Divalent Ion-Induced Switch in DNA Cleavage of KpnI Endonuclease Probed through Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

We demonstrate the remarkable ability of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to track the allosteric changes in restriction endonuclease KpnI (R.KpnI) caused by metal ions. R.KpnI binds and promiscuously cleaves DNA upon activation by Mg²⁺ ions. However, the divalent ion Ca²⁺ induces high fidelity cleavage, which can be overcome by higher concentrations of Mg²⁺ ions. In the absence of any 3D crystal structure, for the first time, we have elucidated the structural underpinnings of such a differential effect of divalent ions on the endonuclease activity. A combined SERS and molecular dynamics (MD) approach showed that Ca²⁺ ion activates an enzymatic switch in the active site, which is responsible for the high fidelity activity of the enzyme. Thus, SERS in combination with MD simulations provides a powerful tool for probing the link between the structure and activity of enzyme molecules that play vital roles in DNA transactions.