately, it has been reported repeatedly that the sgRNA can also guide Cas9 to off-target sites where the DNA sequence is homologous to sgRNA. Using human genome and Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpCas9) as an example, this article mathematically analyzed the probabilities of off-target homologies of sgRNAs and discovered that for large genome size such as human genome, potential off-target homologies are inevitable for sgRNA selection. A highly efficient computationl algorithm was developed for whole genome sgRNA design and off-target homology searches. By means of a dynamically constructed sequence-indexed database and a simplified sequence alignment method, this algorithm achieves very high efficiency while guaranteeing the identification of all existing potential off-target homologies. Via this algorithm, 1,876,775 sgRNAs were designed for the 19,153 human mRNA genes and only two sgRNAs were found to be free of off-target homology. By means of the novel and efficient sgRNA homology search algorithm introduced in this article, genome wide sgRNA design and off-target analysis were conducted and the results confirmed the mathematical analysis that for a sgRNA sequence, it is almost impossible to escape potential off-target homologies. Future innovations on the CRISPR Cas9 gene editing technology need to focus on how to eliminate the Cas9 off-target activity.

  5. Constructal theory of social dynamics

    CERN Document Server

    Bejan, Adrian

    2007-01-01

    Combines for the first time theories of general physics and applies them to social sciencesOffers a new way to look at social phenomena as part of natural phenomenaA new domain of application of engineering such as thermodynamic optimization, thermoeconomics and "design as science"Discusses how the "flow architectures" of natural sciences are also found in social situationsBoth classes are covered by the same principle (the constructal law)First work to show that the concept of "efficiency" of engineering has a home in physics and social sciencesThe constructal law theory puts a scientific principle behind the major challenges of today and the future: sustainable development, energy sufficiency, equilibria between human settlements and environmental ecosystems, optimal allocation, optimal distribution of finite resources, etc.

  6. mRNA transfection of mouse and human neural stem cell cultures

    OpenAIRE

    McLenachan, Samuel; Zhang, D.; Palomo, A.B.; Edel, Michael John; Chen, F.K.

    2013-01-01

    The use of synthetic mRNA as an alternative gene delivery vector to traditional DNA-based constructs provides an effective method for inducing transient gene expression in cell cultures without genetic modification. Delivery of mRNA has been proposed as a safer alternative to viral vectors in the induction of pluripotent cells for regenerative therapies. Although mRNA transfection of fibroblasts, dendritic and embryonic stem cells has been described, mRNA delivery to neurosphere cultures has ...

  7. Research on The Construction of Flexible Multi-body Dynamics Model based on Virtual Components

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Z. H.; Ye, X.; Yang, F.

    2018-05-01

    Focus on the harsh operation condition of space manipulator, which cannot afford relative large collision momentum, this paper proposes a new concept and technology, called soft-contact technology. In order to solve the problem of collision dynamics of flexible multi-body system caused by this technology, this paper also proposes the concepts of virtual components and virtual hinges, and constructs flexible dynamic model based on virtual components, and also studies on its solutions. On this basis, this paper uses NX to carry out model and comparison simulation for space manipulator in 3 different modes. The results show that using the model of multi-rigid body + flexible body hinge + controllable damping can make effective control on amplitude for the force and torque caused by target satellite collision.

  8. Structure and conformational dynamics of the domain 5 RNA hairpin of a bacterial group II intron revealed by solution nuclear magnetic resonance and molecular dynamics simulations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pechlaner, Maria; Sigel, Roland K O; van Gunsteren, Wilfred F; Dolenc, Jožica

    2013-10-08

    Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) nuclear Overhauser enhancement (NOE) data obtained for a 35-nucleotide RNA segment of a bacterial group II intron indicate a helical hairpin structure in which three parts, a terminal pentaloop, a bulge, and a G-A mismatch, display no Watson-Crick base pairing. The 668 NOE upper distance bounds for atom pairs are insufficient to uniquely determine the conformation of these segments. Therefore, molecular dynamics simulations including time-averaged distance restraints have been used to obtain a conformational ensemble compatible with the observed NMR data. The ensemble shows alternating hydrogen bonding patterns for the mentioned segments. In particular, in the pentaloop and in the bulge, the hydrogen bonding networks correspond to distinct conformational clusters that could not be captured by using conventional single-structure refinement techniques. This implies that, to obtain a realistic picture of the conformational ensemble of such flexible biomolecules, it is necessary to properly account for the conformational variability in the structure refinement of RNA fragments.

  9. Cleavage of influenza RNA by using a human PUF-based artificial RNA-binding protein–staphylococcal nuclease hybrid

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mori, Tomoaki; Nakamura, Kento; Masaoka, Keisuke; Fujita, Yusuke; Morisada, Ryosuke; Mori, Koichi; Tobimatsu, Takamasa; Sera, Takashi

    2016-01-01

    Various viruses infect animals and humans and cause a variety of diseases, including cancer. However, effective methodologies to prevent virus infection have not yet been established. Therefore, development of technologies to inactivate viruses is highly desired. We have already demonstrated that cleavage of a DNA virus genome was effective to prevent its replication. Here, we expanded this methodology to RNA viruses. In the present study, we used staphylococcal nuclease (SNase) instead of the PIN domain (PilT N-terminus) of human SMG6 as an RNA-cleavage domain and fused the SNase to a human Pumilio/fem-3 binding factor (PUF)-based artificial RNA-binding protein to construct an artificial RNA restriction enzyme with enhanced RNA-cleavage rates for influenzavirus. The resulting SNase-fusion nuclease cleaved influenza RNA at rates 120-fold greater than the corresponding PIN-fusion nuclease. The cleaving ability of the PIN-fusion nuclease was not improved even though the linker moiety between the PUF and RNA-cleavage domain was changed. Gel shift assays revealed that the RNA-binding properties of the PUF derivative used was not as good as wild type PUF. Improvement of the binding properties or the design method will allow the SNase-fusion nuclease to cleave an RNA target in mammalian animal cells and/or organisms. - Highlights: • A novel RNA restriction enzyme using SNase was developed tor cleave viral RNA. • Our enzyme cleaved influenza RNA with rates >120-fold higher rates a PIN-fusion one. • Our artificial enzyme with the L5 linker showed the highest RNA cleavage rate. • Our artificial enzyme site-selectively cleaved influenza RNA in vitro.

  10. RNA Nanoparticles Derived from Three-Way Junction of Phi29 Motor pRNA Are Resistant to I-125 and Cs-131 Radiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Hui; Rychahou, Piotr G.; Cui, Zheng; Pi, Fengmei; Evers, B. Mark; Shu, Dan

    2015-01-01

    Radiation reagents that specifically target tumors are in high demand for the treatment of cancer. The emerging field of RNA nanotechnology might provide new opportunities for targeted radiation therapy. This study investigates whether chemically modified RNA nanoparticles derived from the packaging RNA (pRNA) three-way junction (3WJ) of phi29 DNA-packaging motor are resistant to potent I-125 and Cs-131 radiation, which is a prerequisite for utilizing these RNA nanoparticles as carriers for targeted radiation therapy. pRNA 3WJ nanoparticles were constructed and characterized, and the stability of these nanoparticles under I-125 and Cs-131 irradiation with clinically relevant doses was examined. RNA nanoparticles derived from the pRNA 3WJ targeted tumors specifically and they were stable under irradiation of I-125 and Cs-131 with clinically relevant doses ranging from 1 to 90 Gy over a significantly long time up to 20 days, while control plasmid DNA was damaged at 20 Gy or higher. PMID:26017686

  11. Long noncoding RNA in hematopoiesis and immunity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Satpathy, Ansuman T; Chang, Howard Y

    2015-05-19

    Dynamic gene expression during cellular differentiation is tightly coordinated by transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms. An emerging theme is the central role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the regulation of this specificity. Recent advances demonstrate that lncRNAs are expressed in a lineage-specific manner and control the development of several cell types in the hematopoietic system. Moreover, specific lncRNAs are induced to modulate innate and adaptive immune responses. lncRNAs can function via RNA-DNA, RNA-RNA, and RNA-protein target interactions. As a result, they affect several stages of gene regulation, including chromatin modification, mRNA biogenesis, and protein signaling. We discuss recent advances, future prospects, and challenges in understanding the roles of lncRNAs in immunity and immune-mediated diseases. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Query-dependent banding (QDB for faster RNA similarity searches.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric P Nawrocki

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available When searching sequence databases for RNAs, it is desirable to score both primary sequence and RNA secondary structure similarity. Covariance models (CMs are probabilistic models well-suited for RNA similarity search applications. However, the computational complexity of CM dynamic programming alignment algorithms has limited their practical application. Here we describe an acceleration method called query-dependent banding (QDB, which uses the probabilistic query CM to precalculate regions of the dynamic programming lattice that have negligible probability, independently of the target database. We have implemented QDB in the freely available Infernal software package. QDB reduces the average case time complexity of CM alignment from LN(2.4 to LN(1.3 for a query RNA of N residues and a target database of L residues, resulting in a 4-fold speedup for typical RNA queries. Combined with other improvements to Infernal, including informative mixture Dirichlet priors on model parameters, benchmarks also show increased sensitivity and specificity resulting from improved parameterization.

  13. A simple and robust vector-based shRNA expression system used for RNA interference.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xue-jun Wang

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: RNA interference (RNAi mediated by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs or short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs has become a powerful genetic tool for conducting functional studies. Previously, vector-based shRNA-expression strategies capable of inducing RNAi in viable cells have been developed, however, these vector systems have some disadvantages, either because they were error-prone or cost prohibitive. RESULTS: In this report we described the development of a simple, robust shRNA expression system utilizing 1 long oligonucleotide or 2 short oligonucleotides for half the cost of conventional shRNA construction methods and with a >95% cloning success rate. The shRNA loop sequence and stem structure were also compared and carefully selected for better RNAi efficiency. Furthermore, an easier strategy was developed based on isocaudomers which permit rapid combination of the most efficient promoter-shRNA cassettes. Finally, using this method, the conservative target sites for hepatitis B virus (HBV knockdown were systemically screened and HBV antigen expression shown to be successfully suppressed in the presence of connected multiple shRNAs both in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSION: This novel design describes an inexpensive and effective way to clone and express single or multiple shRNAs from the same vector with the capacity for potent and effective silencing of target genes.

  14. RNA Sequencing and Bioinformatics Analysis Implicate the Regulatory Role of a Long Noncoding RNA-mRNA Network in Hepatic Stellate Cell Activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Can-Jie; Xiao, Xiao; Sheng, Li; Chen, Lili; Zhong, Wei; Li, Hai; Hua, Jing; Ma, Xiong

    2017-01-01

    To analyze the long noncoding (lncRNA)-mRNA expression network and potential roles in rat hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) during activation. LncRNA expression was analyzed in quiescent and culture-activated HSCs by RNA sequencing, and differentially expressed lncRNAs verified by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were subjected to bioinformatics analysis. In vivo analyses of differential lncRNA-mRNA expression were performed on a rat model of liver fibrosis. We identified upregulation of 12 lncRNAs and 155 mRNAs and downregulation of 12 lncRNAs and 374 mRNAs in activated HSCs. Additionally, we identified the differential expression of upregulated lncRNAs (NONRATT012636.2, NONRATT016788.2, and NONRATT021402.2) and downregulated lncRNAs (NONRATT007863.2, NONRATT019720.2, and NONRATT024061.2) in activated HSCs relative to levels observed in quiescent HSCs, and Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses showed that changes in lncRNAs associated with HSC activation revealed 11 significantly enriched pathways according to their predicted targets. Moreover, based on the predicted co-expression network, the relative dynamic levels of NONRATT013819.2 and lysyl oxidase (Lox) were compared during HSC activation both in vitro and in vivo. Our results confirmed the upregulation of lncRNA NONRATT013819.2 and Lox mRNA associated with the extracellular matrix (ECM)-related signaling pathway in HSCs and fibrotic livers. Our results detailing a dysregulated lncRNA-mRNA network might provide new treatment strategies for hepatic fibrosis based on findings indicating potentially critical roles for NONRATT013819.2 and Lox in ECM remodeling during HSC activation. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

  15. Spatial distributions of niche-constructing populations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaozhuo Han

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Niche construction theory regards organisms not only as the object of natural selection but also an active subject that can change their own selective pressure through eco-evolutionary feedbacks. Through reviewing the existing works on the theoretical models of niche construction, here we present the progress made on how niche construction influences genetic structure of spatially structured populations and the spatial-temporal dynamics of metapopulations, with special focuses on mathematical models and simulation methods. The majority of results confirmed that niche construction can significantly alter the evolutionary trajectories of structured populations. Organism-environmental interactions induced by niche construction can have profound influence on the dynamics, competition and diversity of metapopulations. It can affect fine-scale spatially distribution of species and spatial heterogeneity of the environment. We further propose a few research directions with potentials, such as applying adaptive dynamics or spatial game theory to explore the effect of niche construction on phenotypic evolution and diversification.

  16. Integrated Analysis of Long Noncoding RNA and mRNA Expression Profile in Advanced Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ling Feng

    Full Text Available Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA plays an important role in tumorigenesis. However, the expression pattern and function of lncRNAs in laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC are still unclear. To investigate the aberrantly expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs in advanced LSCC, we screened lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles in 9 pairs of primary Stage IVA LSCC tissues and adjacent non-neoplastic tissues by lncRNA and mRNA integrated microarrays. Gene Ontology and pathway analysis were performed to find out the significant function and pathway of the differentially expressed mRNAs, gene-gene functional interaction network and ceRNA network were constructed to select core mRNAs, and lncRNA-mRNA expression correlation network was built to identify the interactions between lncRNA and mRNA. qRT-PCR was performed to further validate the expressions of selected lncRNAs and mRNAs in advanced LSCC. We found 1459 differentially expressed lncRNAs and 2381 differentially expressed mRNAs, including 846 up-regulated lncRNAs and 613 down-regulated lncRNAs, 1542 up-regulated mRNAs and 839 down-regulated mRNAs. The mRNAs ITGB1, HIF1A, and DDIT4 were selected as core mRNAs, which are mainly involved in biological processes, such as matrix organization, cell cycle, adhesion, and metabolic pathway. LncRNA-mRNA expression correlation network showed LncRNA NR_027340, MIR31HG were positively correlated with ITGB1, HIF1A respectively. LncRNA SOX2-OT was negatively correlated with DDIT4. qRT-PCR further validated the expression of these lncRNAs and mRNAs. The work provides convincing evidence that the identified lncRNAs and mRNAs are potential biomarkers in advanced LSCC for further future studies.

  17. Genome-wide identification of microRNA and siRNA responsive to endophytic beneficial diazotrophic bacteria in maize.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiebaut, Flávia; Rojas, Cristian A; Grativol, Clícia; Motta, Mariana Romeiro; Vieira, Tauan; Regulski, Michael; Martienssen, Robert A; Farinelli, Laurent; Hemerly, Adriana S; Ferreira, Paulo C G

    2014-09-06

    Small RNA (sRNA) has been described as a regulator of gene expression. In order to understand the role of maize sRNA (Zea mays-hybrid UENF 506-8) during association with endophytic nitrogen-fixing bacteria, we analyzed the sRNA regulated by its association with two diazotrophic bacteria, Herbaspirillum seropedicae and Azospirillum brasilense. Deep sequencing analysis was done with RNA extracted from plants inoculated with H. seropedicae, allowing the identification of miRNA and siRNA. A total of 25 conserved miRNA families and 15 novel miRNAs were identified. A dynamic regulation in response to inoculation was also observed. A hypothetical model involving copper-miRNA is proposed, emphasizing the fact that the up-regulation of miR397, miR398, miR408 and miR528, which is followed by inhibition of their targets, can facilitate association with diazotrophic bacteria. Similar expression patterns were observed in samples inoculated with A. brasilense. Moreover, novel miRNA and siRNA were classified in the Transposable Elements (TE) database, and an enrichment of siRNA aligned with TE was observed in the inoculated samples. In addition, an increase in 24-nt siRNA mapping to genes was observed, which was correlated with an increase in methylation of the coding regions and a subsequent reduction in transcription. Our results show that maize has RNA-based silencing mechanisms that can trigger specific responses when plants interact with beneficial endophytic diazotrophic bacteria. Our findings suggest important roles for sRNA regulation in maize, and probably in other plants, during association with diazotrophic bacteria, emphasizing the up-regulation of Cu-miRNA.

  18. Argumentation Text Construction by Japanese as a Foreign Language Writers: A Dynamic View of Transfer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rinnert, Carol; Kobauashi, Hiroe; Katayama, Akemi

    2015-01-01

    This study takes a dynamic view of transfer as reusing and reshaping previous knowledge in new writing contexts to investigate how novice Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) writers draw on knowledge across languages to construct L1 and L2 texts. We analyzed L1 English and L2 Japanese argumentation essays by the same JFL writers (N = 19) and L1…

  19. [Construction and identification of eukaryotic plasmid pGC-silencer-U6/Neo/GFP/ABCG2].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Yanping; Zhang, Song; Kong, Weijia

    2010-09-01

    To construct three short hairpin RNA (shRNA) interference expression plasmid vectors of human ABCG2 gene, to assay the expression of ABCG2 in a human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cell line, CEN-2 cell line, and to detect the RNAi effect of shRNA. Targeting ABCG2 gene sequence, three plasmid expression vectors coding for shRNA and a control vector containing random DNA fragment were constructed. The recombinant plasmids were amplified in Ecoli. DH5 and then identified by restriction digestion, PCR and sequencing. The recombinant plasmids were transfected into CEN-2 cells. ABCG2 expression was assayed by real-time quantitative PCR and Western blot. The construction of pGC-silencer-U6/Neo/GFP/ABCG2 was succeed. The shRNA plasmids significantly down-regulated the ABCG2 expression in CEN-2 cells, at both mRNA level and protein level. Recombinant plasmid 1 had the strongest effect compared with plasmids 2 and 3 (P < 0.05), with an inhibition ratio of 75% at the mRNA level and 68% at the protein level. pGC-silencer-U6/Neo/GFP/ABCG2 has been successfully constructed and it can down-regulate ABCG2 expression after transfected into CEN-2 cells, which could help further studies of ABCG2 functions CEN-2 cell line and contribute to the NPC gene therapy.

  20. Optimization of Critical Hairpin Features Allows miRNA-based Gene Knockdown Upon Single-copy Transduction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renier Myburgh

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Gene knockdown using micro RNA (miRNA-based vector constructs is likely to become a prominent gene therapy approach. It was the aim of this study to improve the efficiency of gene knockdown through optimizing the structure of miRNA mimics. Knockdown of two target genes was analyzed: CCR5 and green fluorescent protein. We describe here a novel and optimized miRNA mimic design called mirGE comprising a lower stem length of 13 base pairs (bp, positioning of the targeting strand on the 5′ side of the miRNA, together with nucleotide mismatches in upper stem positions 1 and 12 placed on the passenger strand. Our mirGE proved superior to miR-30 in four aspects: yield of targeting strand incorporation into RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC; incorporation into RISC of correct targeting strand; precision of cleavage by Drosha; and ratio of targeting strand over passenger strand. A triple mirGE hairpin cassette targeting CCR5 was constructed. It allowed CCR5 knockdown with an efficiency of over 90% upon single-copy transduction. Importantly, single-copy expression of this construct rendered transduced target cells, including primary human macrophages, resistant to infection with a CCR5-tropic strain of HIV. Our results provide new insights for a better knockdown efficiency of constructs containing miRNA. Our results also provide the proof-of-principle that cells can be rendered HIV resistant through single-copy vector transduction, rendering this approach more compatible with clinical applications.

  1. Enhanced NMR signal detection of imino protons in RNA molecules containing 3' dangling nucleotides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amborski, Andrew N.; Johnson, Philip E.

    2008-01-01

    We present a method for improving the quality of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra involving exchangeable protons near the base of the stem of RNA hairpin molecules. NMR spectra of five different RNA hairpins were compared. These hairpins consisted of a native RNA structure and four molecules each having different unpaired, or dangling, nucleotides at the 3' end. NMR experiments were acquired in water for each construct and the quality of the imino proton spectral regions were examined. The imino resonances near the base of the stem of the wild type RNA structure were not observed due to breathing motions. However, a significant increase in spectral quality for molecules with dangling 3' adenosine or guanosine nucleotides was observed, with imino protons detected in these constructs that were not observed in the wild type construct. A modest improvement in spectral quality was seen for the construct with a 3' unpaired uridine, whereas no significant improvement was observed for a 3' unpaired cytidine. This improvement in NMR spectral quality mirrors the increased thermodynamic stability observed for 3' unpaired nucleotides which is dependant on the stacking interactions of these nucleotides against the base of the stem. The use of a dangling 3' adenosine nucleotide represents an easy method to significantly improve the quality of NMR spectra of RNA molecules

  2. Expression of Herpes Simplex Virus Thymidine Kinase/Ganciclovir by RNA Trans-Splicing Induces Selective Killing of HIV-Producing Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carin K. Ingemarsdotter

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Antiviral strategies targeting hijacked cellular processes are less easily evaded by the virus than viral targets. If selective for viral functions, they can have a high therapeutic index. We used RNA trans-splicing to deliver the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase-ganciclovir (HSV-tk/GCV cell suicide system into HIV-producing cells. Using an extensive in silico bioinformatics and RNA structural analysis approach, ten HIV RNA trans-splicing constructs were designed targeting eight different HIV splice donor or acceptor sites and were tested in cells expressing HIV. Trans-spliced mRNAs were identified in HIV-expressing cells using qRT-PCR with successful detection of fusion RNA transcripts between HIV RNA and the HSV-tk RNA transcripts from six of ten candidate RNA trans-splicing constructs. Conventional PCR and Sanger sequencing confirmed RNA trans-splicing junctions. Measuring cell viability in the presence or absence of GCV expression of HSV-tk by RNA trans-splicing led to selective killing of HIV-producing cells using either 3′ exon replacement or 5′ exon replacement in the presence of GCV. Five constructs targeting four HIV splice donor and acceptor sites, D4, A5, A7, and A8, involved in regulating the generation of multiple HIV RNA transcripts proved to be effective for trans-splicing mediated selective killing of HIV-infected cells, within which individual constructs targeting D4 and A8 were the most efficient.

  3. Targeted Regression of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Cancer-Specific RNA Replacement through MicroRNA Regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Juhyun; Won, Ranhui; Ban, Guyee; Ju, Mi Ha; Cho, Kyung Sook; Young Han, Sang; Jeong, Jin-Sook; Lee, Seong-Wook

    2015-07-20

    Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has a high fatality rate and limited therapeutic options with side effects and low efficacy. Here, we proposed a new anti-HCC approach based on cancer-specific post-transcriptional targeting. To this end, trans-splicing ribozymes from Tetrahymena group I intron were developed, which can specifically induce therapeutic gene activity through HCC-specific replacement of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) RNA. To circumvent side effects due to TERT expression in regenerating liver tissue, liver-specific microRNA-regulated ribozymes were constructed by incorporating complementary binding sites for the hepatocyte-selective microRNA-122a (miR-122a), which is down-regulated in HCC. The ribozyme activity in vivo was assessed in mouse models orthotopically implanted with HCC. Systemic administration of adenovirus encoding the developed ribozymes caused efficient anti-cancer effect and the least hepatotoxicity with regulation of ribozyme expression by miR-122a in both xenografted and syngeneic orthotopic murine model of multifocal HCC. Of note, the ribozyme induced local and systemic antitumor immunity, thereby completely suppressing secondary tumor challenge in the syngeneic mouse. The cancer specific trans-splicing ribozyme system, which mediates tissue-specific microRNA-regulated RNA replacement, provides a clinically relevant, safe, and efficient strategy for HCC treatment.

  4. Integration analysis of microRNA and mRNA paired expression profiling identifies deregulated microRNA-transcription factor-gene regulatory networks in ovarian endometriosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Luyang; Gu, Chenglei; Ye, Mingxia; Zhang, Zhe; Li, Li'an; Fan, Wensheng; Meng, Yuanguang

    2018-01-22

    The etiology and pathophysiology of endometriosis remain unclear. Accumulating evidence suggests that aberrant microRNA (miRNA) and transcription factor (TF) expression may be involved in the pathogenesis and development of endometriosis. This study therefore aims to survey the key miRNAs, TFs and genes and further understand the mechanism of endometriosis. Paired expression profiling of miRNA and mRNA in ectopic endometria compared with eutopic endometria were determined by high-throughput sequencing techniques in eight patients with ovarian endometriosis. Binary interactions and circuits among the miRNAs, TFs, and corresponding genes were identified by the Pearson correlation coefficients. miRNA-TF-gene regulatory networks were constructed using bioinformatic methods. Eleven selected miRNAs and TFs were validated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in 22 patients. Overall, 107 differentially expressed miRNAs and 6112 differentially expressed mRNAs were identified by comparing the sequencing of the ectopic endometrium group and the eutopic endometrium group. The miRNA-TF-gene regulatory network consists of 22 miRNAs, 12 TFs and 430 corresponding genes. Specifically, some key regulators from the miR-449 and miR-34b/c cluster, miR-200 family, miR-106a-363 cluster, miR-182/183, FOX family, GATA family, and E2F family as well as CEBPA, SOX9 and HNF4A were suggested to play vital regulatory roles in the pathogenesis of endometriosis. Integration analysis of the miRNA and mRNA expression profiles presents a unique insight into the regulatory network of this enigmatic disorder and possibly provides clues regarding replacement therapy for endometriosis.

  5. Flow cytometric analysis of RNA synthesis by detection of bromouridine incorporation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, J K; Jensen, Peter Østrup; Larsen, J

    2001-01-01

    RNA synthesis has traditionally been investigated by a laborious and time-consuming radiographic method involving incorporation of tritiated uridine. Now a faster non-radioactive alternative has emerged, based on immunocytochemical detection. This method utilizes the brominated RNA precursor...... bromouridine, which is taken into a cell, phosphorylated, and incorporated into nascent RNA. The BrU-substituted RNA is detected by permeabilizing the cells and staining with certain anti-BrdU antibodies. This dynamic approach yields information complementing that provided by cellular RNA content analysis...

  6. Dynamic culture of a thermosensitive collagen hydrogel as an extracellular matrix improves the construction of tissue-engineered peripheral nerve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Lanfeng; Li, Rui; Liu, Wanguo; Dai, Jin; Du, Zhenwu; Wang, Xiaonan; Ma, Jianchao; Zhao, Jinsong

    2014-07-15

    Tissue engineering technologies offer new treatment strategies for the repair of peripheral nerve injury, but cell loss between seeding and adhesion to the scaffold remains inevitable. A thermosensitive collagen hydrogel was used as an extracellular matrix in this study and combined with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells to construct tissue-engineered peripheral nerve composites in vitro. Dynamic culture was performed at an oscillating frequency of 0.5 Hz and 35° swing angle above and below the horizontal plane. The results demonstrated that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells formed membrane-like structures around the poly-L-lactic acid scaffolds and exhibited regular alignment on the composite surface. Collagen was used to fill in the pores, and seeded cells adhered onto the poly-L-lactic acid fibers. The DNA content of the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells was higher in the composites constructed with a thermosensitive collagen hydrogel compared with that in collagen I scaffold controls. The cellular DNA content was also higher in the thermosensitive collagen hydrogel composites constructed with the thermosensitive collagen hydrogel in dynamic culture than that in static culture. These results indicate that tissue-engineered composites formed with thermosensitive collagen hydrogel in dynamic culture can maintain larger numbers of seeded cells by avoiding cell loss during the initial adhesion stage. Moreover, seeded cells were distributed throughout the material.

  7. Small RNA Deep Sequencing and the Effects of microRNA408 on Root Gravitropic Bending in Arabidopsis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Huasheng; Lu, Jinying; Sun, Qiao; Chen, Yu; He, Dacheng; Liu, Min

    2015-11-01

    MicroRNA (miRNA) is a non-coding small RNA composed of 20 to 24 nucleotides that influences plant root development. This study analyzed the miRNA expression in Arabidopsis root tip cells using Illumina sequencing and real-time PCR before (sample 0) and 15 min after (sample 15) a 3-D clinostat rotational treatment was administered. After stimulation was performed, the expression levels of seven miRNA genes, including Arabidopsis miR160, miR161, miR394, miR402, miR403, miR408, and miR823, were significantly upregulated. Illumina sequencing results also revealed two novel miRNAsthat have not been previously reported, The target genes of these miRNAs included pentatricopeptide repeat-containing protein and diadenosine tetraphosphate hydrolase. An overexpression vector of Arabidopsis miR408 was constructed and transferred to Arabidopsis plant. The roots of plants over expressing miR408 exhibited a slower reorientation upon gravistimulation in comparison with those of wild-type. This result indicate that miR408 could play a role in root gravitropic response.

  8. A probabilistic model of RNA conformational space

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frellsen, Jes; Moltke, Ida; Thiim, Martin

    2009-01-01

    , the discrete nature of the fragments necessitates the use of carefully tuned, unphysical energy functions, and their non-probabilistic nature impairs unbiased sampling. We offer a solution to the sampling problem that removes these important limitations: a probabilistic model of RNA structure that allows...... conformations for 9 out of 10 test structures, solely using coarse-grained base-pairing information. In conclusion, the method provides a theoretical and practical solution for a major bottleneck on the way to routine prediction and simulation of RNA structure and dynamics in atomic detail.......The increasing importance of non-coding RNA in biology and medicine has led to a growing interest in the problem of RNA 3-D structure prediction. As is the case for proteins, RNA 3-D structure prediction methods require two key ingredients: an accurate energy function and a conformational sampling...

  9. The Drosophila nerfin-1 mRNA requires multiple microRNAs to regulate its spatial and temporal translation dynamics in the developing nervous system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuzin, Alexander; Kundu, Mukta; Brody, Thomas; Odenwald, Ward F

    2007-10-01

    The mRNA encoding the Drosophila Zn-finger transcription factor Nerfin-1, required for CNS axon pathfinding events, is subject to post-transcriptional silencing. Although nerfin-1 mRNA is expressed in many neural precursor cells including all early delaminating CNS neuroblasts, the encoded Nerfin-1 protein is detected only in the nuclei of neural precursors that divide just once to generate neurons and then only transiently in nascent neurons. Using a nerfin-1 promoter-controlled reporter transgene, replacement of the nerfin-1 3' UTR with the viral SV-40 3' UTR releases the neuroblast translational block and prolongs reporter protein expression in neurons. Comparative genomics analysis reveals that the nerfin-1 mRNA 3' UTR contains multiple highly conserved sequence blocks that either harbor and/or overlap 21 predicted binding sites for 18 different microRNAs. To determine the functional significance of these microRNA-binding sites and less conserved microRNA target sites, we have studied their ability to block or limit the expression of reporter protein in nerfin-1-expressing cells during embryonic development. Our results indicate that no single microRNA is sufficient to fully inhibit protein expression but rather multiple microRNAs that target different binding sites are required to block ectopic protein expression in neural precursor cells and temporally restrict expression in neurons. Taken together, these results suggest that multiple microRNAs play a cooperative role in the post-transcriptional regulation of nerfin-1 mRNA, and the high degree of microRNA-binding site evolutionary conservation indicates that all members of the Drosophila genus employ a similar strategy to regulate the onset and extinction dynamics of Nerfin-1 expression.

  10. Determination of an effective scoring function for RNA-RNA interactions with a physics-based double-iterative method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Yumeng; Wen, Zeyu; Zhang, Di; Huang, Sheng-You

    2018-05-18

    RNA-RNA interactions play fundamental roles in gene and cell regulation. Therefore, accurate prediction of RNA-RNA interactions is critical to determine their complex structures and understand the molecular mechanism of the interactions. Here, we have developed a physics-based double-iterative strategy to determine the effective potentials for RNA-RNA interactions based on a training set of 97 diverse RNA-RNA complexes. The double-iterative strategy circumvented the reference state problem in knowledge-based scoring functions by updating the potentials through iteration and also overcame the decoy-dependent limitation in previous iterative methods by constructing the decoys iteratively. The derived scoring function, which is referred to as DITScoreRR, was evaluated on an RNA-RNA docking benchmark of 60 test cases and compared with three other scoring functions. It was shown that for bound docking, our scoring function DITScoreRR obtained the excellent success rates of 90% and 98.3% in binding mode predictions when the top 1 and 10 predictions were considered, compared to 63.3% and 71.7% for van der Waals interactions, 45.0% and 65.0% for ITScorePP, and 11.7% and 26.7% for ZDOCK 2.1, respectively. For unbound docking, DITScoreRR achieved the good success rates of 53.3% and 71.7% in binding mode predictions when the top 1 and 10 predictions were considered, compared to 13.3% and 28.3% for van der Waals interactions, 11.7% and 26.7% for our ITScorePP, and 3.3% and 6.7% for ZDOCK 2.1, respectively. DITScoreRR also performed significantly better in ranking decoys and obtained significantly higher score-RMSD correlations than the other three scoring functions. DITScoreRR will be of great value for the prediction and design of RNA structures and RNA-RNA complexes.

  11. Deep RNA sequencing reveals hidden features and dynamics of early gene transcription in Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus 1.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guillaume Blanc

    Full Text Available Paramecium bursaria chlorella virus 1 (PBCV-1 is the prototype of the genus Chlorovirus (family Phycodnaviridae that infects the unicellular, eukaryotic green alga Chlorella variabilis NC64A. The 331-kb PBCV-1 genome contains 416 major open reading frames. A mRNA-seq approach was used to analyze PBCV-1 transcriptomes at 6 progressive times during the first hour of infection. The alignment of 17 million reads to the PBCV-1 genome allowed the construction of single-base transcriptome maps. Significant transcription was detected for a subset of 50 viral genes as soon as 7 min after infection. By 20 min post infection (p.i., transcripts were detected for most PBCV-1 genes and transcript levels continued to increase globally up to 60 min p.i., at which time 41% or the poly (A+-containing RNAs in the infected cells mapped to the PBCV-1 genome. For some viral genes, the number of transcripts in the latter time points (20 to 60 min p.i. was much higher than that of the most highly expressed host genes. RNA-seq data revealed putative polyadenylation signal sequences in PBCV-1 genes that were identical to the polyadenylation signal AAUAAA of green algae. Several transcripts have an RNA fragment excised. However, the frequency of excision and the resulting putative shortened protein products suggest that most of these excision events have no functional role but are probably the result of the activity of misled splicesomes.

