The interactions of biomolecules, such as protein-protein interactions, are the molecular basis of biological functions. If interaction-null/impaired mutants that specifically lack the relevant interaction can be isolated, they will greatly help to understand the function(s) of this interaction. This article presents an efficient way to isolate interaction-null/impaired mutants.
Protein-protein interactions are one of the most basic processes that underlie biological phenomena. One of the simplest and best ways to understand the role(s) and function(s) of a specific protein-protein interaction is to compare the phenotype of the wild-type (with the relevant protein-protein interaction) and those of mutants that lack the relevant interaction. Therefore, if such mutants can be isolated, they will help to elucidate the related biological processes. The yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) procedure is a powerful approach not only to detect protein-protein interactions but also to isolate interaction-null/impaired mutants. In this article, a protocol is presented to isolate interaction-null/impaired mutants using Y2H technology. First, a mutation library is constructed by combining the polymerase chain reaction and efficient seamless cloning technology, which efficiently excludes the empty vector from the library. Second, interaction-null/impaired mutants are screened by the Y2H assay. Because of a trick in the Y2H vector, undesired mutants, such as those with frameshift and nonsense mutations, are efficiently eliminated from the screening process. This strategy is simple and can, therefore, be applied to any combination of proteins whose interaction can be detected by the two-hybrid system.
Interactions between biomolecules are the most basic part of biological phenomena. Protein-protein interactions constitute a significant part of such interactions. Therefore, identification of the interaction partner(s) of a protein of interest is critical to further elucidate the function of the protein/gene of interest. The yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) method is a popular technique to identify protein-protein interactions in vivo1. In this system, two proteins (X and Y) whose interaction is to be tested are fused to the DNA-binding (DB) domain and transcriptional activation domain (AD), respectively. The DB-X fusion protein binds to a recognition sequence of the DB domain; therefore, when proteins X and Y interact, the AD-Y fusion protein comes into the proximity of the recognition sequence. Consequently, transcription of the reporter gene downstream of the recognition sequence is activated. Therefore, the presence or absence of reporter gene activity can be used to determine the presence or absence of the protein-protein interaction1.
Once a specific interaction partner of the protein of interest is identified, further analyses should be performed to elucidate the biological function of the interaction. For this purpose, if mutants of the proteins that impair or remove the specific protein-protein interaction can be isolated, they will serve as powerful tools. The Y2H system can be used directly to isolate such mutants by screening ‘interaction-negative’ clones, starting with the wild-type ‘interaction-positive’ clone. To accelerate this process, ‘reverse’ Y2H (rY2H) systems were developed2,3. In rY2H systems, the host yeast strains harbor counter-selectable marker genes as reporter genes, meaning yeast cells grow only when the AD-Y and DB-X proteins do not interact.
Although both the Y2H and rY2H systems allow the isolation of interaction-negative mutants, the process of isolating the mutants is laborious because not all of the candidates obtained by screening carry the desired type of mutations (usually missense mutations). The most serious issue is that a significant fraction of candidates harbor frameshift or nonsense mutations, and it is necessary to perform western blotting to exclude undesired clones. To overcome this problem, new plasmid vectors have been developed4. In these vectors, KanMX, a drug resistance marker, is positioned out-of-frame downstream of the DB domain or AD. The marker gene becomes in-frame with the DB domain or AD only when the gene of interest is inserted. When a random mutation(s) is introduced in the gene of interest, undesirable mutants, such as those with frameshift or nonsense mutations, can be easily eliminated by performing drug resistance selection, and candidates carrying desirable missense mutations can be easily identified with the Y2H screen4. This article presents a protocol to isolate interaction-null/impaired mutants of a protein of interest using this strategy.
1. Construction of the mutant library
2. Transformation of yeast with the mutant library and replica plating
3. Y2H color assay
4. Recovery and confirmation of candidate clones
Recently, it was found that the C-terminal half of Pol2 protein (Pol2-C) interacts with Mcm10. Both proteins are essential for the initiation of DNA replication and, hence, for cell growth in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae13,14,15. To help understand the biological significance of this interaction, Pol2-C mutants that have no/diminished interaction with Mcm10 were isolated using the method described here.
