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Results for “Biochemistry”

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bioRxiv2015

Avoiding accuracy-limiting pitfalls in the study of protein-ligand interactions with isothermal titration calorimetry

Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) can yield precise (3%) estimates of the thermodynamic parameters describing biomolecular association (affinity, enthalpy, and entropy), making it an indispensable tool for biochemistry and drug discovery. Surprisingly, interlaboratory comparisons suggest that errors of {bsim} 20% are common and widely underreported. Here, we show how to reduce precision- and accuracy-limiting errors while obtaining good estimates and minimizing material and time consumed by an experiment. We provide a simple spreadsheet that allows practitioners to identify precision-limiting operations during protocol design, track precision during the experiment, and propagate error to yield realistic final uncertainties.

Biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2016

An open library of human kinase domain constructs for automated bacterial expression

Kinases play a critical role in many cellular signaling pathways and are dysregulated in a number of diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, and neurodegeneration. Since the FDA approval of imatinib in 2001, therapeutics targeting kinases now account for roughly 50% of current cancer drug discovery efforts. The ability to explore human kinase biochemistry, biophysics, and structural biology in the laboratory is essential to making rapid progress in understanding kinase regulation, designing selective inhibitors, and studying the emergence of drug resistance. While insect and mammalian expression systems are frequently used for the expression of human kinases, bacterial expression systems are superior in terms of simplicity and cost-effectiveness but have historically struggled with human kinase expression. Following the discovery that phosphatase coexpression could produce high yields of Src and Abl kinase domains in bacterial expression systems, we have generated a library of 52 His-tagged human kinase domain constructs that express above 2 {micro}g/mL culture in a simple automated bacterial expression system utilizing phosphatase coexpression (YopH for Tyr kinases, Lambda for Ser/Thr kinases). Here, we report a structural bioinformatics approach to identify kinase domain constructs previously expressed in bacteria likely to express well in a simple high-throughput protocol, experiments demonstrating our simple construct selection strategy selects constructs with good expression yields in a test of 84 potential kinase domain boundaries for Abl, and yields from a high-throughput expression screen of 96 human kinase constructs. Using a fluorescence-based thermostability assay and a fluorescent ATP-competitive inhibitor, we show that the highest-expressing kinases are folded and have well-formed ATP binding sites. We also demonstrate how the resulting expressing constructs can be used for the biophysical and biochemical study of clinical mutations by engineering a panel of 48 Src mutations and 46 Abl mutations via single-primer mutagenesis and screening the resulting library for expression yields. The wild-type kinase construct library is available publicly via Addgene, and should prove to be of high utility for experiments focused on drug discovery and the emergence of drug resistance.

Biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2016

Relative contributions of conformational selection and induced fit

A long standing debate in biochemistry is to determine whether the conformational changes observed during biomolecular interactions proceed through conformational selection (of preexisting isoforms) or induced fit (ligand-induced 3D reshaping). The latter mechanism had been invoked in certain circumstances, for example to explain the non-Michaelian activity of monomeric enzymes like glucokinase. But the relative importance of induced fit has been recently depreciated in favor of conformational selection, assumed to be always sufficient, predominant in general and in particular for glucokinase. The relative contributions of conformational selection and induced fit are reconsidered here in and out of equilibrium, in the light of earlier concepts such as the cyclic equilibrium rule and the turning wheel of Wyman, using single molecule state probability, one way fluxes and net fluxes. The conditions for a switch from conformational selection to induced fit at a given ligand concentration are explicitly determined. Out of equilibrium, the inspection of the enzyme states circuit shows that conformational selection alone would give a Michaelian reaction rate but not the established nonlinear behavior of glucokinase. Moreover, when induced fit and conformational selection coexist and allow kinetic cooperativity, the net flux emerging in the linkage cycle necessarily corresponds to the induced fit path.

Biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2016

p53 dynamically directs TFIID assembly on target gene promoters

The p53 tumor suppressor protein is a central regulator that turns on vast gene networks to maintain cellular integrity upon various stimuli. p53 activates transcription initiation in part by aiding recruitment of TFIID to the promoter. However, the precise means by which p53 dynamically interacts with TFIID to facilitate assembly on target gene promoters remains elusive. To address this key question, we have undertaken an integrated approach involving single molecule fluorescence microscopy, single particle cryo-electron microscopy, and biochemistry. Our real-time single molecule imaging demonstrates that TFIID alone binds poorly to native p53 target promoters. p53 unlocks TFIIDs ability to bind DNA by increasing TFIID contacts with both the core promoter and a region surrounding p53s response element (RE). Analysis of single molecule dissociation kinetics reveals that TFIID interacts with promoters via transient and prolonged DNA binding modes that are each regulated by p53. Importantly, our structural work reveals that TFIIDs conversion from a canonical form to a rearranged DNA-binding conformation is enhanced in the presence of DNA and p53. Notably, TFIIDs interaction with DNA induces p53 to rapidly dissociate, effectively liberating the RE on the promoter. Collectively, these findings indicate that p53 dynamically escorts and loads the basal transcription machinery onto its target promoters.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2017

Toward D-Peptide Biosynthesis: Elongation Factor P Enables Ribosomal Incorporation Of Consecutive D-Amino Acids

To maintain stereospecific biochemistry in cells, living organisms have evolved mechanisms to exclude D-amino acids (DAA) in their protein synthesis machinery, which also limits our exploration of the realm of mirror-image molecules. Here, we show that high affinity between EF-Tu and aminoacyl-tRNA promotes D-amino acid incorporation. More strikingly, Elongation Factor P efficiently resolves peptidyl transferase stalling between two consecutive D-amino acids, and hence enables the translation of D-peptides.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2017

Multi-omic mitoprotease profiling defines a role for Oct1p in coenzyme Q production

Mitoproteases are becoming recognized as key regulators of diverse mitochondrial functions, although their direct substrates are often difficult to discern. Through multi-omic profiling of diverse Saccharomyces cerevisiae mitoprotease deletion strains, we predicted numerous associations between mitoproteases and distinct mitochondrial processes. These include a strong association between the mitochondrial matrix octapeptidase Oct1p and coenzyme Q (CoQ) biosynthesis--a pathway essential for mitochondrial respiration. Through Edman sequencing, and in vitro and in vivo biochemistry, we demonstrated that Oct1p directly processes the N-terminus of the CoQ-related methyltransferase, Coq5p, which markedly improves its stability. A single mutation to the Oct1p recognition motif in Coq5p disrupted its processing in vivo, leading to CoQ deficiency and respiratory incompetence. This work defines the Oct1p processing of Coq5p as an essential post-translational event for proper CoQ production. Our custom data visualization tool enables efficient exploration of mitoprotease profiles that can serve as the basis for future mechanistic investigations.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2017

Evolution of an enzyme from a solute-binding protein

Much of the functional diversity observed in modern enzyme superfamilies originates from molecular tinkering with existing enzymes1. New enzymes frequently evolve from enzymes with latent, promiscuous activities2, and often inherit key features of the ancestral enzyme, retaining conserved catalytic groups and stabilizing analogous intermediates or transition states3. While experimental evolutionary biochemistry has yielded considerable insight into the evolution of new enzymes from existing enzymes4, the emergence of catalytic activity de novo remains poorly understood. Although certain enzymes are thought to have evolved from non-catalytic proteins5-7, the mechanisms underlying these complete evolutionary transitions have not been described. Here we show how the enzyme cyclohexadienyl dehydratase (CDT) evolved from a cationic amino acid-binding protein belonging to the solute-binding protein (SBP) superfamily. Analysis of the evolutionary trajectory between reconstructed ancestors and extant proteins showed that the emergence and optimization of catalytic activity involved several distinct processes. The emergence of CDT activity was potentiated by the incorporation of a desolvated general acid into the ancestral binding site, which provided an intrinsically reactive catalytic motif, and reshaping of the ancestral binding site, which facilitated enzyme-substrate complementarity. Catalytic activity was subsequently gained via the introduction of hydrogen-bonding networks that positioned the catalytic residue precisely and contributed to transition state stabilization. Finally, catalytic activity was enhanced by remote substitutions that refined the active site structure and reduced sampling of non-catalytic states. Our work shows that the evolutionary processes that underlie the emergence of enzymes by natural selection in the wild are mirrored by recent examples of computational design and directed evolution of enzymes in the laboratory.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2017