  12. Learning How to Construct Models of Dynamic Systems: An Initial Evaluation of the Dragoon Intelligent Tutoring System

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanLehn, Kurt; Wetzel, Jon; Grover, Sachin; van de Sande, Brett

    2017-01-01

    Constructing models of dynamic systems is an important skill in both mathematics and science instruction. However, it has proved difficult to teach. Dragoon is an intelligent tutoring system intended to quickly and effectively teach this important skill. This paper describes Dragoon and an evaluation of it. The evaluation randomly assigned…

  13. Prediction of miRNA-mRNA associations in Alzheimer's disease mice using network topology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noh, Haneul; Park, Charny; Park, Soojun; Lee, Young Seek; Cho, Soo Young; Seo, Hyemyung

    2014-08-03

    Little is known about the relationship between miRNA and mRNA expression in Alzheimer's disease (AD) at early- or late-symptomatic stages. Sequence-based target prediction algorithms and anti-correlation profiles have been applied to predict miRNA targets using omics data, but this approach often leads to false positive predictions. Here, we applied the joint profiling analysis of mRNA and miRNA expression levels to Tg6799 AD model mice at 4 and 8 months of age using a network topology-based method. We constructed gene regulatory networks and used the PageRank algorithm to predict significant interactions between miRNA and mRNA. In total, 8 cluster modules were predicted by the transcriptome data for co-expression networks of AD pathology. In total, 54 miRNAs were identified as being differentially expressed in AD. Among these, 50 significant miRNA-mRNA interactions were predicted by integrating sequence target prediction, expression analysis, and the PageRank algorithm. We identified a set of miRNA-mRNA interactions that were changed in the hippocampus of Tg6799 AD model mice. We determined the expression levels of several candidate genes and miRNA. For functional validation in primary cultured neurons from Tg6799 mice (MT) and littermate (LM) controls, the overexpression of ARRDC3 enhanced PPP1R3C expression. ARRDC3 overexpression showed the tendency to decrease the expression of miR139-5p and miR3470a in both LM and MT primary cells. Pathological environment created by Aβ treatment increased the gene expression of PPP1R3C and Sfpq but did not significantly alter the expression of miR139-5p or miR3470a. Aβ treatment increased the promoter activity of ARRDC3 gene in LM primary cells but not in MT primary cells. Our results demonstrate AD-specific changes in the miRNA regulatory system as well as the relationship between the expression levels of miRNAs and their targets in the hippocampus of Tg6799 mice. These data help further our understanding of the function

  14. Tamarix microRNA Profiling Reveals New Insight into Salt Tolerance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianwen Wang

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The halophyte tamarisk (Tamarix is extremely salt tolerant, making it an ideal material for salt tolerance-related studies. Although many salt-responsive genes of Tamarix were identified in previous studies, there are no reports on the role of post-transcriptional regulation in its salt tolerance. We constructed six small RNA libraries of Tamarix chinensis roots with NaCl treatments. High-throughput sequencing of the six libraries was performed and microRNA expression profiles were constructed. We investigated salt-responsive microRNAs to uncover the microRNA-mediated genes regulation. From these analyses, 251 conserved and 18 novel microRNA were identified from all small RNAs. From 191 differentially expressed microRNAs, 74 co-expressed microRNAs were identified as salt-responsive candidate microRNAs. The most enriched GO (gene ontology terms for the 157 genes targeted by differentially expressed microRNAs suggested that transcriptions factors were highly active. Two hub microRNAs (miR414, miR5658, which connected by several target genes into an organic microRNA regulatory network, appeared to be the key regulators of post-transcriptional salt-stress responses. As the first survey on the tamarisk small RNAome, this study improves the understanding of tamarisk salt-tolerance mechanisms and will contribute to the molecular-assisted resistance breeding.

  15. Paraspeckles: Where Long Noncoding RNA Meets Phase Separation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Archa H; Nakagawa, Shinichi; Hirose, Tetsuro; Bond, Charles S

    2018-02-01

    Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) molecules are some of the newest and least understood players in gene regulation. Hence, we need good model systems with well-defined RNA and protein components. One such system is paraspeckles - protein-rich nuclear organelles built around a specific lncRNA scaffold. New discoveries show how paraspeckles are formed through multiple RNA-protein and protein-protein interactions, some of which involve extensive polymerization, and others with multivalent interactions driving phase separation. Once formed, paraspeckles influence gene regulation through sequestration of component proteins and RNAs, with subsequent depletion in other compartments. Here we focus on the dual aspects of paraspeckle structure and function, revealing an emerging role for these dynamic bodies in a multitude of cellular settings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. RNA-Seq analysis uncovers non-coding small RNA system of Mycobacterium neoaurum in the metabolism of sterols to accumulate steroid intermediates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Min; Zhu, Zhan-Tao; Tao, Xin-Yi; Wang, Feng-Qing; Wei, Dong-Zhi

    2016-04-25

    Understanding the metabolic mechanism of sterols to produce valuable steroid intermediates in mycobacterium by a noncoding small RNA (sRNA) view is still limited. In the work, RNA-seq was implemented to investigate the noncoding transcriptome of Mycobacterium neoaurum (Mn) in the transformation process of sterols to valuable steroid intermediates, including 9α-hydroxy-4-androstene-3,17-dione (9OHAD), 1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione (ADD), and 22-hydroxy-23, 24-bisnorchola-1,4-dien-3-one (1,4-BNA). A total of 263 sRNA candidates were predicted from the intergenic regions in Mn. Differential expression of sRNA candidates was explored in the wide type Mn with vs without sterol addition, and the steroid intermediate producing Mn strains vs wide type Mn with sterol addition, respectively. Generally, sRNA candidates were differentially expressed in various strains, but there were still some shared candidates with outstandingly upregulated or downregulated expression in these steroid producing strains. Accordingly, four regulatory networks were constructed to reveal the direct and/or indirect interactions between sRNA candidates and their target genes in four groups, including wide type Mn with vs without sterol addition, 9OHAD, ADD, and BNA producing strains vs wide type Mn with sterol addition, respectively. Based on these constructed networks, several highly focused sRNA candidates were discovered to be prevalent in the networks, which showed comprehensive regulatory roles in various cellular processes, including lipid transport and metabolism, amino acid transport and metabolism, signal transduction, cell envelope biosynthesis and ATP synthesis. To explore the functional role of sRNA candidates in Mn cells, we manipulated the overexpression of candidates 131 and 138 in strain Mn-9OHAD, which led to enhanced production of 9OHAD from 1.5- to 2.3-fold during 6 d' fermentation and a slight effect on growth rate. This study revealed the complex and important regulatory

  17. HCV RNA traffic and association with NS5A in living cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fiches, Guillaume N.; Eyre, Nicholas S.; Aloia, Amanda L.; Van Der Hoek, Kylie [Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, University of Adelaide, Adelaide and Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology, Adelaide, SA (Australia); Betz-Stablein, Brigit; Luciani, Fabio [Systems Immunology, School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW (Australia); Chopra, Abha [Institute for Immunology and infectious diseases (IIID), Murdoch University, Perth, WA (Australia); Beard, Michael R., E-mail: michael.beard@adelaide.edu.au [Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Research Centre for Infectious Diseases, University of Adelaide, Adelaide and Centre for Cancer Biology, SA Pathology, Adelaide, SA (Australia)

    2016-06-15

    The spatiotemporal dynamics of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) RNA localisation are poorly understood. To address this we engineered HCV genomes harbouring MS2 bacteriophage RNA stem-loops within the 3′-untranslated region to allow tracking of HCV RNA via specific interaction with a MS2-Coat-mCherry fusion protein. Despite the impact of these insertions on viral fitness, live imaging revealed that replication of tagged-HCV genomes induced specific redistribution of the mCherry-tagged-MS2-Coat protein to motile and static foci. Further analysis showed that HCV RNA was associated with NS5A in both static and motile structures while a subset of motile NS5A structures was devoid of HCV RNA. Further investigation of viral RNA traffic with respect to lipid droplets (LDs) revealed HCV RNA-positive structures in close association with LDs. These studies provide new insights into the dynamics of HCV RNA traffic with NS5A and LDs and provide a platform for future investigations of HCV replication and assembly. - Highlights: • HCV can tolerate can bacteriophage MS2 stem-loop insertions within the 3′ UTR. • MS2 stem-loop containing HCV genomes allow for real-time imaging of HCV RNA. • HCV RNA is both static and motile and associates with NS5A and lipid droplets.

  18. HCV RNA traffic and association with NS5A in living cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fiches, Guillaume N.; Eyre, Nicholas S.; Aloia, Amanda L.; Van Der Hoek, Kylie; Betz-Stablein, Brigit; Luciani, Fabio; Chopra, Abha; Beard, Michael R.

    2016-01-01

    The spatiotemporal dynamics of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) RNA localisation are poorly understood. To address this we engineered HCV genomes harbouring MS2 bacteriophage RNA stem-loops within the 3′-untranslated region to allow tracking of HCV RNA via specific interaction with a MS2-Coat-mCherry fusion protein. Despite the impact of these insertions on viral fitness, live imaging revealed that replication of tagged-HCV genomes induced specific redistribution of the mCherry-tagged-MS2-Coat protein to motile and static foci. Further analysis showed that HCV RNA was associated with NS5A in both static and motile structures while a subset of motile NS5A structures was devoid of HCV RNA. Further investigation of viral RNA traffic with respect to lipid droplets (LDs) revealed HCV RNA-positive structures in close association with LDs. These studies provide new insights into the dynamics of HCV RNA traffic with NS5A and LDs and provide a platform for future investigations of HCV replication and assembly. - Highlights: • HCV can tolerate can bacteriophage MS2 stem-loop insertions within the 3′ UTR. • MS2 stem-loop containing HCV genomes allow for real-time imaging of HCV RNA. • HCV RNA is both static and motile and associates with NS5A and lipid droplets.

  19. Bayesian state space models for dynamic genetic network construction across multiple tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Yulan; Kelemen, Arpad

    2016-08-01

    Construction of gene-gene interaction networks and potential pathways is a challenging and important problem in genomic research for complex diseases while estimating the dynamic changes of the temporal correlations and non-stationarity are the keys in this process. In this paper, we develop dynamic state space models with hierarchical Bayesian settings to tackle this challenge for inferring the dynamic profiles and genetic networks associated with disease treatments. We treat both the stochastic transition matrix and the observation matrix time-variant and include temporal correlation structures in the covariance matrix estimations in the multivariate Bayesian state space models. The unevenly spaced short time courses with unseen time points are treated as hidden state variables. Hierarchical Bayesian approaches with various prior and hyper-prior models with Monte Carlo Markov Chain and Gibbs sampling algorithms are used to estimate the model parameters and the hidden state variables. We apply the proposed Hierarchical Bayesian state space models to multiple tissues (liver, skeletal muscle, and kidney) Affymetrix time course data sets following corticosteroid (CS) drug administration. Both simulation and real data analysis results show that the genomic changes over time and gene-gene interaction in response to CS treatment can be well captured by the proposed models. The proposed dynamic Hierarchical Bayesian state space modeling approaches could be expanded and applied to other large scale genomic data, such as next generation sequence (NGS) combined with real time and time varying electronic health record (EHR) for more comprehensive and robust systematic and network based analysis in order to transform big biomedical data into predictions and diagnostics for precision medicine and personalized healthcare with better decision making and patient outcomes.

  20. The LncRNA Connectivity Map: Using LncRNA Signatures to Connect Small Molecules, LncRNAs, and Diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Haixiu; Shang, Desi; Xu, Yanjun; Zhang, Chunlong; Feng, Li; Sun, Zeguo; Shi, Xinrui; Zhang, Yunpeng; Han, Junwei; Su, Fei; Li, Chunquan; Li, Xia

    2017-07-27

    Well characterized the connections among diseases, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and drugs are important for elucidating the key roles of lncRNAs in biological mechanisms in various biological states. In this study, we constructed a database called LNCmap (LncRNA Connectivity Map), available at http://www.bio-bigdata.com/LNCmap/ , to establish the correlations among diseases, physiological processes, and the action of small molecule therapeutics by attempting to describe all biological states in terms of lncRNA signatures. By reannotating the microarray data from the Connectivity Map database, the LNCmap obtained 237 lncRNA signatures of 5916 instances corresponding to 1262 small molecular drugs. We provided a user-friendly interface for the convenient browsing, retrieval and download of the database, including detailed information and the associations of drugs and corresponding affected lncRNAs. Additionally, we developed two enrichment analysis methods for users to identify candidate drugs for a particular disease by inputting the corresponding lncRNA expression profiles or an associated lncRNA list and then comparing them to the lncRNA signatures in our database. Overall, LNCmap could significantly improve our understanding of the biological roles of lncRNAs and provide a unique resource to reveal the connections among drugs, lncRNAs and diseases.

  1. Accumulation of dsRNA in endosomes contributes to inefficient RNA interference in the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, June-Sun; Gurusamy, Dhandapani; Palli, Subba Reddy

    2017-11-01

    RNA interference (RNAi) efficiency varies among insects studied. The barriers for successful RNAi include the presence of double-stranded ribonucleases (dsRNase) in the lumen and hemolymph that could potentially digest double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) and the variability in the transport of dsRNA into and within the cells. We recently showed that the dsRNAs are transported into lepidopteran cells, but they are not processed into small interference RNAs (siRNAs) because they are trapped in acidic bodies. In the current study, we focused on the identification of acidic bodies in which dsRNAs accumulate in Sf9 cells. Time-lapse imaging studies showed that dsRNAs enter Sf9 cells and accumulate in acidic bodies within 20 min after their addition to the medium. CypHer-5E-labeled dsRNA also accumulated in the midgut and fat body dissected from Spodoptera frugiperda larvae with similar patterns observed in Sf9 cells. Pharmacological inhibitor assays showed that the dsRNAs use clathrin mediated endocytosis pathway for transport into the cells. We investigated the potential dsRNA accumulation sites employing LysoTracker and double labeling experiments using the constructs to express a fusion of green fluorescence protein with early or late endosomal marker proteins and CypHer-5E-labeled dsRNA. Interestingly, CypHer-5E-labeled dsRNA accumulated predominantly in early and late endosomes. These data suggest that entrapment of internalized dsRNA in endosomes is one of the major factors contributing to inefficient RNAi response in lepidopteran insects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. The ribosome as a molecular machine: the mechanism of tRNA-mRNA movement in translocation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodnina, Marina V; Wintermeyer, Wolfgang

    2011-04-01

    Translocation of tRNA and mRNA through the ribosome is one of the most dynamic events during protein synthesis. In the cell, translocation is catalysed by EF-G (elongation factor G) and driven by GTP hydrolysis. Major unresolved questions are: how the movement is induced and what the moving parts of the ribosome are. Recent progress in time-resolved cryoelectron microscopy revealed trajectories of tRNA movement through the ribosome. Driven by thermal fluctuations, the ribosome spontaneously samples a large number of conformational states. The spontaneous movement of tRNAs through the ribosome is loosely coupled to the motions within the ribosome. EF-G stabilizes conformational states prone to translocation and promotes a conformational rearrangement of the ribosome (unlocking) that accelerates the rate-limiting step of translocation: the movement of the tRNA anticodons on the small ribosomal subunit. EF-G acts as a Brownian ratchet providing directional bias for movement at the cost of GTP hydrolysis.

  3. Mapping the universe of RNA tetraloop folds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bottaro, Sandro; Lindorff-Larsen, Kresten

    2017-01-01

    We report a map of RNA tetraloop conformations constructed by calculating pairwise distances among all experimentally determined four-nucleotide hairpin loops. Tetraloops with similar structures are clustered together and, as expected, the two largest clusters are the canonical GNRA and UNCG fold...

  4. ExpEdit: a webserver to explore human RNA editing in RNA-Seq experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Picardi, Ernesto; D'Antonio, Mattia; Carrabino, Danilo; Castrignanò, Tiziana; Pesole, Graziano

    2011-05-01

    ExpEdit is a web application for assessing RNA editing in human at known or user-specified sites supported by transcript data obtained by RNA-Seq experiments. Mapping data (in SAM/BAM format) or directly sequence reads [in FASTQ/short read archive (SRA) format] can be provided as input to carry out a comparative analysis against a large collection of known editing sites collected in DARNED database as well as other user-provided potentially edited positions. Results are shown as dynamic tables containing University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) links for a quick examination of the genomic context. ExpEdit is freely available on the web at http://www.caspur.it/ExpEdit/.

  5. Good quality Vitis RNA obtained from an adapted DNA isolation protocol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabel Baiges

    2003-03-01

    Full Text Available Grapevine is a woody plant, whose high carbohydrate and phenolic compound contents usually interferes with nucleic acid isolation. After we tried several protocols for isolating RNA from the Vitis rootstock Richter- 110 (R-110 with little or no success, we adapted a method reported to be satisfactory for grapevine DNA isolation, to extract RNA. With slight protocol modifications, we succeeded to obtain polysaccharide- and phenolic-free RNA preparations from all vegetative tissues, without excessive sample handling. RNA isolated by the reported method permitted to obtain highly pure mRNA (messenger RNA to construct a cDNA (complementary DNA library and allowed gene transcription analysis by reverse Northern, which guarantees RNA integrity. This method may also be suitable for other plant species with high polysaccharide or phenolic contents.

  6. Dynamic Testing of Analogical Reasoning in 5- to 6-Year-Olds : Multiple-Choice Versus Constructed-Response Training Items

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stevenson, C.E.; Heiser, W.J.; Resing, W.C.M.

    2016-01-01

    Multiple-choice (MC) analogy items are often used in cognitive assessment. However, in dynamic testing, where the aim is to provide insight into potential for learning and the learning process, constructed-response (CR) items may be of benefit. This study investigated whether training with CR or MC

  7. Statistical modeling of isoform splicing dynamics from RNA-seq time series data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yuanhua; Sanguinetti, Guido

    2016-10-01

    Isoform quantification is an important goal of RNA-seq experiments, yet it remains problematic for genes with low expression or several isoforms. These difficulties may in principle be ameliorated by exploiting correlated experimental designs, such as time series or dosage response experiments. Time series RNA-seq experiments, in particular, are becoming increasingly popular, yet there are no methods that explicitly leverage the experimental design to improve isoform quantification. Here, we present DICEseq, the first isoform quantification method tailored to correlated RNA-seq experiments. DICEseq explicitly models the correlations between different RNA-seq experiments to aid the quantification of isoforms across experiments. Numerical experiments on simulated datasets show that DICEseq yields more accurate results than state-of-the-art methods, an advantage that can become considerable at low coverage levels. On real datasets, our results show that DICEseq provides substantially more reproducible and robust quantifications, increasing the correlation of estimates from replicate datasets by up to 10% on genes with low or moderate expression levels (bottom third of all genes). Furthermore, DICEseq permits to quantify the trade-off between temporal sampling of RNA and depth of sequencing, frequently an important choice when planning experiments. Our results have strong implications for the design of RNA-seq experiments, and offer a novel tool for improved analysis of such datasets. Python code is freely available at http://diceseq.sf.net G.Sanguinetti@ed.ac.uk Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. OMIT: dynamic, semi-automated ontology development for the microRNA domain.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jingshan Huang

    Full Text Available As a special class of short non-coding RNAs, microRNAs (a.k.a. miRNAs or miRs have been reported to perform important roles in various biological processes by regulating respective target genes. However, significant barriers exist during biologists' conventional miR knowledge discovery. Emerging semantic technologies, which are based upon domain ontologies, can render critical assistance to this problem. Our previous research has investigated the construction of a miR ontology, named Ontology for MIcroRNA Target Prediction (OMIT, the very first of its kind that formally encodes miR domain knowledge. Although it is unavoidable to have a manual component contributed by domain experts when building ontologies, many challenges have been identified for a completely manual development process. The most significant issue is that a manual development process is very labor-intensive and thus extremely expensive. Therefore, we propose in this paper an innovative ontology development methodology. Our contributions can be summarized as: (i We have continued the development and critical improvement of OMIT, solidly based on our previous research outcomes. (ii We have explored effective and efficient algorithms with which the ontology development can be seamlessly combined with machine intelligence and be accomplished in a semi-automated manner, thus significantly reducing large amounts of human efforts. A set of experiments have been conducted to thoroughly evaluate our proposed methodology.

  9. OMIT: dynamic, semi-automated ontology development for the microRNA domain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jingshan; Dang, Jiangbo; Borchert, Glen M; Eilbeck, Karen; Zhang, He; Xiong, Min; Jiang, Weijian; Wu, Hao; Blake, Judith A; Natale, Darren A; Tan, Ming

    2014-01-01

    As a special class of short non-coding RNAs, microRNAs (a.k.a. miRNAs or miRs) have been reported to perform important roles in various biological processes by regulating respective target genes. However, significant barriers exist during biologists' conventional miR knowledge discovery. Emerging semantic technologies, which are based upon domain ontologies, can render critical assistance to this problem. Our previous research has investigated the construction of a miR ontology, named Ontology for MIcroRNA Target Prediction (OMIT), the very first of its kind that formally encodes miR domain knowledge. Although it is unavoidable to have a manual component contributed by domain experts when building ontologies, many challenges have been identified for a completely manual development process. The most significant issue is that a manual development process is very labor-intensive and thus extremely expensive. Therefore, we propose in this paper an innovative ontology development methodology. Our contributions can be summarized as: (i) We have continued the development and critical improvement of OMIT, solidly based on our previous research outcomes. (ii) We have explored effective and efficient algorithms with which the ontology development can be seamlessly combined with machine intelligence and be accomplished in a semi-automated manner, thus significantly reducing large amounts of human efforts. A set of experiments have been conducted to thoroughly evaluate our proposed methodology.

  10. OMIT: Dynamic, Semi-Automated Ontology Development for the microRNA Domain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jingshan; Dang, Jiangbo; Borchert, Glen M.; Eilbeck, Karen; Zhang, He; Xiong, Min; Jiang, Weijian; Wu, Hao; Blake, Judith A.; Natale, Darren A.; Tan, Ming

    2014-01-01

    As a special class of short non-coding RNAs, microRNAs (a.k.a. miRNAs or miRs) have been reported to perform important roles in various biological processes by regulating respective target genes. However, significant barriers exist during biologists' conventional miR knowledge discovery. Emerging semantic technologies, which are based upon domain ontologies, can render critical assistance to this problem. Our previous research has investigated the construction of a miR ontology, named Ontology for MIcroRNA Target Prediction (OMIT), the very first of its kind that formally encodes miR domain knowledge. Although it is unavoidable to have a manual component contributed by domain experts when building ontologies, many challenges have been identified for a completely manual development process. The most significant issue is that a manual development process is very labor-intensive and thus extremely expensive. Therefore, we propose in this paper an innovative ontology development methodology. Our contributions can be summarized as: (i) We have continued the development and critical improvement of OMIT, solidly based on our previous research outcomes. (ii) We have explored effective and efficient algorithms with which the ontology development can be seamlessly combined with machine intelligence and be accomplished in a semi-automated manner, thus significantly reducing large amounts of human efforts. A set of experiments have been conducted to thoroughly evaluate our proposed methodology. PMID:25025130

  11. DMPD: Negative regulation of cytoplasmic RNA-mediated antiviral signaling. [Dynamic Macrophage Pathway CSML Database

    Lifescience Database Archive (English)

    Full Text Available 18703349 Negative regulation of cytoplasmic RNA-mediated antiviral signaling. Komur...Show Negative regulation of cytoplasmic RNA-mediated antiviral signaling. PubmedID 18703349 Title Negative r...egulation of cytoplasmic RNA-mediated antiviral signaling. Authors Komuro A, Bamm

  12. The "sociotype" construct: Gauging the structure and dynamics of human sociality.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedro C Marijuán

    Full Text Available Exploring the pertinence of a "sociotype" construct, established along the conceptual chain genotype-phenotype-sociotype, is the essential purpose of the present paper. Further, by following the sociotype's conceptual guidelines, a new psychometric indicator has been developed in order to gauge the level of social interaction around each individual-the sociotype questionnaire (SOCQ. A first version of this questionnaire has been elaborated by gathering data about the different classes of social bonds (family, friends, acquaintances, and work/study colleagues in general population and about the dynamic update of these bonds via face-to-face conversation and other modes of interaction. A specific fieldwork was undertaken, involving 1,075 participants, all of them Spanish adults (with diverse social and regional backgrounds. The data obtained were analyzed by means of the correlational method with an analytical cross-sectional design: the number of factors and the consistency and reliability of the resulting scales were evaluated and correlated. The new sociotype indicator resulting from that fieldwork, in spite of its limitations, seems to be valid and reliable, as well as closely associated with widely used metrics of loneliness and psychological distress. It is interesting that the construct noticeably varies throughout the life course and circumstances of individuals, based on their gender and age, and adjusting to the different situations of social networking. This is the first study, to the best of our knowledge, which has tried to reach both a theoretical and an operational formulation of the sociotype construct, by establishing an ad hoc psychometric questionnaire. We think that the information provided by this operational definition opens a new direction of work that could be useful to guide the development and evaluation of programs aimed at improving and strengthening social networking in people at risk, especially for the elderly.

  13. [Construction and selection of effective mouse Smad6 recombinant lenti-virus interference vectors].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Jing; Qi, Mengchun; Deng, Jiupeng; Liu, Gang; Chen, Huaiqing

    2010-10-01

    This experiment was designed to construct mouse Smad6 recombinant RNA interference vectors and determine their interference effects on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). Three recombinant Smad6 RNA interference vectors were constructed by molecular clone techniques with a lenti-virus vector expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP), and the correctness of recombinant vectors was verified by DNA sequencing. Mouse BMSCs were used for transfection experiments and BMP-2 was in use for osteogenic induction of MSCs. The transfection efficiency of recombinant vectors was examined by Laser confocal scanning microscope and the interference effect of recombinant vectors on Smad6 gene expression was determined by real-time RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. Three Smad6 recombinant RNA interference vectors were successfully constructed and their correctness was proved by DNA sequencing. After transfection, GFPs were effectively expressed in MSCs and all of three recombinant vectors gained high transfection efficiency (> 95%). Both real-time PCR and Western blot examination indicated that among three recombinant vectors, No. 2 Svector had the best interference effect and the interference effect was nearly 91% at protein level. In conclusion, Mouse recombinant Smad6 RNA interference (RNAi) vector was successfully constructed and it provided an effective tool for further studies on BMP signal pathways.

  14. Capturing Parenting as a Multidimensional and Dynamic Construct with a Person-Oriented Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Yao; Pasalich, Dave S; Oberth, Carla; McMahon, Robert J; Pinderhughes, Ellen E

    2017-04-01

    Although parenting is one of the most commonly studied predictors of child problem behavior, few studies have examined parenting as a multidimensional and dynamic construct. This study investigated different patterns of developmental trajectories of two parenting dimensions (harsh discipline [HD] and parental warmth [PW]) with a person-oriented approach and examined the associations between different parenting patterns and child externalizing problems and callous-unemotional traits. Data were drawn from the combined high-risk control and normative sample (n = 753) of the Fast Track Project. Parent-reported HD and observer-reported PW from kindergarten to grade 2 were fit to growth mixture models. Two subgroups were identified for HD (low decreasing, 83.0 %; high stable, 17.0 %) and PW (high increasing, 78.7 %; low increasing, 21.3 %). The majority of parents (67.0 %) demonstrated the low decreasing HD and high increasing PW pattern, while the prevalence of the high stable HD and low increasing PW pattern was the lowest (6.8 %). Parenting satisfaction, parental depression, family socioeconomic status, and neighborhood safety predicted group memberships jointly defined by the two dimensions. Children from the high stable HD and low increasing PW pattern showed the highest levels of externalizing problems in grades 4 and 5. Children from the low decreasing HD and low increasing PW pattern showed the highest levels of callous-unemotional traits in grade 7. These findings demonstrate the utility and significance of a person-oriented approach to measuring parenting as a multidimensional and dynamic construct and reveal the interplay between HD and PW in terms of their influences on child developmental outcomes.

  15. A glimpse at mRNA dynamics reveals cellular domains and rapid trafficking through granules

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gemert, Alice Myriam Christi van

    2011-01-01

    mRNA transport and targeting are essential to gene expression regulation. Specific mRNA sequences can bind several proteins and together form RiboNucleoProtein particles (RNP). The various proteins within the RNP determine mRNA fate: translation, transport or decay. RNP composition varies with

  16. A New Dynamic Multicriteria Decision-Making Approach for Green Supplier Selection in Construction Projects under Time Sequence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shi Yin

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, due to the lack of natural resources and environment problems which have been appearing increasingly, green building is more and more involved in the construction industry. The evaluation and selection of green supplier are a significant part of the development of green building. In this paper, we propose a new dynamic multicriteria decision-making approach in construction projects under time sequence to deal with these problems. First, the paper establishes 4 main criteria and 17 subcriteria for green supplier selection in construction projects. Then, a method considering interaction between criteria and the influence of constructors subjective preference and objective criteria information is proposed. It uses the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy geometric weighted Heronian means (IVIFGWHM operator and multitarget nonlinear programming model to calculate the comprehensive evaluation results of potential green suppliers. The proposed method is much easier for constructors to select green supplier and make the localization of green supplier more practical and accurate in construction projects. Finally, a case study about a green building project is given to verify practicality and effectiveness of the proposed approach.

  17. Methods to enable the design of bioactive small molecules targeting RNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Disney, Matthew D; Yildirim, Ilyas; Childs-Disney, Jessica L

    2014-02-21

    RNA is an immensely important target for small molecule therapeutics or chemical probes of function. However, methods that identify, annotate, and optimize RNA-small molecule interactions that could enable the design of compounds that modulate RNA function are in their infancies. This review describes recent approaches that have been developed to understand and optimize RNA motif-small molecule interactions, including structure-activity relationships through sequencing (StARTS), quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR), chemical similarity searching, structure-based design and docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Case studies described include the design of small molecules targeting RNA expansions, the bacterial A-site, viral RNAs, and telomerase RNA. These approaches can be combined to afford a synergistic method to exploit the myriad of RNA targets in the transcriptome.

  18. Structural explanation for the role of Mn2+ in the activity of phi6 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poranen, Minna M; Salgado, Paula S; Koivunen, Minni R L; Wright, Sam; Bamford, Dennis H; Stuart, David I; Grimes, Jonathan M

    2008-11-01

    The biological role of manganese (Mn(2+)) has been a long-standing puzzle, since at low concentrations it activates several polymerases whilst at higher concentrations it inhibits. Viral RNA polymerases possess a common architecture, reminiscent of a closed right hand. The RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of bacteriophage 6 is one of the best understood examples of this important class of polymerases. We have probed the role of Mn(2+) by biochemical, biophysical and structural analyses of the wild-type enzyme and of a mutant form with an altered Mn(2+)-binding site (E491 to Q). The E491Q mutant has much reduced affinity for Mn(2+), reduced RNA binding and a compromised elongation rate. Loss of Mn(2+) binding structurally stabilizes the enzyme. These data and a re-examination of the structures of other viral RNA polymerases clarify the role of manganese in the activation of polymerization: Mn(2+) coordination of a catalytic aspartate is necessary to allow the active site to properly engage with the triphosphates of the incoming NTPs. The structural flexibility caused by Mn(2+) is also important for the enzyme dynamics, explaining the requirement for manganese throughout RNA polymerization.

  19. An RNA-seq transcriptome analysis of histone modifiers and RNA silencing genes in soybean during floral initiation process.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lim Chee Liew

    Full Text Available Epigenetics has been recognised to play vital roles in many plant developmental processes, including floral initiation through the epigenetic regulation of gene expression. The histone modifying proteins that mediate these modifications involve the SET domain-containing histone methyltransferases, JmjC domain-containing demethylase, acetylases and deacetylases. In addition, RNA interference (RNAi-associated genes are also involved in epigenetic regulation via RNA-directed DNA methylation and post-transcriptional gene silencing. Soybean, a major crop legume, requires a short day to induce flowering. How histone modifications regulate the plant response to external cues that initiate flowering is still largely unknown. Here, we used RNA-seq to address the dynamics of transcripts that are potentially involved in the epigenetic programming and RNAi mediated gene silencing during the floral initiation of soybean. Soybean is a paleopolyploid that has been subjected to at least two rounds of whole genome duplication events. We report that the expanded genomic repertoire of histone modifiers and RNA silencing genes in soybean includes 14 histone acetyltransferases, 24 histone deacetylases, 47 histone methyltransferases, 15 protein arginine methyltransferases, 24 JmjC domain-containing demethylases and 47 RNAi-associated genes. To investigate the role of these histone modifiers and RNA silencing genes during floral initiation, we compared the transcriptional dynamics of the leaf and shoot apical meristem at different time points after a short-day treatment. Our data reveal that the extensive activation of genes that are usually involved in the epigenetic programming and RNAi gene silencing in the soybean shoot apical meristem are reprogrammed for floral development following an exposure to inductive conditions.

  20. Evolutionary dynamics of RNA-like replicators : A bioinformatic approach to the origin of life

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Takeuchi, N.

    2010-01-01

    The origin of life has always attracted scientific inquiries. The RNA world hypothesis suggests that, before the evolution of DNAs and proteins, primordial life was based on RNAs both for information storage and chemical catalysis. In its simplest form, an RNA world consists of RNA molecules that

  1. A 3'-end structure in RNA2 of a crinivirus is essential for viral RNA synthesis and contributes to replication-associated translation activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mongkolsiriwattana, Chawin; Zhou, Jaclyn S; Ng, James C K

    2016-10-03

    The terminal ends in the genome of RNA viruses contain features that regulate viral replication and/or translation. We have identified a Y-shaped structure (YSS) in the 3' terminal regions of the bipartite genome of Lettuce chlorosis virus (LCV), a member in the genus Crinivirus (family Closteroviridae). The YSS is the first in this family of viruses to be determined using Selective 2'-Hydroxyl Acylation Analyzed by Primer Extension (SHAPE). Using luciferase constructs/replicons, in vivo and in vitro assays showed that the 5' and YSS-containing 3' terminal regions of LCV RNA1 supported translation activity. In contrast, similar regions from LCV RNA2, including those upstream of the YSS, did not. LCV RNA2 mutants with nucleotide deletions or replacements that affected the YSS were replication deficient. In addition, the YSS of LCV RNA1 and RNA2 were interchangeable without affecting viral RNA synthesis. Translation and significant replication were observed for specific LCV RNA2 replicons only in the presence of LCV RNA1, but both processes were impaired when the YSS and/or its upstream region were incomplete or altered. These results are evidence that the YSS is essential to the viral replication machinery, and contributes to replication enhancement and replication-associated translation activity in the RNA2 replicons.

