Site-specific Covalent Labeling of DNA Substrates by an RNA Transglycosylase

Bacterial tRNA guanine transglycosylases (TGTs) catalyze the exchange of guanine for the 7-deazaguanine queuine precursor, prequeuosine1 (preQ1). While the native nucleic acid substrate for bacterial TGTs is the anticodon loop of queuine-cognate tRNAs, the minimum recognition sequence for the enzyme is a structured hairpin containing the target G nucleobase in a "UGU" loop motif. Previous work has established an RNA modification system, RNA-TAG, in which E. coli TGT exchanges the target G on an RNA of interest for chemically modified preQ1 substrates linked to a small molecule reporter such as biotin or a fluorophore. While extending the substrate scope of RNA transglycosylases to include DNA would enable numerous applications, it has been previously reported that TGT is incapable of modifying native DNA. Here we demonstrate that TGT can in fact recognize and label specific DNA substrates. Through iterative testing of rationally mutated DNA hairpin sequences, we determined the minimal sequence requirements for transglycosylation of unmodified DNA by E. coli TGT. Controlling steric constraint in the DNA hairpin dramatically affects labeling efficiency, and, when optimized, can lead to near quantitative site-specific modification. We demonstrate the utility of our newly developed DNA-TAG system by rapidly synthesizing probes for fluorescent Northern blotting of spliceosomal U6 RNA and RNA FISH visualization of the long noncoding RNA, MALAT1. The ease and convenience of the DNA-TAG system will provide researchers with a tool for accessing a wide variety of affordable modified DNA substrates.