DddY is a bacterial dimethylsulfoniopropionate lyase representing a new cupin enzyme superfamily with unknown primary function

Dimethylsulfide (DMS) is released at rates of >107 tons annually and plays a key role in the oceanic sulfur cycle and ecology. Marine bacteria, algae, and possibly other organisms, release DMS via cleavage of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). Different genes encoding proteins with DMSP lyase activity are known belonging to different superfamilies and exhibiting highly variable levels of DMSP lyase activity. DddY shows the highest activity among all reported bacterial lyases yet is poorly characterized. Here, we describe the characterization of recombinant DddY is from different marine bacteria. We found that DddY activity demands a transition metal ion cofactor. DddY also shares two sequence motifs with other bacterial lyases assigned as cupin-like enzymes, DddQ, DddL, DddK, and DddW. These cupin motif residues are essential for DddY activity, as for the other cupin DMSP lyases, and all these enzymes are characterized by a common metal-chelator inhibitor (TPEN). Analysis of all sequences carrying these cupin motifs defined a superfamily: Cupin-DLL (DMSP lyases and lyase-like). The DMSP lyase families are sporadically distributed suggesting that DMSP lyases evolved within this superfamily independently along multiple lineages. However, the specific activity levels, genomic context analysis, and systematic profiling of substrate selectivity as described in the accompanying paper, indicate that for only some of these families, most distinctly DddY and DddL, DMSP lyase is the primary, native activity. In other families, foremost DddQ, DMSP lyase seems to be merely a promiscuous activity. The native function of DddQ, and of nearly all members of this newly identified Cupin-DLL superfamily, remains unknown.\n\nAbbreviations\n\nFundingFinancial support by the Estate of Mark Scher, and the Sasson & Marjorie Peress Philanthropic Fund, are gratefully acknowledged. D.S.T. is the Nella and Leon Benoziyo Professor of Biochemistry.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2017

Native or promiscuous? Analyzing putative dimethylsulfoniopropionate lyases using a substrate proofing approach

Enzyme promiscuity is widely spread. Foremost, within superfamilies, the native function of one enzyme is typically observed as promiscuous activity in related enzymes. The native function usually exhibits high catalytic efficiency while promiscuous activities are weak, but this is not always the case. Thus, for certain enzymes it remains questionable whether their currently known activity is native or promiscuous. Dimethylsulfon-iopropionate (DMSP) is an abundant marine metabolite cleaved via {beta}-elimination to release dimethylsulfide (DMS). Eight different gene families have been identified as putative DMSP lyases, 5 of them belonging to the same superfamily (cupin-DLL; see the accompanying paper). Some of these enzymes exhibit very low activity, but this can be due to suboptimal folding or reaction conditions. We developed a substrate profiling approach with the aim of distinguishing native DMSP lyases from enzymes that promiscuously act as DMSP lyases. In a native DMSP lyase, relatively small changes in the structure of DMSP should induce significant activity drops. We thus profiled substrate selectivity by systematically modifying DMSP while retaining reactivity. Three enzymes that exhibit the highest activity with DMSP also exhibited high sensitivity to perturbation of DMSPs structure (Alma, DddY, and DddL). The two enzymes with the weakest DMSP lyase activity also showed the highest crossreactivity (DddQ, DddP). Combined with other indications, it appears that the DMSP lyase activity of DddQ and DddP is promiscuous although their native function remains unknown. Systematic substrate profiling could help identify and assign potential DMSP lyases, and possibly applied to other enzymes.\n\nAbbreviationsDMSP, dimethylsulfoniopropionate; DMS, dimethylsulfide; cupin-DLL, cupin DMSP lyase and lyase-like.\n\nFundingFinancial support by the Estate of Mark Scher, and the Sasson & Marjorie Peress Philanthropic Fund, are gratefully acknowledged. D.S.T. is the Nella and Leon Benoziyo Professor of Biochemistry.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2017

Evaluating the Functional Pore Size of Chloroplast TOC and TIC Protein Translocons