  2. Free-Energy Landscape of Reverse tRNA Translocation through the Ribosome Analyzed by Electron Microscopy Density Maps and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishida, Hisashi; Matsumoto, Atsushi

    2014-01-01

    To understand the mechanism of reverse tRNA translocation in the ribosome, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of the ribosome-tRNAs-mRNA-EFG complex were performed. The complex at the post-translocational state was directed towards the translocational and pre-translocational states by fitting the complex into cryo-EM density maps. Between a series of the fitting simulations, umbrella sampling simulations were performed to obtain the free-energy landscape. Multistep structural changes, such as a ratchet-like motion and rotation of the head of the small subunit were observed. The free-energy landscape showed that there were two main free-energy barriers: one between the post-translocational and intermediate states, and the other between the pre-translocational and intermediate states. The former corresponded to a clockwise rotation, which was coupled to the movement of P-tRNA over the P/E-gate made of G1338, A1339 and A790 in the small subunit. The latter corresponded to an anticlockwise rotation of the head, which was coupled to the location of the two tRNAs in the hybrid state. This indicates that the coupled motion of the head rotation and tRNA translocation plays an important role in opening and closing of the P/E-gate during the ratchet-like movement in the ribosome. Conformational change of EF-G was interpreted to be the result of the combination of the external motion by L12 around an axis passing near the sarcin-ricin loop, and internal hinge-bending motion. These motions contributed to the movement of domain IV of EF-G to maintain its interaction with A/P-tRNA. PMID:24999999

  3. Free-energy landscape of reverse tRNA translocation through the ribosome analyzed by electron microscopy density maps and molecular dynamics simulations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hisashi Ishida

    Full Text Available To understand the mechanism of reverse tRNA translocation in the ribosome, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations of the ribosome-tRNAs-mRNA-EFG complex were performed. The complex at the post-translocational state was directed towards the translocational and pre-translocational states by fitting the complex into cryo-EM density maps. Between a series of the fitting simulations, umbrella sampling simulations were performed to obtain the free-energy landscape. Multistep structural changes, such as a ratchet-like motion and rotation of the head of the small subunit were observed. The free-energy landscape showed that there were two main free-energy barriers: one between the post-translocational and intermediate states, and the other between the pre-translocational and intermediate states. The former corresponded to a clockwise rotation, which was coupled to the movement of P-tRNA over the P/E-gate made of G1338, A1339 and A790 in the small subunit. The latter corresponded to an anticlockwise rotation of the head, which was coupled to the location of the two tRNAs in the hybrid state. This indicates that the coupled motion of the head rotation and tRNA translocation plays an important role in opening and closing of the P/E-gate during the ratchet-like movement in the ribosome. Conformational change of EF-G was interpreted to be the result of the combination of the external motion by L12 around an axis passing near the sarcin-ricin loop, and internal hinge-bending motion. These motions contributed to the movement of domain IV of EF-G to maintain its interaction with A/P-tRNA.

  4. MicroRNA-gene expression network in murine liver during Schistosoma japonicum infection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pengfei Cai

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Schistosomiasis japonica remains a significant public health problem in China and Southeast Asian countries. The most typical and serious outcome of the chronic oriental schistosomiasis is the progressive granuloma and fibrosis in the host liver, which has been a major medical challenge. However, the molecular mechanism underling the hepatic pathogenesis is still not clear. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using microarrays, we quantified the temporal gene expression profiles in the liver of Schistosoma japonicum-infected BALB/c mice at 15, 30, and 45 day post infection (dpi with that from uninfected mice as controls. Gene expression alternation associated with liver damage was observed in the initial phase of infection (dpi 15, which became more magnificent with the onset of egg-laying. Up-regulated genes were dominantly associated with inflammatory infiltration, whereas down-regulated genes primarily led to the hepatic functional disorders. Simultaneously, microRNA profiles from the same samples were decoded by Solexa sequencing. More than 130 miRNAs were differentially expressed in murine liver during S. japonicum infection. MiRNAs significantly dysregulated in the mid-phase of infection (dpi 30, such as mmu-miR-146b and mmu-miR-155, may relate to the regulation of hepatic inflammatory responses, whereas miRNAs exhibiting a peak expression in the late phase of infection (dpi 45, such as mmu-miR-223, mmu-miR-146a/b, mmu-miR-155, mmu-miR-34c, mmu-miR-199, and mmu-miR-134, may represent a molecular signature of the development of schistosomal hepatopathy. Further, a dynamic miRNA-gene co-expression network in the progression of infection was constructed. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: This study presents a global view of dynamic expression of both mRNA and miRNA transcripts in murine liver during S. japonicum infection, and highlights that miRNAs may play a variety of regulatory roles in balancing the immune responses during the

  5. Understanding the core of RNA interference: The dynamic aspects of Argonaute-mediated processes

    KAUST Repository

    Zhu, Lizhe

    2016-10-05

    At the core of RNA interference, the Argonaute proteins (Ago) load and utilize small guide nucleic acids to silence mRNAs or cleave foreign nucleic acids in a sequence specific manner. In recent years, based on extensive structural studies of Ago and its interaction with the nucleic acids, considerable progress has been made to reveal the dynamic aspects of various Ago-mediated processes. Here we review these novel insights into the guide-strand loading, duplex unwinding, and effects of seed mismatch, with a focus on two representative Agos, the human Ago 2 (hAgo2) and the bacterial Thermus thermophilus Ago (TtAgo). In particular, comprehensive molecular simulation studies revealed that although sharing similar overall structures, the two Agos have vastly different conformational landscapes and guide-strand loading mechanisms because of the distinct rigidity of their L1-PAZ hinge. Given the central role of the PAZ motions in regulating the exposure of the nucleic acid binding channel, these findings exemplify the importance of protein motions in distinguishing the overlapping, yet distinct, mechanisms of Ago-mediated processes in different organisms.

  6. Three RNA recognition motifs participate in RNA recognition and structural organization by the pro-apoptotic factor TIA-1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauer, William J.; Heath, Jason; Jenkins, Jermaine L.; Kielkopf, Clara L.

    2012-01-01

    T-cell intracellular antigen-1 (TIA-1) regulates developmental and stress-responsive pathways through distinct activities at the levels of alternative pre-mRNA splicing and mRNA translation. The TIA-1 polypeptide contains three RNA recognition motifs (RRMs). The central RRM2 and C-terminal RRM3 associate with cellular mRNAs. The N-terminal RRM1 enhances interactions of a C-terminal Q-rich domain of TIA-1 with the U1-C splicing factor, despite linear separation of the domains in the TIA-1 sequence. Given the expanded functional repertoire of the RRM family, it was unknown whether TIA-1 RRM1 contributes to RNA binding as well as documented protein interactions. To address this question, we used isothermal titration calorimetry and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to dissect the roles of the TIA-1 RRMs in RNA recognition. Notably, the fas RNA exhibited two binding sites with indistinguishable affinities for TIA-1. Analyses of TIA-1 variants established that RRM1 was dispensable for binding AU-rich fas sites, yet all three RRMs were required to bind a polyU RNA with high affinity. SAXS analyses demonstrated a `V' shape for a TIA-1 construct comprising the three RRMs, and revealed that its dimensions became more compact in the RNA-bound state. The sequence-selective involvement of TIA-1 RRM1 in RNA recognition suggests a possible role for RNA sequences in regulating the distinct functions of TIA-1. Further implications for U1-C recruitment by the adjacent TIA-1 binding sites of the fas pre-mRNA and the bent TIA-1 shape, which organizes the N- and C-termini on the same side of the protein, are discussed. PMID:22154808

  7. Construction of Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated tomato black ring virus infectious cDNA clones.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zarzyńska-Nowak, Aleksandra; Ferriol, Inmaculada; Falk, Bryce W; Borodynko-Filas, Natasza; Hasiów-Jaroszewska, Beata

    2017-02-15

    Tomato black ring virus (TBRV, genus Nepovirus) infects a wide range of economically important plants such as tomato, potato, tobacco and cucumber. Here, a successful construction of infectious full-length cDNA clones of the TBRV genomic RNAs (RNA1 and RNA2) is reported for the first time. The engineered constructs consisting of PCR-amplified DNAs were cloned into binary vector pJL89 immediately downstream of a double cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter, and upstream of the hepatitis delta virus (HDV) ribozyme and nopaline synthase terminator (NOS). The symptoms induced on plants agroinoculated with both constructs were indistinguishable from those caused by the wild-type virus. The infectivity of obtained clones was verified by reinoculation to Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi, Chenopodium quinoa and Cucumis sativus. The presence of viral particles and RNA was confirmed by electron microscopy and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, respectively. Constructed full-length infectious cDNA clones will serve as an excellent tool to study virus-host-vector interactions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Evolutionary relationships between miRNA genes and their activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Yan; Skogerbø, Geir; Ning, Qianqian; Wang, Zhen; Li, Biqing; Yang, Shuang; Sun, Hong; Li, Yixue

    2012-12-22

    The emergence of vertebrates is characterized by a strong increase in miRNA families. MicroRNAs interact broadly with many transcripts, and the evolution of such a system is intriguing. However, evolutionary questions concerning the origin of miRNA genes and their subsequent evolution remain unexplained. In order to systematically understand the evolutionary relationship between miRNAs gene and their function, we classified human known miRNAs into eight groups based on their evolutionary ages estimated by maximum parsimony method. New miRNA genes with new functional sequences accumulated more dynamically in vertebrates than that observed in Drosophila. Different levels of evolutionary selection were observed over miRNA gene sequences with different time of origin. Most genic miRNAs differ from their host genes in time of origin, there is no particular relationship between the age of a miRNA and the age of its host genes, genic miRNAs are mostly younger than the corresponding host genes. MicroRNAs originated over different time-scales are often predicted/verified to target the same or overlapping sets of genes, opening the possibility of substantial functional redundancy among miRNAs of different ages. Higher degree of tissue specificity and lower expression level was found in young miRNAs. Our data showed that compared with protein coding genes, miRNA genes are more dynamic in terms of emergence and decay. Evolution patterns are quite different between miRNAs of different ages. MicroRNAs activity is under tight control with well-regulated expression increased and targeting decreased over time. Our work calls attention to the study of miRNA activity with a consideration of their origin time.

  9. Construction of a dynamic model for a PEM power module with applications to distributed power generation. Paper no. IGEC-1-086

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Z.; Jiang, J.; Wu, B.

    2005-01-01

    This paper deals with dynamic model construction for a PEM fuel cell power module with potential applications for distributed power generation. In particular, the effects of temperature and variations in the internal impedance as load changes have been considered. Analytical models are synthesized first by using the measurements taken at different operating conditions, and then these models are validated by performing static as well as dynamic tests on the fuel cells. The results have indicated that the models indeed represent the dynamic behaviour of the fuel cell power module accurately. (author)

  10. Constructing and detecting a cDNA library for mites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Li; Zhao, YaE; Cheng, Juan; Yang, YuanJun; Li, Chen; Lu, ZhaoHui

    2015-10-01

    RNA extraction and construction of complementary DNA (cDNA) library for mites have been quite challenging due to difficulties in acquiring tiny living mites and breaking their hard chitin. The present study is to explore a better method to construct cDNA library for mites that will lay the foundation on transcriptome and molecular pathogenesis research. We selected Psoroptes cuniculi as an experimental subject and took the following steps to construct and verify cDNA library. First, we combined liquid nitrogen grinding with TRIzol for total RNA extraction. Then, switching mechanism at 5' end of the RNA transcript (SMART) technique was used to construct full-length cDNA library. To evaluate the quality of cDNA library, the library titer and recombination rate were calculated. The reliability of cDNA library was detected by sequencing and analyzing positive clones and genes amplified by specific primers. The results showed that the RNA concentration was 836 ng/μl and the absorbance ratio at 260/280 nm was 1.82. The library titer was 5.31 × 10(5) plaque-forming unit (PFU)/ml and the recombination rate was 98.21%, indicating that the library was of good quality. In the 33 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of P. cuniculi, two clones of 1656 and 1658 bp were almost identical with only three variable sites detected, which had an identity of 99.63% with that of Psoroptes ovis, indicating that the cDNA library was reliable. Further detection by specific primers demonstrated that the 553-bp Pso c II gene sequences of P. cuniculi had an identity of 98.56% with those of P. ovis, confirming that the cDNA library was not only reliable but also feasible.

  11. Secondary structure of 5S RNA: NMR experiments on RNA molecules partially labeled with Nitrogen-15

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gewirth, D.T.; Abo, S.R.; Leontis, N.B.; Moore, P.B.

    1987-01-01

    A method has been found for reassembling fragment 1 of Escherichia coli 5S RNA from mixtures containing strand III (bases 69-87) and the complex consisting of strand II (bases 89-120) and strand IV (bases 1-11). The reassembled molecule is identical with unreconstituted fragment 1. With this technique, fragment 1 molecules have been constructed 15 N-labeled either in strand III or in the strand II-strand IV complex. Spectroscopic data obtained with these partially labeled molecules show that the terminal helix of 5S RNA includes the GU and GC base pairs at positions 9 and 10 which the standard model for 5S secondary structure predicts but that these base pairs are unstable both in the fragment and in native 5S RNA. The data also assign three resonances to the helix V region of the molecule (bases 70-77 and 99-106). None of these resonances has a normal chemical shift even though two of them correspond to AU or GU base pairs in the standard model. The implications of these findings for the authors understanding of the structure of 5S RNA and its complex with ribosomal protein L25 are discussed

  12. Efficient RNA extraction protocol for the wood mangrove species Laguncularia racemosa suited for next-generation RNA sequencing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilwerth, M. W.; Rossetto, P.

    2016-01-01

    Mangrove flora and habitat have immeasurable importance in marine and coastal ecology as well as in the economy. Despite their importance, they are constantly threatened by oil spill accidents and environmental contamination; therefore, it is crucial to understand the changes in gene expression to better predict toxicity in these plants. Among the species of Atlantic coast mangrove (Americas and Africa), Laguncularia racemosa, or white mangrove, is a conspicuous species. The wide distribution of L. racemosa in areas where marine oil exploration is rapidly increasing make it a candidate mangrove species model to uncover the impact of oil spills at the molecular level with the use of massive transcriptome sequencing. However, for this purpose, the RNA extraction protocol should ensure low levels of contaminants and structure integrity. In this study, eight RNA extraction methods were tested and analysed using downstream applications. The InviTrap Spin Plant RNA Mini Kit performed best with regard to purity and integrity. Moreover, the obtained RNA was submitted to cDNA synthesis and RT-PCR, successfully generating amplification products of the expected size. These Results show the applicability of the RNA obtained here for downstream methodologies, such as the construction of cDNA libraries for the Illumina Hi-seq platform. (author)

  13. Dynamic Testing of Analogical Reasoning in 5- to 6-Year-Olds: Multiple-Choice versus Constructed-Response Training Items

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevenson, Claire E.; Heiser, Willem J.; Resing, Wilma C. M.

    2016-01-01

    Multiple-choice (MC) analogy items are often used in cognitive assessment. However, in dynamic testing, where the aim is to provide insight into potential for learning and the learning process, constructed-response (CR) items may be of benefit. This study investigated whether training with CR or MC items leads to differences in the strategy…

  14. Spectroelectrochemical detection of microRNA-155 based on functional RNA immobilization onto ITO/GNP nanopattern.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohammadniaei, Mohsen; Yoon, Jinho; Lee, Taek; Choi, Jeong-Woo

    2018-05-20

    We fabricated a microRNA biosensor using the combination of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and electrochemical (EC) techniques. For the first time, the weaknesses of each techniques for microRNA detection was compensated by the other ones to give rise to the specific and wide-range detection of miR-155. A single stranded 3' methylene blue (MB) and 5' thiol-modified RNA (MB-ssRNA-SH) was designed to detect the target miR-155 and immobilized onto the gold nanoparticle-modified ITO (ITO/GNP). Upon the invasion of target strand, the double-stranded RNA transformed rapidly to an upright structure resulting in a notable decrease in SERS and redox signals of the MB. For the first time, by combination of SERS and EC techniques in a single platform we extended the dynamic range of both techniques from 10 pM to 450 nM (SERS: 10 pM-5 nM and EC: 5 nM-450 nM). As well, the SERS technique improved the detection limit of the EC method from 100 pM to 100 fM, while the EC method covered single-mismatch detection which was the SERS deficiency. The fabricated single-step biosensor possessing a good capability of miRNA detection in human serum, could be employed throughout the broad ranges of biomedical and bioelectronics applications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Snapshots of Dynamics in Synthesizing N6-isopentenyladenosine at tRNA Anticodon†,‡

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chimnaronk, Sarin; Forouhar, Farhad; Sakai, Junichi; Yao, Min; Tron, Cecile M.; Atta, Mohamed; Fontecave, Marc; Hunt, John F.; Tanaka, Isao

    2009-01-01

    Bacterial and eukaryotic transfer RNAs that decode codons starting with uridine have a hydrophobically-hypermodified adenosine at the position 37 (A37) adjacent to the 3′-end of the anticodon, which is essential for efficient and highly accurate protein translation by the ribosome. However, it remains unclear how the corresponding tRNAs are selected to be modified by alkylation at the correct position of the adenosine base. We have determined a series of the crystal structures of bacterial tRNA isopentenyltransferase (MiaA) in apo- and tRNA-bound forms, which completely render snapshots of substrate selections during modification of RNA. A compact evolutionary inserted domain (herein ‘swinging domain’) in MiaA that exhibits as a highly mobile entity moves around the catalytic domain as likely to reach and trap the tRNA substrate. Thereby, MiaA clamps the anticodon stem loop of tRNA substrate between the catalytic and swinging domains, where the two conserved elongated residues from the swinging domain pinch the two flanking A36 and A38 together to squeeze out A37 into the reaction tunnel. The site-specific isopentenylation of RNA is thus ensured by a characteristic pinch-and-flip mechanism and by a reaction tunnel to confine the substrate selection. Furthermore, combining information from soaking experiments with structural comparisons, we propose a mechanism for the ordered substrate-binding of MiaA. PMID:19435325

  16. Exploring the molecular basis of dsRNA recognition by NS1 protein of influenza A virus using molecular dynamics simulation and free energy calculation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Dabo; Sun, Huijun; Shen, Yulin; Liu, Huanxiang; Yao, Xiaojun

    2011-12-01

    The frequent outbreak of influenza pandemic and the limited available anti-influenza drugs highlight the urgent need for the development of new antiviral drugs. The dsRNA-binding surface of nonstructural protein 1 of influenza A virus (NS1A) is a promising target. The detailed understanding of NS1A-dsRNA interaction will be valuable for structure-based anti-influenza drug discovery. To characterize and explore the key interaction features between dsRNA and NS1A, molecular dynamics simulation combined with MM-GBSA calculations were performed. Based on the MM-GBSA calculations, we find that the intermolecular van der Waals interaction and the nonpolar solvation term provide the main driving force for the binding process. Meanwhile, 17 key residues from NS1A were identified to be responsible for the dsRNA binding. Compared with the wild type NS1A, all the studied mutants S42A, T49A, R38A, R35AR46A have obvious reduced binding free energies with dsRNA reflecting in the reduction of the polar and/or nonpolar interactions. In addition, the structural and energy analysis indicate the mutations have a small effect to the backbone structures but the loss of side chain interactions is responsible for the decrease of the binding affinity. The uncovering of NS1A-dsRNA recognition mechanism will provide some useful insights and new chances for the development of anti-influenza drugs. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Design and construction of miniature artificial ecosystem based on dynamic response optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Dawei; Liu, Hong; Tong, Ling; Li, Ming; Hu, Enzhu

    The miniature artificial ecosystem (MAES) is a combination of man, silkworm, salad and mi-croalgae to partially regenerate O2 , sanitary water and food, simultaneously dispose CO2 and wastes, therefore it have a fundamental life support function. In order to enhance the safety and reliability of MAES and eliminate the influences of internal variations and external dis-turbances, it was necessary to configure MAES as a closed-loop control system, and it could be considered as a prototype for future bioregenerative life support system. However, MAES is a complex system possessing large numbers of parameters, intricate nonlinearities, time-varying factors as well as uncertainties, hence it is difficult to perfectly design and construct a prototype through merely conducting experiments by trial and error method. Our research presented an effective way to resolve preceding problem by use of dynamic response optimiza-tion. Firstly the mathematical model of MAES with first-order nonlinear ordinary differential equations including parameters was developed based on relevant mechanisms and experimental data, secondly simulation model of MAES was derived on the platform of MatLab/Simulink to perform model validation and further digital simulations, thirdly reference trajectories of de-sired dynamic response of system outputs were specified according to prescribed requirements, and finally optimization for initial values, tuned parameter and independent parameters was carried out using the genetic algorithm, the advanced direct search method along with parallel computing methods through computer simulations. The result showed that all parameters and configurations of MAES were determined after a series of computer experiments, and its tran-sient response performances and steady characteristics closely matched the reference curves. Since the prototype is a physical system that represents the mathematical model with reason-able accuracy, so the process of designing and

  18. A Production Model for Construction: A Theoretical Framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ricardo Antunes

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The building construction industry faces challenges, such as increasing project complexity and scope requirements, but shorter deadlines. Additionally, economic uncertainty and rising business competition with a subsequent decrease in profit margins for the industry demands the development of new approaches to construction management. However, the building construction sector relies on practices based on intuition and experience, overlooking the dynamics of its production system. Furthermore, researchers maintain that the construction industry has no history of the application of mathematical approaches to model and manage production. Much work has been carried out on how manufacturing practices apply to construction projects, mostly lean principles. Nevertheless, there has been little research to understand the fundamental mechanisms of production in construction. This study develops an in-depth literature review to examine the existing knowledge about production models and their characteristics in order to establish a foundation for dynamic production systems management in construction. As a result, a theoretical framework is proposed, which will be instrumental in the future development of mathematical production models aimed at predicting the performance and behaviour of dynamic project-based systems in construction.

  19. Features of construction of the individual trajectory education to computer science on the basis dynamic integrated estimation of level of knowledge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ольга Юрьевна Заславская

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available In article features of realisation of the mechanism of construction of an optimum trajectory of education to computer science on the basis of a dynamic integrated estimation of level of knowledge are considered.

  20. 78 FR 59237 - Regulated Navigation Area-Weymouth Fore River, Fore River Bridge Construction, Weymouth and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-26

    ... regulatory action because this RNA will only be enforced when construction operations require such. Thus... establishing a temporary regulated navigation area (RNA) on the navigable waters of Weymouth Fore River in the...: Table of Acronyms COTP Captain of the Port DHS Department of Homeland Security FR Federal Register RNA...

  1. Regulatory mechanisms of RNA function: emerging roles of DNA repair enzymes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jobert, Laure; Nilsen, Hilde

    2014-07-01

    The acquisition of an appropriate set of chemical modifications is required in order to establish correct structure of RNA molecules, and essential for their function. Modification of RNA bases affects RNA maturation, RNA processing, RNA quality control, and protein translation. Some RNA modifications are directly involved in the regulation of these processes. RNA epigenetics is emerging as a mechanism to achieve dynamic regulation of RNA function. Other modifications may prevent or be a signal for degradation. All types of RNA species are subject to processing or degradation, and numerous cellular mechanisms are involved. Unexpectedly, several studies during the last decade have established a connection between DNA and RNA surveillance mechanisms in eukaryotes. Several proteins that respond to DNA damage, either to process or to signal the presence of damaged DNA, have been shown to participate in RNA quality control, turnover or processing. Some enzymes that repair DNA damage may also process modified RNA substrates. In this review, we give an overview of the DNA repair proteins that function in RNA metabolism. We also discuss the roles of two base excision repair enzymes, SMUG1 and APE1, in RNA quality control.

  2. The Deinococcus-Thermus phylum and the effect of rRNA composition on phylogenetic tree construction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weisburg, W. G.; Giovannoni, S. J.; Woese, C. R.

    1989-01-01

    Through comparative analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA sequences, it can be shown that two seemingly dissimilar types of eubacteria Deinococcus and the ubiquitous hot spring organism Thermus are distantly but specifically related to one another. This confirms an earlier report based upon 16S rRNA oligonucleotide cataloging studies (Hensel et al., 1986). Their two lineages form a distinctive grouping within the eubacteria that deserved the taxonomic status of a phylum. The (partial) sequence of T. aquaticus rRNA appears relatively close to those of other thermophilic eubacteria. e.g. Thermotoga maritima and Thermomicrobium roseum. However, this closeness does not reflect a true evolutionary closeness; rather it is due to a "thermophilic convergence", the result of unusually high G+C composition in the rRNAs of thermophilic bacteria. Unless such compositional biases are taken into account, the branching order and root of phylogenetic trees can be incorrectly inferred.

  3. ncRNA consensus secondary structure derivation using grammar strings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Achawanantakun, Rujira; Sun, Yanni; Takyar, Seyedeh Shohreh

    2011-04-01

    Many noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) function through both their sequences and secondary structures. Thus, secondary structure derivation is an important issue in today's RNA research. The state-of-the-art structure annotation tools are based on comparative analysis, which derives consensus structure of homologous ncRNAs. Despite promising results from existing ncRNA aligning and consensus structure derivation tools, there is a need for more efficient and accurate ncRNA secondary structure modeling and alignment methods. In this work, we introduce a consensus structure derivation approach based on grammar string, a novel ncRNA secondary structure representation that encodes an ncRNA's sequence and secondary structure in the parameter space of a context-free grammar (CFG) and a full RNA grammar including pseudoknots. Being a string defined on a special alphabet constructed from a grammar, grammar string converts ncRNA alignment into sequence alignment. We derive consensus secondary structures from hundreds of ncRNA families from BraliBase 2.1 and 25 families containing pseudoknots using grammar string alignment. Our experiments have shown that grammar string-based structure derivation competes favorably in consensus structure quality with Murlet and RNASampler. Source code and experimental data are available at http://www.cse.msu.edu/~yannisun/grammar-string.

  4. Profiling microRNA expression in bovine alveolar macrophages using RNA-seq.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vegh, Peter; Foroushani, Amir B K; Magee, David A; McCabe, Matthew S; Browne, John A; Nalpas, Nicolas C; Conlon, Kevin M; Gordon, Stephen V; Bradley, Daniel G; MacHugh, David E; Lynn, David J

    2013-10-01

    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of gene expression and are known to play a key role in regulating both adaptive and innate immunity. Bovine alveolar macrophages (BAMs) help maintain lung homeostasis and constitute the front line of host defense against several infectious respiratory diseases, such as bovine tuberculosis. Little is known, however, about the role miRNAs play in these cells. In this study, we used a high-throughput sequencing approach, RNA-seq, to determine the expression levels of known and novel miRNAs in unchallenged BAMs isolated from lung lavages of eight different healthy Holstein-Friesian male calves. Approximately 80 million sequence reads were generated from eight BAM miRNA Illumina sequencing libraries, and 80 miRNAs were identified as being expressed in BAMs at a threshold of at least 100 reads per million (RPM). The expression levels of miRNAs varied over a large dynamic range, with a few miRNAs expressed at very high levels (up to 800,000RPM), and the majority lowly expressed. Notably, many of the most highly expressed miRNAs in BAMs have known roles in regulating immunity in other species (e.g. bta-let-7i, bta-miR-21, bta-miR-27, bta-miR-99b, bta-miR-146, bta-miR-147, bta-miR-155 and bta-miR-223). The most highly expressed miRNA in BAMs was miR-21, which has been shown to regulate the expression of antimicrobial peptides in Mycobacterium leprae-infected human monocytes. Furthermore, the predicted target genes of BAM-expressed miRNAs were found to be statistically enriched for roles in innate immunity. In addition to profiling the expression of known miRNAs, the RNA-seq data was also analysed to identify potentially novel bovine miRNAs. One putatively novel bovine miRNA was identified. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first RNA-seq study to profile miRNA expression in BAMs and provides an important reference dataset for investigating the regulatory roles miRNAs play in this important immune cell type. Copyright

  5. Application of RNA interference methodology to investigate and ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Specific fragments of the sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) coat protein gene (cp) were amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and used to construct a marker free small interfering RNA complex expression vector against SCMV. In planta transformation was performed on maize (Zea mays) inbred line ...

  6. Construction of CRISPR Libraries for Functional Screening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carstens, Carsten P; Felts, Katherine A; Johns, Sarah E

    2018-01-01

    Identification of gene function has been aided by the ability to generate targeted gene knockouts or transcriptional repression using the CRISPR/CAS9 system. Using pooled libraries of guide RNA expression vectors that direct CAS9 to a specific genomic site allows identification of genes that are either enriched or depleted in response to a selection scheme, thus linking the affected gene to the chosen phenotype. The quality of the data generated by the screening is dependent on the quality of the guide RNA delivery library with regards to error rates and especially evenness of distribution of the guides. Here, we describe a method for constructing complex plasmid libraries based on pooled designed oligomers with high representation and tight distributions. The procedure allows construction of plasmid libraries of >60,000 members with a 95th/5th percentile ratio of less than 3.5.

  7. Synergy between NMR measurements and MD simulations of protein/RNA complexes: application to the RRMs, the most common RNA recognition motifs

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Krepl, Miroslav; Clery, A.; Blatter, M.; Allain, F.H.T.; Šponer, Jiří

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 44, č. 13 (2016), s. 6452-6470 ISSN 0305-1048 Institutional support: RVO:68081707 Keywords : molecular- dynamics simulations * particle mesh ewald * pre-ribosomal-rna Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 10.162, year: 2016

  8. Dynamic thermal performance of alveolar brick construction system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gracia, A. de; Castell, A.; Medrano, M.; Cabeza, L.F.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Even though U-value does not measure thermal inertia, it is the commonly used parameter. → The thermal performance analysis of buildings must include the evaluation of transient parameters. → Transient parameters of alveolar brick constructive system show good agreement with its low energy consumption. -- Abstract: Alveolar bricks are being introduced in building sector due to the simplicity of their construction system and to the elimination of the insulation material. Nevertheless, it is not clear if this new system is energetically efficient and which is its thermal behaviour. This paper presents an experimental and theoretical study to evaluate the thermal behaviour of the alveolar brick construction system, compared with a traditional Mediterranean brick system with insulation. The experimental study consists of measuring the thermal performance of four real house-like cubicles. The thermal transmittance in steady-state, also known as U-value, is calculated theoretically and experimentally for each cubicle, presenting the insulated cubicles as the best construction system, with differences around 45% in comparison to the alveolar one. On the other hand, experimental results show significantly smaller differences on the energy consumption between the alveolar and insulated construction systems during summer period (around 13% higher for the alveolar cubicle). These values demonstrate the high thermal efficiency of the alveolar system. In addition, the lack of agreement between the measured energy consumption and the calculated U-values, guides the authors to analyze the thermal inertia of the different building components. Therefore, several transient parameters, extracted from the heat transfer matrix and from experimental data, are also evaluated. It can be concluded that the alveolar brick construction system presents higher thermal inertia than the insulated one, justifying the low measured energy consumption.

  9. It's fun to transcribe with Fun30: A model for nucleosome dynamics during RNA polymerase II-mediated elongation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Junwoo; Choi, Eun Shik; Lee, Daeyoup

    2018-01-01

    The ability of elongating RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) to regulate the nucleosome barrier is poorly understood because we do not know enough about the involved factors and we lack a conceptual framework to model this process. Our group recently identified the conserved Fun30/SMARCAD1 family chromatin-remodeling factor, Fun30 Fft3 , as being critical for relieving the nucleosome barrier during RNAPII-mediated elongation, and proposed a model illustrating how Fun30 Fft3 may contribute to nucleosome disassembly during RNAPII-mediated elongation. Here, we present a model that describes nucleosome dynamics during RNAPII-mediated elongation in mathematical terms and addresses the involvement of Fun30 Fft3 in this process.

  10. Platinum Interference with siRNA Non-seed Regions Fine-Tunes Silencing Capacity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hedman, Hanna K; Kirpekar, Finn; Elmroth, Sofi K C

    2011-01-01

    expression, and the other one focused on the function of endogenous miRNAs. In both cases, the active molecule consists of a ∼20-nucleotide-long RNA duplex. In the siRNA case, improved systemic stability is of central interest for its further development toward clinical applications. With respect to mi......RNA processing and function, understanding its influence on mRNA targeting and the silencing ability of individual miRNAs, e.g., under pathological conditions, remains a scientific challenge. In the present study, a model system is presented where the influence of the two clinically used anticancer drugs......, cisplatin and oxaliplatin, on siRNA's silencing capacity has been evaluated. More specifically, siRNAs targeting the 3' UTR region of Wnt-5a mRNA (NM_003352) were constructed, and the biologically active antisense RNA strand was pre-platinated. Platinum adducts were detected and characterized...

  11. Preparation of Small RNA NGS Libraries from Biofluids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Etheridge, Alton; Wang, Kai; Baxter, David; Galas, David

    2018-01-01

    Next generation sequencing (NGS) is a powerful method for transcriptome analysis. Unlike other gene expression profiling methods, such as microarrays, NGS provides additional information such as splicing variants, sequence polymorphisms, and novel transcripts. For this reason, NGS is well suited for comprehensive profiling of the wide range of extracellular RNAs (exRNAs) in biofluids. ExRNAs are of great interest because of their possible biological role in cell-to-cell communication and for their potential use as biomarkers or for therapeutic purposes. Here, we describe a modified protocol for preparation of small RNA libraries for NGS analysis. This protocol has been optimized for use with low-input exRNA-containing samples, such as plasma or serum, and has modifications designed to reduce the sequence-specific bias typically encountered with commercial small RNA library construction kits.

