Investigating chemical crosslinking of protein-RNA complexes by mass spectrometry
by Alexander Wulf
Date of Examination:2021-11-22
Date of issue:2022-08-12
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Henning Urlaub
Referee:Prof. Dr. Henning Urlaub
Referee:Prof. Dr. Markus Bohnsack
Referee:Prof. Dr. Patrick Cramer
Files in this item
Name:PhD_revised_Alexander_Wulf_without_CV.pdf
Size:29.4Mb
Format:PDF
Description:Dissertation
Name:Bacillus_subtilis_DEB__XL_NuXL.xlsx
Size:108.Kb
Format:VND.OPENXMLFORMATS-OFFICEDOCUMENT.SPREADSHEETML.SHEET
Description:Appendix CD I
Name:Dnmt2_XLinks_results.xlsx
Size:11.6Kb
Format:VND.OPENXMLFORMATS-OFFICEDOCUMENT.SPREADSHEETML.SHEET
Description:Appendix CD II
Name:FAIMS_Ecoli_all_NuXL.xlsx
Size:5.46Mb
Format:VND.OPENXMLFORMATS-OFFICEDOCUMENT.SPREADSHEETML.SHEET
Description:Appendix CD III
Name:HCD_HFX_Ecoli_all_NuXL.xlsx
Size:4.92Mb
Format:VND.OPENXMLFORMATS-OFFICEDOCUMENT.SPREADSHEETML.SHEET
Description:Appendix CD IV
Name:HCD_targeted_Ecoli_all_NuXL.xlsx
Size:2.65Mb
Format:VND.OPENXMLFORMATS-OFFICEDOCUMENT.SPREADSHEETML.SHEET
Description:Appendix CD V
Name:Hela_DEB__XL_NuXL.xlsx
Size:539.Kb
Format:VND.OPENXMLFORMATS-OFFICEDOCUMENT.SPREADSHEETML.SHEET
Description:Appendix CD VI
Name:Hsh49_dinucleotides_preference.xlsx
Size:15.6Kb
Format:VND.OPENXMLFORMATS-OFFICEDOCUMENT.SPREADSHEETML.SHEET
Description:Appendix CD VII
Name:NELF_DEB_TAR_results.xlsx
Size:1.24Mb
Format:VND.OPENXMLFORMATS-OFFICEDOCUMENT.SPREADSHEETML.SHEET
Description:Appendix CD VIII
Name:NELF_NM_TAR_results.xlsx
Size:1.89Mb
Format:VND.OPENXMLFORMATS-OFFICEDOCUMENT.SPREADSHEETML.SHEET
Description:Appendix CD IX
Name:NELF_TAR_results_all_Xlinkers_targets_only.xlsx
Size:83.6Kb
Format:VND.OPENXMLFORMATS-OFFICEDOCUMENT.SPREADSHEETML.SHEET
Description:Appendix CD X
Name:Session4_UV_RNA_FAIMS_S30.pdf
Size:302.Kb
Format:PDF
Description:Appendix CD XI
Name:Session4_UV_RNA_FAIMS_S30.Rmd
Size:69.2Kb
Format:OCTET-STREAM
Description:Appendix CD XII
Name:Session5_UV_RNA_FAIMS_s100.pdf
Size:280.Kb
Format:PDF
Description:Appendix CD XIII
Name:Session5_UV_RNA_FAIMS_s100.Rmd
Size:51.1Kb
Format:OCTET-STREAM
Description:Appendix CD XIV
Name:Session6_UV_RNA_no_FAIMS_S30.pdf
Size:229.Kb
Format:PDF
Description:Appendix CD XV
Name:Session6_UV_RNA_no_FAIMS_S30.Rmd
Size:13.6Kb
Format:OCTET-STREAM
Description:Appendix CD XVI
Name:Session6B_DEB_RNA_no_FAIMS_S30.pdf
Size:224.Kb
Format:PDF
Description:Appendix CD XVII
Name:Session6B_DEB_RNA_no_FAIMS_S30.Rmd
Size:13.8Kb
Format:OCTET-STREAM
Description:Appendix CD XVIII
Name:Session7_UV_RNA_no_FAIMS_S100.pdf
Size:226.Kb
Format:PDF
Description:Appendix CD XIX
Name:Session7_UV_RNA_no_FAIMS_S100.Rmd
Size:13.7Kb
Format:OCTET-STREAM
Description:Appendix CD XX
Name:Session7B_DEB_RNA_no_FAIMS_S100.pdf
Size:224.Kb
Format:PDF
Description:Appendix CD XXI
Name:Session7B_DEB_RNA_no_FAIMS_S100.Rmd
Size:13.9Kb
Format:OCTET-STREAM
Description:Appendix CD XXII
Name:Session9_DEB_RNA_FAIMS_S30.pdf
Size:301.Kb
Format:PDF
Description:Appendix CD XXIII
Name:Session9_DEB_RNA_FAIMS_S30.Rmd
Size:70.3Kb
Format:OCTET-STREAM
Description:Appendix CD XXIV
Name:Session10_DEB_RNA_FAIMS_S100.pdf
Size:299.Kb
Format:PDF
Description:Appendix CD XXV
Name:Session10_DEB_RNA_FAIMS_S100.Rmd
Size:70.4Kb
Format:OCTET-STREAM
Description:Appendix CD XXVI
Name:SessionA_DEB_RNA_HFX_S30.Rmd
Size:14.6Kb
Format:OCTET-STREAM
Description:Appendix CD XXVII
Name:SessionA_DEB_RNA_HFX_S30.Rmd
Size:14.6Kb
Format:OCTET-STREAM
Description:Appendix CD XXVIII