A mutation library was constructed following the method described in step 1. Pol2-C DNA fragments were amplified with GoTaq polymerase and cloned into the Gal4AD (pST2525) vector using the In-Fusion enzyme. The number of independent clones in the library was estimated to be 5000.
As described in step 2, DNA of the library plasmid was introduced into the Y2H host strain TAT-7, which was pre-transformed with the LexA-Mcm10 plasmid. Cells were spread on an SC-LW plate and replicated to SC-LW and SC-LW+G418 plates the following day. The replicates were subjected to the color assay as described in step 3. Some of the results of the color assay are shown in Figure 1C.
Forty-seven colonies that were white in the color assay and G418-resistant were isolated as the first candidates from about 8500 transformants. They were tested again with the color assay, and 25 of the 47 clones were confirmed to be white (Figure 2A). These 25 clones were retained as candidates. Candidate plasmid DNAs were recovered from each of the 25 candidates as described in step 4. They were re-introduced into Y2H yeast host cells harboring LexA-Mcm10 and tested with the color assay, and 16 clones that lacked color were selected. To further confirm that these were Pol2-C missense mutants, the expression of Pol2-C protein was confirmed by western blotting. Twelve candidates exhibited a band at a position that was almost the same as that of the positive control (Gal4AD-HA-Pol2-C-KanMX fusion protein, calculated m.w.: 158.8 kDa) (Figure 2B). The color assay showed that these 12 clones did not interact with Mcm10 (Figure 2C). After determining the nucleotide sequences of these clones, it was confirmed that all of them had a missense mutation(s). The number of missense mutations varied from one to five (data not shown). On average, about one missense mutation occurred in every 1000 bases.
Figure 1: Schematics of the Y2H-based approach for screening interaction-null/impaired mutants. (A) The Y2H system. (B) Strategy for isolating interaction-null/impaired mutants. 1: The newly constructed Y2H vector contains a copy of the KanMX gene downstream of the Y2H tag, DB domain, and AD. Importantly, this KanMX gene lacks a start codon and is out-of-frame with the Y2H tag. Therefore, the KanMX gene is not expected to be expressed from this vector. When the PCR-amplified DNA fragment is inserted into the vector, the KanMX gene is in-frame with the Y2H tag and expressed. Consequently, only plasmids harboring the wild-type insert or an insert with a missense mutation(s) can express the KanMX gene, which confers resistance to G418. Plasmids with a nonsense or frameshift mutation(s) cannot express the KanMX gene. 2: The mutant library constructed in step 1 is introduced into the Y2H host yeast cells. When transformants appear, replicas are made. By comparing the expression of a reporter gene(s) and resistance to G418, candidates of interaction-null/impaired mutants can be selected. (C) An example of screening. The plasmid library, which harbored Gal4-AD and a PCR-mutagenized Pol2-C DNA fragment, was introduced into the Y2H host strain TAT-7, which was pre-transformed with the LexA-Mcm10 plasmid. Images of cells before (left) and after (middle) the color assay and of cells grown on an SC-LW+G418 plate (right) are shown. Examples of candidates of interaction-null/impaired mutants and false candidates are indicated by white and black arrowheads, respectively. (D) DNA sequence around the cloning site of Y2H vectors, AD (top), and DB (bottom) vectors. The sequence from the last ten amino acids (aa) of the Y2H tag (red) to the portion corresponding to the first ten aa of KanMX (green) is shown. Recognition sites of SmaI and BamHI are also shown. The positions of PCR primers are shown at the bottom when the BamHI site is used as the cloning site. The same primers apply to clone the gene of interest into the other plasmids (pST2303/2523). This figure has been modified from Tanaka et al.4. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2: An example of the screening process of interaction-null/impaired mutants. (A) The 47 colonies isolated as candidate clones, as shown in Figure 1C, were again grown on SC-LW medium containing G418 and subjected to the color assay. +: positive control (Wt Pol2-C), -: negative control (vector). Candidate clones numbered 1-25 were cultured to recover plasmids. (B) Plasmids were recovered from each candidate clone in (A), introduced into Y2H host cells, and again subjected to the color assay. Sixteen of them were white (lacked color). Whole-cell extracts were prepared from them, and western blotting with an anti-HA monoclonal antibody was performed. The number on the panel corresponds to the number in (A). Analyses were performed of several independent plasmid clones recovered from each candidate except #6. (C) Results of the color assay for the final 12 clones. Numbers correspond to those in (A). #16, which retained the interaction with Mcm10, was used as the positive control in the color assay. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Name | Y2H domain | Marker (Yeast) | Marker (E. coli) | Remark | Reference |
pST2303 | DB (LexA) | TRP1 | Ampicillin | No leakage of KanMX | 4 |
pST2523 | DB (LexA) | TRP1 | Streptomycin | No leakage of KanMX | This work |
pST2302 | AD (Gal4) | LEU2 | Ampicillin | Leakage of KanMX | 4 |
pST2525 | AD (Gal4) | LEU2 | Ampicillin | Multiple loxP-containing NotI fragment is removed from pST2302. Leakage of KanMX | This work |
pST2527 | AD (Gal4) | LEU2 | Streptomycin | Leakage of KanMX | This work |
Table 1: List of Y2H vectors containing KanMX out-of-frame with the Y2H tag.