  12. Fast, clash-free RNA conformational morphing using molecular junctions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Héliou, Amélie; Budday, Dominik; Fonseca, Rasmus; van den Bedem, Henry

    2017-07-15

    Non-coding ribonucleic acids (ncRNA) are functional RNA molecules that are not translated into protein. They are extremely dynamic, adopting diverse conformational substates, which enables them to modulate their interaction with a large number of other molecules. The flexibility of ncRNA provides a challenge for probing their complex 3D conformational landscape, both experimentally and computationally. Despite their conformational diversity, ncRNAs mostly preserve their secondary structure throughout the dynamic ensemble. Here we present a kinematics-based procedure to morph an RNA molecule between conformational substates, while avoiding inter-atomic clashes. We represent an RNA as a kinematic linkage, with fixed groups of atoms as rigid bodies and rotatable bonds as degrees of freedom. Our procedure maintains RNA secondary structure by treating hydrogen bonds between base pairs as constraints. The constraints define a lower-dimensional, secondary-structure constraint manifold in conformation space, where motions are largely governed by molecular junctions of unpaired nucleotides. On a large benchmark set, we show that our morphing procedure compares favorably to peer algorithms, and can approach goal conformations to within a low all-atom RMSD by directing fewer than 1% of its atoms. Our results suggest that molecular junctions can modulate 3D structural rearrangements, while secondary structure elements guide large parts of the molecule along the transition to the correct final conformation. The source code, binaries and data are available at https://simtk.org/home/kgs . amelie.heliou@polytechnique.edu or vdbedem@stanford.edu. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  13. Reliability and construction control

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sherif S. AbdelSalam

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this study was to determine the most reliable and efficient combination of design and construction methods required for vibro piles. For a wide range of static and dynamic formulas, the reliability-based resistance factors were calculated using EGYPT database, which houses load test results for 318 piles. The analysis was extended to introduce a construction control factor that determines the variation between the pile nominal capacities calculated using static versus dynamic formulae. From the major outcomes, the lowest coefficient of variation is associated with Davisson’s criterion, and the resistance factors calculated for the AASHTO method are relatively high compared with other methods. Additionally, the CPT-Nottingham and Schmertmann method provided the most economic design. Recommendations related to a pile construction control factor were also presented, and it was found that utilizing the factor can significantly reduce variations between calculated and actual capacities.

  14. Import of desired nucleic acid sequences using addressing motif of mitochondrial ribosomal 5S-rRNA for fluorescent in vivo hybridization of mitochondrial DNA and RNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zelenka, Jaroslav; Alán, Lukáš; Jabůrek, Martin; Ježek, Petr

    2014-04-01

    Based on the matrix-addressing sequence of mitochondrial ribosomal 5S-rRNA (termed MAM), which is naturally imported into mitochondria, we have constructed an import system for in vivo targeting of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) or mt-mRNA, in order to provide fluorescence hybridization of the desired sequences. Thus DNA oligonucleotides were constructed, containing the 5'-flanked T7 RNA polymerase promoter. After in vitro transcription and fluorescent labeling with Alexa Fluor(®) 488 or 647 dye, we obtained the fluorescent "L-ND5 probe" containing MAM and exemplar cargo, i.e., annealing sequence to a short portion of ND5 mRNA and to the light-strand mtDNA complementary to the heavy strand nd5 mt gene (5'-end 21 base pair sequence). For mitochondrial in vivo fluorescent hybridization, HepG2 cells were treated with dequalinium micelles, containing the fluorescent probes, bringing the probes proximally to the mitochondrial outer membrane and to the natural import system. A verification of import into the mitochondrial matrix of cultured HepG2 cells was provided by confocal microscopy colocalizations. Transfections using lipofectamine or probes without 5S-rRNA addressing MAM sequence or with MAM only were ineffective. Alternatively, the same DNA oligonucleotides with 5'-CACC overhang (substituting T7 promoter) were transcribed from the tetracycline-inducible pENTRH1/TO vector in human embryonic kidney T-REx®-293 cells, while mitochondrial matrix localization after import of the resulting unlabeled RNA was detected by PCR. The MAM-containing probe was then enriched by three-order of magnitude over the natural ND5 mRNA in the mitochondrial matrix. In conclusion, we present a proof-of-principle for mitochondrial in vivo hybridization and mitochondrial nucleic acid import.

  15. Fast flexible modeling of RNA structure using internal coordinates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flores, Samuel Coulbourn; Sherman, Michael A; Bruns, Christopher M; Eastman, Peter; Altman, Russ Biagio

    2011-01-01

    Modeling the structure and dynamics of large macromolecules remains a critical challenge. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are expensive because they model every atom independently, and are difficult to combine with experimentally derived knowledge. Assembly of molecules using fragments from libraries relies on the database of known structures and thus may not work for novel motifs. Coarse-grained modeling methods have yielded good results on large molecules but can suffer from difficulties in creating more detailed full atomic realizations. There is therefore a need for molecular modeling algorithms that remain chemically accurate and economical for large molecules, do not rely on fragment libraries, and can incorporate experimental information. RNABuilder works in the internal coordinate space of dihedral angles and thus has time requirements proportional to the number of moving parts rather than the number of atoms. It provides accurate physics-based response to applied forces, but also allows user-specified forces for incorporating experimental information. A particular strength of RNABuilder is that all Leontis-Westhof basepairs can be specified as primitives by the user to be satisfied during model construction. We apply RNABuilder to predict the structure of an RNA molecule with 160 bases from its secondary structure, as well as experimental information. Our model matches the known structure to 10.2 Angstroms RMSD and has low computational expense.

  16. Systematic Analysis of RNA Regulatory Network in Rat Brain after Ischemic Stroke

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Liu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Although extensive studies have identified large number of microRNAs (miRNAs and long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs in ischemic stroke, the RNA regulation network response to focal ischemia remains poorly understood. In this study, we simultaneously interrogate the expression profiles of lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs changes during focal ischemia induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. A set of 1924 novel lncRNAs were identified and may involve brain injury and DNA repair as revealed by coexpression network analysis. Furthermore, many short interspersed elements (SINE mediated lncRNA:mRNA duplexes were identified, implying that lncRNAs mediate Staufen1-mediated mRNA decay (SMD which may play a role during focal ischemia. Moreover, based on the competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA hypothesis, a stroke regulatory ceRNA network which reveals functional lncRNA:miRNA:mRNA interactions was revealed in ischemic stroke. In brief, this work reports a large number of novel lncRNAs responding to focal ischemia and constructs a systematic RNA regulation network which highlighted the role of ncRNAs in ischemic stroke.

  17. Common features of microRNA target prediction tools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah M. Peterson

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The human genome encodes for over 1800 microRNAs, which are short noncoding RNA molecules that function to regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally. Due to the potential for one microRNA to target multiple gene transcripts, microRNAs are recognized as a major mechanism to regulate gene expression and mRNA translation. Computational prediction of microRNA targets is a critical initial step in identifying microRNA:mRNA target interactions for experimental validation. The available tools for microRNA target prediction encompass a range of different computational approaches, from the modeling of physical interactions to the incorporation of machine learning. This review provides an overview of the major computational approaches to microRNA target prediction. Our discussion highlights three tools for their ease of use, reliance on relatively updated versions of miRBase, and range of capabilities, and these are DIANA-microT-CDS, miRanda-mirSVR, and TargetScan. In comparison across all microRNA target prediction tools, four main aspects of the microRNA:mRNA target interaction emerge as common features on which most target prediction is based: seed match, conservation, free energy, and site accessibility. This review explains these features and identifies how they are incorporated into currently available target prediction tools. MicroRNA target prediction is a dynamic field with increasing attention on development of new analysis tools. This review attempts to provide a comprehensive assessment of these tools in a manner that is accessible across disciplines. Understanding the basis of these prediction methodologies will aid in user selection of the appropriate tools and interpretation of the tool output.

  18. Using the Hepatitis C Virus RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase as a Model to Understand Viral Polymerase Structure, Function and Dynamics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ester Sesmero

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Viral polymerases replicate and transcribe the genomes of several viruses of global health concern such as Hepatitis C virus (HCV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV and Ebola virus. For this reason they are key targets for therapies to treat viral infections. Although there is little sequence similarity across the different types of viral polymerases, all of them present a right-hand shape and certain structural motifs that are highly conserved. These features allow their functional properties to be compared, with the goal of broadly applying the knowledge acquired from studying specific viral polymerases to other viral polymerases about which less is known. Here we review the structural and functional properties of the HCV RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (NS5B in order to understand the fundamental processes underlying the replication of viral genomes. We discuss recent insights into the process by which RNA replication occurs in NS5B as well as the role that conformational changes play in this process.

  19. Construction of recombinant DNA clone for bovine viral diarrhea virus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yeo, S.G.; Cho, H.J.; Masri, S.A.

    1992-01-01

    Molecular cloning was carried out on the Danish strain of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) to construct strategy for the diagnostic tools and effective vaccine of BVD afterwards. A recombinant DNA clone (No. 29) was established successfully from cDNA for viral RNA tailed with adenine homopolymer at 3 -end. 32 P-labeled DNA probes of 300~1, 800bp fragments, originating from the clone 29, directed specific DNA-RNA hybridization results with BVDV RNA. Recombinant DNA of the clone 29 was about 5,200bp representing 41.6% of the full length of Danish strain's RNA, and restriction sites were recognized for EooR I, Sst I, Hind III and Pst I restriction enzymes in the DNA fragment

  20. A surface-mediated siRNA delivery system developed with chitosan/hyaluronic acid-siRNA multilayer films through layer-by-layer self-assembly

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Lijuan [Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062 (China); Suzhou Novovita Bio-products Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215300 (China); Wu, Changlin, E-mail: Ph.Dclwu1314@sina.cn [Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062 (China); Suzhou Novovita Bio-products Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215300 (China); Liu, Guangwan [Suzhou Novovita Bio-products Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215300 (China); Liao, Nannan [Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062 (China); Suzhou Novovita Bio-products Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215300 (China); Zhao, Fang; Yang, Xuxia; Qu, Hongyuan [Suzhou Novovita Bio-products Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215300 (China); Peng, Bo [Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062 (China); Chen, Li [Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062 (China); Suzhou Novovita Bio-products Co., Ltd., Suzhou 215300 (China); Yang, Guang [Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062 (China)

    2016-12-15

    Highlights: • We prepared Chitosan/Hyaluronic acid-siRNA multilayer as carrier to effectively load and protect siRNAs. • The stability and integrity of the siRNA was verified in the siRNA-loaded films. • The siRNA-loaded films showed good cells adhesion and gene silencing effect in eGFP-HEK 293T cells. • This is a new type of surface-mediated non-viral multilayer films. - Abstract: siRNA delivery remains highly challenging because of its hydrophilic and anionic nature and its sensitivity to nuclease degradation. Effective siRNA loading and improved transfection efficiency into cells represents a key problem. In our study, we prepared Chitosan/Hyaluronic acid-siRNA multilayer films through layer-by-layer self-assembly, in which siRNAs can be effectively loaded and protected. The construction process was characterized by FTIR, {sup 13}C NMR (CP/MAS), UV–vis spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). We presented the controlled-release performance of the films during incubation in 1 M NaCl solution for several days through UV–vis spectroscopy and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Additionally, we verified the stability and integrity of the siRNA loaded on multilayer films. Finally, the biological efficacy of the siRNA delivery system was evaluated via cells adhesion and gene silencing analyses in eGFP-HEK 293T cells. This new type of surface-mediated non-viral multilayer films may have considerable potential in the localized and controlled-release delivery of siRNA in mucosal tissues, and tissue engineering application.

  1. Differential Regulation of rRNA and tRNA Transcription from the rRNA-tRNA Composite Operon in Escherichia coli.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiraku Takada

    Full Text Available Escherichia coli contains seven rRNA operons, each consisting of the genes for three rRNAs (16S, 23S and 5S rRNA in this order and one or two tRNA genes in the spacer between 16S and 23S rRNA genes and one or two tRNA genes in the 3' proximal region. All of these rRNA and tRNA genes are transcribed from two promoters, P1 and P2, into single large precursors that are afterward processed to individual rRNAs and tRNAs by a set of RNases. In the course of Genomic SELEX screening of promoters recognized by RNA polymerase (RNAP holoenzyme containing RpoD sigma, a strong binding site was identified within 16S rRNA gene in each of all seven rRNA operons. The binding in vitro of RNAP RpoD holoenzyme to an internal promoter, referred to the promoter of riRNA (an internal RNA of the rRNA operon, within each 16S rRNA gene was confirmed by gel shift assay and AFM observation. Using this riRNA promoter within the rrnD operon as a representative, transcription in vitro was detected with use of the purified RpoD holoenzyme, confirming the presence of a constitutive promoter in this region. LacZ reporter assay indicated that this riRNA promoter is functional in vivo. The location of riRNA promoter in vivo as identified using a set of reporter plasmids agrees well with that identified in vitro. Based on transcription profile in vitro and Northern blot analysis in vivo, the majority of transcript initiated from this riRNA promoter was estimated to terminate near the beginning of 23S rRNA gene, indicating that riRNA leads to produce the spacer-coded tRNA. Under starved conditions, transcription of the rRNA operon is markedly repressed to reduce the intracellular level of ribosomes, but the levels of both riRNA and its processed tRNAGlu stayed unaffected, implying that riRNA plays a role in the continued steady-state synthesis of tRNAs from the spacers of rRNA operons. We then propose that the tRNA genes organized within the spacers of rRNA-tRNA composite operons

  2. Expression profiles of mRNA and long noncoding RNA in the ovaries of letrozole-induced polycystic ovary syndrome rat model through deep sequencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Lu-Lu; Xu, Ying; Li, Dan-Dan; Dai, Xiao-Wei; Xu, Xin; Zhang, Jing-Shun; Ming, Hao; Zhang, Xue-Ying; Zhang, Guo-Qing; Ma, Ya-Lan; Zheng, Lian-Wen

    2018-05-30

    Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders in reproductive-aged women. However, the exact pathophysiology of PCOS remains largely unclear. We performed deep sequencing to investigate the mRNA and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) expression profiles in the ovarian tissues of letrozole-induced PCOS rat model and control rats. A total of 2147 mRNAs and 158 lncRNAs were differentially expressed between the PCOS models and control. Gene ontology analysis indicated that differentially expressed mRNAs were associated with biological adhesion, reproduction, and metabolic process. Pathway analysis results indicated that these aberrantly expressed mRNAs were related to several specific signaling pathways, including insulin resistance, steroid hormone biosynthesis, PPAR signaling pathway, cell adhesion molecules, autoimmune thyroid disease, and AMPK signaling pathway. The relative expression levels of mRNAs and lncRNAs were validated through qRT-PCR. LncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network was constructed to explore ceRNAs involved in the PCOS model and were also verified by qRTPCR experiment. These findings may provide insight into the pathogenesis of PCOS and clues to find key diagnostic and therapeutic roles of lncRNA in PCOS. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Cross disease analysis of co-functional microRNA pairs on a reconstructed network of disease-gene-microRNA tripartite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Hui; Lan, Chaowang; Zheng, Yi; Hutvagner, Gyorgy; Tao, Dacheng; Li, Jinyan

    2017-03-24

    MicroRNAs always function cooperatively in their regulation of gene expression. Dysfunctions of these co-functional microRNAs can play significant roles in disease development. We are interested in those multi-disease associated co-functional microRNAs that regulate their common dysfunctional target genes cooperatively in the development of multiple diseases. The research is potentially useful for human disease studies at the transcriptional level and for the study of multi-purpose microRNA therapeutics. We designed a computational method to detect multi-disease associated co-functional microRNA pairs and conducted cross disease analysis on a reconstructed disease-gene-microRNA (DGR) tripartite network. The construction of the DGR tripartite network is by the integration of newly predicted disease-microRNA associations with those relationships of diseases, microRNAs and genes maintained by existing databases. The prediction method uses a set of reliable negative samples of disease-microRNA association and a pre-computed kernel matrix instead of kernel functions. From this reconstructed DGR tripartite network, multi-disease associated co-functional microRNA pairs are detected together with their common dysfunctional target genes and ranked by a novel scoring method. We also conducted proof-of-concept case studies on cancer-related co-functional microRNA pairs as well as on non-cancer disease-related microRNA pairs. With the prioritization of the co-functional microRNAs that relate to a series of diseases, we found that the co-function phenomenon is not unusual. We also confirmed that the regulation of the microRNAs for the development of cancers is more complex and have more unique properties than those of non-cancer diseases.

  4. Inference of RNA polymerase II transcription dynamics from chromatin immunoprecipitation time course data.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ciira wa Maina

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Gene transcription mediated by RNA polymerase II (pol-II is a key step in gene expression. The dynamics of pol-II moving along the transcribed region influence the rate and timing of gene expression. In this work, we present a probabilistic model of transcription dynamics which is fitted to pol-II occupancy time course data measured using ChIP-Seq. The model can be used to estimate transcription speed and to infer the temporal pol-II activity profile at the gene promoter. Model parameters are estimated using either maximum likelihood estimation or via Bayesian inference using Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling. The Bayesian approach provides confidence intervals for parameter estimates and allows the use of priors that capture domain knowledge, e.g. the expected range of transcription speeds, based on previous experiments. The model describes the movement of pol-II down the gene body and can be used to identify the time of induction for transcriptionally engaged genes. By clustering the inferred promoter activity time profiles, we are able to determine which genes respond quickly to stimuli and group genes that share activity profiles and may therefore be co-regulated. We apply our methodology to biological data obtained using ChIP-seq to measure pol-II occupancy genome-wide when MCF-7 human breast cancer cells are treated with estradiol (E2. The transcription speeds we obtain agree with those obtained previously for smaller numbers of genes with the advantage that our approach can be applied genome-wide. We validate the biological significance of the pol-II promoter activity clusters by investigating cluster-specific transcription factor binding patterns and determining canonical pathway enrichment. We find that rapidly induced genes are enriched for both estrogen receptor alpha (ERα and FOXA1 binding in their proximal promoter regions.

  5. The RNA gene information: retroelement-microRNA entangling as the RNA quantum code.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujii, Yoichi Robertus

    2013-01-01

    MicroRNA (miRNA) and retroelements may be a master of regulator in our life, which are evolutionally involved in the origin of species. To support the Darwinism from the aspect of molecular evolution process, it has tremendously been interested in the molecular information of naive RNA. The RNA wave model 2000 consists of four concepts that have altered from original idea of the miRNA genes for crosstalk among embryonic stem cells, their niche cells, and retroelements as a carrier vesicle of the RNA genes. (1) the miRNA gene as a mobile genetic element induces transcriptional and posttranscriptional silencing via networking-processes (no hierarchical architecture); (2) the RNA information supplied by the miRNA genes expands to intracellular, intercellular, intraorgan, interorgan, intraspecies, and interspecies under the cycle of life into the global environment; (3) the mobile miRNAs can self-proliferate; and (4) cells contain two types information as resident and genomic miRNAs. Based on RNA wave, we have developed an interest in investigation of the transformation from RNA information to quantum bits as physicochemical characters of RNA with the measurement of RNA electron spin. When it would have been given that the fundamental bases for the acquired characters in genetics can be controlled by RNA gene information, it may be available to apply for challenging against RNA gene diseases, such as stress-induced diseases.

  6. Secondary structural entropy in RNA switch (Riboswitch) identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manzourolajdad, Amirhossein; Arnold, Jonathan

    2015-04-28

    RNA regulatory elements play a significant role in gene regulation. Riboswitches, a widespread group of regulatory RNAs, are vital components of many bacterial genomes. These regulatory elements generally function by forming a ligand-induced alternative fold that controls access to ribosome binding sites or other regulatory sites in RNA. Riboswitch-mediated mechanisms are ubiquitous across bacterial genomes. A typical class of riboswitch has its own unique structural and biological complexity, making de novo riboswitch identification a formidable task. Traditionally, riboswitches have been identified through comparative genomics based on sequence and structural homology. The limitations of structural-homology-based approaches, coupled with the assumption that there is a great diversity of undiscovered riboswitches, suggests the need for alternative methods for riboswitch identification, possibly based on features intrinsic to their structure. As of yet, no such reliable method has been proposed. We used structural entropy of riboswitch sequences as a measure of their secondary structural dynamics. Entropy values of a diverse set of riboswitches were compared to that of their mutants, their dinucleotide shuffles, and their reverse complement sequences under different stochastic context-free grammar folding models. Significance of our results was evaluated by comparison to other approaches, such as the base-pairing entropy and energy landscapes dynamics. Classifiers based on structural entropy optimized via sequence and structural features were devised as riboswitch identifiers and tested on Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, and Synechococcus elongatus as an exploration of structural entropy based approaches. The unusually long untranslated region of the cotH in Bacillus subtilis, as well as upstream regions of certain genes, such as the sucC genes were associated with significant structural entropy values in genome-wide examinations. Various tests show that there

  7. Investigating the impact of unanticipated market and construction delays on the development of a meshed HVDC grid using dynamic transmission planning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shariat Torbaghan, S.; Gibescu, M.; Rawn, B.G.; Müller, H.; Roggenkamp, M.; vd Meijden, M.A.M.M.

    2015-01-01

    This study presents a market-based dynamic transmission planning framework for the construction of a meshed offshore voltage source converter-high voltage direct current (VSC-HVDC) grid. Such a grid is foreseen for integrating offshore wind and electricity trade functions among the North Sea

  8. dsRNA binding properties of RDE-4 and TRBP reflect their distinct roles in RNAi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Greg S; Maity, Tuhin Subhra; Bass, Brenda L

    2008-12-26

    Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-binding proteins facilitate Dicer functions in RNA interference. Caenorhabditis elegans RDE-4 facilitates cleavage of long dsRNA to small interfering RNA (siRNA), while human trans-activation response RNA-binding protein (TRBP) functions downstream to pass siRNA to the RNA-induced silencing complex. We show that these distinct in vivo roles are reflected in in vitro binding properties. RDE-4 preferentially binds long dsRNA, while TRBP binds siRNA with an affinity that is independent of dsRNA length. These properties are mechanistically based on the fact that RDE-4 binds cooperatively, via contributions from multiple domains, while TRBP binds noncooperatively. Our studies offer a paradigm for how dsRNA-binding proteins, which are not sequence specific, discern dsRNA length. Additionally, analyses of the ability of RDE-4 deletion constructs and RDE-4/TRBP chimeras to reconstitute Dicer activity suggest RDE-4 promotes activity using its dsRNA-binding motif 2 to bind dsRNA, its linker region to interact with Dicer, and its C-terminus for Dicer activation.

  9. Theoretical construction of the contextualized dynamics of the constant shaping of advisor professors in the teaching unit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nirma Pérez-Pelipiche

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available This work paper shows research results on the contextualized dynamics of the constant shaping of advisor professors in the teaching unit, taking epistemological foundations as a starting point, which substantiate their theoretical construction. A model has been displayed basing on comprehension and interpretation of this process as a whole, in which its subsystems, components, structure, relations and levels among them, prove contradictions that become evident in such process, therefore allowing to structure the dynamics of shaping professors as an instrument, earning, as a result, the transforming capability of advisor professors when practicing their skill, having the teaching unit as a scenary. In that way we used different techniques: questionnaire, interviews, observation, statistical techniques and methods: historical-logical; analysis-synthesis and systemic-structural-functional, all of those ones from the hermeneutic-dialectic focus.

  10. Studies on the role of NonA in mRNA biogenesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kozlova, Natalia; Braga, Jose; Lundgren, Josefin; Rino, Jose; Young, Patrick; Carmo-Fonseca, Maria; Visa, Neus

    2006-01-01

    The NonA protein of Drosophila melanogaster is an abundant nuclear protein that belongs to the DBHS (Drosophila behavior, human splicing) protein family. The DBHS proteins bind both DNA and RNA in vitro and have been involved in different aspects of gene expression, including pre-mRNA splicing, transcription regulation and nuclear retention of mRNA. We have used double-stranded RNA interference in Drosophila S2 cells to silence the expression of NonA and to investigate its role in mRNA biogenesis. We show that knockdown of NonA does not affect transcription nor splicing. We demonstrate that NonA forms a complex with the essential nuclear export factor NXF1 in an RNA-dependent manner. We have constructed stable S2 cell lines that express full-length and truncated NXF1 fused to GFP in order to perform fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments. We show that knockdown of NonA reduces the intranuclear mobility of NXF1-GFP associated with poly(A) + RNA in vivo, while the mobility of the truncated NXF1-GFP that does not bind RNA is not affected. Our data suggest that NonA facilitates the intranuclear mobility of mRNP particles

  11. Regulation of immune responses and tolerance: the microRNA perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chang-Zheng; Schaffert, Steven; Fragoso, Rita; Loh, Christina

    2013-01-01

    Summary Much has been learned about the molecular and cellular components critical for the control of immune responses and tolerance. It remains a challenge, however, to control the immune response and tolerance at the system level without causing significant toxicity to normal tissues. Recent studies suggest that microRNA (miRNA) genes, an abundant class of non-coding RNA genes that produce characteristic approximately 22 nucleotides small RNAs, play important roles in immune cells. In this article, we discuss emerging knowledge regarding the functions of miRNA genes in the immune system. We delve into the roles of miRNAs in regulating signaling strength and threshold, homeostasis, and the dynamics of the immune response and tolerance during normal and pathogenic immunological conditions. We also present observations based on analyzes of miR-181 family genes that indicate the potential functions of primary and/ or precursor miRNAs in target recognition and explore the impact of these findings on target identification. Finally, we illustrate that despite the subtle effects of miRNAs on gene expression, miRNAs have the potential to influence the outcomes of normal and pathogenic immune responses by controlling the quantitative and dynamic aspects of immune responses. Tuning miRNA functions in immune cells, through gain- and loss-of-function approaches in mice, may reveal novel approach to restore immune equilibrium from pathogenic conditions, such as autoimmune disease and leukemia, without significant toxicity. PMID:23550642

  12. Regulation of immune responses and tolerance: the microRNA perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chang-Zheng; Schaffert, Steven; Fragoso, Rita; Loh, Christina

    2013-05-01

    Much has been learned about the molecular and cellular components critical for the control of immune responses and tolerance. It remains a challenge, however, to control the immune response and tolerance at the system level without causing significant toxicity to normal tissues. Recent studies suggest that microRNA (miRNA) genes, an abundant class of non-coding RNA genes that produce characteristic approximately 22 nucleotides small RNAs, play important roles in immune cells. In this article, we discuss emerging knowledge regarding the functions of miRNA genes in the immune system. We delve into the roles of miRNAs in regulating signaling strength and threshold, homeostasis, and the dynamics of the immune response and tolerance during normal and pathogenic immunological conditions. We also present observations based on analyzes of miR-181 family genes that indicate the potential functions of primary and/or precursor miRNAs in target recognition and explore the impact of these findings on target identification. Finally, we illustrate that despite the subtle effects of miRNAs on gene expression, miRNAs have the potential to influence the outcomes of normal and pathogenic immune responses by controlling the quantitative and dynamic aspects of immune responses. Tuning miRNA functions in immune cells, through gain- and loss-of-function approaches in mice, may reveal novel approach to restore immune equilibrium from pathogenic conditions, such as autoimmune disease and leukemia, without significant toxicity. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  13. Involvement of the 5'-leader sequence in coupling the stability of a human H3 histone mRNA with DNA replication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morris, T.; Marashi, F.; Weber, L.; Hickey, E.; Greenspan, D.; Bonner, J.; Stein, J.; Stein, G.

    1986-01-01

    Two lines of evidence derived from fusion gene constructs indicate that sequences residing in the 5'-nontranslated region of a cell cycle-dependent human H3 histone mRNA are involved in the selective destabilization that occurs when DNA synthesis is terminated. The experimental approach was to construct chimeric genes in which fragments of the mRNA coding regions of the H3 histone gene were fused with fragments of genes not expressed in a cell cycle-dependent manner. After transfection in HeLa S3 cells with the recombinant plasmids, levels of fusion mRNAs were determined by S1 nuclease analysis prior to and following DNA synthesis inhibition. When the first 20 nucleotides of an H3 histone mRNA leader were replaced with 89 nucleotides of the leader from a Drosophila heat-shock (hsp70) mRNA, the fusion transcript remained stable during inhibition of DNA synthesis, in contrast to the rapid destabilization of the endogenous histone mRNA in these cells. In a reciprocal experiment, a histone-globin fusion gene was constructed that produced a transcript with the initial 20 nucleotides of the H3 histone mRNA substituted for the human β-globin mRNA leader. In HeLa cells treated with inhibitors of DNA synthesis and/or protein synthesis, cellular levels of this histone-globin fusion mRNA appeared to be regulated in a manner similar to endogenous histone mRNA levels. These results suggest that the first 20 nucleotides of the leader are sufficient to couple histone mRNA stability with DNA replication

  14. Dynamics effects on a wooden footbridge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vašková Veronika

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The timber is the current trend for the construction of many footbridges because of many reasons as price, aesthetics and ecology. Most of these structures are designed using simple static models and massive elements. However, there are implemented more complicated constructions including suspended footbridge in Příbor in Czech Republic. This construction with efficient use of material is more susceptible to dynamic effect. The article describes monitoring of dynamics effects at the construction with result of installation dynamics dampers.

  15. Investigation of RNA Structure by High-Throughput SHAPE-Based Probing Methods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulsen, Line Dahl

    of highthroughput SHAPE-based approaches to investigate RNA structure based on novel SHAPE reagents that permit selection of full-length cDNAs. The SHAPE Selection (SHAPES) method is applied to the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) plus strand RNA genome, and the data is used to construct a genome-wide structural...... that they are functional. The SHAPES method is further applied to the hepatitis C virus (HCV), where the data is used to refine known and predicted structures. Over the past years, the interest of studying RNA structure in their native environment has been increased, and to allow studying RNA structure inside living cells...... using the SHAPE Selection approach, I introduce a biotinylated probing reagent. This chemical can cross cell membranes and reacts with RNA inside the cells, allowing the structural conformations to be studied in the context of physiological relevant conditions in living cells. The methods and results...

  16. On Construction Grammar

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    XIAO Kunxue

    2005-01-01

    Constructionist approach with its brand-new perspective has begun to demonstrate its dynamic power. This paper attempts to review the basic ideas, achievements and comparison with generative grammar of Construction Grammar and generalize some problems and future research prospects.

  17. Modular Ligation Extension of Guide RNA Operons (LEGO) for Multiplexed dCas9 Regulation of Metabolic Pathways in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deaner, Matthew; Holzman, Allison; Alper, Hal S

    2018-04-16

    Metabolic engineering typically utilizes a suboptimal step-wise gene target optimization approach to parse a highly connected and regulated cellular metabolism. While the endonuclease-null CRISPR/Cas system has enabled gene expression perturbations without genetic modification, it has been mostly limited to small sets of gene targets in eukaryotes due to inefficient methods to assemble and express large sgRNA operons. In this work, we develop a TEF1p-tRNA expression system and demonstrate that the use of tRNAs as splicing elements flanking sgRNAs provides higher efficiency than both Pol III and ribozyme-based expression across a variety of single sgRNA and multiplexed contexts. Next, we devise and validate a scheme to allow modular construction of tRNA-sgRNA (TST) operons using an iterative Type IIs digestion/ligation extension approach, termed CRISPR-Ligation Extension of sgRNA Operons (LEGO). This approach enables facile construction of large TST operons. We demonstrate this utility by constructing a metabolic rewiring prototype for 2,3-butanediol production in 2 distinct yeast strain backgrounds. These results demonstrate that our approach can act as a surrogate for traditional genetic modification on a much shorter design-cycle timescale. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Bridge helix bending promotes RNA polymerase II backtracking through a critical and conserved threonine residue

    KAUST Repository

    Da, Lin-Tai; Pardo-Avila, Fá tima; Xu, Liang; Silva, Daniel-Adriano; Zhang, Lu; Gao, Xin; Wang, Dong; Huang, Xuhui

    2016-01-01

    The dynamics of the RNA polymerase II (Pol II) backtracking process is poorly understood. We built a Markov State Model from extensive molecular dynamics simulations to identify metastable intermediate states and the dynamics of backtracking at atomistic detail. Our results reveal that Pol II backtracking occurs in a stepwise mode where two intermediate states are involved. We find that the continuous bending motion of the Bridge helix (BH) serves as a critical checkpoint, using the highly conserved BH residue T831 as a sensing probe for the 3′-terminal base paring of RNA:DNA hybrid. If the base pair is mismatched, BH bending can promote the RNA 3′-end nucleotide into a frayed state that further leads to the backtracked state. These computational observations are validated by site-directed mutagenesis and transcript cleavage assays, and provide insights into the key factors that regulate the preferences of the backward translocation.

  19. Bridge helix bending promotes RNA polymerase II backtracking through a critical and conserved threonine residue

    KAUST Repository

    Da, Lin-Tai

    2016-04-19

    The dynamics of the RNA polymerase II (Pol II) backtracking process is poorly understood. We built a Markov State Model from extensive molecular dynamics simulations to identify metastable intermediate states and the dynamics of backtracking at atomistic detail. Our results reveal that Pol II backtracking occurs in a stepwise mode where two intermediate states are involved. We find that the continuous bending motion of the Bridge helix (BH) serves as a critical checkpoint, using the highly conserved BH residue T831 as a sensing probe for the 3′-terminal base paring of RNA:DNA hybrid. If the base pair is mismatched, BH bending can promote the RNA 3′-end nucleotide into a frayed state that further leads to the backtracked state. These computational observations are validated by site-directed mutagenesis and transcript cleavage assays, and provide insights into the key factors that regulate the preferences of the backward translocation.

  20. microRNA regulation of the embryonic hypoxic response in Caenorhabditis elegans

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kagias, Konstantinos; Pocock, Roger

    2015-01-01

    Layered strategies to combat hypoxia provide flexibility in dynamic oxygen environments. Here we show that multiple miRNAs are required for hypoxic survival responses during C. elegans embryogenesis. Certain miRNAs promote while others antagonize the hypoxic survival response. We found...... of the full mRNA target repertoire of these miRNAs will reveal the miRNA-regulated network of hypoxic survival mechanisms in C. elegans....

