We wish to thank all of the members of the Dinman laboratory, including Ashton Belew, Karen Jack, Sharmishtha Musalga, Sergey Sulima, Shivani Reddy, and Michael Rhodin for their help and input on this project. This work was supported by grants to AM from the American Heart Association (AHA 0630163N) and to JDD from the National Institutes of Health (5R01 GM058859-12). JAL was supported by an American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 supplement to the parent grant (3R01GM058859-11S1).

1. Preparation of a cysteine charged Sulfolink resin
<ol>
<li>Prepare Sulfolink resin (Pierce) at room temperature.</li>
<li>Place a total of 10 ml of a 50% slurry of Sulfolink coupling gel as supplied by the manufacturer in two 10 ml plastic vials, with 5 ml distributed into each vial.</li>
<li>Briefly centrifuge vials at 850 x g and carefully remove supernatants.</li>
<li>Wash the gel three times in coupling buffer (50 mM Tris, pH 8.5, 5 mM EDTA) by resuspending the beads in 5 ml, centrifuging briefly at 850 x g and removing the supernatant by pipette.</li>
<li>Add five ml of a 50 mM solution of L-cysteine in coupling buffer to each tube and mix the slurry for 1 hour at 25&deg;C.</li>
<li>Remove the residual L-cysteine by washing as described in step 1.4 above.</li>
<li>Resuspend the gel in 10 ml of binding buffer [20 mM HEPES, pH 7.6, 5 mM Mg(OAc)2, 60 mM NH4Cl, 2 mM DTT], and equilibrate the resin by washing in 10 ml of binding buffer 3 times as described in step 1.4. Decant resin into a 10 ml centrifuge column, cap and stored at 4&deg;C. The resin capacity for RNA binding is &tilde;20 A260 units per ml.</li>
</ol>
 2. Chromatographic purification of ribosomes using a cysteine charged Sulfolink resin
Note: If working with a strain where protease activity proves to be an issue, protease inhibition cocktails can be used in all subsequent buffers.
<ol>
<li>Maintain all components on ice and prepare all solutions using RNase-free water and sterile filtration.</li>
<li>Grow yeast cells overnight to mid-log phase (O.D.595 = 0.6 - 1.2) in appropriate media. Pellet cells by centrifugation, and wash 1 gram cells in binding buffer and centrifuge at 3700 x g for 5 minutes at 4&deg;C.</li>
<li>Resuspend cells in 1 ml of binding buffer to an approximate total volume of 2 ml, and disrupt using an equal volume of 0.5 mm glass beads chilled to 4&deg;C using a Biospec Mini-bead beater (Bartlesville, OK). Samples can be split into multiple tubes as needed.</li>
<li>Remove unbroken cells, organelles, and cellular debris by centrifugation at 30,000 x g for 30 minutes in a Beckman-Coulter Optima Max E ultracentrifuge (Fullerton, CA). </li>
<li>Immediately before use, pellet the resin for one minute at 1,000 x g to remove the storage solution. Two ml of resin is used for every one gram of cells.</li>
<li>Remove cell lysate supernatants from the 30,000 x g spin (S30), taking care to minimize contamination from either the lipid fraction at the very top or the cell debris at the bottom of the tubes, and place directly into the charged Sulfolink slurry. The lipid layer can be avoided either by removal or by pushing out from the pipet after the tip has crossed into the supernatant.</li>
<li>Incubate the S30/Sulfolink mixture on ice without mixing for 15 minutes.</li>
<li>Place the columns into 15 ml conical tubes and centrifuge at 1,000 x g for one minute.</li>
<li>Place the flowthrough fractions back into the columns, mix by hand, and incubate for a further 15 minutes on ice.</li>
<li>Place the columns into 15 ml conical tubes and centrifuge at 1,000 x g for one minute. Discard the flowthrough.</li>
<li>Cap columns and add 5 ml of binding buffer. Mix columns by hand until resuspended, remove the caps, and centrifuge the columns centrifuge at 1,000 x g for one minute. Repeat this washing protocol two more times.</li>
<li>Add 1.5 ml of elution buffer (20 mM HEPES-KOH, pH 7.6, 10 mM Mg(OAc)2, 500 mM KCl, 2mM DTT, 0.5 mg/ml heparin) to each column. Mix slurries by hand, and incubate on ice for 2 minutes</li>
