No abstract

Using nanopores to sequence biopolymers was proposed more than a decade ago1. Recent advances in enzyme-based control of DNA translocation2 and in DNA nucleotide resolution using modified biological pores3 have satisfied two technical requirements of a functional nanopore DNA sequencing device. Nanopore sequencing of proteins was also envisioned1. Although proteins have been shown to move through nanopores4, 5, 6, a technique to unfold proteins for processive translocation has yet to be demonstrated. Here we describe controlled unfolding and translocation of proteins through the α-hemolysin (α-HL) pore using the AAA+ unfoldase ClpX. Sequence-dependent features of individual engineered proteins were detected during translocation. These results demonstrate that molecular motors can reproducibly drive proteins through a model nanopore—a feature required for protein sequence analysis using this single-molecule technology.

DNA is an excellent medium for data archival. Recent efforts have illustrated the potential for information storage in DNA using synthesized oligonucleotides assembled in vitro1–6. A relatively unexplored avenue of information storage in DNA is the ability to write information into the genome of a living cell by the addition of nucleotides over time. Using the Cas1-Cas2 integrase, the CRISPR-Cas microbial immune system stores the nucleotide content of invading viruses to confer adaptive immunity7. Harnessed, this system has the potential to write arbitrary information into the genome8. Here, we use the CRISPR-Cas system to encode images and a short movie into the genomes of a population of living bacteria. In doing so, we push the technical limits of this information storage system and optimize strategies to minimize those limitations. We additionally uncover underlying principles of the CRISPR-Cas adaptation system, including sequence determinants of spacer acquisition relevant for understanding both the basic biology of bacterial adaptation as well as its technological applications. This work demonstrates that this system can capture and stably store practical amounts of real data within the genomes of populations of living cells.

The ability to write a stable record of identified molecular events into a specific genomic locus would enable the examination of long cellular histories and have many applications, ranging from developmental biology to synthetic devices. We show that the type I-E CRISPR-Cas system of E. coli can mediate acquisition of defined pieces of synthetic DNA. We harnessed this feature to generate records of specific DNA sequences into a population of bacterial genomes. We then applied directed evolution to alter the recognition of a protospacer adjacent motif by the Cas1-Cas2 complex, which enabled recording in two modes simultaneously. We used this system to reveal aspects of spacer acquisition, fundamental to the CRISPR-Cas adaptation process. These results lay the foundations of a multimodal intracellular recording device.

Previously we showed that the protein unfoldase ClpX could facilitate translocation of individual proteins through the α-hemolysin nanopore. This results in ionic current fluctuations that correlate with unfolding and passage of intact protein strands through the pore lumen. It is plausible that this technology could be used to identify protein domains and structural modifications at the single-molecule level that arise from subtle changes in primary amino acid sequence (e.g., point mutations). As a test, we engineered proteins bearing well-characterized domains connected in series along an ∼700 amino acid strand. Point mutations in a titin immunoglobulin domain (titin I27) and point mutations, proteolytic cleavage, and rearrangement of beta-strands in green fluorescent protein (GFP), caused ionic current pattern changes for single strands predicted by bulk phase and force spectroscopy experiments. Among these variants, individual proteins could be classified at 86-99% accuracy using standard machine learning tools. We conclude that a ClpXP-nanopore device can discriminate among distinct protein domains, and that sequence-dependent variations within those domains are detectable.

Synthetic DNA is a growing alternative to electronic-based technologies in fields such as data storage, product tagging, or signal processing. Its value lies in its characteristic attributes, namely Watson-Crick base pairing, array synthesis, sequencing, toehold displacement and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) capabilities. In this review, we provide an overview of the most prevalent applications of synthetic DNA that could shape the future of information technology. We emphasize the reasons why the biomolecule can be a valuable alternative for conventional electronic-based media, and give insights on where the DNA-analog technology stands with respect to its electronic counterparts.

Signal Transduction by Ion NanoGating (STING) is a label-free technology based on functionalized quartz nanopipettes. The nanopipette pore can be decorated with a variety of recognition elements and the molecular interaction is transduced via a simple electrochemical system. A STING sensor can be easily and reproducibly fabricated and tailored at the bench starting from inexpensive quartz capillaries. The analytical application of this new biosensing platform, however, was limited due to the difficult correlation between the measured ionic current and the analyte concentration in solution. Here we show that STING sensors functionalized with aptamers allow the quantitative detection of thrombin. The binding of thrombin generates a signal that can be directly correlated to its concentration in the bulk solution.

Scalable, high-throughput DNA sequencing is a prerequisite for precision medicine and biomedical research. Recently, we presented a nanopore-based sequencing-by-synthesis (Nanopore-SBS) approach, which used a set of nucleotides with polymer tags that allow discrimination of the nucleotides in a biological nanopore. Here, we designed and covalently coupled a DNA polymerase to an α-hemolysin (αHL) heptamer using the SpyCatcher/SpyTag conjugation approach. These porin-polymerase conjugates were inserted into lipid bilayers on a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS)-based electrode array for high-throughput electrical recording of DNA synthesis. The designed nanopore construct successfully detected the capture of tagged nucleotides complementary to a DNA base on a provided template. We measured over 200 tagged-nucleotide signals for each of the four bases and developed a classification method to uniquely distinguish them from each other and background signals. The probability of falsely identifying a background event as a true capture event was less than 1.2%. In the presence of all four tagged nucleotides, we observed sequential additions in real time during polymerase-catalyzed DNA synthesis. Single-polymerase coupling to a nanopore, in combination with the Nanopore-SBS approach, can provide the foundation for a low-cost, single-molecule, electronic DNA-sequencing platform.nanopore sequencing | protein design | polymer-tagged nucleotides | single-molecule detection | integrated electrode array D NA sequencing is a fundamental technology in the biological and medical sciences (1). Advances in sequencing technology have enabled the growth of interest in individualized medicine with the hope of better treating human disease. The cost of genome sequencing has dropped by five orders of magnitude over the last decade but still remains out of reach as a conventional clinical tool (2, 3). Thus, the development of new, high-throughput, accurate, low-cost DNA-sequencing technologies is a high priority. Ensemble sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS) platforms dominate the current landscape. During SBS, a DNA polymerase binds and incorporates a nucleotide analog complementary to the template strand. Depending on the instrumentation, this nucleotide is identified either by its associated label or the appearance of a chemical by-product upon incorporation (4). These platforms take advantage of a high-fidelity polymerase reaction but require amplification and have limited read lengths (5). Recently, single-molecule strategies have been shown to have great potential to achieve long read lengths, which is critical for highly scalable and reliable genomic analysis (6-9). Pacific Biosciences' SMRT SBS approach has been used for this purpose but has lower throughput and higher cost compared with current secondgeneration technology (10).Since the first demonstration of single-molecule characterization by a biological nanopore two decades ago (11), interest has grown in using nanopores as sensors for DNA base discrimination. One appro...