A double-strand break (DSB) is one of the most dangerous DNA lesion, and its repair is crucial for genome stability. Homologous recombination is considered the safest way to repair a DNA DSB and requires an identical or nearly identical DNA template, such as a sister chromatid or a homologous chromosome for accurate repair. Can transcript RNA serve as donor template for DSB repair? Here, we describe an approach that we developed to detect and study DNA repair by transcript RNA. Key features of the method are: (i) use of antisense (noncoding) RNA as template for DSB repair by RNA, (ii) use of intron splicing to distinguish the sequence of the RNA template from that of the DNA that generates the RNA template, and (iii) use of a trans and cis system to study how RNA repairs a DSB in homologous but distant DNA or in its own DNA, respectively. This chapter provides details on how to use a spliced-antisense RNA template to detect and study DSB repair by RNA in trans or cis in yeast cells. Our approach for detection of DSB repair by RNA in cells can be applied to cell types other than yeast, such as bacteria, mammalian cells, or other eukaryotic cells.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/bs.mie.2017.11.026 | DOI Listing |
EMBO Rep
January 2025
Myeloid Therapeutics Inc., Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
To address a wide range of genetic diseases, genome editing tools that can achieve targeted delivery of large genes without causing double-strand breaks (DSBs) or requiring DNA templates are necessary. Here, we introduce CRISPR-Enabled Autonomous Transposable Element (CREATE), a genome editing system that combines the programmability and precision of CRISPR/Cas9 with the RNA-mediated gene insertion capabilities of the human LINE-1 (L1) element. CREATE employs a modified L1 mRNA to carry a payload gene, and a Cas9 nickase to facilitate targeted editing by L1-mediated reverse transcription and integration without relying on DSBs or DNA templates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Rev Genet
January 2025
Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Over the past decade, research into circular RNA (circRNA) has increased rapidly, and over the past few years, circRNA has emerged as a promising therapeutic platform. The regulatory functions of circRNAs, including their roles in templating protein translation and regulating protein and RNA functions, as well as their unique characteristics, such as increased stability and a favourable immunological profile compared with mRNAs, make them attractive candidates for RNA-based therapies. Here, we describe the properties of circRNAs, their therapeutic potential and technologies for their synthesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFActa Histochem
January 2025
School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.
In recent years, a great interest has been focused on the prebiotic origin of nucleic acids and life on Earth. An attractive idea is that life was initially based on an autocatalytic and autoreplicative RNA (the RNA-world). RNA duplexes are right-handed helical chains with antiparallel orientation, but the rationale for these features is not yet known.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNature
January 2025
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Diversity-generating retroelements (DGRs) create massive protein sequence variation (up to 10) in ecologically diverse microorganisms. A recent survey identified around 31,000 DGRs from more than 1,500 bacterial and archaeal genera, constituting more than 90 environment types. DGRs are especially enriched in the human gut microbiome and nano-sized microorganisms that seem to comprise most microbial life and maintain DGRs despite reduced genomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNucleic Acids Res
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Bio-resource and Eco-environment of Ministry of Education, The College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, 24 South Section 1, 1st Ring Road, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, P.R. China.
Region-specific RNA modifications are crucial for advancing RNA research and therapeutics, including messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccines and immunotherapy. However, the predominant method, synthesizing regionally modified mRNAs with short single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) splints, encounters challenges in ligating long mRNA fragments due to the formation of RNA self-folded complex structures. To address this issue, we developed an efficient strategy using an easily obtained long double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) as a ligation splint after in situ denaturing, while parts of this dsDNA are the templates for transcribing mRNA fragments.
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