<li>Place columns into new 15 ml conical tubes and centrifuge at 1,000 x g for 1 minute. Collect eluate. Repeat the elution step once more so that the final combined sample volumes are &tilde; 3 ml. Used resin can be washed with elution buffer without heparin and followed by equilibration with binding buffer, and stored in 10 ml volumes of binding buffer at 4&deg;C for re-use later.</li>
</ol>
3. Puromycin treatment
Note: An alternative method to remove contaminating tRNA species is to switch from a glucose rich to glucose depleted media to promote ribosome runoff. However, this does change the metabolic status of the yeast cells, which could affect ribosome function and concentration.
In order to strip the ribosomes from endogenous peptidyl-tRNA, a treatment with puromycin is performed.
<ol>
<li>Neutralize to pH 7.5 100 mM puromycin solution by adding 1M KOH dropwise at room temperature.</li>
<li>Add neutralized puromycin solution to &tilde; 1mM final concentration in eluate.</li>
<li>Add 100 mM GTP to a final concentration of 1 mM.</li>
<li>Incubate for 30 minutes at 30&deg;C.</li>
</ol>
4. Purification of ribosomes by sedimentation through glycerol cushions
<ol>
<li>Place one ml of cushion buffer (20 mM HEPES, pH 7.6, 10 mM Mg(OAc)2, 500 mM KCl, 2 mM DTT, 25% glycerol) into a 4 ml volume polycarbonate ultracentrifuge tube.</li>
<li>Gently layer puromycin treated elution fractions on top of the cushion, and centrifuge samples at 100,000 x g overnight at 4&deg;C.</li>
<li>Remove tubes from the centrifuge rotor, and aspirate supernatants.</li>
<li>Wash pellets containing purified ribosomes twice with 1 ml of cushion buffer.</li>
<li>Resuspend ribosomes in 100 &mu;l of cushion buffer by gentle disruption using a glass rod.</li>
<li>After disruption, cover tubes with parafilm and shake at a moderate speed in a cold room vortex for one hour.</li>
<li>Transfer the contents to a microcentrifuge tube, centrifuge for 5 minutes at maximum speed at 4&deg;C, and remove supernatants to fresh tubes.</li> 
<li>Repeat steps 4.1 to 4.7 using 2 ml of cushion buffer and, except that 100 &mu;l of storage buffer (50 mM HEPES -KOH pH 7.6, 50 mM NH4Cl, 5 mM Mg(OAc)2, 1 mM DTT, 25% glycerol) is used in steps 4.4 and 4.5 instead of cushion buffer.</li>
<li>Quantify the purified ribosomes spectrophotometrically (1 A260 = 20 pmoles of yeast ribosomes), and store at -80&deg;C. Typical results from 1 gram of yeast are 300-400 pmoles of ribosomes.</li>
</ol>
5. Representative results: 
An example of RNA species extracted from each of the three major steps of the protocol is shown in Figure 2. While rRNAs are the major species present in total cell lysates (T) these also contain a large number of other RNA species. Ribosomes purified from the Sulfolink column (SL) also contain a large amount of tRNAs due to the high affinity of the column bed for these species as well. Treatment of this fraction with puromycin results in hydrolysis of peptides from peptidyl-tRNAs, and promotes dissociation of these species from ribosomes. The puromycin treated samples (Pm) lack co-purifying tRNA species, and thus represent completely pure ribosomes. As previously reported8, these ribosomes are highly intact and biochemically active, making them ideal substrates for detailed functional and structural analyses.
<img src="/files/ftp_upload/3214/3214fig1.jpg" alt="Figure 1"/> Figure 1. Method Flowchart. Chromatographic purification of ribosomes using the cysteine linked sulfolink resin is depicted.
<img src="/files/ftp_upload/3214/3214fig2.jpg" alt="Figure 2"/> Figure 2. Representative analysis of ribosome preparations. Total RNA species were extracted from total cell lysates (T), Sulfolink purified ribosomes (SL) and Sulfolink purified ribosomes subsequently treated with puromycin and sedimented through a glycerol cushion (Pm). Lane M represents RNA size markers. Bands representing 25S and 18S rRNAs, as well as tRNAs and other RNA species are indicated. All lanes were loaded with 2 &mu;g of RNA.