  1. Rclick: a web server for comparison of RNA 3D structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Minh N; Verma, Chandra

    2015-03-15

    RNA molecules play important roles in key biological processes in the cell and are becoming attractive for developing therapeutic applications. Since the function of RNA depends on its structure and dynamics, comparing and classifying the RNA 3D structures is of crucial importance to molecular biology. In this study, we have developed Rclick, a web server that is capable of superimposing RNA 3D structures by using clique matching and 3D least-squares fitting. Our server Rclick has been benchmarked and compared with other popular servers and methods for RNA structural alignments. In most cases, Rclick alignments were better in terms of structure overlap. Our server also recognizes conformational changes between structures. For this purpose, the server produces complementary alignments to maximize the extent of detectable similarity. Various examples showcase the utility of our web server for comparison of RNA, RNA-protein complexes and RNA-ligand structures. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  2. The Cardiomyocyte RNA-Binding Proteome: Links to Intermediary Metabolism and Heart Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yalin Liao

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available RNA functions through the dynamic formation of complexes with RNA-binding proteins (RBPs in all clades of life. We determined the RBP repertoire of beating cardiomyocytic HL-1 cells by jointly employing two in vivo proteomic methods, mRNA interactome capture and RBDmap. Together, these yielded 1,148 RBPs, 391 of which are shared with all other available mammalian RBP repertoires, while 393 are thus far unique to cardiomyocytes. RBDmap further identified 568 regions of RNA contact within 368 RBPs. The cardiomyocyte mRNA interactome composition reflects their unique biology. Proteins with roles in cardiovascular physiology or disease, mitochondrial function, and intermediary metabolism are all highly represented. Notably, we identified 73 metabolic enzymes as RBPs. RNA-enzyme contacts frequently involve Rossmann fold domains with examples in evidence of both, mutual exclusivity of, or compatibility between RNA binding and enzymatic function. Our findings raise the prospect of previously hidden RNA-mediated regulatory interactions among cardiomyocyte gene expression, physiology, and metabolism.

  3. A simple, practical and complete O-time Algorithm for RNA folding using the Four-Russians Speedup

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gusfield Dan

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The problem of computationally predicting the secondary structure (or folding of RNA molecules was first introduced more than thirty years ago and yet continues to be an area of active research and development. The basic RNA-folding problem of finding a maximum cardinality, non-crossing, matching of complimentary nucleotides in an RNA sequence of length n, has an O(n3-time dynamic programming solution that is widely applied. It is known that an o(n3 worst-case time solution is possible, but the published and suggested methods are complex and have not been established to be practical. Significant practical improvements to the original dynamic programming method have been introduced, but they retain the O(n3 worst-case time bound when n is the only problem-parameter used in the bound. Surprisingly, the most widely-used, general technique to achieve a worst-case (and often practical speed up of dynamic programming, the Four-Russians technique, has not been previously applied to the RNA-folding problem. This is perhaps due to technical issues in adapting the technique to RNA-folding. Results In this paper, we give a simple, complete, and practical Four-Russians algorithm for the basic RNA-folding problem, achieving a worst-case time-bound of O(n3/log(n. Conclusions We show that this time-bound can also be obtained for richer nucleotide matching scoring-schemes, and that the method achieves consistent speed-ups in practice. The contribution is both theoretical and practical, since the basic RNA-folding problem is often solved multiple times in the inner-loop of more complex algorithms, and for long RNA molecules in the study of RNA virus genomes.

  4. Dynamics of biopolymers on nanomaterials studied by quasielastic neutron scattering and MD simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dhindsa, Gurpreet K.

    Neutron scattering has been proved to be a powerful tool to study the dynamics of biological systems under various conditions. This thesis intends to utilize neutron scattering techniques, combining with MD simulations, to develop fundamental understanding of several biologically interesting systems. Our systems include a drug delivery system containing Nanodiamonds with nucleic acid (RNA), and two specific model proteins, beta-Casein and Inorganic Pyrophosphatase (IPPase). RNA and nanodiamond (ND) both are suitable for drug-delivery applications in nano-biotechnology. The architecturally flexible RNA with catalytic functionality forms nanocomposites that can treat life-threatening diseases. The non-toxic ND has excellent mechanical and optical properties and functionalizable high surface area, and thus actively considered for biomedical applications. In this thesis, we utilized two tools, quasielastic neutron scattering (QENS) and Molecular Dynamics Simulations to probe the effect of ND on RNA dynamics. Our work provides fundamental understanding of how hydrated RNA motions are affected in the RNA-ND nanocomposites. From the experimental and Molecular Dynamics Simulation (MD), we found that hydrated RNA motion is faster on ND surface than a freestanding one. MD Simulation results showed that the failure of Stokes Einstein relation results the presence of dynamic heterogeneities in the biomacromolecules. Radial pair distribution function from MD Simulation confirmed that the hydrophilic nature of ND attracts more water than RNA results the de-confinement of RNA on ND. Therefore, RNA exhibits faster motion in the presence of ND than freestanding RNA. In the second project, we studied the dynamics of a natively disordered protein beta-Casein which lacks secondary structures. In this study, the temperature and hydration effects on the dynamics of beta-Casein are explored by Quasielastic Neutron Scattering (QENS). We investigated the mean square displacement (MSD) of

  5. An infinitely expandable cloning strategy plus repeat-proof PCR for working with multiple shRNA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Glen John McIntyre

    Full Text Available Vector construction with restriction enzymes (REs typically involves the ligation of a digested donor fragment (insert to a reciprocally digested recipient fragment (vector backbone. Creating a suitable cloning plan becomes increasingly difficult for complex strategies requiring repeated insertions such as constructing multiple short hairpin RNA (shRNA expression vectors for RNA interference (RNAi studies. The problem lies in the reduced availability of suitable RE recognition sites with an increasing number of cloning events and or vector size. This report details a technically simple, directional cloning solution using REs with compatible cohesive ends that are repeatedly destroyed and simultaneously re-introduced with each round of cloning. Donor fragments can be made by PCR or sub-cloned from pre-existing vectors and inserted ad infinitum in any combination. The design incorporates several cloning cores in order to be compatible with as many donor sequences as possible. We show that joining sub-combinations made in parallel is more time-efficient than sequential construction (of one cassette at a time for any combination of 4 or more insertions. Screening for the successful construction of combinations using Taq polymerase based PCR became increasingly difficult with increasing number of repeated sequence elements. A Pfu polymerase based PCR was developed and successfully used to amplify combinations of up to eleven consecutive hairpin expression cassettes. The identified PCR conditions can be beneficial to others working with multiple shRNA or other repeated sequences, and the infinitely expandable cloning strategy serves as a general solution applicable to many cloning scenarios.

  6. iDoRNA: An Interacting Domain-based Tool for Designing RNA-RNA Interaction Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jittrawan Thaiprasit

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available RNA-RNA interactions play a crucial role in gene regulation in living organisms. They have gained increasing interest in the field of synthetic biology because of their potential applications in medicine and biotechnology. However, few novel regulators based on RNA-RNA interactions with desired structures and functions have been developed due to the challenges of developing design tools. Recently, we proposed a novel tool, called iDoDe, for designing RNA-RNA interacting sequences by first decomposing RNA structures into interacting domains and then designing each domain using a stochastic algorithm. However, iDoDe did not provide an optimal solution because it still lacks a mechanism to optimize the design. In this work, we have further developed the tool by incorporating a genetic algorithm (GA to find an RNA solution with maximized structural similarity and minimized hybridized RNA energy, and renamed the tool iDoRNA. A set of suitable parameters for the genetic algorithm were determined and found to be a weighting factor of 0.7, a crossover rate of 0.9, a mutation rate of 0.1, and the number of individuals per population set to 8. We demonstrated the performance of iDoRNA in comparison with iDoDe by using six RNA-RNA interaction models. It was found that iDoRNA could efficiently generate all models of interacting RNAs with far more accuracy and required far less computational time than iDoDe. Moreover, we compared the design performance of our tool against existing design tools using forty-four RNA-RNA interaction models. The results showed that the performance of iDoRNA is better than RiboMaker when considering the ensemble defect, the fitness score and computation time usage. However, it appears that iDoRNA is outperformed by NUPACK and RNAiFold 2.0 when considering the ensemble defect. Nevertheless, iDoRNA can still be an useful alternative tool for designing novel RNA-RNA interactions in synthetic biology research. The source code of iDoRNA

  7. Role of nucleocytoplasmic RNA transport during the life cycle of retroviruses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hisatoshi eShida

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Retroviruses have evolved mechanisms for transporting their intron-containing RNAs (including genomic and messenger RNAs, which encode virion components from the nucleus to the cytoplasm of the infected cell. Human retroviruses, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV and human T cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1, encode the regulatory proteins Rev and Rex, which form a bridge between the viral RNA and the export receptor CRM1. Recent studies show that these transport systems are not only involved in RNA export, but also in the encapsidation of genomic RNA; furthermore, they influence subsequent events in the cytoplasm, including the translation of the cognate mRNA, transport of Gag proteins to the plasma membrane, and the formation of virus particles. Moreover, the mode of interaction between the viral and cellular RNA transport machinery underlies the species-specific propagation of HIV-1 and HTLV-1, forming the basis for constructing animal models of infection. This review article discusses recent progress regarding these issues.

  8. Combinatorics of RNA-RNA interaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Thomas J X; Reidys, Christian

    2012-01-01

    RNA-RNA binding is an important phenomenon observed for many classes of non-coding RNAs and plays a crucial role in a number of regulatory processes. Recently several MFE folding algorithms for predicting the joint structure of two interacting RNA molecules have been proposed. Here joint structure...... means that in a diagram representation the intramolecular bonds of each partner are pseudoknot-free, that the intermolecular binding pairs are noncrossing, and that there is no so-called "zigzag" configuration. This paper presents the combinatorics of RNA interaction structures including...

  9. Granatum: a graphical single-cell RNA-Seq analysis pipeline for genomics scientists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Xun; Wolfgruber, Thomas K; Tasato, Austin; Arisdakessian, Cédric; Garmire, David G; Garmire, Lana X

    2017-12-05

    Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) is an increasingly popular platform to study heterogeneity at the single-cell level. Computational methods to process scRNA-Seq data are not very accessible to bench scientists as they require a significant amount of bioinformatic skills. We have developed Granatum, a web-based scRNA-Seq analysis pipeline to make analysis more broadly accessible to researchers. Without a single line of programming code, users can click through the pipeline, setting parameters and visualizing results via the interactive graphical interface. Granatum conveniently walks users through various steps of scRNA-Seq analysis. It has a comprehensive list of modules, including plate merging and batch-effect removal, outlier-sample removal, gene-expression normalization, imputation, gene filtering, cell clustering, differential gene expression analysis, pathway/ontology enrichment analysis, protein network interaction visualization, and pseudo-time cell series construction. Granatum enables broad adoption of scRNA-Seq technology by empowering bench scientists with an easy-to-use graphical interface for scRNA-Seq data analysis. The package is freely available for research use at http://garmiregroup.org/granatum/app.

  10. Nucleic acids encoding phloem small RNA-binding proteins and transgenic plants comprising them

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucas, William J.; Yoo, Byung-Chun; Lough, Tony J.; Varkonyi-Gasic, Erika

    2007-03-13

    The present invention provides a polynucleotide sequence encoding a component of the protein machinery involved in small RNA trafficking, Cucurbita maxima phloem small RNA-binding protein (CmPSRB 1), and the corresponding polypeptide sequence. The invention also provides genetic constructs and transgenic plants comprising the polynucleotide sequence encoding a phloem small RNA-binding protein to alter (e.g., prevent, reduce or elevate) non-cell autonomous signaling events in the plants involving small RNA metabolism. These signaling events are involved in a broad spectrum of plant physiological and biochemical processes, including, for example, systemic resistance to pathogens, responses to environmental stresses, e.g., heat, drought, salinity, and systemic gene silencing (e.g., viral infections).

  11. Simultaneous DNA-RNA Extraction from Coastal Sediments and Quantification of 16S rRNA Genes and Transcripts by Real-time PCR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tatti, Enrico; McKew, Boyd A; Whitby, Corrine; Smith, Cindy J

    2016-06-11

    Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction also known as quantitative PCR (q-PCR) is a widely used tool in microbial ecology to quantify gene abundances of taxonomic and functional groups in environmental samples. Used in combination with a reverse transcriptase reaction (RT-q-PCR), it can also be employed to quantify gene transcripts. q-PCR makes use of highly sensitive fluorescent detection chemistries that allow quantification of PCR amplicons during the exponential phase of the reaction. Therefore, the biases associated with 'end-point' PCR detected in the plateau phase of the PCR reaction are avoided. A protocol to quantify bacterial 16S rRNA genes and transcripts from coastal sediments via real-time PCR is provided. First, a method for the co-extraction of DNA and RNA from coastal sediments, including the additional steps required for the preparation of DNA-free RNA, is outlined. Second, a step-by-step guide for the quantification of 16S rRNA genes and transcripts from the extracted nucleic acids via q-PCR and RT-q-PCR is outlined. This includes details for the construction of DNA and RNA standard curves. Key considerations for the use of RT-q-PCR assays in microbial ecology are included.

  12. Construction characterization and application of Flavivirus infectious clones

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jiang, Xiaohong

    2013-01-01

    The topics in this thesis revolve around a group of plus-strand RNA viruses that belong to the Flavivirus genus, a general introduction of which is presented in Chapter 1. The experimental chapters in this thesis mainly focus on the construction and characterization of flavivirus infectious clones

  13. Logistic description of investment and construction management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sborshchikov Sergey Borisovich

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the questions of defining dynamic behavior of investment and construction activity as a technical and economic system and its formalized description. It is offered to use the term "condition vector" as one of the main characteristics while describing investment and construction activity. Logistic interpretation of a sustainable development of investment and construction defines the concept of optimum trajectory, which considers various dependencies of its components (construction operations, their preparation, design, material, technique, personnel, information, investment, etc.. It is necessary to point out that this state is homeostatic, which means, the managing system must provide continuous monitoring of each system component of investment and construction activities in accordance with the sustainable development pathway. The concept of dynamic balance used in logistics is identical to the concept of homeostatic balance, which is accepted in system engineering. It is defined as a property of technical and economic system, which implies that its deviations from the development pathway lie within admissible values.

  14. RNA sequencing: current and prospective uses in metabolic research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vikman, Petter; Fadista, Joao; Oskolkov, Nikolay

    2014-10-01

    Previous global RNA analysis was restricted to known transcripts in species with a defined transcriptome. Next generation sequencing has transformed transcriptomics by making it possible to analyse expressed genes with an exon level resolution from any tissue in any species without any a priori knowledge of which genes that are being expressed, splice patterns or their nucleotide sequence. In addition, RNA sequencing is a more sensitive technique compared with microarrays with a larger dynamic range, and it also allows for investigation of imprinting and allele-specific expression. This can be done for a cost that is able to compete with that of a microarray, making RNA sequencing a technique available to most researchers. Therefore RNA sequencing has recently become the state of the art with regards to large-scale RNA investigations and has to a large extent replaced microarrays. The only drawback is the large data amounts produced, which together with the complexity of the data can make a researcher spend far more time on analysis than performing the actual experiment. © 2014 Society for Endocrinology.

  15. Tissue-specific RNA expression marks distant-acting developmental enhancers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Han Wu

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Short non-coding transcripts can be transcribed from distant-acting transcriptional enhancer loci, but the prevalence of such enhancer RNAs (eRNAs within the transcriptome, and the association of eRNA expression with tissue-specific enhancer activity in vivo remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the expression dynamics of tissue-specific non-coding RNAs in embryonic mouse tissues via deep RNA sequencing. Overall, approximately 80% of validated in vivo enhancers show tissue-specific RNA expression that correlates with tissue-specific enhancer activity. Globally, we identified thousands of tissue-specifically transcribed non-coding regions (TSTRs displaying various genomic hallmarks of bona fide enhancers. In transgenic mouse reporter assays, over half of tested TSTRs functioned as enhancers with reproducible activity in the predicted tissue. Together, our results demonstrate that tissue-specific eRNA expression is a common feature of in vivo enhancers, as well as a major source of extragenic transcription, and that eRNA expression signatures can be used to predict tissue-specific enhancers independent of known epigenomic enhancer marks.

  16. UPF201 Archaeal Specific Family Members Reveals Structural Similarity to RNA-Binding Proteins but Low Likelihood for RNA-Binding Function

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rao, K.N.; Swaminathan, S.; Burley, S. K.

    2008-12-11

    We have determined X-ray crystal structures of four members of an archaeal specific family of proteins of unknown function (UPF0201; Pfam classification: DUF54) to advance our understanding of the genetic repertoire of archaea. Despite low pairwise amino acid sequence identities (10-40%) and the absence of conserved sequence motifs, the three-dimensional structures of these proteins are remarkably similar to one another. Their common polypeptide chain fold, encompassing a five-stranded antiparallel {beta}-sheet and five {alpha}-helices, proved to be quite unexpectedly similar to that of the RRM-type RNA-binding domain of the ribosomal L5 protein, which is responsible for binding the 5S- rRNA. Structure-based sequence alignments enabled construction of a phylogenetic tree relating UPF0201 family members to L5 ribosomal proteins and other structurally similar RNA binding proteins, thereby expanding our understanding of the evolutionary purview of the RRM superfamily. Analyses of the surfaces of these newly determined UPF0201 structures suggest that they probably do not function as RNA binding proteins, and that this domain specific family of proteins has acquired a novel function in archaebacteria, which awaits experimental elucidation.

  17. Dynamic Contacts of U2, RES, Cwc25, Prp8 and Prp45 Proteins with the Pre-mRNA Branch-Site and 3' Splice Site during Catalytic Activation and Step 1 Catalysis in Yeast Spliceosomes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cornelius Schneider

    Full Text Available Little is known about contacts in the spliceosome between proteins and intron nucleotides surrounding the pre-mRNA branch-site and their dynamics during splicing. We investigated protein-pre-mRNA interactions by UV-induced crosslinking of purified yeast B(act spliceosomes formed on site-specifically labeled pre-mRNA, and analyzed their changes after conversion to catalytically-activated B* and step 1 C complexes, using a purified splicing system. Contacts between nucleotides upstream and downstream of the branch-site and the U2 SF3a/b proteins Prp9, Prp11, Hsh49, Cus1 and Hsh155 were detected, demonstrating that these interactions are evolutionarily conserved. The RES proteins Pml1 and Bud13 were shown to contact the intron downstream of the branch-site. A comparison of the B(act crosslinking pattern versus that of B* and C complexes revealed that U2 and RES protein interactions with the intron are dynamic. Upon step 1 catalysis, Cwc25 contacts with the branch-site region, and enhanced crosslinks of Prp8 and Prp45 with nucleotides surrounding the branch-site were observed. Cwc25's step 1 promoting activity was not dependent on its interaction with pre-mRNA, indicating it acts via protein-protein interactions. These studies provide important insights into the spliceosome's protein-pre-mRNA network and reveal novel RNP remodeling events during the catalytic activation of the spliceosome and step 1 of splicing.

  18. All-in-one detector of circulating mRNA based on a smartphone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cmiel, Vratislav; Gumulec, Jaromir; Svoboda, Ondrej; Raudenska, Martina; Hudcova, Kristyna; Sekora, Jiri; Balogh, Jaroslav; Masarik, Michal; Provaznik, Ivo

    2016-03-01

    Metallothionein is significantly elevated in various tumors, notably in prostate cancer on both mRNA and protein level. We demonstrated a strong predictive potential of free circulating metallothionein 2A isoform mRNA for patients with this cancer. Circulating mRNA detection relies on expensive equipment and requires high level of expertise. In this work we developed compact "all-in-one" laboratory system which replace microvolume spectrophotometer, thermocycler and realtime PCR machines. We managed to design and construct a microprocessor controlled heating/cooling chamber that ensures required temperature gradient. The chamber includes implemented optical system to enable fluorescence excitation and fluorescence analysis using a smart-phone.

  19. Neutral Polymeric Micelles for RNA Delivery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lundy, Brittany B.; Convertine, Anthony; Miteva, Martina; Stayton, Patrick S.

    2013-01-01

    RNA interference (RNAi) drugs have significant therapeutic potential but delivery systems with appropriate efficacy and toxicity profiles are still needed. Here, we describe a neutral, ampholytic polymeric delivery system based on conjugatable diblock polymer micelles. The diblock copolymer contains a hydrophilic poly[N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide-co-N-(2-(pyridin-2- yldisulfanyl)ethyl)methacrylamide) (poly[HPMA-co-PDSMA]) segment to promote aqueous stability and facilitate thiol-disulfide exchange reactions, and a second ampholytic block composed of propyl acrylic acid (PAA), dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA), and butyl methacrylate (BMA). The poly[(HPMA-co-PDSMA)-b-(PAA-co-DMAEMA-co-BMA)] was synthesized using Reversible Addition-Fragmentation chain Transfer (RAFT) polymerization with an overall molecular weight of 22,000 g/mol and a PDI of 1.88. Dynamic light scattering and fluorescence measurements indicated that the diblock copolymers self-assemble under aqueous conditions to form polymeric micelles with a hydrodynamic radius and critical micelle concentration of 25 nm and 25 μg/mL respectively. Red blood cell hemolysis experiments show that the neutral hydrophilic micelles have potent membrane destabilizing activity at endosomal pH values. Thiolated siRNA targeting glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) was directly conjugated to the polymeric micelles via thiol exchange reactions with the pyridal disulfide groups present in the micelle corona. Maximum silencing activity in HeLa cells was observed at a 1:10 molar ratio of siRNA to polymer following a 48 h incubation period. Under these conditions 90 % mRNA knockdown and 65 % and protein knockdown of at 48 h was achieved with negligible toxicity. In contrast the polymeric micelles lacking a pH-responsive endosomalytic segment demonstrated negligible mRNA and protein knockdown under these conditions. The potent mRNA knockdown and excellent biocompatibility of the neutral siRNA conjugates

  20. Structural Dynamics of the GW182 Silencing Domain Including its RNA Recognition motif (RRM) Revealed by Hydrogen-Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cieplak-Rotowska, Maja K.; Tarnowski, Krzysztof; Rubin, Marcin; Fabian, Marc R.; Sonenberg, Nahum; Dadlez, Michal; Niedzwiecka, Anna

    2018-01-01

    The human GW182 protein plays an essential role in micro(mi)RNA-dependent gene silencing. miRNA silencing is mediated, in part, by a GW182 C-terminal region called the silencing domain, which interacts with the poly(A) binding protein and the CCR4-NOT deadenylase complex to repress protein synthesis. Structural studies of this GW182 fragment are challenging due to its predicted intrinsically disordered character, except for its RRM domain. However, detailed insights into the properties of proteins containing disordered regions can be provided by hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX/MS). In this work, we applied HDX/MS to define the structural state of the GW182 silencing domain. HDX/MS analysis revealed that this domain is clearly divided into a natively unstructured part, including the CCR4-NOT interacting motif 1, and a distinct RRM domain. The GW182 RRM has a very dynamic structure, since water molecules can penetrate the whole domain in 2 h. The finding of this high structural dynamics sheds new light on the RRM structure. Though this domain is one of the most frequently occurring canonical protein domains in eukaryotes, these results are - to our knowledge - the first HDX/MS characteristics of an RRM. The HDX/MS studies show also that the α2 helix of the RRM can display EX1 behavior after a freezing-thawing cycle. This means that the RRM structure is sensitive to environmental conditions and can change its conformation, which suggests that the state of the RRM containing proteins should be checked by HDX/MS in regard of the conformational uniformity. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

  1. Dark matter RNA: an intelligent scaffold for the dynamic regulation of the nuclear information landscape

    Science.gov (United States)

    St. Laurent, Georges; Savva, Yiannis A.; Kapranov, Philipp

    2012-01-01

    Perhaps no other topic in contemporary genomics has inspired such diverse viewpoints as the 95+% of the genome, previously known as “junk DNA,” that does not code for proteins. Here, we present a theory in which dark matter RNA plays a role in the generation of a landscape of spatial micro-domains coupled to the information signaling matrix of the nuclear landscape. Within and between these micro-domains, dark matter RNAs additionally function to tether RNA interacting proteins and complexes of many different types, and by doing so, allow for a higher performance of the various processes requiring them at ultra-fast rates. This improves signal to noise characteristics of RNA processing, trafficking, and epigenetic signaling, where competition and differential RNA binding among proteins drives the computational decisions inherent in regulatory events. PMID:22539933

  2. Strategies for Improving siRNA-Induced Gene Silencing Efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safari, Fatemeh; Rahmani Barouji, Solmaz; Tamaddon, Ali Mohammad

    2017-12-01

    Purpose: Human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) plays a crucial role in tumorigenesis and progression of cancers. Gene silencing of hTERT by short interfering RNA (siRNA) is considered as a promising strategy for cancer gene therapy. Various algorithms have been devised for designing a high efficient siRNA which is a significant issue in the clinical usage. Thereby, in the present study, the relation of siRNA designing criteria and the gene silencing efficiency was evaluated. Methods: The siRNA sequences were designed and characterized by using on line soft wares. Cationic co-polymer (polyethylene glycol-g-polyethylene imine (PEG-g-PEI)) was used for the construction of polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) containing siRNAs. The cellular uptake of the PECs was evaluated. The gene silencing efficiency of different siRNA sequences was investigated and the effect of observing the rational designing on the functionality of siRNAs was assessed. Results: The size of PEG-g-PEI siRNA with N/P (Nitrogen/Phosphate) ratio of 2.5 was 114 ± 0.645 nm. The transfection efficiency of PECs was desirable (95.5% ± 2.4%.). The results of Real-Time PCR showed that main sequence (MS) reduced the hTERT expression up to 90% and control positive sequence (CPS) up to 63%. These findings demonstrated that the accessibility to the target site has priority than the other criteria such as sequence preferences and thermodynamic features. Conclusion: siRNA opens a hopeful window in cancer therapy which provides a convenient and tolerable therapeutic approach. Thereby, using the set of criteria and rational algorithms in the designing of siRNA remarkably affect the gene silencing efficiency.

  3. Accurate placement of substrate RNA by Gar1 in H/ACA RNA-guided pseudouridylation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Peng; Yang, Lijiang; Gao, Yi Qin; Zhao, Xin Sheng

    2015-09-03

    H/ACA RNA-guided ribonucleoprotein particle (RNP), the most complicated RNA pseudouridylase so far known, uses H/ACA guide RNA for substrate capture and four proteins (Cbf5, Nop10, L7Ae and Gar1) for pseudouridylation. Although it was shown that Gar1 not only facilitates the product release, but also enhances the catalytic activity, the chemical role that Gar1 plays in this complicated machinery is largely unknown. Kinetics measurement on Pyrococcus furiosus RNPs at different temperatures making use of fluorescence anisotropy showed that Gar1 reduces the catalytic barrier through affecting the activation entropy instead of enthalpy. Site-directed mutagenesis combined with molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated that V149 in the thumb loop of Cbf5 is critical in placing the target uridine to the right position toward catalytic D85 of Cbf5. The enzyme elegantly aligns the position of uridine in the catalytic site with the help of Gar1. In addition, conversion of uridine to pseudouridine results in a rigid syn configuration of the target nucleotide in the active site and causes Gar1 to pull out the thumb. Both factors guarantee the efficient release of the product. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  4. Computational strategies for the automated design of RNA nanoscale structures from building blocks using NanoTiler.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bindewald, Eckart; Grunewald, Calvin; Boyle, Brett; O'Connor, Mary; Shapiro, Bruce A

    2008-10-01

    One approach to designing RNA nanoscale structures is to use known RNA structural motifs such as junctions, kissing loops or bulges and to construct a molecular model by connecting these building blocks with helical struts. We previously developed an algorithm for detecting internal loops, junctions and kissing loops in RNA structures. Here we present algorithms for automating or assisting many of the steps that are involved in creating RNA structures from building blocks: (1) assembling building blocks into nanostructures using either a combinatorial search or constraint satisfaction; (2) optimizing RNA 3D ring structures to improve ring closure; (3) sequence optimisation; (4) creating a unique non-degenerate RNA topology descriptor. This effectively creates a computational pipeline for generating molecular models of RNA nanostructures and more specifically RNA ring structures with optimized sequences from RNA building blocks. We show several examples of how the algorithms can be utilized to generate RNA tecto-shapes.

  5. Computational strategies for the automated design of RNA nanoscale structures from building blocks using NanoTiler☆

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bindewald, Eckart; Grunewald, Calvin; Boyle, Brett; O’Connor, Mary; Shapiro, Bruce A.

    2013-01-01

    One approach to designing RNA nanoscale structures is to use known RNA structural motifs such as junctions, kissing loops or bulges and to construct a molecular model by connecting these building blocks with helical struts. We previously developed an algorithm for detecting internal loops, junctions and kissing loops in RNA structures. Here we present algorithms for automating or assisting many of the steps that are involved in creating RNA structures from building blocks: (1) assembling building blocks into nanostructures using either a combinatorial search or constraint satisfaction; (2) optimizing RNA 3D ring structures to improve ring closure; (3) sequence optimisation; (4) creating a unique non-degenerate RNA topology descriptor. This effectively creates a computational pipeline for generating molecular models of RNA nanostructures and more specifically RNA ring structures with optimized sequences from RNA building blocks. We show several examples of how the algorithms can be utilized to generate RNA tecto-shapes. PMID:18838281

  6. Dosage compensation of serine-4 transfer RNA in Drosophila melanogaster

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Birchler, J.A.; Owenby, R.K.; Jacobson, K.B.

    1982-01-01

    A dosage series of the X chromosome site for serine-4 transfer RNA consisting of one of three copies in females and one to two in males was constructed to test whether transfer RNA expression is governed by dosage compensation. A dosage effect on the level of the serine-4 isoacceptor was observed in both females and males when the structural locus was varied. However, in males, each dose had a relatively greater expression so the normal one dose was slightly greater than the total female value and the duplicated male had the highest relative expression of all the types examined. Serine-4 levels in males and females from an isogenic Oregon-R stock were similar. Thus the transfer RNA levels conform to the expectations of dosage compensation

  7. Comparison of protocols and RNA carriers for plasma miRNA isolation. Unraveling RNA carrier influence on miRNA isolation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martos, Laura; Fernández-Pardo, Álvaro; Oto, Julia; Medina, Pilar; España, Francisco; Navarro, Silvia

    2017-01-01

    microRNAs are promising biomarkers in biological fluids in several diseases. Different plasma RNA isolation protocols and carriers are available, but their efficiencies have been scarcely compared. Plasma microRNAs were isolated using a phenol and column-based procedure and a column-based procedure, in the presence or absence of two RNA carriers (yeast RNA and MS2 RNA). We evaluated the presence of PCR inhibitors and the relative abundance of certain microRNAs by qRT-PCR. Furthermore, we analyzed the association between different isolation protocols, the relative abundance of the miRNAs in the sample, the GC content and the free energy of microRNAs. In all microRNAs analyzed, the addition of yeast RNA as a carrier in the different isolation protocols used gave lower raw Cq values, indicating higher microRNA recovery. Moreover, this increase in microRNAs recovery was dependent on their own relative abundance in the sample, their GC content and the free-energy of their own most stable secondary structure. Furthermore, the normalization of microRNA levels by an endogenous microRNA is more reliable than the normalization by plasma volume, as it reduced the difference in microRNA fold abundance between the different isolation protocols evaluated. Our thorough study indicates that a standardization of pre- and analytical conditions is necessary to obtain reproducible inter-laboratory results in plasma microRNA studies. PMID:29077772

  8. Usutu Virus RNA in Mosquitoes, Israel, 2014-2015.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mannasse, Batya; Mendelson, Ella; Orshan, Laor; Mor, Orna; Shalom, Uri; Yeger, Tamar; Lustig, Yaniv

    2017-10-01

    We identified Usutu virus (USUV) RNA in 6 pools of mosquitoes trapped in northern Israel during 2014-2015. These Israeli strains were most similar to strains identified in Senegal and Germany, which further elucidates common ancestry and evolutionary dynamics of USUV. Our findings suggest that human infection with USUV might occur in Israel.

  9. Imaging translation dynamics of single mRNA molecules in live cells

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruijtenberg, Suzan; Hoek, Tim A.; Yan, Xiaowei; Tanenbaum, Marvin E.

    2018-01-01

    mRNA translation is a key step in decoding the genetic information stored in DNA. Regulation of translation efficiency contributes to gene expression control and is therefore important for cell fate and function. Here, we describe a recently developed microscopy-based method that allows for

  10. BIM-Integrated Construction Operation Simulation for Just-In-Time Production Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    WoonSeong Jeong

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Traditional construction planning, which depends on historical data and heuristic modification, prevents the integration of managerial details such as productivity dynamics. Specifically, the distance between planning and execution brings cost overruns and duration extensions. To minimize variations, this research presents a Building Information Modeling (BIM-integrated simulation framework for predicting productivity dynamics at the construction planning phase. To develop this framework, we examined critical factors affecting productivity at the operational level, and then forecast the productivity dynamics. The resulting plan includes specific commands for retrieving the required information from BIM and executing operation simulations. It consists of the following steps: (1 preparing a BIM model to produce input data; (2 composing a construction simulation at the operational level; and (3 obtaining productivity dynamics from the BIM-integrated simulation. To validate our framework, we applied it to a structural steel model; this was due to the significance of steel erections. By integrating BIM with construction operation simulations, we were able to create reliable construction plans that adapted to project changes. Our results show that the developed framework facilitates the reliable prediction of productivity dynamics, and can contribute to improved schedule reliability, optimized resource allocation, cost savings associated with buffers, and reduced material waste.

  11. Single Molecule Cluster Analysis Identifies Signature Dynamic Conformations along the Splicing Pathway

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blanco, Mario R.; Martin, Joshua S.; Kahlscheuer, Matthew L.; Krishnan, Ramya; Abelson, John; Laederach, Alain; Walter, Nils G.