Supplementary File 1: An example of the PCR mixtures, the primer details, and the reaction conditions. Please click here to download this File.
This article describes how to isolate interaction-null/impaired mutants using the Y2H assay. Such mutants are powerful tools to analyze the function of a protein of interest. To isolate such mutants, rY2H assays were developed previously by modifying the Y2H host strain2,3. However, they have not greatly reduced the amount of labor. By contrast, mutants can be isolated with this method without a significant amount of labor. In this method, modification of the Y2H vectors ensures that all candidates are wild-type or missense mutants, in theory. In addition, this method can efficiently eliminate empty vectors from the candidates. Because of these desirable characteristics, this method may become a standard way to isolate interaction-null/impaired mutants.
Although the methods are simple and straightforward, there are a few critical steps to obtain good results: replica plating (step 2.3) and colony lift for the color assay (steps 3.2 and 3.3). Therefore, these steps are shown in the video. For step 2.3, users must use appropriate filter paper and not traditional velvet, as detailed in the NOTE of this step, to obtain discrete and high-resolution replicas. For steps 3.2 and 3.3, users should prepare at least two replica plates as a backup because sometimes colonies cannot be fully lifted. If the lift is incomplete with the first plate, users should repeat the removal of excess moisture with a paper towel from the backside of the filter paper one extra time with the second plate.
In the previous work, Y2H vectors, pST2302 (AD plus KanMX, which is out-of-frame) and pST2303 (DB plus KanMX, which is out-of-frame) were constructed to isolate interaction-null/impaired mutants efficiently4. The leakiness of the KanMX gene differs in these plasmids; cells harboring pST2302 grew on a G418-containing plate even without the inserted fragment. DNA sequences around the cloning sites are the same in the two plasmids (Figure 1D). Therefore, the reason for this difference in G418 resistance is unknown. Due to this difference, the leak-free vector, pST2303, was used for screening in the previous analysis. At that time, western blotting showed that all eight candidate clones expressed proteins with sizes consistent with that of the full-length protein. In the analysis shown here, the AD-Pol2-C construct was desirable; therefore, the leaky AD vector pST2525 (a variant of pST2302, but identical in sequence from AD to KanMX) was used. When protein expression of the 16 candidate clones was tested by western blotting, 12 clones expressed proteins with sizes consistent with that of the full-length protein. These results indicate that candidate clones can be efficiently obtained even with leaky vectors. Thus, while leak-free DB vectors are optimal for screening, AD vectors can also be used without a significant increase in labor.
The vectors used here contain the KanMX gene for drug resistance selection to ensure the mutation(s) is missense. AD vectors have leaked as described above. Although they are acceptable to screen mutants, as shown here, a leak-free vector is obviously better. In the currently used vectors, no initiation codon, ATG, resides upstream of KanMX in the same reading frame. Therefore, translation of the KanMX gene, which is responsible for the leak, might start from the ATG codon located in the KanMX ORF. Therefore, a plasmid was constructed in which the first ATG codon to appear in the KanMX ORF was mutated to ATC, causing the M18I substitution, but this did not affect KanMX leakage (data not shown). The next ATG codon in the KanMX ORF is the 68th methionine, and mutation of this codon may suppress leakage. Another way to construct leak-free vectors might be to change drug resistance markers. Selection by hygromycin and nourseothricin resistance genes is popular in yeast; therefore, the use of these genes instead of KanMX may be a good option in the future.
