RNA structure probing reveals the structural basis of Dicer binding and cleavage

Nat Commun. 2021 Jun 7;12(1):3397. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23607-w.

Abstract

It is known that an RNA's structure determines its biological function, yet current RNA structure probing methods only capture partial structure information. The ability to measure intact (i.e., full length) RNA structures will facilitate investigations of the functions and regulation mechanisms of small RNAs and identify short fragments of functional sites. Here, we present icSHAPE-MaP, an approach combining in vivo selective 2'-hydroxyl acylation and mutational profiling to probe intact RNA structures. We further showcase the RNA structural landscape of substrates bound by human Dicer based on the combination of RNA immunoprecipitation pull-down and icSHAPE-MaP small RNA structural profiling. We discover distinct structural categories of Dicer substrates in correlation to both their binding affinity and cleavage efficiency. And by tertiary structural modeling constrained by icSHAPE-MaP RNA structural data, we find the spatial distance measuring as an influential parameter for Dicer cleavage-site selection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Computational Biology
  • DEAD-box RNA Helicases / genetics
  • DEAD-box RNA Helicases / metabolism*
  • Gene Knockdown Techniques
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
  • Nucleic Acid Conformation*
  • Protein Binding / genetics
  • RNA / chemistry*
  • RNA / genetics
  • RNA / metabolism
  • RNA Probes
  • RNA-Seq
  • Ribonuclease III / genetics
  • Ribonuclease III / metabolism*
  • Substrate Specificity / genetics

Substances

  • RNA Probes
  • RNA
  • DICER1 protein, human
  • Ribonuclease III
  • DEAD-box RNA Helicases