    2016-01-01

    The spliceosome is the dynamic RNA-protein machine responsible for faithfully splicing introns from precursor messenger RNAs (pre-mRNAs). Many of the dynamic processes required for the proper assembly, catalytic activation, and disassembly of the spliceosome as it acts on its pre-mRNA substrate remain poorly understood, a challenge that persists for many biomolecular machines. Here, we developed a fluorescence-based Single Molecule Cluster Analysis (SiMCAn) tool to dissect the manifold conformational dynamics of a pre-mRNA through the splicing cycle. By clustering common dynamic behaviors derived from selectively blocked splicing reactions, SiMCAn was able to identify signature conformations and dynamic behaviors of multiple ATP-dependent intermediates. In addition, it identified a conformation adopted late in splicing by a 3′ splice site mutant, invoking a mechanism for substrate proofreading. SiMCAn presents a novel framework for interpreting complex single molecule behaviors that should prove widely useful for the comprehensive analysis of a plethora of dynamic cellular machines. PMID:26414013

  12. First-principles photoemission spectroscopy in DNA and RNA nucleobases from Koopmans-compliant functionals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Ngoc Linh; Borghi, Giovanni; Ferretti, Andrea; Marzari, Nicola

    The determination of spectral properties of the DNA and RNA nucleobases from first principles can provide theoretical interpretation for experimental data, but requires complex electronic-structure formulations that fall outside the domain of applicability of common approaches such as density-functional theory. In this work, we show that Koopmans-compliant functionals, constructed to enforce piecewise linearity in energy functionals with respect to fractional occupation-i.e., with respect to charged excitations-can predict not only frontier ionization potentials and electron affinities of the nucleobases with accuracy comparable or superior with that of many-body perturbation theory and high-accuracy quantum chemistry methods, but also the molecular photoemission spectra are shown to be in excellent agreement with experimental ultraviolet photoemsision spectroscopy data. The results highlight the role of Koopmans-compliant functionals as accurate and inexpensive quasiparticle approximations to the spectral potential, which transform DFT into a novel dynamical formalism where electronic properties, and not only total energies, can be correctly accounted for.

  13. An Improved Quick Method for the Isolation of Total RNA from Cotton ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    David PANG

    2011-11-02

    Nov 2, 2011 ... in liquid nitrogen in a mortar and pestle and stored until. RNA isolation. ... our laboratory for microarray analysis, cDNA pyro- sequencing studies and construction ..... Economic and rapid method for extracting cotton genomic ...

  14. Analysis of miRNA and mRNA Expression Profiles Highlights Alterations in Ionizing Radiation Response of Human Lymphocytes under Modeled Microgravity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casara, Silvia; Sales, Gabriele; Lanfranchi, Gerolamo; Celotti, Lucia; Mognato, Maddalena

    2012-01-01

    Background Ionizing radiation (IR) can be extremely harmful for human cells since an improper DNA-damage response (DDR) to IR can contribute to carcinogenesis initiation. Perturbations in DDR pathway can originate from alteration in the functionality of the microRNA-mediated gene regulation, being microRNAs (miRNAs) small noncoding RNA that act as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. In this study we gained insight into the role of miRNAs in the regulation of DDR to IR under microgravity, a condition of weightlessness experienced by astronauts during space missions, which could have a synergistic action on cells, increasing the risk of radiation exposure. Methodology/Principal Findings We analyzed miRNA expression profile of human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) incubated for 4 and 24 h in normal gravity (1 g) and in modeled microgravity (MMG) during the repair time after irradiation with 0.2 and 2Gy of γ-rays. Our results show that MMG alters miRNA expression signature of irradiated PBL by decreasing the number of radio-responsive miRNAs. Moreover, let-7i*, miR-7, miR-7-1*, miR-27a, miR-144, miR-200a, miR-598, miR-650 are deregulated by the combined action of radiation and MMG. Integrated analyses of miRNA and mRNA expression profiles, carried out on PBL of the same donors, identified significant miRNA-mRNA anti-correlations of DDR pathway. Gene Ontology analysis reports that the biological category of “Response to DNA damage” is enriched when PBL are incubated in 1 g but not in MMG. Moreover, some anti-correlated genes of p53-pathway show a different expression level between 1 g and MMG. Functional validation assays using luciferase reporter constructs confirmed miRNA-mRNA interactions derived from target prediction analyses. Conclusions/Significance On the whole, by integrating the transcriptome and microRNome, we provide evidence that modeled microgravity can affects the DNA-damage response to IR in human PBL. PMID:22347458

  15. Reliability of mobile systems in construction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narezhnaya, Tamara; Prykina, Larisa

    2017-10-01

    The purpose of the article is to analyze the influence of the mobility of construction production in the article taking into account the properties of reliability and readiness. Basing on the studied systems the effectiveness and efficiency is estimated. The construction system is considered to be the complete organizational structure providing creation or updating of construction facilities. At the same time the production sphere of these systems joins the production on the building site itself, material and technical resources of the construction production and live labour in these spheres within the construction dynamics. The author concludes, that the estimation of the degree of mobility of systems the of construction production makes a great positive effect in the project.

  16. Hepatitis B Virus Core Protein Dephosphorylation Occurs during Pregenomic RNA Encapsidation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Qiong; Hu, Zhanying; Cheng, Junjun; Wu, Shuo; Luo, Yue; Chang, Jinhong; Hu, Jianming; Guo, Ju-Tao

    2018-07-01

    Hepatitis B virus (HBV) core protein consists of an N-terminal assembly domain and a C-terminal domain (CTD) with seven conserved serines or threonines that are dynamically phosphorylated/dephosphorylated during the viral replication cycle. Sulfamoylbenzamide derivatives are small molecular core protein allosteric modulators (CpAMs) that bind to the heteroaryldihydropyrimidine (HAP) pocket between the core protein dimer-dimer interfaces. CpAM binding alters the kinetics and pathway of capsid assembly and can result in the formation of morphologically "normal" capsids devoid of viral pregenomic RNA (pgRNA) and DNA polymerase. In order to investigate the mechanism underlying CpAM inhibition of pgRNA encapsidation, we developed an immunoblotting assay that can resolve core protein based on its phosphorylation status and demonstrated, for the first time, that core protein is hyperphosphorylated in free dimers and empty capsids from both mock-treated and CpAM-treated cells but is hypophosphorylated in pgRNA- and DNA-containing nucleocapsids. Interestingly, inhibition of pgRNA encapsidation by a heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) inhibitor prevented core protein dephosphorylation. Moreover, core proteins with point mutations at the wall of the HAP pocket, V124A and V124W, assembled empty capsids and nucleocapsids with altered phosphorylation status. The results thus suggest that core protein dephosphorylation occurs in the assembly of pgRNA and that interference with the interaction between core protein subunits at dimer-dimer interfaces during nucleocapsid assembly alters not only capsid structure, but also core protein dephosphorylation. Hence, inhibition of pgRNA encapsidation by CpAMs might be due to disruption of core protein dephosphorylation during nucleocapsid assembly. IMPORTANCE Dynamic phosphorylation of HBV core protein regulates multiple steps of viral replication. However, the regulatory function was mainly investigated by phosphomimetic mutagenesis, which

  17. Genetic determinants of PAM-dependent DNA targeting and pre-crRNA processing in Sulfolobus islandicus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Peng, Wenfang; Li, Huan; Hallstrøm, Søren

    2013-01-01

    -adjacent motif (PAM)-dependent DNA targeting activity and mature CRISPR RNA (crRNA) production in this organism, mutants deleting individual genes of the type IA system or removing each of other Cas modules were constructed. Characterization of these mutants revealed that Cas7, Cas5, Cas6, Cas3' and Cas3......" are essential for PAM-dependent DNA targeting activity, whereas Csa5, along with all other Cas modules, is dispensable for the targeting in the crenarchaeon. Cas6 is implicated as the only enzyme for pre-crRNA processing and the crRNA maturation is independent of the DNA targeting activity. Importantly, we show...

  18. antaRNA: ant colony-based RNA sequence design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleinkauf, Robert; Mann, Martin; Backofen, Rolf

    2015-10-01

    RNA sequence design is studied at least as long as the classical folding problem. Although for the latter the functional fold of an RNA molecule is to be found ,: inverse folding tries to identify RNA sequences that fold into a function-specific target structure. In combination with RNA-based biotechnology and synthetic biology ,: reliable RNA sequence design becomes a crucial step to generate novel biochemical components. In this article ,: the computational tool antaRNA is presented. It is capable of compiling RNA sequences for a given structure that comply in addition with an adjustable full range objective GC-content distribution ,: specific sequence constraints and additional fuzzy structure constraints. antaRNA applies ant colony optimization meta-heuristics and its superior performance is shown on a biological datasets. http://www.bioinf.uni-freiburg.de/Software/antaRNA CONTACT: backofen@informatik.uni-freiburg.de Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press.

  19. The True Story and Advantages of RNA Phage Capsids as Nanotools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pumpens, Paul; Renhofa, Regina; Dishlers, Andris; Kozlovska, Tatjana; Ose, Velta; Pushko, Peter; Tars, Kaspars; Grens, Elmars; Bachmann, Martin F

    2016-01-01

    RNA phages are often used as prototypes for modern recombinant virus-like particle (VLP) technologies. Icosahedral RNA phage VLPs can be formed from coat proteins (CPs) and are efficiently produced in bacteria and yeast. Both genetic fusion and chemical coupling have been successfully used for the production of numerous chimeras based on RNA phage VLPs. In this review, we describe advances in RNA phage VLP technology along with the history of the Leviviridae family, including its taxonomical organization, genomic structure, and important role in the development of molecular biology. Comparative 3D structures of different RNA phage VLPs are used to explain the level of VLP tolerance to foreign elements displayed on VLP surfaces. We also summarize data that demonstrate the ability of CPs to tolerate different organic (peptides, oligonucleotides, and carbohydrates) and inorganic (metal ions) compounds either chemically coupled or noncovalently added to the outer and/or inner surfaces of VLPs. Finally, we present lists of nanotechnological RNA phage VLP applications, such as experimental vaccines constructed by genetic fusion and chemical coupling methodologies, nanocontainers for targeted drug delivery, and bioimaging tools. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  20. Gene expression profiling of non-polyadenylated RNA-seq across species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao-Ou Zhang

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Transcriptomes are dynamic and unique, with each cell type/tissue, developmental stage and species expressing a different repertoire of RNA transcripts. Most mRNAs and well-characterized long noncoding RNAs are shaped with a 5′ cap and 3′ poly(A tail, thus conventional transcriptome analyses typically start with the enrichment of poly(A+ RNAs by oligo(dT selection, followed by deep sequencing approaches. However, accumulated lines of evidence suggest that many RNA transcripts are processed by alternative mechanisms without 3′ poly(A tails and, therefore, fail to be enriched by oligo(dT purification and are absent following deep sequencing analyses. We have described an enrichment strategy to purify non-polyadenylated (poly(A−/ribo− RNAs from human total RNAs by removal of both poly(A+ RNA transcripts and ribosomal RNAs, which led to the identification of many novel RNA transcripts with non-canonical 3′ ends in human. Here, we describe the application of non-polyadenylated RNA-sequencing in rhesus monkey and mouse cell lines/tissue, and further profile the transcription of non-polyadenylated RNAs across species, providing new resources for non-polyadenylated RNA identification and comparison across species.

  1. From "Cellular" RNA to "Smart" RNA: Multiple Roles of RNA in Genome Stability and Beyond.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michelini, Flavia; Jalihal, Ameya P; Francia, Sofia; Meers, Chance; Neeb, Zachary T; Rossiello, Francesca; Gioia, Ubaldo; Aguado, Julio; Jones-Weinert, Corey; Luke, Brian; Biamonti, Giuseppe; Nowacki, Mariusz; Storici, Francesca; Carninci, Piero; Walter, Nils G; Fagagna, Fabrizio d'Adda di

    2018-03-30

    Coding for proteins has been considered the main function of RNA since the "central dogma" of biology was proposed. The discovery of noncoding transcripts shed light on additional roles of RNA, ranging from the support of polypeptide synthesis, to the assembly of subnuclear structures, to gene expression modulation. Cellular RNA has therefore been recognized as a central player in often unanticipated biological processes, including genomic stability. This ever-expanding list of functions inspired us to think of RNA as a "smart" phone, which has replaced the older obsolete "cellular" phone. In this review, we summarize the last two decades of advances in research on the interface between RNA biology and genome stability. We start with an account of the emergence of noncoding RNA, and then we discuss the involvement of RNA in DNA damage signaling and repair, telomere maintenance, and genomic rearrangements. We continue with the depiction of single-molecule RNA detection techniques, and we conclude by illustrating the possibilities of RNA modulation in hopes of creating or improving new therapies. The widespread biological functions of RNA have made this molecule a reoccurring theme in basic and translational research, warranting it the transcendence from classically studied "cellular" RNA to "smart" RNA.

  2. Construction and Biological Evaluation of a Novel Integrin ανβ3-Specific Carrier for Targeted siRNA Delivery In Vitro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xueqi Chen

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available (1 Background: The great potential of RNA interference (RNAi-based gene therapy is premised on the effective delivery of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs to target tissues and cells. Hence, we aimed at developing and examining a novel integrin αvβ3-specific delivery carrier for targeted transfection of siRNA to malignant tumor cells; (2 Methods: Arginine-glycine-aspartate motif (RGD was adopted as a tissue target for specific recognition of integrin αvβ3. To enable siRNA binding, a chimeric peptide was synthesized by adding nonamer arginine residues (9R at the carboxy terminus of cyclic-RGD dimer, designated as c(RGD2-9R. The efficiency of 9R peptide transferring siRNA was biologically evaluated in vitro by flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, and Western blot; (3 Results: An optimal 10:1 molar ratio of c(RGD2-9R to siRNA was confirmed by the electrophoresis on agarose gels. Both the flow cytometry and confocal microscopy results testified that transfection of c(RGD2-9R as an siRNA delivery carrier was obviously higher than the naked-siRNA group. The results of Western blot demonstrated that these 9R peptides were able to transduce siRNA to HepG2 cells in vitro, resulting in efficient gene silencing; and (4 Conclusion: The chimeric peptide of c(RGD2-9R can be developed as an effective siRNA delivery carrier and shows potential as a new strategy for RNAi-based gene therapy.

  3. The crystal structure and RNA-binding of an orthomyxovirus nucleoprotein.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenjie Zheng

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Genome packaging for viruses with segmented genomes is often a complex problem. This is particularly true for influenza viruses and other orthomyxoviruses, whose genome consists of multiple negative-sense RNAs encapsidated as ribonucleoprotein (RNP complexes. To better understand the structural features of orthomyxovirus RNPs that allow them to be packaged, we determined the crystal structure of the nucleoprotein (NP of a fish orthomyxovirus, the infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV (genus Isavirus. As the major protein component of the RNPs, ISAV-NP possesses a bi-lobular structure similar to the influenza virus NP. Because both RNA-free and RNA-bound ISAV NP forms stable dimers in solution, we were able to measure the NP RNA binding affinity as well as the stoichiometry using recombinant proteins and synthetic oligos. Our RNA binding analysis revealed that each ISAV-NP binds ~12 nts of RNA, shorter than the 24-28 nts originally estimated for the influenza A virus NP based on population average. The 12-nt stoichiometry was further confirmed by results from electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Considering that RNPs of ISAV and the influenza viruses have similar morphologies and dimensions, our findings suggest that NP-free RNA may exist on orthomyxovirus RNPs, and selective RNP packaging may be accomplished through direct RNA-RNA interactions.

  4. 34A, miRNA-944, miRNA-101 and miRNA-218 in cervical cancer

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    RNAs (21 - 24 nucleotides in length) that are critical for many important processes such as development, ... RNA extraction and reverse transcription. Total RNA was extracted from each of the experimental groups using ... used as an endogenous control to normalize the expression of miRNA-143, miRNA-34A, miRNA-.

  5. A method for rapid similarity analysis of RNA secondary structures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liu Na

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Owing to the rapid expansion of RNA structure databases in recent years, efficient methods for structure comparison are in demand for function prediction and evolutionary analysis. Usually, the similarity of RNA secondary structures is evaluated based on tree models and dynamic programming algorithms. We present here a new method for the similarity analysis of RNA secondary structures. Results Three sets of real data have been used as input for the example applications. Set I includes the structures from 5S rRNAs. Set II includes the secondary structures from RNase P and RNase MRP. Set III includes the structures from 16S rRNAs. Reasonable phylogenetic trees are derived for these three sets of data by using our method. Moreover, our program runs faster as compared to some existing ones. Conclusion The famous Lempel-Ziv algorithm can efficiently extract the information on repeated patterns encoded in RNA secondary structures and makes our method an alternative to analyze the similarity of RNA secondary structures. This method will also be useful to researchers who are interested in evolutionary analysis.

  6. Extracellular RNA Communication (ExRNA)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — Until recently, scientists believed RNA worked mostly inside the cell that produced it. Some types of RNA help translate genes into proteins that are necessary for...

  7. Detection and characterization of Pasteuria 16S rRNA gene sequences from nematodes and soils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duan, Y P; Castro, H F; Hewlett, T E; White, J H; Ogram, A V

    2003-01-01

    Various bacterial species in the genus Pasteuria have great potential as biocontrol agents against plant-parasitic nematodes, although study of this important genus is hampered by the current inability to cultivate Pasteuria species outside their host. To aid in the study of this genus, an extensive 16S rRNA gene sequence phylogeny was constructed and this information was used to develop cultivation-independent methods for detection of Pasteuria in soils and nematodes. Thirty new clones of Pasteuria 16S rRNA genes were obtained directly from nematodes and soil samples. These were sequenced and used to construct an extensive phylogeny of this genus. These sequences were divided into two deeply branching clades within the low-G + C, Gram-positive division; some sequences appear to represent novel species within the genus Pasteuria. In addition, a surprising degree of 16S rRNA gene sequence diversity was observed within what had previously been designated a single strain of Pasteuria penetrans (P-20). PCR primers specific to Pasteuria 16S rRNA for detection of Pasteuria in soils were also designed and evaluated. Detection limits for soil DNA were 100-10,000 Pasteuria endospores (g soil)(-1).

  8. RNA Crystallization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golden, Barbara L.; Kundrot, Craig E.

    2003-01-01

    RNA molecules may be crystallized using variations of the methods developed for protein crystallography. As the technology has become available to syntheisize and purify RNA molecules in the quantities and with the quality that is required for crystallography, the field of RNA structure has exploded. The first consideration when crystallizing an RNA is the sequence, which may be varied in a rational way to enhance crystallizability or prevent formation of alternate structures. Once a sequence has been designed, the RNA may be synthesized chemically by solid-state synthesis, or it may be produced enzymatically using RNA polymerase and an appropriate DNA template. Purification of milligram quantities of RNA can be accomplished by HPLC or gel electrophoresis. As with proteins, crystallization of RNA is usually accomplished by vapor diffusion techniques. There are several considerations that are either unique to RNA crystallization or more important for RNA crystallization. Techniques for design, synthesis, purification, and crystallization of RNAs will be reviewed here.

  9. Identifying behaviour patterns of construction safety using system archetypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Brian H W; Yiu, Tak Wing; González, Vicente A

    2015-07-01

    Construction safety management involves complex issues (e.g., different trades, multi-organizational project structure, constantly changing work environment, and transient workforce). Systems thinking is widely considered as an effective approach to understanding and managing the complexity. This paper aims to better understand dynamic complexity of construction safety management by exploring archetypes of construction safety. To achieve this, this paper adopted the ground theory method (GTM) and 22 interviews were conducted with participants in various positions (government safety inspector, client, health and safety manager, safety consultant, safety auditor, and safety researcher). Eight archetypes were emerged from the collected data: (1) safety regulations, (2) incentive programs, (3) procurement and safety, (4) safety management in small businesses (5) production and safety, (6) workers' conflicting goals, (7) blame on workers, and (8) reactive and proactive learning. These archetypes capture the interactions between a wide range of factors within various hierarchical levels and subsystems. As a free-standing tool, they advance the understanding of dynamic complexity of construction safety management and provide systemic insights into dealing with the complexity. They also can facilitate system dynamics modelling of construction safety process. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Identifying microRNA/mRNA dysregulations in ovarian cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miles, Gregory D; Seiler, Michael; Rodriguez, Lorna; Rajagopal, Gunaretnam; Bhanot, Gyan

    2012-03-27

    MicroRNAs are a class of noncoding RNA molecules that co-regulate the expression of multiple genes via mRNA transcript degradation or translation inhibition. Since they often target entire pathways, they may be better drug targets than genes or proteins. MicroRNAs are known to be dysregulated in many tumours and associated with aggressive or poor prognosis phenotypes. Since they regulate mRNA in a tissue specific manner, their functional mRNA targets are poorly understood. In previous work, we developed a method to identify direct mRNA targets of microRNA using patient matched microRNA/mRNA expression data using an anti-correlation signature. This method, applied to clear cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC), revealed many new regulatory pathways compromised in ccRCC. In the present paper, we apply this method to identify dysregulated microRNA/mRNA mechanisms in ovarian cancer using data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). TCGA Microarray data was normalized and samples whose class labels (tumour or normal) were ambiguous with respect to consensus ensemble K-Means clustering were removed. Significantly anti-correlated and correlated genes/microRNA differentially expressed between tumour and normal samples were identified. TargetScan was used to identify gene targets of microRNA. We identified novel microRNA/mRNA mechanisms in ovarian cancer. For example, the expression level of RAD51AP1 was found to be strongly anti-correlated with the expression of hsa-miR-140-3p, which was significantly down-regulated in the tumour samples. The anti-correlation signature was present separately in the tumour and normal samples, suggesting a direct causal dysregulation of RAD51AP1 by hsa-miR-140-3p in the ovary. Other pairs of potentially biological relevance include: hsa-miR-145/E2F3, hsa-miR-139-5p/TOP2A, and hsa-miR-133a/GCLC. We also identified sets of positively correlated microRNA/mRNA pairs that are most likely result from indirect regulatory mechanisms. Our findings identify

  11. Features and perspectives of automatized construction crane-manipulators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stepanov, Mikhail A.; Ilukhin, Peter A.

    2018-03-01

    Modern construction industry still has a high percentage of manual labor, and the greatest prospects of improving the construction process are lying in the field of automatization. In this article automatized construction manipulator-cranes are being studied in order to achieve the most rational design scheme. This is done through formulating a list of general conditions necessary for such cranes and a set of specialized kinematical conditions. A variety of kinematical schemes is evaluated via these conditions, and some are taken for further dynamical analisys. The comparative dynamical analisys of taken schemes was made and the most rational scheme was defined. Therefore a basis for a more complex and practical research of manipulator-cranes design is given and ways to implement them on practical level can now be calculated properly. Also, the perspectives of implementation of automated control systems and informational networks on construction sites in order to boost the quality of construction works, safety of labour and ecological safety are shown.

  12. [Lentivirus-mediated shRNA silencing of LAMP2A inhibits the proliferation of multiple myeloma cells].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Lixuan; Li, Jia

    2015-05-01

    To study the effects of lentivirus-mediated short hairpin RNA (shRNA) silencing of lysosome-associated membrane protein type 2A (LAMP2A) expression on the proliferation of multiple myeloma cells. The constructed shRNA lentiviral vector was applied to infect human multiple myeloma cell line MM.1S, and stable expression cell line was obtained by puromycin screening. Western blotting was used to verify the inhibitory effect on LAMP2A protein expression. MTT assay was conducted to detect the effect of knocked-down LAMP2A on MM.1S cell proliferation, and the anti-tumor potency of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) against the obtained MM.1S LAMP2A(shRNA) stable cell line. Lactate assay was performed to observe the impact of low LAMP2A expression on cell glycolysis. The stable cell line with low LAMP2A expression were obtained with the constructed human LAMP2A-shRNA lentiviral vector. Down-regulation of LAMP2A expression significantly inhibited MM.1S cell proliferation and enhanced the anti-tumor activity of SAHA. Interestingly, decreased LAMP2A expression also inhibited MM.1S cell lactic acid secretion. Down-regulation of LAMP2A expression could inhibit cell proliferation in multiple myeloma cells.

  13. Natural RNA circles function as efficient microRNA sponges

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Thomas Birkballe; Jensen, Trine I; Clausen, Bettina Hjelm

    2013-01-01

    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression that act by direct base pairing to target sites within untranslated regions of messenger RNAs. Recently, miRNA activity has been shown to be affected by the presence of miRNA sponge transcripts, the so-called comp......MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression that act by direct base pairing to target sites within untranslated regions of messenger RNAs. Recently, miRNA activity has been shown to be affected by the presence of miRNA sponge transcripts, the so......-called competing endogenous RNA in humans and target mimicry in plants. We previously identified a highly expressed circular RNA (circRNA) in human and mouse brain. Here we show that this circRNA acts as a miR-7 sponge; we term this circular transcript ciRS-7 (circular RNA sponge for miR-7). ciRS-7 contains more...... sponge, suggesting that miRNA sponge effects achieved by circRNA formation are a general phenomenon. This study serves as the first, to our knowledge, functional analysis of a naturally expressed circRNA....

  14. RNA Origami

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sparvath, Steffen Lynge

    introducerede vores gruppe den enkeltstrengede RNA-origami metode, der giver mulighed for cotranscriptional foldning af veldefinerede nanostrukturer, og er en central del af arbejdet præsenteret heri. Denne ph.d.-afhandling udforsker potentielle anvendelser af RNA-origami nanostrukturer, som nanomedicin eller...... biosensorer. Afhandlingen består af en introduktion til RNA-nanoteknologi feltet, en introduktion af enkeltstrenget RNA-origami design, og fire studier, der beskriver design, produktion og karakterisering af både strukturelle og funktionelle RNA-origamier. Flere RNA-origami designs er blevet undersøgt, og...... projekterne, der indgår i denne afhandling, inkluderer de nyeste fremskridt indenfor strukturel RNA-nanoteknologi og udvikling af funktionelle RNA-baserede enheder. Det første studie beskriver konstruktion og karakterisering af en enkeltstrenget 6-helix RNA-origami stuktur, som er den første demonstration af...

  15. Branched RNA: A New Architecture for RNA Interference

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Aviñó

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Branched RNAs with two and four strands were synthesized. These structures were used to obtain branched siRNA. The branched siRNA duplexes had similar inhibitory capacity as those of unmodified siRNA duplexes, as deduced from gene silencing experiments of the TNF-α protein. Branched RNAs are considered novel structures for siRNA technology, and they provide an innovative tool for specific gene inhibition. As the method described here is compatible with most RNA modifications described to date, these compounds may be further functionalized to obtain more potent siRNA derivatives and can be attached to suitable delivery systems.

  16. Single-cell mRNA transfection studies: delivery, kinetics and statistics by numbers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonhardt, Carolin; Schwake, Gerlinde; Stögbauer, Tobias R; Rappl, Susanne; Kuhr, Jan-Timm; Ligon, Thomas S; Rädler, Joachim O

    2014-05-01

    In artificial gene delivery, messenger RNA (mRNA) is an attractive alternative to plasmid DNA (pDNA) since it does not require transfer into the cell nucleus. Here we show that, unlike for pDNA transfection, the delivery statistics and dynamics of mRNA-mediated expression are generic and predictable in terms of mathematical modeling. We measured the single-cell expression time-courses and levels of enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) using time-lapse microscopy and flow cytometry (FC). The single-cell analysis provides direct access to the distribution of onset times, life times and expression rates of mRNA and eGFP. We introduce a two-step stochastic delivery model that reproduces the number distribution of successfully delivered and translated mRNA molecules and thereby the dose-response relation. Our results establish a statistical framework for mRNA transfection and as such should advance the development of RNA carriers and small interfering/micro RNA-based drugs. This team of authors established a statistical framework for mRNA transfection by using a two-step stochastic delivery model that reproduces the number distribution of successfully delivered and translated mRNA molecules and thereby their dose-response relation. This study establishes a nice connection between theory and experimental planning and will aid the cellular delivery of mRNA molecules. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Lipid-Based Liquid Crystalline Nanoparticles Facilitate Cytosolic Delivery of siRNA via Structural Transformation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Shufang; Fan, Weiwei; Wu, Na; Zhu, Jingjing; Miao, Yunqiu; Miao, Xiaran; Li, Feifei; Zhang, Xinxin; Gan, Yong

    2018-04-11

    RNA interference (RNAi) technology has shown great promise for the treatment of cancer and other genetic disorders. Despite the efforts to increase the target tissue distribution, the safe and effective delivery of siRNA to the diseased cells with sufficient cytosolic transport is another critical factor for successful RNAi clinical application. Here, the constructed lipid-based liquid crystalline nanoparticles, called nano-Transformers, can transform thestructure in the intracellular acidic environment and perform high-efficient siRNA delivery for cancer treatment. The developed nano-Transformers have satisfactory siRNA loading efficiency and low cytotoxicity. Different from the traditional cationic nanocarriers, the endosomal membrane fusion induced by the conformational transition of lipids contributes to the easy dissociation of siRNA from nanocarriers and direct release of free siRNA into cytoplasm. We show that transfection with cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1)-siRNA-loaded nano-Transformers causes up to 95% reduction of relevant mRNA in vitro and greatly inhibits the tumor growth without causing any immunogenic response in vivo. This work highlights that the lipid-based nano-Transformers may become the next generation of siRNA delivery system with higher efficacy and improved safety profiles.

  18. Dynamic wall demonstration project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nakatsui, L.; Mayhew, W.

    1990-12-01

    The dynamic wall concept is a ventilation strategy that can be applied to a single family dwelling. With suitable construction, outside air can be admitted through the exterior walls of the house to the interior space to function as ventilation air. The construction and performance monitoring of a demonstration house built to test the dynamic wall concept in Sherwood Park, Alberta, is described. The project had the objectives of demonstrating and assessing the construction methods; determining the cost-effectiveness of the concept in Alberta; analyzing the operation of the dynamic wall system; and determining how other components and systems in the house interact with the dynamic wall. The exterior wall construction consisted of vinyl siding, spun-bonded polyolefin-backed (SBPO) rigid fiberglass sheathing, 38 mm by 89 mm framing, fiberglass batt insulation and 12.7 mm drywall. The mechanical system was designed to operate in the dynamic (negative pressure) mode, however flexibility was provided to allow operation in the static (balanced pressure) mode to permit monitoring of the walls as if they were in a conventional house. The house was monitored by an extensive computerized monitoring system. Dynamic wall operation was dependent on pressure and temperature differentials between indoor and outdoor as well as wind speed and direction. The degree of heat gain was found to be ca 74% of the indoor-outdoor temperature differential. Temperature of incoming dynamic air was significantly affected by solar radiation and measurement of indoor air pollutants found no significant levels. 4 refs., 34 figs., 11 tabs.

  19. miRNA-34b is directly involved in the aging of macrophages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Wei; Gao, Sheng; Liang, Liu; Huang, Xianing; Hu, Nan; Lu, Xiaoling; Zhao, Yongxiang

    2017-08-01

    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of short noncoding RNA that play important regulatory roles in living organisms. These RNA molecules are implicated in the development and progression of malignant diseases such as cancer and are closely associated with cell aging. Findings demonstrating that microRNA is associated with aging in macrophages have nevertheless rarely been reported. This study's objective was to investigate if miRNA-34 is linked to aging process of macrophages. We built a cell aging model in mouse RAW264.7 macrophages using D-galactose and determined the expression levels of miRNA-34a, miRNA-34b, and miRNA-34c in aging and normal macrophages by fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR). We predicted a target gene of miRNA-34 using biological information techniques and constructed the recombinant plasmid pGL3-E2f3 for the putative target gene E2f3. The expression level of miRNA-34b was 5.23 times higher in aging macrophages than in normal macrophages. The luciferase activity decreased by nearly 50 % in cells transfected with miRNA-34b mimics, while no significant decrease in luciferase activity was noted in cells transfected with the miRNA-34b inhibitor or unrelated sequences. Our findings provide the groundwork for further research into the molecular mechanisms whereby miRNA-34b regulates the aging of macrophages. miRNA-34b is associated with the aging of RAW264.7 macrophages, and E2f3 is a target gene of miRNA-34b.

  20. High-throughput screening of effective siRNAs using luciferase-linked chimeric mRNA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shen Pang

    Full Text Available The use of siRNAs to knock down gene expression can potentially be an approach to treat various diseases. To avoid siRNA toxicity the less transcriptionally active H1 pol III promoter, rather than the U6 promoter, was proposed for siRNA expression. To identify highly efficacious siRNA sequences, extensive screening is required, since current computer programs may not render ideal results. Here, we used CCR5 gene silencing as a model to investigate a rapid and efficient screening approach. We constructed a chimeric luciferase-CCR5 gene for high-throughput screening of siRNA libraries. After screening approximately 900 shRNA clones, 12 siRNA sequences were identified. Sequence analysis demonstrated that most (11 of the 12 sequences of these siRNAs did not match those identified by available siRNA prediction algorithms. Significant inhibition of CCR5 in a T-lymphocyte cell line and primary T cells by these identified siRNAs was confirmed using the siRNA lentiviral vectors to infect these cells. The inhibition of CCR5 expression significantly protected cells from R5 HIV-1JRCSF infection. These results indicated that the high-throughput screening method allows efficient identification of siRNA sequences to inhibit the target genes at low levels of expression.

  1. Genome-wide analysis of miRNA and mRNA transcriptomes during amelogenesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Kaifeng; Hacia, Joseph G; Zhong, Zhe; Paine, Michael L

    2014-11-19

    regulators for their predicated target mRNAs, Lamp1 (miR-153) and Tfrc (miR-31). In conclusion, these data indicate that miRNAs exhibit a dynamic expression pattern during the transition from secretory-stage to maturation-stage tooth enamel formation. Although they represent only one of numerous mechanisms influencing gene activities, miRNAs specific to the maturation stage could be involved in regulating several key processes of enamel maturation by influencing mRNA stability and translation.

