Programmable Cleavage of Double-stranded DNA by Combined Action of Argonaute CbAgo from Clostridium butyricum and Nuclease Deficient RecBC Helicase from E.coli

ABSTRACT Prokaryotic Argonautes (pAgos) use small nucleic acids as specificity guides to cleave single-stranded DNA at complementary sequences. DNA targeting function of pAgos creates attractive opportunities for DNA manipulations that require programmable DNA cleavage. Discovery of mesophilic Argonautes active at physiological temperature places pAgos closer to their possible application for genome editing as a simpler alternative to CRISPR/Cas nucleases. Currently, the use of mesophilic pAgos as programmable DNA endonucleases is hampered by their poor action on double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), mainly due to their inability to invade the DNA duplex. The present study demonstrates that efficient in vitro cleavage of double-stranded DNA by mesophilic Argonaute CbAgo from Clostridium butyricum can be activated via the DNA strand unwinding activity of nuclease deficient mutant of RecBC DNA helicase from Escherichia coli (referred to as RecB exo- C). Properties of CbAgo and characteristics of simultaneous cleavage of complementary DNA strands in concurrence with DNA strand unwinding by RecB exo- C were thoroughly explored using 0.3-25 kb DNA substrates. When combined with RecB exo- C helicase, CbAgo was capable of cleaving target sequences located 11-12.5 kb from the ends of linear dsDNA at 37ºC. Our study demonstrates that CbAgo with RecB exo- C can be programmed to generate dsDNA fragments flanked with custom-designed single-stranded overhangs suitable for ligation with compatible DNA fragments. At present, the combination of CbAgo and RecB exo- C represents the most efficient mesophilic DNA-guided DNA-cleaving programmable endonuclease for use in diagnostic and synthetic biology methods that require sequence-specific nicking/cleavage of dsDNA at any desired location.