The degree of residual structure retained by proteins while passing through biological membranes is a fundamental mechanistic question of protein translocation. Proteins are generally thought to be unfolded while transported through canonical proteinaceous translocons, which has historically been the thought for the translocons of the outer and inner chloroplast envelope membranes (TOC and TIC). Here, we readdressed the issue and found that medium-sized tightly folded proteins such as the 22 kDa dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) can be tolerated by TOC and TIC. Chimeric DHFR fused with RuBisCO small subunit transit peptide (tp22DHFR) was found to be imported into chloroplasts in complex with its stabilizing ligand, methotrexate (MTX), in a folded conformation. Following import, both mature tp22DHFR and MTX were found in the chloroplast stroma. A subsaturating concentration of MTX was used to exclude the possibility that MTX was stripped off tp22DHFR, independently imported into the chloroplasts, and reassociated with imported tp22DHFR. Independent MTX import was further excluded by use of fluorescein conjugated MTX (FMTX), which has very slow membrane transport rates relative to unconjugated MTX. The TOC/TIC pore size was determined by probing the translocons with particles of fixed diameter and found to be greater than 25.6 [A], large enough to support folded DHFR import. The pore size is also larger than those of the mitochondrial protein translocons that have a requirement for protein unfolding.\n\nSIGNIFICANCEThe chloroplast TOC and TIC translocons are responsible for the import of up to 95% of all chloroplast proteins and are therefore essential for plastid biogenesis and photosynthesis. However, the mechanisms of protein import into chloroplasts are not well understood. The TOC/TIC translocons have long been suggested to have a strong unfoldase activity relative to other comparable protein translocons. Here, we present data suggesting that this is not true, and that instead, they possess a relatively large pore size. This identifies TOC and TIC as rather unique protein translocons capable of transporting folded proteins across a double membrane barrier, which has important implications in the mechanisms of TOC/TIC function and biogenesis of photosynthetic proteins.\n\nClassification - Biochemistry

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2017

RNA binding and HEPN nuclease activation are decoupled in CRISPR-Cas13a

CRISPR-Cas13a enzymes are RNA-guided, RNA-activated ribonucleases. Their properties have been exploited as powerful tools for RNA detection, RNA imaging and RNA regulation. However, the relationship between target RNA binding and HEPN (higher-eukaryotes-and-prokaryotes nucleotide-binding)- domain nuclease activation is not well understood. Using sequencing experiments coupled with in vitro biochemistry, we find that Cas13as target RNA binding affinity and HEPN-nuclease activity are differentially affected by the number of and position of mismatches between the guide and target. We identify a central binding seed where perfect base pairing is absolutely required for target binding, and a separate nuclease switch where imperfect base-pairing results in tight binding but no HEPN-nuclease activation. These results demonstrate that the binding and cleavage activities of Cas13a are decoupled, highlighting a complex specificity landscape. Our findings underscore a need to consider the range of effects off-target recognition has on Cas13as RNA binding and cleavage behavior for RNA-targeting tool development.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2017

The importance of the photosynthetic Gibbs effect in the elucidation of the Calvin-Benson-Bassham Cycle

The photosynthetic carbon reduction cycle, or Calvin-Benson-Bassham Cycle, is now contained in every standard biochemistry textbook. Although the cycle was already proposed in 1954, it is still subject of intense research, and even the structure of the cycle, i.e. the exact series of reactions, is still under debate. The controversy about the cycles structure was fuelled by the findings of Gibbs and Kandler in 1956 and 1957, when they observed that radioactive 14CO2 was dynamically incorporated in hexoses in a very atypical and asymmetrical way, a phenomenon later termed the photosynthetic Gibbs effect. Now, it is widely accepted that the photosynthetic Gibbs effect is not in contradiction to the reaction scheme proposed by Calvin, Benson and Bassham, but the arguments given have been largely qualitative and hand-waving. To fully appreciate the controversy and to understand the difficulties in interpreting the Gibbs effect, it is illustrative to illuminate the history of the discovery of the Calvin-Benson-Bassham Cycle. We here give an account of central scientific advances and discoveries, which were essential prerequisites for the elucidation of the cycle. Placing the historic discoveries in the context of the modern textbook pathway scheme illustrates the complexity of the cycle and demonstrates why especially dynamic labelling experiments are far from easy to interpret. We conclude by arguing that only mathematical models based on a sound theory are capable of resolving conflicting interpretations and providing a consistent quantitative explanation.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2017

