Nanobody(R)-based chromatin immunoprecipitation/micro-array analysis for genome-wide identification of transcription factor DNA binding sites

Nucleic Acids Res. 2013 Mar 1;41(5):e59. doi: 10.1093/nar/gks1342. Epub 2012 Dec 28.

Abstract

Nanobodies® are single-domain antibody fragments derived from camelid heavy-chain antibodies. Because of their small size, straightforward production in Escherichia coli, easy tailoring, high affinity, specificity, stability and solubility, nanobodies® have been exploited in various biotechnological applications. A major challenge in the post-genomics and post-proteomics era is the identification of regulatory networks involving nucleic acid-protein and protein-protein interactions. Here, we apply a nanobody® in chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by DNA microarray hybridization (ChIP-chip) for genome-wide identification of DNA-protein interactions. The Lrp-like regulator Ss-LrpB, arguably one of the best-studied specific transcription factors of the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus, was chosen for this proof-of-principle nanobody®-assisted ChIP. Three distinct Ss-LrpB-specific nanobodies®, each interacting with a different epitope, were generated for ChIP. Genome-wide ChIP-chip with one of these nanobodies® identified the well-established Ss-LrpB binding sites and revealed several unknown target sequences. Furthermore, these ChIP-chip profiles revealed auxiliary operator sites in the open reading frame of Ss-lrpB. Our work introduces nanobodies® as a novel class of affinity reagents for ChIP. Taking into account the unique characteristics of nanobodies®, in particular, their short generation time, nanobody®-based ChIP is expected to further streamline ChIP-chip and ChIP-Seq experiments, especially in organisms with no (or limited) possibility of genetic manipulation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Antibody Specificity
  • Archaeal Proteins / chemistry
  • Archaeal Proteins / immunology
  • Archaeal Proteins / metabolism*
  • Binding Sites
  • Camelids, New World
  • Chromatin Immunoprecipitation*
  • DNA, Archaeal / genetics
  • DNA, Archaeal / metabolism
  • Epitope Mapping
  • Genome, Archaeal
  • Immobilized Proteins / chemistry
  • Immobilized Proteins / immunology
  • Immobilized Proteins / metabolism
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis*
  • Protein Binding
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA
  • Single-Domain Antibodies / chemistry*
  • Sulfolobus solfataricus / genetics
  • Sulfolobus solfataricus / metabolism
  • Surface Plasmon Resonance
  • Transcription Factors / chemistry
  • Transcription Factors / immunology
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism*

Substances

  • Archaeal Proteins
  • DNA, Archaeal
  • Immobilized Proteins
  • Single-Domain Antibodies
  • Transcription Factors