In the screening shown here, the Pol2-C fragment was amplified using GoTaq polymerase, which should have higher fidelity than wild-type Taq polymerase. Sequencing of the 12 mutants finally obtained showed that one missense mutation occurred in about 1000 bases on average. In addition to missense mutations, several silent mutations occurred, resulting in 59 base substitutions in the 12 clones, with a final mutation rate of approximately one in 600 base pairs. The amplified Pol2-C fragment was 2868 bp; therefore, there were more than four mutations in each clone on average, which is not an ideal mutation rate. Therefore, if users want to obtain mutants very efficiently, selecting an appropriate PCR enzyme is crucial by considering the lengths of DNA fragments to be amplified.
The authors have nothing to disclose.
Y. Tanaka performed the technical improvement of Y2H. This work is supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP22K06336 and the Institute for Fermentation, Osaka.
0.5 M EDTA (8.0) | Nacalai Tesque Inc. | 14347-21 | |
10% SDS Solution | Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corp. | 313-90275 | |
2-mercaptoethanol | Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corp. | 135-07522 | |
2-propanol | Kishida Chemical Co. Ltd. | 110-64785 | |
5-Bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-D-galactopyranoside (X-Gal) | Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corp. | 021-07852 | |
Agar | Formedium | AGR60 | |
Ampicillin Sodium | Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corp. | 68-52-3 | |
Anti-HA-tag mAb-HRP-DirecT | Medical & Biological Laboratories Co. Ltd. | M180-7 | |
DNA from salmon testes | Merck KGaA. | D1626 | |
Ethanol | Merck KGaA. | 9-0770-4-4L-J | |
Filter paper for colony lift (Grade 50) | Whatman, Cytiva | 1450-090 | |
Filter paper for colony lift (No.4A) | Advantec Toyo Kaisha, Ltd. | 01411090 | |
Filter paper for replicaplating (No.1) | Advantec Toyo Kaisha, Ltd. | 00011150 | |
G-418 Sulfate | Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corp. | 075-05962 | |
Hydrochloric acid | Kishida Chemical Co. Ltd. | 230-37585 | |
KCl | Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corp. | 163-03545 | |
Lithium Acetate Dihydrate | Nacalai Tesque Inc. | 20604-22 | |
MgSO4•7H2O | Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corp. | 131-00405 | |
Na2HPO4•12H2O | Nacalai Tesque Inc. | 10039-32-4 | |
NaCl | Nacalai Tesque Inc. | 31319-45 | |
NaH2PO4•2H2O | Nacalai Tesque Inc. | 31717-25 | |
Paper towel | AS ONE Corp. | 7-6200-02 | |
Phenol:Chloroform:Isoamyl Alcohol 25:24:1 | Nacalai Tesque Inc. | 25970-56 | |
Plasmid DNAs | the National BioResource Project – yeast (https://yeast.nig.ac.jp/yeast/top.xhtml) | ||
Plasmid isolation Kit | Nippon Genetics Co. Ltd. | FG-90502 | |
Polyethylene Glycol #4,000 | Nacalai Tesque Inc. | 11574-15 | |
SC double drop-out mix -Leu -Trp | Formedium | DSCK172 | |
Seamless cloning kit (In-Fusion assembly ) | Takara Bio Inc. | #639648 | |
Skim milk powder | Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corp. | 190-12865 | |
Streptomycin Sulfate | Fujifilm Wako Pure Chemical Corp. | 3810-74-0 | |
Taq polymerase (GoTaq Green Master Mixes) | Promega Corp. | M7122 | |
TRIS (hydroxymethyl) aminomethane | Formedium | TRIS01 | |
Triton X-100 | Nacalai Tesque Inc. | 12967-45 | |
Tryptone | ThermoFisher scientific Inc. | 211705 | |
Tween 20 | Nacalai Tesque Inc. | 35624-15 | |
Yeast Extract | ThermoFisher scientific Inc. | 212750 | |
Yeast Nitrogen Base (YNB) | Formedium | CYN0210 | |
Zymolyase 100T | Nacalai Tesque Inc. | 07665-55 |