Error-prone bypass of DNA lesions during lagging strand replication is a common source of germline and cancer mutations

Spontaneously occurring mutations are of great relevance in diverse fields including biochemistry, oncology, evolutionary biology, and human genetics. Studies in experimental systems have identified a multitude of mutational mechanisms including DNA replication infidelity as well as many forms of DNA damage followed by inefficient repair or replicative bypass. However, the relative contributions of these mechanisms to human germline mutations remain completely unknown. Here, based on the mutational asymmetry with respect to the direction of replication and transcription, we suggest that error-prone damage bypass on the lagging strand plays a major role in human mutagenesis. Asymmetry with respect to transcription is believed to be mediated by the action of transcription-coupled DNA repair (TC-NER). TC-NER selectively repairs DNA lesions on the transcribed strand; as a result, lesions on the non-transcribed strand are preferentially converted into mutations. In human polymorphism we detect a striking similarity between transcriptional asymmetry and asymmetry with respect to replication fork direction. This parallels the observation that damage-induced mutations in human cancers accumulate asymmetrically with respect to the direction of replication, suggesting that DNA lesions are asymmetrically resolved during replication. Re-analysis of XR-seq data, Damage-seq data and cancers with defective NER corroborate the preferential error-prone bypass of DNA lesions on the lagging strand. We experimentally demonstrate that replication delay greatly attenuates the mutagenic effect of UV-irradiation, in line with the key role of replication in conversion of DNA damage to mutations. We conservatively estimate that at least 10% of human germline mutations arise due to DNA damage rather than replication infidelity. The number of these damage-induced mutations is expected to scale with the number of replications and, consequently, paternal age.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2017

Blind prediction of noncanonical RNA structure at atomic accuracy

Prediction of RNA structure from nucleotide sequence remains an unsolved grand challenge of biochemistry and requires distinct concepts from protein structure prediction. Despite extensive algorithmic development in recent years, modeling of noncanonical base pairs of new RNA structural motifs has not been achieved in blind challenges. We report herein a stepwise Monte Carlo (SWM) method with a unique add-and-delete move set that enables predictions of noncanonical base pairs of complex RNA structures. A benchmark of 82 diverse motifs establishes the methods general ability to recover noncanonical pairs ab initio, including multistrand motifs that have been refractory to prior approaches. In a blind challenge, SWM models predicted nucleotide-resolution chemical mapping and compensatory mutagenesis experiments for three in vitro selected tetraloop/receptors with previously unsolved structures (C7.2, C7.10, and R1). As a final test, SWM blindly and correctly predicted all noncanonical pairs of a Zika virus double pseudoknot during a recent community-wide RNA-puzzle. Stepwise structure formation, as encoded in the SWM method, enables modeling of noncanonical RNA structure in a variety of previously intractable problems.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2018

Quantum chemistry reveals the thermodynamic principles of redoxbiochemistry

Thermodynamics dictates the structure and function of metabolism. Redox reactions drive cellular energy and material flow. Hence, accurately quantifying the thermodynamics of redox reactions should reveal key design principles that shape cellular metabolism. However, only a limited number of redox potentials have been measured experimentally, and mostly with inconsistent, poorly-reported experimental setups. Here, we develop a quantum chemistry approach for the calculation of redox potentials of biochemical reactions. We demonstrate that our method predicts experimentally measured potentials with unparalleled accuracy. We calculate the reduction potentials of all redox pairs that can be generated from biochemically relevant compounds and highlight fundamental thermodynamic trends that define cellular redox biochemistry. We further use the calculated potentials to address the question of why NAD/NADP are used as the primary cellular electron carriers, demonstrating how their physiological redox range specifically fits the reactions of central metabolism and minimizes the concentration of reactive carbonyls. The use of quantum chemistry tools, as demonstrated in this study, can revolutionize our understanding of key biochemical phenomena by enabling fast and accurate calculation of large datasets of thermodynamic values.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2018

