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dc.contributor.advisorBah, Alaji
dc.contributor.authorGarcia Dettori, Leonardo
dc.date.accessioned2023-08-18T19:44:34Z
dc.date.available2023-08-18T19:44:34Z
dc.date.issued2023-08
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12648/12932
dc.description.abstractR-loops are non-canonical nucleic acid structures composed of a DNA:RNA hybrid, a displaced single-stranded (ss)DNA, and a trailing ssRNA overhang. R-loops perform critical biological functions under normal and disease conditions. To elucidate their cellular functions, we need to understand the mechanisms underlying R-loop formation, recognition, signaling, and resolution. Previous high-throughput screens identified multiple proteins that bind R-loops, including Enzymes and non-enzymatic Readers. However, the precise mechanisms by which these proteins modulate R-loop functions are not fully known. The Fragile X Protein (FMRP) has been recently shown to prevent R-loop-mediated DNA double strand breaks (DSBs), but the mechanism was unknown. FMRP has been previously shown to undergo Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation (LLPS) by itself and with another non-canonical nucleic acid structure, RNA G-quadruplexes, via its C-terminal intrinsically disordered region (C-IDR). Here, we identified the same C-IDR as the predominant R-loop binding site. This unexpected discovery prompted us to explore the hypothesis that disordered regions of other R-loop binding proteins are also utilized to recognize R-loops. Our analysis of the R-loop interactome revealed that low-complexity IDRs are prevalent in this interactome, and that Readers and Enzyme IDRs are distinct (Gly, Ser, Arg, and Pro-rich vs. Glu, Lys, Arg, and Ser-rich, respectively). Furthermore, like FMRP, both R-loop Readers and Enzymes are not only modular, (i.e., contain folded domain(s) interspersed with IDRs), but are also predicted to undergo LLPS. Next, we demonstrated that the IDRs from the R-loop binding protein RBM3 and the R-loop helicase DDX21 also bind to R-loops, providing additional examples of IDR-mediated R-loop binding from an R-loop Reader and Enzyme, respectively. Finally, we demonstrated that FMRP C-IDR and DDX21 N-IDR can undergo co-LLPS with R-loops suggesting that IDR-based R-loop binding and co-LLPS is a universal mechanism shared by all members of the interactome. Therefore, we propose that IDRs can provide a functional link between R-loop recognition and downstream signaling through the assembly of LLPS-mediated membrane-less R-loop foci, where the activities of the folded domains are coordinated to regulate the biological functions of R-loops. Mutations or dysregulation of the function of IDR-enriched R-loop interactors can potentially lead to severe genomic defects, such as the R-loop-mediated DSBs observed in Fragile X patient-derived cells.en_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/*
dc.subjectR-loopen_US
dc.subjectFragile X Syndromeen_US
dc.subjectLLPSen_US
dc.subjectIDPen_US
dc.subjectIDRen_US
dc.subjectNMRen_US
dc.titleDisorder in the Loop: Identification of a Role for Intrinsic Disorder and Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation in R-Loop Biologyen_US
dc.typeDissertationen_US
dc.description.versionNAen_US
dc.description.institutionUpstate Medical Universityen_US
dc.description.departmentBiochemistry & Molecular Biologyen_US
dc.description.degreelevelPhDen_US
dc.date.semesterSummer 2023en_US


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Attribution 4.0 International
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as Attribution 4.0 International