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Talenton, V.

Publications and source records attributed to Talenton, V..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Paralog-specific intrabodies for PSD-93 and SAP102 expand the molecular toolkit to resolve excitatory synapse organization

A scarcity of live, paralog-specific tools has limited analysis of PSD-MAGUKs at excitatory synapses. To address this gap, we engineered small, 10FN3-derived binders that selectively recognize PSD-93 and SAP102 -alongside an enhanced PSD-95 reagent- and converted them into regulated, gene-encoded intrabodies for endogenous imaging. Through sequence-guided selection and targeted optimization, we obtained high-specificity reagents that label their native targets in neurons with minimal perturbation and support multiplexed live-cell and advanced imaging modalities. This toolkit enables differential visualization of MAGUK paralogs at native levels and provides a practical route to dissect their distinct contributions to synapse organization and plasticity.

bioengineering↗

Molecular details of the CPSF73-CPSF100 C-terminal heterodimer and interaction with Symplekin

Eukaryotic pre-mRNA is processed by a large multiprotein complex to accurately cleave the 3 end, and to catalyze the addition of the poly(A) tail. Within this cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor (CPSF) machinery, the CPSF73 endonuclease subunit directly contacts both CPSF100 and the scaffold protein Symplekin to form a subcomplex known as the core cleavage complex (CCC) or mammalian cleavage factor (mCF). Here we have taken advantage of a stable CPSF73-CPSF100 minimal heterodimer from E. cuniculi to determine the solution structure formed by the first and second C-terminal domain (CTD1 and CTD2) of both proteins. We find a large number of contacts between both proteins in the complex, and notably in the region between CTD1 and CTD2. A similarity is also observed between CTD2 and the TATA-box binding protein (TBP) domains. Separately, we have determined the structure of the terminal CTD3 domain of CPSF73, which also belongs to the TBP domain family and is connected by a flexible linker to the rest of CPSF73. Biochemical assays demonstrate a key role for the CTD3 of CPSF73 in binding Symplekin, and structural models of the trimeric complex from other species allow for comparative analysis and support an overall conserved architecture.

biochemistry↗

CReasPy-cloning: a method for simultaneous cloning and engineering of megabase-sized genomes in yeast using the CRISPR-Cas9 system

Over the last decade a new strategy was developed to bypass the difficulties to genetically engineer some microbial species by transferring (or \"cloning\") their genome into another organism that is amenable to efficient genetic modifications and therefore acts as a living workbench. As such, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used to clone and engineer genomes from viruses, bacteria and algae. The cloning step requires the insertion of yeast genetic elements within the genome of interest, in order to drive its replication and maintenance as an artificial chromosome in the host cell. Current methods used to introduce these genetic elements are still unsatisfactory, due either to their random nature (transposon) or the requirement for unique restriction sites at specific positions (TAR cloning). Here we describe the CReasPy-Cloning, a new method that combines both the ability of Cas9 to cleave DNA at a user-specified locus and the yeasts highly efficient homologous recombination to simultaneously clone and engineer a bacterial chromosome in yeast. Using the 0.816 Mbp genome of Mycoplasma pneumoniae as a proof of concept, we demonstrate that our method can be used to introduce the yeast genetic element at any location in the bacterial chromosome while simultaneously deleting various genes or group of genes. We also show that CReasPy-cloning can be used to edit up to three independent genomic loci at the same time with an efficiency high enough to warrant the screening of a small (<50) number of clones, allowing for significantly shortened genome engineering cycle times.

bioengineering↗