<ol>
	<li>Palade, G. E., Siekevitz, P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Liver+microsomes;+an+integrated+morphological+and+biochemical+study.">Liver microsomes; an integrated morphological and biochemical study.</a> J. Biophys. Biochem. Cytol. 2, 171-200 (1956).</li><li>Fabry, M., Kalvoda, L., Rychlik, I. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Hydrophobic+interactions+of+Escherichia+coli+ribosomes.">Hydrophobic interactions of Escherichia coli ribosomes.</a> Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 652, 139-150 (1981).</li><li>Jelenc, P. C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Rapid+purification+of+highly+active+ribosomes+from+Escherichia+coli.">Rapid purification of highly active ribosomes from Escherichia coli.</a> Anal. Biochem. 105, 369-374 (1980).</li><li>Le goffic, F., Moreau, N., Chevelot, L., Langrene, S., Siegrist, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Purification+of+bacterial+ribosomes+using+chloramphenicol+and+erythromycin+columns.">Purification of bacterial ribosomes using chloramphenicol and erythromycin columns.</a> Biochimie. 62, 69-77 (1980).</li><li>Meskauskas, A., Petrov, A. N., Dinman, J. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Identification+of+functionally+important+amino+acids+of+ribosomal+protein+L3+by+saturation+mutagenesis.">Identification of functionally important amino acids of ribosomal protein L3 by saturation mutagenesis.</a> Mol. Cell Biol. 25, 10863-10874 (2005).</li><li>Algire, M. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Development+and+characterization+of+a+reconstituted+yeast+translation+initiation+system.">Development and characterization of a reconstituted yeast translation initiation system.</a> RNA. 8, 382-397 (2002).</li><li>Maguire, B. A., Wondrack, L. M., Contillo, L. G., Xu, Z. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+novel+chromatography+system+to+isolate+active+ribosomes+from+pathogenic+bacteria.">A novel chromatography system to isolate active ribosomes from pathogenic bacteria.</a> RNA. 14, 188-195 (2008).</li><li>Leshin, J. A., Rakauskaite, R., Dinman, J. D., Meskauskas, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Enhanced+purity,+activity+and+structural+integrity+of+yeast+ribosomes+purified+using+a+general+chromatographic+method.">Enhanced purity, activity and structural integrity of yeast ribosomes purified using a general chromatographic method.</a> RNA. Biol. 7, 354-360 (2010).</li><li>Triana, F., Nierhaus, K. H., Chakraburtty, K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Transfer+RNA+binding+to+80S+ribosomes+from+yeast:+evidence+for+three+sites.">Transfer RNA binding to 80S ribosomes from yeast: evidence for three sites.</a> Biochem. Mol. Biol. Int. 33, 909-915 (1994).</li><li>Azzam, M. E., Algranati, I. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Mechanism+of+puromycin+action:+fate+of+ribosomes+after+release+of+nascent+protein+chains+from+polysomes.">Mechanism of puromycin action: fate of ribosomes after release of nascent protein chains from polysomes.</a> Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 70, 3866-3869 (1973).</li><li>Nathans, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Puromuycin+inhibition+of+protein+synthesis:+incorporation+of+puromycin+into+peptide+chains.">Puromuycin inhibition of protein synthesis: incorporation of puromycin into peptide chains.</a> Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 51, 585-592 (1964).</li><li>Rabinovitz, M., Fisher, J. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+dissociative+effect+of+puromycin+on+the+pathway+of+protein+synthesis+by+Ehrlich+ascites+tumor+cells.">A dissociative effect of puromycin on the pathway of protein synthesis by Ehrlich ascites tumor cells.</a> J. Biol. Chem. 237, 477-481 (1962).</li><li>Allen, D. W., Zamecnik, P. 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No conflicts of interest declared.