Name:SessionA_UV_RNA_HFX_S30.pdf
Size:230.Kb
Format:PDF
Description:Appendix CD XXIX
Name:SessionA_UV_RNA_HFX_S30.Rmd
Size:14.4Kb
Format:OCTET-STREAM
Description:Appendix CD XXX
Name:SessionB_DEB_RNA_HFX_S100.pdf
Size:226.Kb
Format:PDF
Description:Appendix CD XXXI
Name:SessionB_DEB_RNA_HFX_S100.Rmd
Size:14.7Kb
Format:OCTET-STREAM
Description:Appendix CD XXXII
Name:SessionB_UV_RNA_HFX_S100.pdf
Size:226.Kb
Format:PDF
Description:Appendix CD XXXIII
Name:SessionB_UV_RNA_HFX_S100.Rmd
Size:14.5Kb
Format:OCTET-STREAM
Description:Appendix CD XXXIV
Name:XL_positions_Hsh49_Cus1_U2s.xlsx
Size:90.6Kb
Format:VND.OPENXMLFORMATS-OFFICEDOCUMENT.SPREADSHEETML.SHEET
Description:Appendix CD XXXV
Abstract
English
RNA plays a quintessential role in cellular processes such as gene expression, transcription, RNA processing, and translation. Proteins carrying out those diverse functions are inherently flexible to accommodate dynamic RNA structures, leading to a structurally adjustable RNA-binding protein (RBP) complex that often evades crystallographic or cryo-EM analyses. To elucidate protein-RNA interfaces of such RBPs, crosslinking coupled with mass spectrometry (XL-MS) can provide direct evidence of interacting amino acid residues and nucleotides. XL-MS captures transient interactions that are stabilized through the crosslinking event, and enable peptide-centric analyses that also shed light on the crosslinked nucleotide. Here, a chemical crosslinking workflow for the chemical crosslinkers 1,2,3,4-diepoxybutane (DEB), nitrogen mustard (NM), and 2-iminothiolane (2-IT) is presented that allows for specific, reliable, and unambiguous identification of protein-RNA interfaces at amino acid resolution. The workflow consists of 6 steps: chemical crosslinking, RNA and protein digestion, C18 chromatography, TiO2 enrichment, ESI-LC-MS/MS, and data analysis using the RNPxl/Nuxl software. Acquired data from chemical crosslinking coupled with mass spectrometry (cXL-MS) of model protein Hsh49 with various synthetic RNAs features detectable nucleic acid fragments to all four nucleotides. Moreover, insights from this cXL-MS data demonstrate that certain crosslinkers display a nucleotide preference and that cXL-MS generally identifies complementary cross-link sites to canonical UV-crosslinking. Here, lists of mass shifts that are specific to each nucleotide and crosslinker combination are reported, allowing spectral annotation to identify crosslinked spectrum matches (CSMs) by the RNPl/Nuxl software. The Hsh49 model system is expanded by its cognate protein Cus1 and U2 RNA, forming a part of the yeast spliceosomal complex, and analyzed by cXL-MS, revealing RNA-binding activity in both RNA recognition motifs. Additionally, methyltransferase Dnmt2 and the negative elongation factor complex (NELF) are analyzed by the developed method. This revealed previously unknown alternative confirmations of Dnmt2 and substantial RNA-binding events within the tentacle regions of the NELF complex, adding valuable information on the protein-RNA interplay in these complexes. When expanding cXL-MS of protein-RNA complexes to live cells, multiple RBPs from E. coli, B. subtilis, and human HeLa cells were identified in states bound to their cognate RNAs in vivo, which illustrates the powerful application of this method to complex samples.
Keywords: Crosslinking mass spectrometry; protein-RNA complex; Ion mobility mass spectrometry; Methode development; E. coli