  2. Plant RNA Regulatory Network and RNA Granules in Virus Infection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristiina Mäkinen

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Regulation of post-transcriptional gene expression on mRNA level in eukaryotic cells includes translocation, translation, translational repression, storage, mRNA decay, RNA silencing, and nonsense-mediated decay. These processes are associated with various RNA-binding proteins and cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein complexes many of which are conserved across eukaryotes. Microscopically visible aggregations formed by ribonucleoprotein complexes are termed RNA granules. Stress granules where the translationally inactive mRNAs are stored and processing bodies where mRNA decay may occur present the most studied RNA granule types. Diverse RNP-granules are increasingly being assigned important roles in viral infections. Although the majority of the molecular level studies on the role of RNA granules in viral translation and replication have been conducted in mammalian systems, some studies link also plant virus infection to RNA granules. An increasing body of evidence indicates that plant viruses require components of stress granules and processing bodies for their replication and translation, but how extensively the cellular mRNA regulatory network is utilized by plant viruses has remained largely enigmatic. Antiviral RNA silencing, which is an important regulator of viral RNA stability and expression in plants, is commonly counteracted by viral suppressors of RNA silencing. Some of the RNA silencing suppressors localize to cellular RNA granules and have been proposed to carry out their suppression functions there. Moreover, plant nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat protein-mediated virus resistance has been linked to enhanced processing body formation and translational repression of viral RNA. Many interesting questions relate to how the pathways of antiviral RNA silencing leading to viral RNA degradation and/or repression of translation, suppression of RNA silencing and viral RNA translation converge in plants and how different RNA granules and

  3. Plant RNA Regulatory Network and RNA Granules in Virus Infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mäkinen, Kristiina; Lõhmus, Andres; Pollari, Maija

    2017-01-01

    Regulation of post-transcriptional gene expression on mRNA level in eukaryotic cells includes translocation, translation, translational repression, storage, mRNA decay, RNA silencing, and nonsense-mediated decay. These processes are associated with various RNA-binding proteins and cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein complexes many of which are conserved across eukaryotes. Microscopically visible aggregations formed by ribonucleoprotein complexes are termed RNA granules. Stress granules where the translationally inactive mRNAs are stored and processing bodies where mRNA decay may occur present the most studied RNA granule types. Diverse RNP-granules are increasingly being assigned important roles in viral infections. Although the majority of the molecular level studies on the role of RNA granules in viral translation and replication have been conducted in mammalian systems, some studies link also plant virus infection to RNA granules. An increasing body of evidence indicates that plant viruses require components of stress granules and processing bodies for their replication and translation, but how extensively the cellular mRNA regulatory network is utilized by plant viruses has remained largely enigmatic. Antiviral RNA silencing, which is an important regulator of viral RNA stability and expression in plants, is commonly counteracted by viral suppressors of RNA silencing. Some of the RNA silencing suppressors localize to cellular RNA granules and have been proposed to carry out their suppression functions there. Moreover, plant nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat protein-mediated virus resistance has been linked to enhanced processing body formation and translational repression of viral RNA. Many interesting questions relate to how the pathways of antiviral RNA silencing leading to viral RNA degradation and/or repression of translation, suppression of RNA silencing and viral RNA translation converge in plants and how different RNA granules and their individual

  4. Comprehensive analysis of coding-lncRNA gene co-expression network uncovers conserved functional lncRNAs in zebrafish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Wen; Zhang, Xuan; Li, Jing; Huang, Shulan; Xiang, Shuanglin; Hu, Xiang; Liu, Changning

    2018-05-09

    Zebrafish is a full-developed model system for studying development processes and human disease. Recent studies of deep sequencing had discovered a large number of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in zebrafish. However, only few of them had been functionally characterized. Therefore, how to take advantage of the mature zebrafish system to deeply investigate the lncRNAs' function and conservation is really intriguing. We systematically collected and analyzed a series of zebrafish RNA-seq data, then combined them with resources from known database and literatures. As a result, we obtained by far the most complete dataset of zebrafish lncRNAs, containing 13,604 lncRNA genes (21,128 transcripts) in total. Based on that, a co-expression network upon zebrafish coding and lncRNA genes was constructed and analyzed, and used to predict the Gene Ontology (GO) and the KEGG annotation of lncRNA. Meanwhile, we made a conservation analysis on zebrafish lncRNA, identifying 1828 conserved zebrafish lncRNA genes (1890 transcripts) that have their putative mammalian orthologs. We also found that zebrafish lncRNAs play important roles in regulation of the development and function of nervous system; these conserved lncRNAs present a significant sequential and functional conservation, with their mammalian counterparts. By integrative data analysis and construction of coding-lncRNA gene co-expression network, we gained the most comprehensive dataset of zebrafish lncRNAs up to present, as well as their systematic annotations and comprehensive analyses on function and conservation. Our study provides a reliable zebrafish-based platform to deeply explore lncRNA function and mechanism, as well as the lncRNA commonality between zebrafish and human.

  5. Structural insight into RNA recognition motifs: versatile molecular Lego building blocks for biological systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muto, Yutaka; Yokoyama, Shigeyuki

    2012-01-01

    'RNA recognition motifs (RRMs)' are common domain-folds composed of 80-90 amino-acid residues in eukaryotes, and have been identified in many cellular proteins. At first they were known as RNA binding domains. Through discoveries over the past 20 years, however, the RRMs have been shown to exhibit versatile molecular recognition activities and to behave as molecular Lego building blocks to construct biological systems. Novel RNA/protein recognition modes by RRMs are being identified, and more information about the molecular recognition by RRMs is becoming available. These RNA/protein recognition modes are strongly correlated with their biological significance. In this review, we would like to survey the recent progress on these versatile molecular recognition modules. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  6. Methylated nucleosides in tRNA and tRNA methyltransferases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiroyuki eHori

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available To date, more than 90 modified nucleosides have been found in tRNA and the biosynthetic pathways of the majority of tRNA modifications include a methylation step(s. Recent studies of the biosynthetic pathways have demonstrated that the availability of methyl group donors for the methylation in tRNA is important for correct and efficient protein synthesis. In this review, I focus on the methylated nucleosides and tRNA methyltransferases. The primary functions of tRNA methylations are linked to the different steps of protein synthesis, such as the stabilization of tRNA structure, reinforcement of the codon–anticodon interaction, regulation of wobble base pairing, and prevention of frameshift errors. However, beyond these basic functions, recent studies have demonstrated that tRNA methylations are also involved in the RNA quality control system and regulation of tRNA localization in the cell. In a thermophilic eubacterium, tRNA modifications and the modification enzymes form a network that responses to temperature changes. Furthermore, several modifications are involved in genetic diseases, infections, and the immune response. Moreover, structural, biochemical, and bioinformatics studies of tRNA methyltransferases have been clarifying the details of tRNA methyltransferases and have enabled these enzymes to be classified. In the final section, the evolution of modification enzymes is discussed.

  7. A simple, practical and complete O(n3/log n)-time algorithm for RNA folding using the Four-Russians speedup.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frid, Yelena; Gusfield, Dan

    2010-01-04

    The problem of computationally predicting the secondary structure (or folding) of RNA molecules was first introduced more than thirty years ago and yet continues to be an area of active research and development. The basic RNA-folding problem of finding a maximum cardinality, non-crossing, matching of complimentary nucleotides in an RNA sequence of length n, has an O(n3)-time dynamic programming solution that is widely applied. It is known that an o(n3) worst-case time solution is possible, but the published and suggested methods are complex and have not been established to be practical. Significant practical improvements to the original dynamic programming method have been introduced, but they retain the O(n3) worst-case time bound when n is the only problem-parameter used in the bound. Surprisingly, the most widely-used, general technique to achieve a worst-case (and often practical) speed up of dynamic programming, the Four-Russians technique, has not been previously applied to the RNA-folding problem. This is perhaps due to technical issues in adapting the technique to RNA-folding. In this paper, we give a simple, complete, and practical Four-Russians algorithm for the basic RNA-folding problem, achieving a worst-case time-bound of O(n3/log(n)). We show that this time-bound can also be obtained for richer nucleotide matching scoring-schemes, and that the method achieves consistent speed-ups in practice. The contribution is both theoretical and practical, since the basic RNA-folding problem is often solved multiple times in the inner-loop of more complex algorithms, and for long RNA molecules in the study of RNA virus genomes.

  8. Water isotope effect on the thermostability of a polio viral RNA hairpin: A metadynamics study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pathak, Arup K.; Bandyopadhyay, Tusar

    2017-04-01

    Oral polio vaccine is considered to be the most thermolabile of all the common childhood vaccines. Despite heavy water (D2O) having been known for a long time to stabilise attenuated viral RNA against thermodegradation, the molecular underpinnings of its mechanism of action are still lacking. Whereas, understanding the basis of D2O action is an important step that might reform the way other thermolabile drugs are stored and could possibly minimize the cold chain problem. Here using a combination of parallel tempering and well-tempered metadynamics simulation in light water (H2O) and in D2O, we have fully described the free energy surface associated with the folding/unfolding of a RNA hairpin containing a non-canonical basepair motif, which is conserved within the 3'-untranslated region of poliovirus-like enteroviruses. Simulations reveal that in heavy water (D2O) there is a considerable increase of the stability of the folded basin as monitored through an intramolecular hydrogen bond (HB), size, shape, and flexibility of RNA structures. This translates into a higher melting temperature in D2O by 41 K when compared with light water (H2O). We have explored the hydration dynamics of the RNA, hydration shell around the RNA surface, and spatial dependence of RNA-solvent collective HB dynamics in the two water systems. Simulation in heavy water clearly showed that D2O strengthens the HB network in the solvent, lengthens inter-residue water-bridge lifetime, and weakens dynamical coupling of the hairpin to its solvation environment, which enhances the rigidity of solvent exposed sites of the native configurations. The results might suggest that like other added osmoprotectants, D2O can act as a thermostabilizer when used as a solvent.

  9. miRNA profiling of naive, effector and memory CD8 T cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haoquan Wu

    Full Text Available microRNAs have recently emerged as master regulators of gene expression during development and cell differentiation. Although profound changes in gene expression also occur during antigen-induced T cell differentiation, the role of miRNAs in the process is not known. We compared the miRNA expression profiles between antigen-specific naïve, effector and memory CD8+ T cells using 3 different methods--small RNA cloning, miRNA microarray analysis and real-time PCR. Although many miRNAs were expressed in all the T cell subsets, the frequency of 7 miRNAs (miR-16, miR-21, miR-142-3p, miR-142-5p, miR-150, miR-15b and let-7f alone accounted for approximately 60% of all miRNAs, and their expression was several fold higher than the other expressed miRNAs. Global downregulation of miRNAs (including 6/7 dominantly expressed miRNAs was observed in effector T cells compared to naïve cells and the miRNA expression levels tended to come back up in memory T cells. However, a few miRNAs, notably miR-21 were higher in effector and memory T cells compared to naïve T cells. These results suggest that concomitant with profound changes in gene expression, miRNA profile also changes dynamically during T cell differentiation. Sequence analysis of the cloned mature miRNAs revealed an extensive degree of end polymorphism. While 3'end polymorphisms dominated, heterogeneity at both ends, resembling drosha/dicer processing shift was also seen in miR-142, suggesting a possible novel mechanism to generate new miRNA and/or to diversify miRNA target selection. Overall, our results suggest that dynamic changes in the expression of miRNAs may be important for the regulation of gene expression during antigen-induced T cell differentiation. Our study also suggests possible novel mechanisms for miRNA biogenesis and function.

  10. MysiRNA-designer: a workflow for efficient siRNA design.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Mysara

    Full Text Available The design of small interfering RNA (siRNA is a multi factorial problem that has gained the attention of many researchers in the area of therapeutic and functional genomics. MysiRNA score was previously introduced that improves the correlation of siRNA activity prediction considering state of the art algorithms. In this paper, a new program, MysiRNA-Designer, is described which integrates several factors in an automated work-flow considering mRNA transcripts variations, siRNA and mRNA target accessibility, and both near-perfect and partial off-target matches. It also features the MysiRNA score, a highly ranked correlated siRNA efficacy prediction score for ranking the designed siRNAs, in addition to top scoring models Biopredsi, DISR, Thermocomposition21 and i-Score, and integrates them in a unique siRNA score-filtration technique. This multi-score filtration layer filters siRNA that passes the 90% thresholds calculated from experimental dataset features. MysiRNA-Designer takes an accession, finds conserved regions among its transcript space, finds accessible regions within the mRNA, designs all possible siRNAs for these regions, filters them based on multi-scores thresholds, and then performs SNP and off-target filtration. These strict selection criteria were tested against human genes in which at least one active siRNA was designed from 95.7% of total genes. In addition, when tested against an experimental dataset, MysiRNA-Designer was found capable of rejecting 98% of the false positive siRNAs, showing superiority over three state of the art siRNA design programs. MysiRNA is a freely accessible (Microsoft Windows based desktop application that can be used to design siRNA with a high accuracy and specificity. We believe that MysiRNA-Designer has the potential to play an important role in this area.

  11. RNA content in the nucleolus alters p53 acetylation via MYBBP1A

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuroda, Takao; Murayama, Akiko; Katagiri, Naohiro; Ohta, Yu-mi; Fujita, Etsuko; Masumoto, Hiroshi; Ema, Masatsugu; Takahashi, Satoru; Kimura, Keiji; Yanagisawa, Junn

    2011-01-01

    A number of external and internal insults disrupt nucleolar structure, and the resulting nucleolar stress stabilizes and activates p53. We show here that nucleolar disruption induces acetylation and accumulation of p53 without phosphorylation. We identified three nucleolar proteins, MYBBP1A, RPL5, and RPL11, involved in p53 acetylation and accumulation. MYBBP1A was tethered to the nucleolus through nucleolar RNA. When rRNA transcription was suppressed by nucleolar stress, MYBBP1A translocated to the nucleoplasm and facilitated p53–p300 interaction to enhance p53 acetylation. We also found that RPL5 and RPL11 were required for rRNA export from the nucleolus. Depletion of RPL5 or RPL11 blocked rRNA export and counteracted reduction of nucleolar RNA levels caused by inhibition of rRNA transcription. As a result, RPL5 or RPL11 depletion inhibited MYBBP1A translocation and p53 activation. Our observations indicated that a dynamic equilibrium between RNA generation and export regulated nucleolar RNA content. Perturbation of this balance by nucleolar stress altered the nucleolar RNA content and modulated p53 activity. PMID:21297583

  12. RNA binding and replication by the poliovirus RNA polymerase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oberste, M.S.

    1988-01-01

    RNA binding and RNA synthesis by the poliovirus RNA-dependent RNA polymerase were studied in vitro using purified polymerase. Templates for binding and RNA synthesis studies were natural RNAs, homopolymeric RNAs, or subgenomic poliovirus-specific RNAs synthesized in vitro from cDNA clones using SP6 or T7 RNA polymerases. The binding of the purified polymerase to poliovirion and other RNAs was studied using a protein-RNA nitrocellulose filter binding assay. A cellular poly(A)-binding protein was found in the viral polymerase preparations, but was easily separated from the polymerase by chromatography on poly(A) Sepharose. The binding of purified polymerase to 32 P-labeled ribohomopolymeric RNAs was examined, and the order of binding observed was poly(G) >>> poly(U) > poly(C) > poly(A). The K a for polymerase binding to poliovirion RNA and to a full-length negative strand transcript was about 1 x 10 9 M -1 . The polymerase binds to a subgenomic RNAs which contain the 3' end of the genome with a K a similar to that for virion RNA, but binds less well to 18S rRNA, globin mRNA, and subgenomic RNAs which lack portions of the 3' noncoding region

  13. Data on the construction of a recombinant HEK293 cell line overexpressing hERG potassium channel and examining the presence of hERG mRNA and protein expression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Fan Teah

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The data presented in this article are related to the research article entitled “The effects of deoxyelephantopin on the cardiac delayed rectifier potassium channel current (IKr and human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG expression” (Y.F. Teah, M.A. Abduraman, A. Amanah, M.I. Adenan, S.F. Sulaiman, M.L. Tan [1], which the possible hERG blocking properties of deoxyelephantopin were investigated. This article describes the construction of human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293 cells overexpressing HERG potassium channel and verification of the presence of hERG mRNA and protein expression in this recombinant cell line.

  14. Construction of a T7 Human Lung Cancer cDNA Library

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wentao YUE

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Background and objective Currently, only a limited numbers of tumor markers for non small lung cancer (NSCLC diagnosis, new biomarker, such as serum autoantibody may improve the early detection of lung cancer. Our objective is construction human lung squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma T7 phage display cDNA library from the tissues of NSCLC patients. Methods mRNA was isolated from a pool of total RNA extract from NSCLC tissues obtained from 5 adenocarcinomas and 5 squamous carcinomas, and then mRNA was reverse transcribed into double stranded cDNA. After digestion, the cDNA was inserted into T7Select 10-3 vector. The phage display cDNA library was constructed by package reaction in vitro and plate proliferation. Plaque assay and PCR were used to evaluate the library.Results Two T7 phage display cDNA library were established. Plaque assay show the titer of lung squamas carcinoma library was 1.8×106 pfu, and the adenocarcinoma library was 5×106 pfu. The phage titer of the amplified library were 3.2×1010 pfu/mL and 2.5×1010 pfu/mL. PCR amplification of random plaque show insert ratio were 100% (24/24 in adenocarcinoma library and 95.8% in human lung squamas carcinoma library (23/24. Insert range from 300 bp to 1 500 bp. Conclusion Two phage display cDNA library from NSCLC were constructed.

  15. RNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darnell, James E., Jr.

    1985-01-01

    Ribonucleic acid (RNA) converts genetic information into protein and usually must be processed to serve its function. RNA types, chemical structure, protein synthesis, translation, manufacture, and processing are discussed. Concludes that the first genes might have been spliced RNA and that humans might be closer than bacteria to primitive…

  16. Identification of Subtype Specific miRNA-mRNA Functional Regulatory Modules in Matched miRNA-mRNA Expression Data: Multiple Myeloma as a Case

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, Yunpeng; Liu, Wei; Xu, Yanjun; Li, Chunquan; Wang, Yingying; Yang, Haixiu; Zhang, Chunlong; Su, Fei; Li, Yixue; Li, Xia

    2015-01-01

    Identification of miRNA-mRNA modules is an important step to elucidate their combinatorial effect on the pathogenesis and mechanisms underlying complex diseases. Current identification methods primarily are based upon miRNA-target information and matched miRNA and mRNA expression profiles. However, for heterogeneous diseases, the miRNA-mRNA regulatory mechanisms may differ between subtypes, leading to differences in clinical behavior. In order to explore the pathogenesis of each subtype, it i...

  17. Genome-wide RNA polymerase II profiles and RNA accumulation reveal kinetics of transcription and associated epigenetic changes during diurnal cycles.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gwendal Le Martelot

    Full Text Available Interactions of cell-autonomous circadian oscillators with diurnal cycles govern the temporal compartmentalization of cell physiology in mammals. To understand the transcriptional and epigenetic basis of diurnal rhythms in mouse liver genome-wide, we generated temporal DNA occupancy profiles by RNA polymerase II (Pol II as well as profiles of the histone modifications H3K4me3 and H3K36me3. We used these data to quantify the relationships of phases and amplitudes between different marks. We found that rhythmic Pol II recruitment at promoters rather than rhythmic transition from paused to productive elongation underlies diurnal gene transcription, a conclusion further supported by modeling. Moreover, Pol II occupancy preceded mRNA accumulation by 3 hours, consistent with mRNA half-lives. Both methylation marks showed that the epigenetic landscape is highly dynamic and globally remodeled during the 24-hour cycle. While promoters of transcribed genes had tri-methylated H3K4 even at their trough activity times, tri-methylation levels reached their peak, on average, 1 hour after Pol II. Meanwhile, rhythms in tri-methylation of H3K36 lagged transcription by 3 hours. Finally, modeling profiles of Pol II occupancy and mRNA accumulation identified three classes of genes: one showing rhythmicity both in transcriptional and mRNA accumulation, a second class with rhythmic transcription but flat mRNA levels, and a third with constant transcription but rhythmic mRNAs. The latter class emphasizes widespread temporally gated posttranscriptional regulation in the mouse liver.

  18. Design of a Toolbox of RNA Thermometers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sen, Shaunak; Apurva, Divyansh; Satija, Rohit; Siegal, Dan; Murray, Richard M

    2017-08-18

    Biomolecular temperature sensors can be used for efficient control of large-volume bioreactors, for spatiotemporal imaging and control of gene expression, and to engineer robustness to temperature in biomolecular circuit design. Although RNA-based sensors, called "thermometers", have been investigated in both natural and synthetic contexts, an important challenge is to design diverse responses to temperature differing in sensitivity and threshold. We address this issue by constructing a library of RNA thermometers based on thermodynamic computations and experimentally measuring their activities in cell-free biomolecular "breadboards". Using free energies of the minimum free energy structures as well as melt profile computations, we estimated that a diverse set of temperature responses were possible. We experimentally found a wide range of responses to temperature in the range 29-37 °C with fold-changes varying over 3-fold around the starting thermometer. The sensitivities of these responses ranged over 10-fold around the starting thermometer. We correlated these measurements with computational expectations, finding that although there was no strong correlation for the individual thermometers, overall trends of diversity, fold-changes, and sensitivities were similar. These results present a toolbox of RNA-based circuit elements with diverse temperature responses.

  19. microRNA-independent recruitment of Argonaute 1 to nanos mRNA through the Smaug RNA-binding protein.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinder, Benjamin D; Smibert, Craig A

    2013-01-01

    Argonaute (Ago) proteins are typically recruited to target messenger RNAs via an associated small RNA such as a microRNA (miRNA). Here, we describe a new mechanism of Ago recruitment through the Drosophila Smaug RNA-binding protein. We show that Smaug interacts with the Ago1 protein, and that Ago1 interacts with and is required for the translational repression of the Smaug target, nanos mRNA. The Ago1/nanos mRNA interaction does not require a miRNA, but it does require Smaug. Taken together, our data suggest a model whereby Smaug directly recruits Ago1 to nanos mRNA in a miRNA-independent manner, thereby repressing translation.

  20. High-throughput sequencing of human plasma RNA by using thermostable group II intron reverse transcriptases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Yidan; Yao, Jun; Wu, Douglas C.; Nottingham, Ryan M.; Mohr, Sabine; Hunicke-Smith, Scott; Lambowitz, Alan M.

    2016-01-01

    Next-generation RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) has revolutionized transcriptome profiling, gene expression analysis, and RNA-based diagnostics. Here, we developed a new RNA-seq method that exploits thermostable group II intron reverse transcriptases (TGIRTs) and used it to profile human plasma RNAs. TGIRTs have higher thermostability, processivity, and fidelity than conventional reverse transcriptases, plus a novel template-switching activity that can efficiently attach RNA-seq adapters to target RNA sequences without RNA ligation. The new TGIRT-seq method enabled construction of RNA-seq libraries from RNA in RNA in 1-mL plasma samples from a healthy individual revealed RNA fragments mapping to a diverse population of protein-coding gene and long ncRNAs, which are enriched in intron and antisense sequences, as well as nearly all known classes of small ncRNAs, some of which have never before been seen in plasma. Surprisingly, many of the small ncRNA species were present as full-length transcripts, suggesting that they are protected from plasma RNases in ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes and/or exosomes. This TGIRT-seq method is readily adaptable for profiling of whole-cell, exosomal, and miRNAs, and for related procedures, such as HITS-CLIP and ribosome profiling. PMID:26554030

  1. RNA polymerase II transcriptional fidelity control and its functional interplay with DNA modifications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Liang; Wang, Wei; Chong, Jenny; Shin, Ji Hyun; Xu, Jun; Wang, Dong

    2016-01-01

    Accurate genetic information transfer is essential for life. As a key enzyme involved in the first step of gene expression, RNA polymerase II (Pol II) must maintain high transcriptional fidelity while it reads along DNA template and synthesizes RNA transcript in a stepwise manner during transcription elongation. DNA lesions or modifications may lead to significant changes in transcriptional fidelity or transcription elongation dynamics. In this review, we will summarize recent progress towards understanding the molecular basis of RNA Pol II transcriptional fidelity control and impacts of DNA lesions and modifications on Pol II transcription elongation. PMID:26392149

  2. Modeling of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug effect within signaling pathways and miRNA-regulation pathways.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian Li

    Full Text Available To date, it is widely recognized that Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs can exert considerable anti-tumor effects regarding many types of cancers. The prolonged use of NSAIDs is highly associated with diverse side effects. Therefore, tailoring down the NSAID application onto individual patients has become a necessary and relevant step towards personalized medicine. This study conducts the systemsbiological approach to construct a molecular model (NSAID model containing a cyclooxygenase (COX-pathway and its related signaling pathways. Four cancer hallmarks are integrated into the model to reflect different developmental aspects of tumorigenesis. In addition, a Flux-Comparative-Analysis (FCA based on Petri net is developed to transfer the dynamic properties (including drug responsiveness of individual cellular system into the model. The gene expression profiles of different tumor-types with available drug-response information are applied to validate the predictive ability of the NSAID model. Moreover, two therapeutic developmental strategies, synthetic lethality and microRNA (miRNA biomarker discovery, are investigated based on the COX-pathway. In conclusion, the result of this study demonstrates that the NSAID model involving gene expression, gene regulation, signal transduction, protein interaction and other cellular processes, is able to predict the individual cellular responses for different therapeutic interventions (such as NS-398 and COX-2 specific siRNA inhibition. This strongly indicates that this type of model is able to reflect the physiological, developmental and pathological processes of an individual. The approach of miRNA biomarker discovery is demonstrated for identifying miRNAs with oncogenic and tumor suppressive functions for individual cell lines of breast-, colon- and lung-tumor. The achieved results are in line with different independent studies that investigated miRNA biomarker related to diagnostics of cancer

  3. RNA STRAND: The RNA Secondary Structure and Statistical Analysis Database

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andronescu Mirela

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The ability to access, search and analyse secondary structures of a large set of known RNA molecules is very important for deriving improved RNA energy models, for evaluating computational predictions of RNA secondary structures and for a better understanding of RNA folding. Currently there is no database that can easily provide these capabilities for almost all RNA molecules with known secondary structures. Results In this paper we describe RNA STRAND – the RNA secondary STRucture and statistical ANalysis Database, a curated database containing known secondary structures of any type and organism. Our new database provides a wide collection of known RNA secondary structures drawn from public databases, searchable and downloadable in a common format. Comprehensive statistical information on the secondary structures in our database is provided using the RNA Secondary Structure Analyser, a new tool we have developed to analyse RNA secondary structures. The information thus obtained is valuable for understanding to which extent and with which probability certain structural motifs can appear. We outline several ways in which the data provided in RNA STRAND can facilitate research on RNA structure, including the improvement of RNA energy models and evaluation of secondary structure prediction programs. In order to keep up-to-date with new RNA secondary structure experiments, we offer the necessary tools to add solved RNA secondary structures to our database and invite researchers to contribute to RNA STRAND. Conclusion RNA STRAND is a carefully assembled database of trusted RNA secondary structures, with easy on-line tools for searching, analyzing and downloading user selected entries, and is publicly available at http://www.rnasoft.ca/strand.

  4. MicroRNA from tuberculosis RNA: A bioinformatics study

    OpenAIRE

    Wiwanitkit, Somsri; Wiwanitkit, Viroj

    2012-01-01

    The role of microRNA in the pathogenesis of pulmonary tuberculosis is the interesting topic in chest medicine at present. Recently, it was proposed that the microRNA can be a useful biomarker for monitoring of pulmonary tuberculosis and might be the important part in pathogenesis of disease. Here, the authors perform a bioinformatics study to assess the microRNA within known tuberculosis RNA. The microRNA part can be detected and this can be important key information in further study of the p...

  5. Nucleolin Mediates MicroRNA-directed CSF-1 mRNA Deadenylation but Increases Translation of CSF-1 mRNA*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woo, Ho-Hyung; Baker, Terri; Laszlo, Csaba; Chambers, Setsuko K.

    2013-01-01

    CSF-1 mRNA 3′UTR contains multiple unique motifs, including a common microRNA (miRNA) target in close proximity to a noncanonical G-quadruplex and AU-rich elements (AREs). Using a luciferase reporter system fused to CSF-1 mRNA 3′UTR, disruption of the miRNA target region, G-quadruplex, and AREs together dramatically increased reporter RNA levels, suggesting important roles for these cis-acting regulatory elements in the down-regulation of CSF-1 mRNA. We find that nucleolin, which binds both G-quadruplex and AREs, enhances deadenylation of CSF-1 mRNA, promoting CSF-1 mRNA decay, while having the capacity to increase translation of CSF-1 mRNA. Through interaction with the CSF-1 3′UTR miRNA common target, we find that miR-130a and miR-301a inhibit CSF-1 expression by enhancing mRNA decay. Silencing of nucleolin prevents the miRNA-directed mRNA decay, indicating a requirement for nucleolin in miRNA activity on CSF-1 mRNA. Downstream effects followed by miR-130a and miR-301a inhibition of directed cellular motility of ovarian cancer cells were found to be dependent on nucleolin. The paradoxical effects of nucleolin on miRNA-directed CSF-1 mRNA deadenylation and on translational activation were explored further. The nucleolin protein contains four acidic stretches, four RNA recognition motifs (RRMs), and nine RGG repeats. All three domains in nucleolin regulate CSF-1 mRNA and protein levels. RRMs increase CSF-1 mRNA, whereas the acidic and RGG domains decrease CSF-1 protein levels. This suggests that nucleolin has the capacity to differentially regulate both CSF-1 RNA and protein levels. Our finding that nucleolin interacts with Ago2 indirectly via RNA and with poly(A)-binding protein C (PABPC) directly suggests a nucleolin-Ago2-PABPC complex formation on mRNA. This complex is in keeping with our suggestion that nucleolin may work with PABPC as a double-edged sword on both mRNA deadenylation and translational activation. Our findings underscore the complexity of

  6. Studying RNA-protein interactions in vivo by RNA immunoprecipitation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Selth, Luke A; Close, Pierre; Svejstrup, Jesper Q

    2011-01-01

    and have significant effects on gene expression. RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) is a powerful technique used to detect direct and indirect interactions between individual proteins and specific RNA molecules in vivo. Here, we describe RIP methods for both yeast and mammalian cells.......The crucial roles played by RNA-binding proteins in all aspects of RNA metabolism, particularly in the regulation of transcription, have become increasingly evident. Moreover, other factors that do not directly interact with RNA molecules can nevertheless function proximally to RNA polymerases...

  7. RNA SURVEILLANCE– AN EMERGING ROLE FOR RNA REGULATORY NETWORKS IN AGING

    OpenAIRE

    Montano, Monty; Long, Kimberly

    2010-01-01

    In this review, we describe recent advances in the field of RNA regulatory biology and relate these advances to aging science. We introduce a new term, RNA surveillance, an RNA regulatory process that is conserved in metazoans, and describe how RNA surveillance represents molecular cross-talk between two emerging RNA regulatory systems – RNA interference and RNA editing. We discuss how RNA surveillance mechanisms influence mRNA and microRNA expression and activity during lifespan. Additionall...

  8. MicroRNA miR-328 regulates zonation morphogenesis by targeting CD44 expression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chia-Hui; Lee, Daniel Y; Deng, Zhaoqun; Jeyapalan, Zina; Lee, Shao-Chen; Kahai, Shireen; Lu, Wei-Yang; Zhang, Yaou; Yang, Burton B

    2008-06-18

    Morphogenesis is crucial to initiate physiological development and tumor invasion. Here we show that a microRNA controls zonation morphogenesis by targeting hyaluronan receptor CD44. We have developed a novel system to study microRNA functions by generating constructs expressing pre-miRNAs and mature miRNAs. Using this system, we have demonstrated that expression of miR-328 reduced cell adhesion, aggregation, and migration, and regulated formation of capillary structure. Protein analysis indicated that miR-328 repressed CD44 expression. Activities of luciferase constructs harboring the target site in CD44, but not the one containing mutation, were repressed by miR-328. Zonation morphogenesis appeared in cells transfected by miR-328: miR-328-transfected cells were present on the surface of zonating structures while the control cells stayed in the middle. MiR-328-mediated CD44 actions was validated by anti-CD44 antibody, hyaluronidase, CD44 siRNA, and CD44 expression constructs. In vivo experiments showed that CD44-silencing cells appeared as layers on the surfaces of nodules or zonating structures. Immuno-histochemistry also exhibited CD44-negative cells on the surface layers of normal rat livers and the internal zones of Portal veins. Our results demonstrate that miR-328 targets CD44, which is essential in regulating zonation morphogenesis: silencing of CD44 expression is essential in sealing the zonation structures to facilitate their extension and to inhibit complex expansion.

  9. MicroRNA miR-328 regulates zonation morphogenesis by targeting CD44 expression.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chia-Hui Wang

    Full Text Available Morphogenesis is crucial to initiate physiological development and tumor invasion. Here we show that a microRNA controls zonation morphogenesis by targeting hyaluronan receptor CD44. We have developed a novel system to study microRNA functions by generating constructs expressing pre-miRNAs and mature miRNAs. Using this system, we have demonstrated that expression of miR-328 reduced cell adhesion, aggregation, and migration, and regulated formation of capillary structure. Protein analysis indicated that miR-328 repressed CD44 expression. Activities of luciferase constructs harboring the target site in CD44, but not the one containing mutation, were repressed by miR-328. Zonation morphogenesis appeared in cells transfected by miR-328: miR-328-transfected cells were present on the surface of zonating structures while the control cells stayed in the middle. MiR-328-mediated CD44 actions was validated by anti-CD44 antibody, hyaluronidase, CD44 siRNA, and CD44 expression constructs. In vivo experiments showed that CD44-silencing cells appeared as layers on the surfaces of nodules or zonating structures. Immuno-histochemistry also exhibited CD44-negative cells on the surface layers of normal rat livers and the internal zones of Portal veins. Our results demonstrate that miR-328 targets CD44, which is essential in regulating zonation morphogenesis: silencing of CD44 expression is essential in sealing the zonation structures to facilitate their extension and to inhibit complex expansion.