Ribosome purification protocols basically involve lysing cells, harvesting a cytosolic fraction from a low speed spin, and then pelleting ribosomes by high speed centrifugation 1. While a few novel methods have been used for purifying bacterial ribosomes, the same had not been true for eukaryotes 2-4. Although additional steps have been added along the years, e.g. salt washes, and glycerol cushions (e.g. see 5), biochemical and structural studies of yeast ribosomes have been hampered by ...

<table><tbody><tr><td>Sulfolink Coupling resin</td><td>Pierce, Thermo Scientific</td><td>20402</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Mini bead-beater 16</td><td>Biospec Products</td><td>607</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Optima Max E ultracentrifuge</td><td>Beckman Coulter Inc.</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Legend RT</td><td>Sorvall, Thermo Scientific</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>0.5 mm Glass beads</td><td>Biospec Products</td><td>11079105</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Tris</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>252859</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>EDTA</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>E9884</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>DTT</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>43815</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>HEPES</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>54459</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>NH&lt;sub&gt;4&lt;/sub&gt;Cl</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>A9434</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>KCl</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>60128</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Mg(OAc)&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>M5661</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>KOH</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>221473</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Glycerol</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>G5516</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Puromycin</td><td>Sigma-Aldrich</td><td>P7255</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>GTP</td><td>Fermentas</td><td>R0461</td><td></td></tr></tbody></table>

chromatographic purification of highly active yeast ribosomes

Eukaryotic ribosomes are much more labile as compared to their eubacterial and archael counterparts, thus posing a significant challenge to researchers. Particularly troublesome is the fact that lysis of cells releases a large number of proteases and nucleases which can degrade ribosomes. Thus, it is important to separate ribosomes from these enzymes as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, conventional differential ultracentrifugation methods leaves ribosomes exposed to these enzymes for unacceptably long periods of time, impacting their structural integrity and functionality. To address this problem, we utilize a chromatographic method using a cysteine charged Sulfolink resin. This simple and rapid application significantly reduces co-purifying proteolytic and nucleolytic activities, producing high yields of intact, highly biochemically active yeast ribosomes. We suggest that this method should also be applicable to mammalian ribosomes. The simplicity of the method, and the enhanced purity and activity of chromatographically purified ribosome represents a significant technical advancement for the study of eukaryotic ribosomes.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Chromatographic Purification of Highly Active Yeast Ribosomes at JoVE.com

Chromatographic Purification of Highly Active Yeast Ribosomes

Contamination of preparations of eukaryotic ribosomes purified by traditional methods by co-purifying nucleases and proteases negatively impacts on downstream biochemical and structural analyses. A rapid and simple chromatographic purification method is used to solve this problem using yeast ribosomes as a model system.

Eukaryotic ribosomes are much more labile as compared to their eubacterial and archael counterparts, thus posing a significant challenge to researchers.  ...

chromatographic-purification-of-highly-active-yeast-ribosomes

Universidad de Cartagena UDEC

Research

JoVE Journal

Biology

16.8K Views.  University of Maryland. Contamination of preparations of eukaryotic ribosomes purified by traditional methods by co-purifying nucleases and proteases negatively impacts on downstream biochemical and structural analyses. A rapid and simple chromatographic purification method is used to solve this problem using yeast ribosomes as a model system.

Video: Chromatographic Purification of Highly Active Yeast Ribosomes

Expression, Solubilization, and Purification of Eukaryotic Borate Transporters

The Solute Carrier 4 (SLC4) family of proteins is called the bicarbonate transporters and includes the archetypal protein Anion Exchanger 1 (AE1, also known as Band 3), the most abundant membrane protein in the red blood cells. The SLC4 family is homologous with borate transporters, which have been characterized in plants and fungi. It remains a significant technical challenge to express and purify membrane transport proteins to homogeneity in quantities suitable for&#160;structural or functional studies. Here we describe detailed procedures for the overexpression of borate transporters in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, isolation of yeast membranes, solubilization of protein by detergent, and purification of borate transporter homologs from S. cerevisiae, Arabidopsis thaliana, and Oryza sativa. We also detail a glutaraldehyde cross-linking experiment to assay multimerization of homomeric transporters. Our generalized procedures can be applied to all three proteins and have been optimized for efficacy. Many of the strategies developed here can be utilized for the study of other challenging membrane proteins.

