{"id":1127531,"date":"2024-07-27T20:04:10","date_gmt":"2024-07-28T00:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/uncategorized\/dual-activities-of-an-x-family-dna-polymerase-regulate-crispr-induced-insertional-mutagenesis-across-species-nature-com\/"},"modified":"2024-07-27T20:04:10","modified_gmt":"2024-07-28T00:04:10","slug":"dual-activities-of-an-x-family-dna-polymerase-regulate-crispr-induced-insertional-mutagenesis-across-species-nature-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/transhuman-news-blog\/dna\/dual-activities-of-an-x-family-dna-polymerase-regulate-crispr-induced-insertional-mutagenesis-across-species-nature-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Dual activities of an X-family DNA polymerase regulate CRISPR-induced insertional mutagenesis across species &#8211; Nature.com"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><p>Low predictive power of CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis prediction    programs for plants    <\/p>\n<p>    To assess the predictability of the CRISPR-Cas9-induced    mutations in plants, we examined the performance of two widely    used CRISPR mutagenesis prediction programs, FORECasT and    InDephi11,12. We generated    CRISPR-induced mutations at 59 sites, including 26 from    Arabidopsis and 33 from Setaria, by introducing    the corresponding CRISPR-Cas9 constructs into each species    (Supplementary Data1). In    Arabidopsis, each CRISPR-Cas9 construct was introduced    using the floral dip-based stable transgenic approach.    Individual seedlings of each T1 transgenic plant were collected    for the CRISPR mutation analysis at each target site. In    Setaria, Individual CRISPR-Cas9 constructs were    transformed via transient protoplasts transfection. Transformed    protoplast cells were collected after 48h for the mutation    assay. Subsequently, the mutation profile of each site was    obtained by using the next-generation sequencing (NGS) based    assay. The indel mutagenesis rates averaged at 8.9% and 28.4%    at the sites from Arabidopsis and Setaria,    respectively (Supplementary Fig.1a). Additionally,    the indel profile from each site was further characterized into    individual insertion and deletion types for each species    (Fig.1a). Notably, the 1-bp    insertions represent one of the most common occurring mutation    types, as previously observed in human cell lines. In    Arabidopsis, 1-bp insertions were the most prevalent    mutation types, accounting for an average of 44.6% of all    mutations across 26 CRISPR sites (Fig.1a). For Setaria    viridis, the average 1-bp insertion rate appeared to be the    4th highest at 9.6% across 33 CRISPR sites    (Fig.1a).  <\/p>\n<p>            a CRISPR-Cas9 induced mutation profiles across            59 target sites in Arabidopsis (n=26)            and Setaria (n=33). X-axis            represents individual indel sizes. The normalized            mutation rates (Y-axis) were determined by            dividing the number of reads containing mutations            within each indel size by the total number of reads            containing all types of mutations. The horizontal bars            within boxes represent medians. The top and bottom            edges of the boxes represent the 75th and 25th            percentiles, respectively. The upper and lower whiskers            extend to data no more than 1.5x the interquartile            range from the upper and lower edges of the box,            respectively. b, c Two-sided Pearson            correlation analysis were performed using scatter plots            to compare predicted versus experimentally observed            insertion (ins.) rates for each CRISPR gRNA in            Arabidopsis (n=26) and Setaria            (n=33). The 95% confidence interval (CI) were            indicated with gray color. The source data are provided            in the Source Data file.          <\/p>\n<p>    Simultaneously, the predicted mutation profile was generated    for each target site using FORECasT and InDephi. In this study,    we chose to focus on the insertion rates for correlation    analyses on the predicted versus observed values for the    following reasons: (1) CRISPR-induced insertions appeared to    exhibit less stochastic patterns than deletions; and (2)    previous studies have suggested that these prediction tools    demonstrate greater predictive power for insertions compared to    other indel types11,12,14. As a result, we    observed no positive correlations using either FORECasT or    InDelphi for both Arabidopsis and Setaria    datasets (Fig.1b, c). Weak negative    correlations were observed in the Arabidopsis dataset    (r=0.56, p<0.0031 and r=0.4,    p<0.036; Fig.1b), while no    correlation was found in the Setaria dataset    (r=0.18, p<0.31 and r=0.07,    p<0.69; Fig.1c). Thus, our data    suggested that both prediction programs developed with human    datasets exhibited low predictive power for the    CRISPR-Cas9-induced mutation profile in plants.  <\/p>\n<p>    The limited predictive power from the human cell-based indel    prediction tools prompted us to further examine    CRISPR-Cas9-induced insertion profiles in plants. Both FORECasT    and InDelphi predicted CRISPR-induced insertions primarily as    1-bp insertion events occurred at the 4th position upstream of    the PAM; and most of these insertions were derived from    templated insertions by duplicating the 4th nucleotide. When    we analyzed the observed insertions from the Arabidopsis    and Setaria target sites, 1-bp insertions were    consistently predominant, accounting for averagely 95.9% of    insertions across all sites (Supplementary    Fig.1b). However, when    the 1-bp insertion patterns were plotted according to the 4th    nucleotide, the observed insertions did not consistently    exhibit characteristics of templated insertions in plants    (Fig.2a). When the 4th    nucleotide was T, the inserted nucleotide appeared to follow    the templated insertion model with 78.8% and 75.7% of    insertions as T in Arabidopsis and Setaria,    respectively (Fig.2a). With the 4th    nucleotide as A, while A remained the predominant inserted    nucleotide (58.5% and 58.7% in Arabidopsis and    Setaria), the fractions of other types of insertions,    termed as non-templated insertions, increased substantially    (Fig.2a). In cases where the    4th nucleotide was either C or G, non-templated insertions    became predominant by increasing to 61.4% and 66.0% for the    4th nucleotide C, and 98.4% and 99.5% for the 4th nucleotide    G in Arabidopsis and Setaria, respectively.  <\/p>\n<p>            a Cross-species 1-bp insertion patterns to the            4th nucleotide. The 1-bp insertions were divided into            4 groups according to the inserted nucleotide for each            CRISPR gRNA. The normalized 1-bp insertion (ins.) rates            were calculated by dividing the number of reads            containing each type of 1-bp insertions by the number            of reads with all types of 1-bp insertions and were            plotted to the 4th nucleotides (T, A, C, and G) for            Setaria viridis (S.v.; n=33            biologically independent samples), Arabidopsis            thaliana (A.t.; n=26 biologically            independent samples), and the human cell line            (H.s.; n=150 biologically independent            samples). Data are presented as mean valuesSEM.            b. The schematic workflow to compare 1-bp            insertion patterns across S.v., A.t., and            H.s. line through the next-generation sequencing            assay. c The CRISPR targeted sequences of iPAM_T            and G. The 4th nucleotide was highlighted in red with            the PAM sequence underlined. d Heatmap analyses            of the proportion of each inserted nucleotide type (nt)            at the 4th position of the iPAM_T and G sites across            S.v. (n=3), A.t. (n=3),            and H.s. (n=3). The source data are            provided in the Source Data file. b Created with            BioRender.com released under a Creative Commons            Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International            license.          <\/p>\n<p>    To compare with 1-bp insertion patterns in human cells, we    analyzed the insertion profiles of 150 target sites previously    reported from the human cell lines13. The results    were largely consistent with the templated insertion model,    showing the 1-bp insertion pattern with the 4th nucleotide    duplications, while low levels of non-templated 1-bp insertions    were observed at the target sites with 4th nucleotide as C or    G (Fig.2a). Taken together,    our observations revealed distinct 1-bp insertion patterns    between plants and human cells. The 1-bp insertion profiles    from plant species exhibited a higher incidence of    non-templated insertions, deviating from the templated    insertion model. Notably, the rates of non-templated insertions    appeared to vary depending on the 4th nucleotide, increasing    in the order of T, A, C, and G.  <\/p>\n<p>    To further explore the distinctive 1-bp insertion profiles    across species, we conducted direct comparisons by targeting    identical CRISPR sites in Arabidopsis, Setaria,    and human cell line, HEK293. This involved initially    integrating the firefly luciferase gene and subsequently    expressing the CRISPR-Cas9 expression cassette in the genomes    of these three species (Fig.2b). We designed two    CRISPR guide RNAs (gRNAs) to target overlapping sites located    on opposite strands, referred to as inverted PAM (iPAM)    targets, as described in previous research13    (Fig.2c). These two gRNAs,    with one 4th position as T (iPAM_T) and the other as G    (iPAM_G), represented the sequence contexts for the highest and    lowest templated insertion rates observed in plants    (Fig.2c). In    Arabidopsis, CRISPR-Cas9 constructs were assembled with    the firefly luciferase reporter gene in T-DNA. The resulting    constructs were transformed using the floral dip-based stable    transgenic approach. Three seedlings from each T1 transgenic    group were collected for CRISPR mutation analysis at each    target site. For Setaria viridis, a homozygous    Setaria line with the firefly luciferase reporter gene    integrated into the genome was obtained from previous    research19. Individual    CRISPR-Cas9 constructs were then transformed into protoplast    cells isolated from the luciferase gene-containing plants.    Transformed protoplasts were collected after 48h for the    mutation assay with 3 replications for each target site. When    insertion rates were examined, both CRISPR gRNAs induced    substantial 1-bp insertions ranging from 33.8% to 89.0% for the    iPAM_T site and from 33.4% to 74.4% for the iPAM_G site in    three species (Supplementary Fig.2).  <\/p>\n<p>    Next, we analyzed templated versus non-templated insertion    patterns at each target site. In the HEK293 cells, consistent    with the templated insertion model, templated insertions were    predominantly presented at both target sites with rates of    97.0% and 84.8%, respectively (Fig.2d). However, in    Arabidopsis and Setaria, predominant templated    insertions were primarily observed at the iPAM_T site, ranging    from 73.3% to 87%. At the iPAM_G site, non-templated insertions    were predominant, accounting for 72.6% to 95.8% of 1-bp    insertions in both plant species (Fig.2d). Taken together,    these findings corroborated the observations from 59 individual    target sites, revealing distinct plant-specific 1-bp insertion    profiles. These profiles exhibited either templated or    non-templated dominant patterns associated by the 4th    nucleotide upstream of PAM.  <\/p>\n<p>    As indicated by prior studies, both epigenetic and genetic    factors could influence CRISPR-Cas9 induced mutation    profiles15,17,20. To explore the    mechanism underlying the distinctive 1-bp insertion profiles in    plants, we investigated the impact of the chromatin states on    these insertions. We used the multi-copy CRISPR target site    (MCSite) system previously developed in    Arabidopsis17. Two sets of    MCSites, designated as MCSite_T and MCSite_G based on their    4th nucleotide, are located in diverse epigenetic contexts as    described previously17. Individual    sites within each MCsite family can be categorized into two    major groups as either open and unmethylated or closed and    methylated chromatin (Fig.3a, b).  <\/p>\n<p>            Normalized 1-bp insertion rates were plotted for            individual MCsite_T (a) and MCsite_G (b)            sites (X-axis). The 20-bp targeted sequences with 3-bp            underlined PAM sequences were shown with each plot. The            normalized 1-bp insertion (ins.) rates were determined            by dividing the number of reads containing 1-bp            insertions by the total number of reads containing all            types of indel mutations. Data are presented as mean            valuesSEM from three independent plants. Heatmaps in            the lower panel illustrated the proportion of each            inserted nucleotide type (T, A, C, G) at the 4th            position of individual MCsite_T (a) and MCsite_G            (b) sites. Chromatin states of individual sites            were categorized into Open and Unmethylated or Closed            and Methylated groups. The source data are provided in            the Source Data file.          <\/p>\n<p>    When the 1-bp insertion rates of individual MCSites were    examined, variations were found across different chromatin    states as previously indicated17. For MCSite_T    sites, insertion rates ranged from 7.9% to 26.8%, and for    MCSite_G sites, they ranged from 41.9% to 58.9%    (Fig.3a, b). In contrast,    heatmap analysis of the 1-bp insertion profiles revealed a    consistent pattern within each MCSite family. Specifically, for    MCSite_T sites, templated insertions were predominantly    observed across individual sites, regardless of their chromatin    states (Fig.3a). On the other hand,    all individual sites within the MCSite_G family exhibited a    predominant 1-bp non-templated insertion pattern across    different epigenetic contexts, ranging from 94.0% to 99.8%    (Fig.3b). These results    suggested that chromatin states may have limited impacts on    CRISPR-Cas9 induced 1-bp insertion profile.  <\/p>\n<p>    We then investigated the genetic factors contributing to the    distinct 1-bp insertion profiles in plants. Previous studies    have pointed to the X-family DNA polymerase, Pol, and its    homolog as pivotal players in mediating 1-bp templated    insertions in human and yeast cells13,15. A single copy    of the Pol homolog was identified in both Arabidopsis    and Setaria genomes through sequence homology    searches21. No other    X-family DNA polymerases were found in plants from the homology    search. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed that this plant    X-family DNA polymerase exhibited a close evolutionary    relationship with Pol as opposed to other members, such as DNA    Pol  and Terminal deoxynucleotidyl Transferase (TdT)    (Supplementary Fig.3 and Supplementary    Data2).  <\/p>\n<p>    To explore the involvement of the plant Pol homolog in    CRISPR-Cas9 induced 1-bp insertions, we obtained an    Arabidopsis T-DNA knock-out mutant line    (atpol-1), previously characterized with no notable    growth or physiological defects22,23. Using the wild    type and the homozygous atpol-1 mutant    Arabidopsis plants, we generated stable transgenic    plants with the CRISPR-Cas9 T-DNA construct to target three    distinct sites: the single-copy site in the Arabidopsis    Cheletase I2 gene (AtCHLI2), as well as the MCSite_T    and MCSite_G sites. Three T1 CRISPR-Cas9 transgenic plants from    each genotype were used to survey CRISPR-induced mutations for    each target site. The single-copy CHLI2 site would allow for a    rapid assessment of the involvement of Pol in 1-bp insertions,    while the two MCSites provided additional insights in different    epigenetic contexts.  <\/p>\n<p>    When we examined CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis at the CHLI2 site,    both wild-type and mutant CRISPR-Cas9 plants displayed    comparable overall mutagenesis rates, averaging 38.9% and    37.9%, respectively (Fig.4a). In wild-type    plants, approximately 25.3% of indel mutations were identified    as 1-bp insertions at the 4th position, with non-templated    insertions being predominant at a rate of 65.2%, attributable    to the G nucleotide at the 4th position in the CHLI2 site    (Fig.4b; Supplementary    Fig.4a). In contrast, in    Pol mutant plants, the 1-bp insertion rates, encompassing both    non-templated and templated insertions, were reduced to    undetectable levels (0.2%; Fig.4b; Supplementary    Fig.4b). Additionally, we    explored the potential involvement of this Pol homolog in    CRISPR-Cas9 induced deletions. As a result, we observed similar    levels of deletions within three different deletion groups,    1-bp, 2 to 10-bp and more than 10-bp, between the wild-type and    mutant plants (Fig.4c). Thus, the plant    Pol homolog appeared to be the pivotal gene for CRISPR-Cas9    induced 1-bp insertions, operating in both templated and    non-templated manners, with limited involvement in deletions.  <\/p>\n<p>            a CRISPR-Cas9 mutation (mut.) rates between the            wild type and atpol-1 mutant plants. The            mutation rates (Y-axis) were determined by dividing the            number of reads containing indel mutations by the total            number of NGS reads. b Normalized 1-bp insertion            rates between the wild type and atpol-1 mutant            plants at the CHLI2 site. The normalized 1-bp insertion            (ins.) rates were determined by dividing the number of            reads containing 1-bp insertions by the total number of            reads containing all types of indel mutations.            c. Normalized deletion rates between the wild            type (WT)and atpol-1 mutant plants at the            CHLI2 site. The normalized proportion of deletion            (Prop. of Del. as Y-axis) were determined by            dividing the number of reads containing deletions            within each category (1-bp, 2-10bp, or >10bp) by            the total number of reads containing all types of            deletions. d, e Normalized 1-bp insertion            (ins.) rates between the wild type and atpol-1            mutant plants at the MCsite_T (d) and MCsite_G            (e) sites. Heatmaps under the bar plots            illustrate the proportion of each inserted nucleotide            type (T, A, C, G) at the 4th position of individual            MCsite_T (d) and MCsite_G (e) sites. Data            are presented as mean valuesSEM from 3 independent            plants. P-values were derived from unpaired            one-tailed Students t test. The source data are            provided in the Source Data file.          <\/p>\n<p>    Furthermore, we investigated the role of this Pol homolog at    additional CRISPR target sites within diverse epigenetic    contexts. When examining the 1-bp insertion rates at the    MCSite_T and G sites, we observed significant reductions of    1-bp insertions, both templated and non-templated, across all    sites, irrespective of their chromatin states. In the MCSite_T    sites, the 1-bp insertion rates decreased from an average of    19.5% in wild-type plants to 1.6% in the mutant plants, while    in the MCSite_G sites, the rates were reduced from an average    of 49.4% to 1.8% (Fig.4d, e). These results    substantiated that the plant Pol homolog is responsible for    both templated and non-templated 1-bp insertions regardless of    chromatin states.  <\/p>\n<p>    Next, we hypothesized that overexpression of Atpol could    restore or even enhance the 1-bp insertion rates. To test this    hypothesis, we generated stable transgenic plants by    overexpressing the AtPol gene in the atpol-1 mutant    plants. The AtPol coding sequence was driven under the    constitutive Arabidopsis Ubiquitin-10 promoter and    cloned into the final construct with a CRISPR-Cas9 expression    cassette to target the CHLI2 and MCSite_T sites. Three T1    CRISPR-Cas9 transgenic plants with the atpol-1 mutant    genotype were used to survey CRISPR-induced mutations for each    target site. When 1-bp insertions were examined at the CHLI2    site, the AtPol overexpression plants exhibited a 1.6-fold    increase compared to wild-type plants, with an average rate of    39.8% (Fig.5a). The 1-bp insertion    profiles appeared similar between the AtPol overexpression and    the wild-type plants, with non-templated insertions still being    predominant at an average rate of 74.8%    (Fig.5a). When examining the    1-bp insertions at the MCSite_T sites, overexpression of the    AtPol transgene in the mutant plant appeared to restore 1-bp    insertion rates to the levels observed in wild-type plants at    five of seven MCSite_T sites. At the other 2 sites, sites 1 and    4, the 1-bp insertion rates exhibited substantial increases by    1.4 to 1.6 folds, respectively (Fig.5b). When comparing the    1-bp insertion profiles, similar insertion patterns were    observed between the overexpression and wild-type plants with    predominant templated insertions across nearly all the sites    except for one site, site 8 (Fig.5b). These results    confirmed that overexpression of AtPol could restore or may    enhance CRISPR-Cas9 induced templated and non-templates 1-bp    insertions in the knockout mutant plants, further validating    its pivotal role in generating 1-bp insertions.  <\/p>\n<p>            Normalized 1-bp insertion rates at CHLI2 (a) and            MCsite_T (b) among three lines: wild-type            plants(WT), Pol overexpression plants in the            atpol-1 mutant(atpol OE), and            Pol overexpression plants in the wild-type            backgrounds(WT OE). The normalized 1-bp insertion            rates (Y-axis) were determined by dividing the number            of reads containing 1-bp insertions by the total number            of reads containing all types of indel mutations.            Heatmaps under each plot illustrated the proportion of            each inserted nucleotide type (T, A, C, G) at the 4th            position. Data are presented as mean valuesSEM from            3 independent plants. P-values were derived from            unpaired one-tailed Students t test. The source            data are provided in the Source Data file.          <\/p>\n<p>    We further hypothesized that overexpression of this gene should    have the potential to enhance 1-bp insertions in wild-type    plants. To test this idea, we introduced the same    overexpression construct to wild-type plants. Three T1    CRISPR-Cas9 transgenic plants with the wild-type background    were used to survey CRISPR-induced mutations for each target    site. At the CHLI2 site, we observed a similar increase in the    1-bp insertion rate between the overexpression wild-type plants    and the overexpression mutant plants compared to the wild-type    control plants (Fig.5a). At the MCSite_T    sites, when comparing the 1-bp insertion rates between the    overexpression wild-type plants and the wild-type control    plants, we observed substantial increases in all seven sites by    1.2 to 2.0 folds (Fig.5b). When comparing the    1-bp insertion profiles, similar insertion patterns were    observed between the overexpression wild-type plants, the    overexpression mutant plants, and the wild-type control across    all the sites, irrespective of their epigenetic states    (Fig.5b). Taken together,    these observations corroborated that overexpressing the Pol    homolog in wild-type plants could further increase 1-bp    insertions.  <\/p>\n<p>    To gain insights into the mechanism(s) underpinning the    distinct properties of Pol across species, we conducted    protein sequence analyses by aligning AtPol with X-family DNA    Polymerases in humans (Supplementary Fig.5). Previous studies    have indicated two conserved motifs in human X-family DNA    Polymerase that contribute to template    dependency24. The first    motif, identified as GSYRRG in template-dependent human DNA    polymerases , features two amino acids, serine and tyrosine    (SY), which are replaced by glycine and phenylalanine (GF) in    the template-independent human TdT (Fig.6a    and Supplementary Fig.5)24,25. The second    motif, known as the YF motif, contains tyrosine and    phenylalanine at the catalytically active sites of the DNA    polymerases . In contrast, these two residues are changed to    glycine and tryptophan (GW) in TdT (Supplementary    Fig.5)24,25. When analyzing    these motifs in DNA polymerase  homologs from    Arabidopsis, Setaria, Tobacco, and rice, the    first motif was identical to the sequences in human Pol, while    the second motif, characterized by alanine and tryptophan (AW),    showed a closer resemblance to the GW motif found in human TdT    (Fig.6a and Supplementary    Fig.5). Thus, the plant    Pol homologs appear to combine characteristic motifs from    human Pol and TdT.  <\/p>\n<p>            a Sequence alignment of two conserved motifs, SY            and YF, across Human Pol, AtPol, SvPol, and human            TdT. b Comparisons of templated versus            non-templated insertion rates between the wild type            AtPol and two variants, PolS366G\/Y367F and            PolA459Y\/W460F at the CHLI2 site. The            templated (indicated by orange) or non-templated            insertion (indicated by green) rates (Y-axis)            were determined by dividing the number of reads            containing each type of 1-bp insertions by the total            number of reads containing 1-bp insertions in each            sample. c Normalized deletion rates between the            wild type and two variants at the CHLI2 site. The            normalized deletion rates (Y-axis) were determined by            dividing the number of reads containing deletions            within each category (1-bp, 2-10bp, or >10bp) by            the total number of reads containing all types of            deletions. Data are presented as mean valuesSEM from            three independent plants. P-values were derived            from unpaired one-tailed Students t test. The            source data are provided in the Source Data file.            d The proposed model for the dual activities of            Pol in generating templated and non-templated 1-bp            insertions. Step 1: CRISPR-Cas9 generates a            blunt or staggered cut at the targeted site.            Blunt-ended cleavages occur at the -3rd position            upstream of the PAM (indicated by the red vertical            lines) on both strands, while staggered cleavages take            place with one cut at the 4th position on the            non-targeted strand and the other cut at the -3rd            position on the targeted strand, producing 5 1-nt            overhangs. Step 2: The staggered product can be            filled in by Pol with template-dependent activity.            Step 3: The blunt-ended product can be            processed by Pol with template-independent activity to            extend 1-nt at the 3 end of each strand. After            ligation and correction by c-NHEJ and mismatch repair,            non-templated 1-bp insertions occur at the 4th            position. Additionally, cleavage products could be            processed through either perfect ligation, indicated by            the curved arrowheads, or through resection to generate            deletion, indicated by the purple dash lines.          <\/p>\n<p>    The presence of both human Pol and TdT motifs could    potentially contribute to the observed dual templated-dependent    and independent activities in AtPol. We then hypothesized that    the dual activities of AtPol could be modulated by modifying    each motif individually. To test this hypothesis, we generated    two variants of AtPol through site-directed mutagenesis on the    respective motifs. The first variant, AtPolYF, was    engineered by substituting Alanine and Tryptophan (AW) with    Tyrosine and Phenylalanine (YF) at the second motif to mimic    human Pol (Fig.6a). Similarly, the    second variant, AtPolGF, was created to mimic human    TdT by replacing Serine and Tyrosine (SY) with Glycine and    Phenylalanine (YF) at the first motif (Fig.6a).  <\/p>\n<p>    The coding sequence of each AtPol variant was cloned into the    T-DNA vector described above, with the constitutive    Arabidopsis Ubiquitin-10 promoter and a CRISPR-Cas9    expression cassette to target the CHLI2 site. We used an    agrobacterium-mediated transient expression approach to    transform individual T-DNA constructs into young seedlings of    the atpol knock-out mutant, and then examined the    CRISPR-Cas9 mutation profile at the CHLI2 site using the NGS    assay (Supplementary Fig.6a). The average    mutation rates from these samples are 17.3%    (AtPolWT), 12.7% (AtPolGF) and 10.3%    (AtPolYF), respectively    (Supplementary6b). When analyzing    templated versus non-templated 1-bp insertion patterns, the    samples expressing the wild type AtPol gene exhibited higher    proportions of non-templated insertions compared to those of    templated insertions (57.6% non-templated insertions versus    42.4% templated insertions) consistent with the observations    from the stable transgenic plants (Fig.5a,    b). In contrast, the samples transformed with the    AtPolYF variant demonstrated altered 1-bp insertion    profiles with templated insertion proportions being    significantly higher than those from the overexpression of the    wildtype AtPol by 100% (86.0% versus 42.4%;    Fig.6b and Supplementary    Fig.6c, d). Conversely,    the samples transformed with the AtPolGF variant    displayed significantly higher proportions of non-templated    insertions compared to the wild-type AtPol overexpression    lines by 18% (67.9 % versus 57.6%; Fig.6b    and Supplementary Fig.6c, d). Regarding the    deletion profiles, no evident differences were observed within    three different deletion groups, 1-bp, 2 to 10-bp and more than    10-bp, among AtPolWT and the two variants    (Fig.6c).  <\/p>\n<p>    Notably, the overall 1-bp insertion rates from the samples with    each variant reduced to 4.4% and 5.5% compared to 31.7% in the    wild-type AtPol overexpression control, suggesting the    involvement of additional amino acids in regulating enzymatic    activity. (Supplementary Fig.6e). Collectively,    these observations align with our hypothesis that these two    conserved motifs play crucial roles in modulating the dual    template-dependent and independent activities of AtPol.    Further investigation is required to refine the enzymatic    activities of these variants.  <\/p>\n<p><!-- Auto Generated --><\/p>\n<p>See the original post here:<br \/>\n<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-024-50676-4\" title=\"Dual activities of an X-family DNA polymerase regulate CRISPR-induced insertional mutagenesis across species - Nature.com\" rel=\"noopener\">Dual activities of an X-family DNA polymerase regulate CRISPR-induced insertional mutagenesis across species - Nature.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Low predictive power of CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis prediction programs for plants To assess the predictability of the CRISPR-Cas9-induced mutations in plants, we examined the performance of two widely used CRISPR mutagenesis prediction programs, FORECasT and InDephi11,12. We generated CRISPR-induced mutations at 59 sites, including 26 from Arabidopsis and 33 from Setaria, by introducing the corresponding CRISPR-Cas9 constructs into each species (Supplementary Data1) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/transhuman-news-blog\/dna\/dual-activities-of-an-x-family-dna-polymerase-regulate-crispr-induced-insertional-mutagenesis-across-species-nature-com\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1127531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dna"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1127531"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1127531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1127531\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1127531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1127531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/prometheism-transhumanism-posthumanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1127531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}