Ferrous iron mediates translation

Today, Mg2+ is an essential cofactor with diverse structural and functional roles in lifes oldest macromolecular machine, the translation system. We tested whether ancient Earth conditions (low O2, high Fe2+, high Mn2+) can revert the ribosome to a functional ancestral state. First, SHAPE (Selective 2 Hydroxyl Acylation analyzed by Primer Extension) was used to compare the effect of Mg2+, Fe2+, and Mn2+ on the tertiary structure of rRNA. Then, we used in vitro translation reactions to test whether Fe2+ or Mn2+ could mediate protein production, and quantified ribosomal metal content. We found that: (i) Mg2+, Fe2+, and Mn2+ had strikingly similar effects on rRNA folding; (ii) Fe2+ and Mn2+ can replace Mg2+ as the dominant divalent cation during translation of mRNA to functional protein; (iii) Fe and Mn associate extensively with the ribosome. Given that the translation system originated and matured when Fe2+ and Mn2+ were abundant, these findings suggest that Fe2+ and Mn2+ played a role in early ribosomal evolution.\n\nSIGNIFICANCERibosomes are found in every living organism where they are responsible for the translation of messenger RNA into protein. The ribosomes centrality to cell function is underscored by its evolutionary conservation; the core structure has changed little since its inception ~4 billion years ago when ecosystems were anoxic and metal-rich. The ribosome is a model system for the study of bioinorganic chemistry, owing to the many highly coordinated divalent metal cations that are essential to its function. We studied the structure, function, and cation content of the ribosome under early Earth conditions (low O2, high Fe2+, high Mn2+). Our results expand the roles of Fe2+ and Mn2+ in ancient and extant biochemistry as cofactors for ribosomal structure and function.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2018

A folded viral noncoding RNA blocks host cell exoribonucleases through programmed remodeling of RNA structure

Folded RNA elements that block processive 5'[->]3' cellular exoribonucleases (xrRNAs) to produce biologically active viral non-coding RNAs were discovered in flaviviruses, potentially revealing a new mode of RNA maturation. However, it was unknown if this RNA structure-dependent mechanism exists elsewhere and if so, whether a singular RNA fold is required. Here, we demonstrate the existence of authentic RNA structure-dependent xrRNAs in dianthoviruses, plant-infecting viruses unrelated to animal-infecting flaviviruses. These novel xrRNAs have no sequence similarity to known xrRNAs, thus we used a combination of biochemistry and virology to characterize their sequence requirements and mechanism of stopping exoribonucleases. By solving the structure of a dianthovirus xrRNAs by x-ray crystallography, we reveal a complex fold that is very different from the flavivirus xrRNAs. However, both versions of xrRNAs contain a unique topological feature that is created by a different set of intramolecular contacts; this may be a defining structural feature of xrRNAs. Remarkably, the dianthovirus xrRNA can use co-degradational remodeling, exploiting the exoribonucleases degradation-linked helicase activity to help form their resistant structure; such a mechanism has not previously been reported. Convergent evolution has created RNA structure-dependent exoribonuclease resistance in different contexts, which establishes it as a general RNA maturation mechanism and defines xrRNAs as an authentic functional class of RNAs.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2018

Staphylococcus aureus Cas9 is a multiple-turnover enzyme

Cas9 nuclease is the key effector of type II CRISPR adaptive immune systems found in bacteria. The nuclease can be programmed by a single guide RNA (sgRNA) to cleave DNA in a sequence-specific manner. This property has led to its widespread adoption as a genome editing tool in research laboratories and holds great promise for biotechnological and therapeutic applications. The general mechanistic features of catalysis by Cas9 homologs are comparable; however, a high degree of diversity exists among the protein sequences, which may result in subtle mechanistic differences. S. aureus (SauCas9) and especially S. pyogenes (SpyCas9) are among the best-characterized Cas9 proteins and share about 17% sequence identity. A notable feature of SpyCas9 is an extremely slow rate of reaction turnover, which is thought to limit the amount of substrate DNA cleavage. Using in vitro biochemistry and enzyme kinetics we directly compare SpyCas9 and SauCas9 activities. Here, we report that in contrast to SpyCas9, SauCas9 is a multiple-turnover enzyme, which to our knowledge is the first report of such activity in a Cas9 homolog. We also show that DNA cleaved with SauCas9 does not undergo any detectable single-stranded degradation after the initial double-stranded break observed previously with SpyCas9, thus providing new insights and considerations for future design of CRISPR/Cas9-based applications.

biochemistry↗