  10. Rapid Generation of MicroRNA Sponges for MicroRNA Inhibition

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kluiver, Joost; Gibcus, Johan H.; Hettinga, Chris; Adema, Annelies; Richter, Mareike K. S.; Halsema, Nancy; Slezak-Prochazka, Izabella; Ding, Ye; Kroesen, Bart-Jan; van den Berg, Anke

    2012-01-01

    MicroRNA (miRNA) sponges are transcripts with repeated miRNA antisense sequences that can sequester miRNAs from endogenous targets. MiRNA sponges are valuable tools for miRNA loss-of-function studies both in vitro and in vivo. We developed a fast and flexible method to generate miRNA sponges and

  11. A mathematical model for fluid shear-sensitive 3D tissue construct development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Dan; Chua, Chee-Kai; Leong, Kah-Fai

    2013-01-01

    This research studies dynamic culture for 3D tissue construct development with computational fluid dynamics. It proposes a mathematical model to evaluate the impact of flow rates and flow shear stress on cell growth in 3D constructs under perfusion. The modeling results show that dynamic flow, even at flow rate as low as 0.002 cm/s, can support much better mass exchange, higher cell number, and more even cell and nutrient distribution compared to static culture. Higher flow rate can further improve nutrient supply and mass exchange in the construct, promoting better nutritious environment and cell proliferation compared to lower flow rate. In addition, consideration of flow shear stress predicts much higher cell number in the construct compared to that without shear consideration. While the nutrient can dominate shear stress in influencing cell proliferation, the shear effect increases with flow rate. The proposed model helps tissue engineers better understand the cell-flow relationship at the molecular level during dynamic culture.

  12. The Competing Dynamics and Relationships in Corporate and Local Government Agency Constructions of Place

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalie Russell

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores the dynamics of how private sector business entities and local government bodies perceive and interact with the identity of the locality in which they operate. It identifies tensions and differences in, and consequences of, the dynamics and relationships between how private sector business entities view constructions of ‘place’ and how government and publicly-funded place-marketing organisations portray and promote localities. These issues are examined through the phenomenon, brand and slogan of ‘visit, live, invest’ which is gaining credence in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world. The paper develops data using in-depth interviews and a small-scale survey set within an overall interpretivistic case study approach. The data and the case-study demonstrate that, despite the rebranding of the local government agencies as a place-marketing organisation committed to the new ‘live, visit, invest’ initiative and brand agenda, there is an ongoing ‘cultural hangover’ from previous place promotion policies. There are also serious impacts and consequences for relationships between the public and private sectors and with other stakeholders. The prevailing image of UKTown (real name anonymised by business leaders is one that sees this town fundamentally as a historic, traditional and conservative town. This image has been the product of many years of older style promotion in this vein. While such an image may suggest pleasant aspects of the living environment, it has little to do with corporate image, values and concerns and many private sector business entities do not identity with it. In several instances it is even considered by certain business sectors to be ‘detrimental’ to the need for a dynamic business environment and the forms of relationships and activities these necessitate. The paper indicates a number of strategic moves that could be adopted in order to improve this predicament.

  13. Constructing quantum dynamics from mixed quantum-classical descriptions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barsegov, V.; Rossky, P.J.

    2004-01-01

    The influence of quantum bath effects on the dynamics of a quantum two-level system linearly coupled to a harmonic bath is studied when the coupling is both diagonal and off-diagonal. It is shown that the pure dephasing kernel and the non-adiabatic quantum transition rate between Born-Oppenheimer states of the subsystem can be decomposed into a contribution from thermally excited bath modes plus a zero point energy contribution. This quantum rate can be modewise factorized exactly into a product of a mixed quantum subsystem-classical bath transition rate and a quantum correction factor. This factor determines dynamics of quantum bath correlations. Quantum bath corrections to both the transition rate and the pure dephasing kernel are shown to be readily evaluated via a mixed quantum-classical simulation. Hence, quantum dynamics can be recovered from a mixed quantum-classical counterpart by incorporating the missing quantum bath corrections. Within a mixed quantum-classical framework, a simple approach for evaluating quantum bath corrections in calculation of the non-adiabatic transition rate is presented

  14. MicroRNA-directed siRNA biogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corrêa, Régis L; Steiner, Florian A; Berezikov, Eugene; Ketting, René F

    2010-04-08

    RNA interference (RNAi) is a post-transcriptional silencing process, triggered by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), leading to the destabilization of homologous mRNAs. A distinction has been made between endogenous RNAi-related pathways and the exogenous RNAi pathway, the latter being essential for the experimental use of RNAi. Previous studies have shown that, in Caenorhabditis elegans, a complex containing the enzymes Dicer and the Argonaute RDE-1 process dsRNA. Dicer is responsible for cleaving dsRNA into short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) while RDE-1 acts as the siRNA acceptor. RDE-1 then guides a multi-protein complex to homologous targets to trigger mRNA destabilization. However, endogenous role(s) for RDE-1, if any, have remained unexplored. We here show that RDE-1 functions as a scavenger protein, taking up small RNA molecules from many different sources, including the microRNA (miRNA) pathway. This is in striking contrast to Argonaute proteins functioning directly in the miRNA pathway, ALG-1 and ALG-2: these proteins exclusively bind miRNAs. While playing no significant role in the biogenesis of the main pool of miRNAs, RDE-1 binds endogenous miRNAs and triggers RdRP activity on at least one perfectly matching, endogenous miRNA target. The resulting secondary siRNAs are taken up by a set of Argonaute proteins known to act as siRNA acceptors in exogenous RNAi, resulting in strong mRNA destabilization. Our results show that RDE-1 in an endogenous setting is actively screening the transcriptome using many different small RNAs, including miRNAs, as a guide, with implications for the evolution of transcripts with a potential to be recognized by Dicer.

  15. Regulation of nucleolus assembly by non-coding RNA polymerase II transcripts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caudron-Herger, Maïwen; Pankert, Teresa; Rippe, Karsten

    2016-05-03

    The nucleolus is a nuclear subcompartment for tightly regulated rRNA production and ribosome subunit biogenesis. It also acts as a cellular stress sensor and can release enriched factors in response to cellular stimuli. Accordingly, the content and structure of the nucleolus change dynamically, which is particularly evident during cell cycle progression: the nucleolus completely disassembles during mitosis and reassembles in interphase. Although the mechanisms that drive nucleolar (re)organization have been the subject of a number of studies, they are only partly understood. Recently, we identified Alu element-containing RNA polymerase II transcripts (aluRNAs) as important for nucleolar structure and rRNA synthesis. Integrating these findings with studies on the liquid droplet-like nature of the nucleolus leads us to propose a model on how RNA polymerase II transcripts could regulate the assembly of the nucleolus in response to external stimuli and during cell cycle progression.

  16. Plant RNA binding proteins for control of RNA virus infection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung Un eHuh

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Plant RNA viruses have effective strategies to infect host plants through either direct or indirect interactions with various host proteins, thus suppressing the host immune system. When plant RNA viruses enter host cells exposed RNAs of viruses are recognized by the host immune system through processes such as siRNA-dependent silencing. Interestingly, some host RNA binding proteins have been involved in the inhibition of RNA virus replication, movement, and translation through RNA-specific binding. Host plants intensively use RNA binding proteins for defense against viral infections in nature. In this mini review, we will summarize the function of some host RNA binding proteins which act in a sequence-specific binding manner to the infecting virus RNA. It is important to understand how plants effectively suppresses RNA virus infections via RNA binding proteins, and this defense system can be potentially developed as a synthetic virus defense strategy for use in crop engineering.

  17. Influence of mRNA decay rates on the computational prediction of ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    SEARCHU

    To understand the influences, we present a systematic method based on a gene dynamic ... data). The results indicate that mRNA decay rates do not significantly influence the .... For instance, k for a cubic B-spline equals 4 and the fitting.

  18. Effective Anti-miRNA Oligonucleotides Show High Releasing Rate of MicroRNA from RNA-Induced Silencing Complex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ariyoshi, Jumpei; Matsuyama, Yohei; Kobori, Akio; Murakami, Akira; Sugiyama, Hiroshi; Yamayoshi, Asako

    2017-10-01

    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulate gene expression by forming RNA-induced silencing complexes (RISCs) and have been considered as promising therapeutic targets. MiRNA is an essential component of RISC for the modulation of gene expression. Therefore, the release of miRNA from RISC is considered as an effective method for the inhibition of miRNA functions. In our previous study, we reported that anti-miRNA oligonucleotides (AMOs), which are composed of the 2'-O-methyl (2'-OMe) RNA, could induce the release of miRNA from RISC. However, the mechanisms underlying the miRNA-releasing effects of chemically modified AMOs, which are conventionally used as anti-cancer drugs, are still unclear. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the miRNA releasing rate from RISC and the inhibitory effect on RISC activity (IC 50 ) using conventional chemically modified AMOs. We demonstrated that the miRNA-releasing effects of AMOs are directly proportional to the IC 50 values, and AMOs, which have an ability to promote the release of miRNA from RISC, can effectively inhibit RISC activity in living cells.

  19. Isolation of Microarray-Grade Total RNA, MicroRNA, and DNA from a Single PAXgene Blood RNA Tube

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kruhøffer, Mogens; Andersen, Lars Dyrskjøt; Voss, Thorsten

    2007-01-01

    We have developed a procedure for isolation of microRNA and genomic DNA in addition to total RNA from whole blood stabilized in PAXgene Blood RNA tubes. The procedure is based on automatic extraction on a BioRobot MDx and includes isolation of DNA from a fraction of the stabilized blood...... and recovery of small RNA species that are otherwise lost. The procedure presented here is suitable for large-scale experiments and is amenable to further automation. Procured total RNA and DNA was tested using Affymetrix Expression and single-nucleotide polymorphism GeneChips, respectively, and isolated micro......RNA was tested using spotted locked nucleic acid-based microarrays. We conclude that the yield and quality of total RNA, microRNA, and DNA from a single PAXgene blood RNA tube is sufficient for downstream microarray analysis....

  20. The Secret Life of RNA: Lessons from Emerging Methodologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medioni, Caroline; Besse, Florence

    2018-01-01

    The last past decade has witnessed a revolution in our appreciation of transcriptome complexity and regulation. This remarkable expansion in our knowledge largely originates from the advent of high-throughput methodologies, and the consecutive discovery that up to 90% of eukaryotic genomes are transcribed, thus generating an unanticipated large range of noncoding RNAs (Hangauer et al., 15(4):112, 2014). Besides leading to the identification of new noncoding RNA species, transcriptome-wide studies have uncovered novel layers of posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms controlling RNA processing, maturation or translation, and each contributing to the precise and dynamic regulation of gene expression. Remarkably, the development of systems-level studies has been accompanied by tremendous progress in the visualization of individual RNA molecules in single cells, such that it is now possible to image RNA species with a single-molecule resolution from birth to translation or decay. Monitoring quantitatively, with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution, the fate of individual molecules has been key to understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the different steps of RNA regulation. This has also revealed biologically relevant, intracellular and intercellular heterogeneities in RNA distribution or regulation. More recently, the convergence of imaging and high-throughput technologies has led to the emergence of spatially resolved transcriptomic techniques that provide a means to perform large-scale analyses while preserving spatial information. By generating transcriptome-wide data on single-cell RNA content, or even subcellular RNA distribution, these methodologies are opening avenues to a wide range of network-level studies at the cell and organ-level, and promise to strongly improve disease diagnostic and treatment.In this introductory chapter, we highlight how recently developed technologies aiming at detecting and visualizing RNA molecules have contributed to

  1. IntaRNA 2.0: enhanced and customizable prediction of RNA-RNA interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mann, Martin; Wright, Patrick R; Backofen, Rolf

    2017-07-03

    The IntaRNA algorithm enables fast and accurate prediction of RNA-RNA hybrids by incorporating seed constraints and interaction site accessibility. Here, we introduce IntaRNAv2, which enables enhanced parameterization as well as fully customizable control over the prediction modes and output formats. Based on up to date benchmark data, the enhanced predictive quality is shown and further improvements due to more restrictive seed constraints are highlighted. The extended web interface provides visualizations of the new minimal energy profiles for RNA-RNA interactions. These allow a detailed investigation of interaction alternatives and can reveal potential interaction site multiplicity. IntaRNAv2 is freely available (source and binary), and distributed via the conda package manager. Furthermore, it has been included into the Galaxy workflow framework and its already established web interface enables ad hoc usage. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  2. Genetic relatedness of orbiviruses by RNA-RNA blot hybridization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bodkin, D.K.

    1985-01-01

    RNA-RNA blot hybridization was developed in order to identify type-specific genes among double-stranded (ds) RNA viruses, to assess the genetic relatedness of dsRNA viruses and to classify new strains. Viral dsRNA segments were electrophoresed through 10% polyacrylamide gels, transferred to membranes, and hybridized to [5' 32 P]-pCp labeled genomic RNA from a related strain. Hybridization was performed at 52 0 C, 50% formamide, 5X SSC. Under these conditions heterologous RNA species must share ≥ 74% sequence homology in order to form stable dsRNA hybrids. Cognate genes of nine members of the Palyam serogroup of orbiviruses were identified and their sequence relatedness to the prototype. Palyam virus, was determined. Reciprocal blot hybridizations were performed using radiolabeled genomic RNA of all members of the Palyam serogroup. Unique and variant genes were identified by lack of cross-homology or by weak homology between segments. Since genes 2 and 6 exhibited the highest degree of sequence variability, response to the vertebrate immune system may be a major cause of sequence divergence among members of a single serogroup. Changuinola serogroup isolates were compared by dot-blot hybridization, while Colorado tick fever (CTF) serogroup isolates were compared by the RNA-RNA blot hybridization procedure described for reovirus and Palyam serogroup isolates. Preliminary blot hybridization data were also obtained on the relatedness of members of different Orbivirus serogroups

  3. 16S rRNA gene sequence and phylogenetic tree of lactobacillus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... processed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Phylogenetic tree was constructed with the sequences of the V2-V3 region of 16S rRNA gene. Results show two distinct divisions among the Lactobacillus species. The study presents a new understanding of the nature of the Lactobacillus vaginal microbiota ...

  4. Domain motions of Argonaute, the catalytic engine of RNA interference

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wall Michael E

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Argonaute protein is the core component of the RNA-induced silencing complex, playing the central role of cleaving the mRNA target. Visual inspection of static crystal structures already has enabled researchers to suggest conformational changes of Argonaute that might occur during RNA interference. We have taken the next step by performing an all-atom normal mode analysis of the Pyrococcus furiosus and Aquifex aeolicus Argonaute crystal structures, allowing us to quantitatively assess the feasibility of these conformational changes. To perform the analysis, we begin with the energy-minimized X-ray structures. Normal modes are then calculated using an all-atom molecular mechanics force field. Results The analysis reveals low-frequency vibrations that facilitate the accommodation of RNA duplexes – an essential step in target recognition. The Pyrococcus furiosus and Aquifex aeolicus Argonaute proteins both exhibit low-frequency torsion and hinge motions; however, differences in the overall architecture of the proteins cause the detailed dynamics to be significantly different. Conclusion Overall, low-frequency vibrations of Argonaute are consistent with mechanisms within the current reaction cycle model for RNA interference.

  5. A discontinuous RNA platform mediates RNA virus replication: building an integrated model for RNA-based regulation of viral processes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baodong Wu

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Plus-strand RNA viruses contain RNA elements within their genomes that mediate a variety of fundamental viral processes. The traditional view of these elements is that of local RNA structures. This perspective, however, is changing due to increasing discoveries of functional viral RNA elements that are formed by long-range RNA-RNA interactions, often spanning thousands of nucleotides. The plus-strand RNA genomes of tombusviruses exemplify this concept by possessing different long-range RNA-RNA interactions that regulate both viral translation and transcription. Here we report that a third fundamental tombusvirus process, viral genome replication, requires a long-range RNA-based interaction spanning approximately 3000 nts. In vivo and in vitro analyses suggest that the discontinuous RNA platform formed by the interaction facilitates efficient assembly of the viral RNA replicase. This finding has allowed us to build an integrated model for the role of global RNA structure in regulating the reproduction of a eukaryotic RNA virus, and the insights gained have extended our understanding of the multifunctional nature of viral RNA genomes.

  6. Organization and transient expression of the gene for human U11 snRNA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clemens, Suter-Crazzolara; Walter, Keller

    1991-01-01

    The nucleotide sequence of U11 small nuclear RNA, a minor U RNA from HeLa cells, was determined. Computer analysis of the sequence (135 residues) predicts two strong hairpin loops which are separated by seventeen nucleotides containing an Sm binding site (AAUUUUUUGG). A synthetic gene was constructed in which the coding region of U11 RNA is under the control of a T7 promoter. This vector can be used to produce U11 RNA in vitro. Southern hybridization and PCR analysis of HeLa genomic DNA suggest that U11 RNA is encoded by a single copy gene, and that at least three genomic regions could be U11 RNA pseudogenes. A HeLa genomic copy of a U11 gene was isolated by inverted PCR. This gene contains the U11 RNA coding sequence and several sequence elements unique for the U RNA genes. These include a Distal Sequence Element (DSE, ATTTGCATA) present between positions −215 and −223 relative to the start of transcription; a Proximal Sequence Element (PSE, TTCACCTTTACCAAAAATG) located between positions −43 and −63 ; and a 3′box (GTTAGGCGAAATATTA) between positions +150 and +166. Transfection of HeLa cells with this gene revealed that it is functioning in vivo and can produce U11 RNA. PMID:1820214

  7. Genome-Wide Analysis of Gene and microRNA Expression in Diploid and Autotetraploid Paulownia fortunei (Seem Hemsl. under Drought Stress by Transcriptome, microRNA, and Degradome Sequencing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhenli Zhao

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Drought is a common and recurring climatic condition in many parts of the world, and it can have disastrous impacts on plant growth and development. Many genes involved in the drought response of plants have been identified. Transcriptome, microRNA (miRNA, and degradome analyses are rapid ways of identifying drought-responsive genes. The reference genome sequence of Paulownia fortunei (Seem Hemsl. is now available, which makes it easier to explore gene expression, transcriptional regulation, and post-transcriptional in this species. In this study, four transcriptome, small RNA, and degradome libraries were sequenced by Illumina sequencing, respectively. A total of 258 genes and 11 miRNAs were identified for drought-responsive genes and miRNAs in P. fortunei. Degradome sequencing detected 28 miRNA target genes that were cleaved by members of nine conserved miRNA families and 12 novel miRNAs. The results here will contribute toward enriching our understanding of the response of Paulownia fortunei trees to drought stress and may provide new direction for further experimental studies related the development of molecular markers, the genetic map construction, and other genomic research projects in Paulownia.

  8. Non-Watson-Crick basepairing and hydration in RNA motifs: molecular dynamics of 5S rRNA loop E

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Réblová, K.; Špačková, Naďa; Štefl, R.; Csaszar, K.; Koča, J.; Leontis, N. B.; Šponer, Jiří

    2003-01-01

    Roč. 84, č. 6 (2003), s. 3564-3582 ISSN 0006-3495 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LN00A016 Grant - others:National Institutes of Health(US) 2R15 GM55898; National Science Foundation(US) CHE-9732563 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z5004920 Keywords : non-Watson-Crick base pairs * ribosomal RNA * Loop E Subject RIV: BO - Biophysics Impact factor: 4.463, year: 2003

  9. Common 5S rRNA variants are likely to be accepted in many sequence contexts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhengdong; D'Souza, Lisa M.; Lee, Youn-Hyung; Fox, George E.

    2003-01-01

    Over evolutionary time RNA sequences which are successfully fixed in a population are selected from among those that satisfy the structural and chemical requirements imposed by the function of the RNA. These sequences together comprise the structure space of the RNA. In principle, a comprehensive understanding of RNA structure and function would make it possible to enumerate which specific RNA sequences belong to a particular structure space and which do not. We are using bacterial 5S rRNA as a model system to attempt to identify principles that can be used to predict which sequences do or do not belong to the 5S rRNA structure space. One promising idea is the very intuitive notion that frequently seen sequence changes in an aligned data set of naturally occurring 5S rRNAs would be widely accepted in many other 5S rRNA sequence contexts. To test this hypothesis, we first developed well-defined operational definitions for a Vibrio region of the 5S rRNA structure space and what is meant by a highly variable position. Fourteen sequence variants (10 point changes and 4 base-pair changes) were identified in this way, which, by the hypothesis, would be expected to incorporate successfully in any of the known sequences in the Vibrio region. All 14 of these changes were constructed and separately introduced into the Vibrio proteolyticus 5S rRNA sequence where they are not normally found. Each variant was evaluated for its ability to function as a valid 5S rRNA in an E. coli cellular context. It was found that 93% (13/14) of the variants tested are likely valid 5S rRNAs in this context. In addition, seven variants were constructed that, although present in the Vibrio region, did not meet the stringent criteria for a highly variable position. In this case, 86% (6/7) are likely valid. As a control we also examined seven variants that are seldom or never seen in the Vibrio region of 5S rRNA sequence space. In this case only two of seven were found to be potentially valid. The

  10. Bifurcations in the interplay of messenger RNA, protein and nonprotein coding RNA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhdanov, Vladimir P

    2008-01-01

    The interplay of messenger RNA (mRNA), protein, produced via translation of this RNA, and nonprotein coding RNA (ncRNA) may include regulation of the ncRNA production by protein and (i) ncRNA-protein association resulting in suppression of the protein regulatory activity or (ii) ncRNA-mRNA association resulting in degradation of the miRNA-mRNA complex. The kinetic models describing these two scenarios are found to predict bistability provided that protein suppresses the ncRNA formation

  11. rRNA and Poly-β-Hydroxybutyrate Dynamics in Bioreactors Subjected to Feast and Famine Cycles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frigon, Dominic; Muyzer, Gerard; van Loosdrecht, Mark; Raskin, Lutgarde

    2006-01-01

    Feast and famine cycles are common in activated sludge wastewater treatment systems, and they select for bacteria that accumulate storage compounds, such as poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB). Previous studies have shown that variations in influent substrate concentrations force bacteria to accumulate high levels of rRNA compared to the levels in bacteria grown in chemostats. Therefore, it can be hypothesized that bacteria accumulate more rRNA when they are subjected to feast and famine cycles. However, PHB-accumulating bacteria can form biomass (grow) throughout a feast and famine cycle and thus have a lower peak biomass formation rate during the cycle. Consequently, PHB-accumulating bacteria may accumulate less rRNA when they are subjected to feast and famine cycles than bacteria that are not capable of PHB accumulation. These hypotheses were tested with Wautersia eutropha H16 (wild type) and W. eutropha PHB-4 (a mutant not capable of accumulating PHB) grown in chemostat and semibatch reactors. For both strains, the cellular RNA level was higher when the organism was grown in semibatch reactors than when it was grown in chemostats, and the specific biomass formation rates during the feast phase were linearly related to the cellular RNA levels for cultures. Although the two strains exhibited maximum uptake rates when they were grown in semibatch reactors, the wild-type strain responded much more rapidly to the addition of fresh medium than the mutant responded. Furthermore, the chemostat-grown mutant culture was unable to exhibit maximum substrate uptake rates when it was subjected to pulse-wise addition of fresh medium. These data show that the ability to accumulate PHB does not prevent bacteria from accumulating high levels of rRNA when they are subjected to feast and famine cycles. Our results also demonstrate that the ability to accumulate PHB makes the bacteria more responsive to sudden increases in substrate concentrations, which explains their ecological

  12. rRNA and poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate dynamics in bioreactors subjected to feast and famine cycles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frigon, Dominic; Muyzer, Gerard; van Loosdrecht, Mark; Raskin, Lutgarde

    2006-04-01

    Feast and famine cycles are common in activated sludge wastewater treatment systems, and they select for bacteria that accumulate storage compounds, such as poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB). Previous studies have shown that variations in influent substrate concentrations force bacteria to accumulate high levels of rRNA compared to the levels in bacteria grown in chemostats. Therefore, it can be hypothesized that bacteria accumulate more rRNA when they are subjected to feast and famine cycles. However, PHB-accumulating bacteria can form biomass (grow) throughout a feast and famine cycle and thus have a lower peak biomass formation rate during the cycle. Consequently, PHB-accumulating bacteria may accumulate less rRNA when they are subjected to feast and famine cycles than bacteria that are not capable of PHB accumulation. These hypotheses were tested with Wautersia eutropha H16 (wild type) and W. eutropha PHB-4 (a mutant not capable of accumulating PHB) grown in chemostat and semibatch reactors. For both strains, the cellular RNA level was higher when the organism was grown in semibatch reactors than when it was grown in chemostats, and the specific biomass formation rates during the feast phase were linearly related to the cellular RNA levels for cultures. Although the two strains exhibited maximum uptake rates when they were grown in semibatch reactors, the wild-type strain responded much more rapidly to the addition of fresh medium than the mutant responded. Furthermore, the chemostat-grown mutant culture was unable to exhibit maximum substrate uptake rates when it was subjected to pulse-wise addition of fresh medium. These data show that the ability to accumulate PHB does not prevent bacteria from accumulating high levels of rRNA when they are subjected to feast and famine cycles. Our results also demonstrate that the ability to accumulate PHB makes the bacteria more responsive to sudden increases in substrate concentrations, which explains their ecological

  13. Cystoviral polymerase complex protein P7 uses its acidic C-terminal tail to regulate the RNA-directed RNA polymerase P2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alphonse, Sébastien; Arnold, Jamie J; Bhattacharya, Shibani; Wang, Hsin; Kloss, Brian; Cameron, Craig E; Ghose, Ranajeet

    2014-07-15

    In bacteriophages of the cystovirus family, the polymerase complex (PX) encodes a 75-kDa RNA-directed RNA polymerase (P2) that transcribes the double-stranded RNA genome. Also a constituent of the PX is the essential protein P7 that, in addition to accelerating PX assembly and facilitating genome packaging, plays a regulatory role in transcription. Deletion of P7 from the PX leads to aberrant plus-strand synthesis suggesting its influence on the transcriptase activity of P2. Here, using solution NMR techniques and the P2 and P7 proteins from cystovirus ϕ12, we demonstrate their largely electrostatic interaction in vitro. Chemical shift perturbations on P7 in the presence of P2 suggest that this interaction involves the dynamic C-terminal tail of P7, more specifically an acidic cluster therein. Patterns of chemical shift changes induced on P2 by the P7 C-terminus resemble those seen in the presence of single-stranded RNA suggesting similarities in binding. This association between P2 and P7 reduces the affinity of the former toward template RNA and results in its decreased activity both in de novo RNA synthesis and in extending a short primer. Given the presence of C-terminal acidic tracts on all cystoviral P7 proteins, the electrostatic nature of the P2/P7 interaction is likely conserved within the family and could constitute a mechanism through which P7 regulates transcription in cystoviruses. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Targeting of a chimeric human histone fusion mRNA to membrane-bound polysomes in HeLa cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zambetti, G.; Stein, J.; Stein, G.

    1987-01-01

    The subcellular location of histone mRNA-containing polysomes may play a key role in the posttranscriptional events that mediate histone mRNA turnover following inhibition of DNA synthesis. Previously, it has been shown that histone mRNA is found primarily on free polysomes that are associated with the cytoskeleton. The authors report here the construction of an Escherichia coli pBR322 β-lactamase signal peptide-human H3 histone fusion gene. The fusion transcript is targeted to membrane-bound polysomes and remains stable following interruption of DNA replication. Relocating mRNA within the cell may provide a procedure for studying the posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression

  15. Single molecule imaging of RNA polymerase II using atomic force microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rhodin, Thor; Fu Jianhua; Umemura, Kazuo; Gad, Mohammed; Jarvis, Suzi; Ishikawa, Mitsuru

    2003-01-01

    An atomic force microscopy (AFM) study of the shape, orientation and surface topology of RNA polymerase II supported on silanized freshly cleaved mica was made. The overall aim is to define the molecular topology of RNA polymerase II in appropriate fluids to help clarify the relationship of conformational features to biofunctionality. A Nanoscope III atomic force microscope was used in the tapping mode with oxide-sharpened (8-10 nm) Si 3 N 4 probes in aqueous zinc chloride buffer. The main structural features observed by AFM were compared to those derived from electron-density plots based on X-ray crystallographic studies. The conformational features included a bilobal silhouette with an inverted umbrella-shaped crater connected to a reaction site. These studies provide a starting point for constructing a 3D-AFM profiling analysis of proteins such as RNA polymerase complexes

  16. How the RNA isolation method can affect microRNA microarray results

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Podolska, Agnieszka; Kaczkowski, Bogumil; Litman, Thomas

    2011-01-01

    RNA microarray analysis on porcine brain tissue. One method is a phenol-guanidine isothiocyanate-based procedure that permits isolation of total RNA. The second method, miRVana™ microRNA isolation, is column based and recovers the small RNA fraction alone. We found that microarray analyses give different results...... that depend on the RNA fraction used, in particular because some microRNAs appear very sensitive to the RNA isolation method. We conclude that precautions need to be taken when comparing microarray studies based on RNA isolated with different methods.......The quality of RNA is crucial in gene expression experiments. RNA degradation interferes in the measurement of gene expression, and in this context, microRNA quantification can lead to an incorrect estimation. In the present study, two different RNA isolation methods were used to perform micro...

  17. Wave packet construction in three-dimensional quantum billiards

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    We examine the dynamical evolution of wave packets in a cubical billiard where three quantum numbers (, , ) determine its energy spectrum and consequently its dynamical behaviour. We have constructed the wave packet in the cubical billiard and have observed its time evolution for various closed orbits.

  18. Structure and assembly of the essential RNA ring component of a viral DNA packaging motor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Fang; Lu, Changrui; Zhao, Wei; Rajashankar, Kanagalaghatta R; Anderson, Dwight L; Jardine, Paul J; Grimes, Shelley; Ke, Ailong

    2011-05-03

    Prohead RNA (pRNA) is an essential component in the assembly and operation of the powerful bacteriophage 29 DNA packaging motor. The pRNA forms a multimeric ring via intermolecular base-pairing interactions between protomers that serves to guide the assembly of the ring ATPase that drives DNA packaging. Here we report the quaternary structure of this rare multimeric RNA at 3.5 Å resolution, crystallized as tetrameric rings. Strong quaternary interactions and the inherent flexibility helped rationalize how free pRNA is able to adopt multiple oligomerization states in solution. These characteristics also allowed excellent fitting of the crystallographic pRNA protomers into previous prohead/pRNA cryo-EM reconstructions, supporting the presence of a pentameric, but not hexameric, pRNA ring in the context of the DNA packaging motor. The pentameric pRNA ring anchors itself directly to the phage prohead by interacting specifically with the fivefold symmetric capsid structures that surround the head-tail connector portal. From these contacts, five RNA superhelices project from the pRNA ring, where they serve as scaffolds for binding and assembly of the ring ATPase, and possibly mediate communication between motor components. Construction of structure-based designer pRNAs with little sequence similarity to the wild-type pRNA were shown to fully support the packaging of 29 DNA.

  19. The integrated analysis of RNA-seq and microRNA-seq depicts miRNA-mRNA networks involved in Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) albinism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Na; Wang, Ruoqing; Wang, Renkai; Tian, Yongsheng; Shao, Changwei; Jia, Xiaodong; Chen, Songlin

    2017-01-01

    Albinism, a phenomenon characterized by pigmentation deficiency on the ocular side of Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), has caused significant damage. Limited mRNA and microRNA (miRNA) information is available on fish pigmentation deficiency. In this study, a high-throughput sequencing strategy was employed to identify the mRNA and miRNAs involved in P. olivaceus albinism. Based on P. olivaceus genome, RNA-seq identified 21,787 know genes and 711 new genes by transcripts assembly. Of those, 235 genes exhibited significantly different expression pattern (fold change ≥2 or ≤0.5 and q-value≤0.05), including 194 down-regulated genes and 41 up-regulated genes in albino versus normally pigmented individuals. These genes were enriched to 81 GO terms and 9 KEGG pathways (p≤0.05). Among those, the pigmentation related pathways-Melanogenesis and tyrosine metabolism were contained. High-throughput miRNA sequencing identified a total of 475 miRNAs, including 64 novel miRNAs. Furthermore, 33 differentially expressed miRNAs containing 13 up-regulated and 20 down-regulated miRNAs were identified in albino versus normally pigmented individuals (fold change ≥1.5 or ≤0.67 and p≤0.05). The next target prediction discovered a variety of putative target genes, of which, 134 genes including Tyrosinase (TYR), Tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1), Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) were overlapped with differentially expressed genes derived from RNA-seq. These target genes were significantly enriched to 254 GO terms and 103 KEGG pathways (p<0.001). Of those, tyrosine metabolism, lysosomes, phototransduction pathways, etc., attracted considerable attention due to their involvement in regulating skin pigmentation. Expression patterns of differentially expressed mRNA and miRNAs were validated in 10 mRNA and 10 miRNAs by qRT-PCR. With high-throughput mRNA and miRNA sequencing and analysis, a series of interested mRNA and miRNAs involved in fish

  20. Improved nucleic acid descriptors for siRNA efficacy prediction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sciabola, Simone; Cao, Qing; Orozco, Modesto; Faustino, Ignacio; Stanton, Robert V

    2013-02-01

    Although considerable progress has been made recently in understanding how gene silencing is mediated by the RNAi pathway, the rational design of effective sequences is still a challenging task. In this article, we demonstrate that including three-dimensional descriptors improved the discrimination between active and inactive small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) in a statistical model. Five descriptor types were used: (i) nucleotide position along the siRNA sequence, (ii) nucleotide composition in terms of presence/absence of specific combinations of di- and trinucleotides, (iii) nucleotide interactions by means of a modified auto- and cross-covariance function, (iv) nucleotide thermodynamic stability derived by the nearest neighbor model representation and (v) nucleic acid structure flexibility. The duplex flexibility descriptors are derived from extended molecular dynamics simulations, which are able to describe the sequence-dependent elastic properties of RNA duplexes, even for non-standard oligonucleotides. The matrix of descriptors was analysed using three statistical packages in R (partial least squares, random forest, and support vector machine), and the most predictive model was implemented in a modeling tool we have made publicly available through SourceForge. Our implementation of new RNA descriptors coupled with appropriate statistical algorithms resulted in improved model performance for the selection of siRNA candidates when compared with publicly available siRNA prediction tools and previously published test sets. Additional validation studies based on in-house RNA interference projects confirmed the robustness of the scoring procedure in prospective studies.