Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNT System College of Pharmacy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, United States; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai, China
Ashwini Zolekar
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNT System College of Pharmacy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, United States
Kesavan Babu
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Price Family Foundation Institute of Structural Biology, Stephenson Life Sciences Research Center, University of Oklahoma, Norman, United States
Victor JT Lin
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UNT System College of Pharmacy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, United States
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Price Family Foundation Institute of Structural Biology, Stephenson Life Sciences Research Center, University of Oklahoma, Norman, United States
The CRISPR-associated endonuclease Cas9 from Streptococcus pyogenes (SpyCas9), along with a programmable single-guide RNA (sgRNA), has been exploited as a significant genome-editing tool. Despite the recent advances in determining the SpyCas9 structures and DNA cleavage mechanism, the cleavage-competent conformation of the catalytic HNH nuclease domain of SpyCas9 remains largely elusive and debatable. By integrating computational and experimental approaches, we unveiled and validated the activated Cas9-sgRNA-DNA ternary complex in which the HNH domain is neatly poised for cleaving the target DNA strand. In this catalysis model, the HNH employs the catalytic triad of D839-H840-N863 for cleavage catalysis, rather than previously implicated D839-H840-D861, D837-D839-H840, or D839-H840-D861-N863. Our study contributes critical information to defining the catalytic conformation of the HNH domain and advances the knowledge about the conformational activation underlying Cas9-mediated DNA cleavage.