Here we present a protocol to express, solubilize, and purify several eukaryotic borate transporters with homology to the SLC4 transporter family using yeast. We also describe a chemical cross-linking assay to assess the purified homomeric proteins for multimeric assembly. These protocols can be adapted for other challenging membrane proteins.

The Solute Carrier 4 (SLC4) family of proteins is called the bicarbonate transporters and includes the archetypal protein Anion Exchanger 1 (AE1, also ...

Biochemistry

Expression, Purification, and Liposome Binding of Budding Yeast SNX-BAR Heterodimers

SNX-BAR proteins are an evolutionarily conserved class of membrane remodeling proteins that play key roles in sorting and trafficking of protein and lipids during endocytosis, sorting within the endosomal system, and autophagy. Central to SNX-BAR protein function is the ability to form homodimers or heterodimers that bind membranes using highly conserved phox-homology (PX) and BAR (Bin/Amphiphysin/Rvs) domains. In addition, oligomerization of SNX-BAR dimers on membranes can elicit the formation of membrane tubules and vesicles and this activity is thought to reflect their functions as coat proteins for endosome-derived transport carriers. Researchers have long utilized in vitro binding studies using recombinant SNX-BAR proteins on synthetic liposomes or giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) to reveal the precise makeup of lipids needed to drive membrane remodeling, thus revealing their mechanism of action. However, due to technical challenges with dual expression systems, toxicity of SNX-BAR protein expression in bacteria, and poor solubility of individual SNX-BAR proteins, most studies to date have examined SNX-BAR homodimers, including non-physiological dimers that form during expression in bacteria. Recently, we have optimized a protocol to overcome the major shortcomings of a typical bacterial expression system. Using this workflow, we demonstrate how to successfully express and purify large amounts of SNX-BAR heterodimers and how to reconstitute them on synthetic liposomes for binding and tubulation assays.

Here, we present a workflow for the expression, purification and liposome binding of SNX-BAR heterodimers in yeast.

SNX-BAR proteins are an evolutionarily conserved class of membrane remodeling proteins that play key roles in sorting and trafficking of protein and ...

Genetics

Purification of Mitochondria from Yeast Cells

Mitochondria are the main site of ATP production during aerobic metabolism in eukaryotic non-photosynthetic cells1. These complex organelles also play essential roles in apoptotic cell death2, cell survival3, mammalian development4, neuronal development and function4, intracellular signalling5, and longevity regulation6. Our understanding of these complex biological processes controlled by mitochondria relies on robust methods for assessing their morphology, their protein and lipid composition, the integrity of their DNA, and their numerous vital functions. The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a genetically and biochemically manipulable unicellular eukaryote with annotated genome and well-defined proteome, is a valuable model for studying the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying essential biological functions of mitochondria. For these types of studies, it is crucial to have highly pure mitochondria. Here we present a detailed description of a rapid and effective method for purification of yeast mitochondria. This method enables the isolation of highly pure mitochondria that are essentially free of contamination by other organelles and retain their structural and functional integrity after their purification. Mitochondria purified by this method are suitable for cell-free reconstitution of essential mitochondrial processes and can be used for the analysis of mitochondrial structure and functions, mitochondrial proteome and lipidome, and mitochondrial DNA.

We describe a rapid and effective method for purification of mitochondria from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This method enables the high-yield isolation of pure mitochondria that are essentially free of contamination by other organelles and retain their structural and functional integrity after their purification.

Mitochondria are the main site of ATP production during aerobic metabolism in eukaryotic non-photosynthetic cells1. These complex organelles also play ...

An Economical and Versatile High-Throughput Protein Purification System Using a Multi-Column Plate Adapter

Protein purification is imperative to the study of protein structure and function and is usually used in combination with biophysical techniques. It is also a key component in the development of new therapeutics. The evolving era of functional proteomics is fueling the demand for high-throughput protein purification and improved techniques to facilitate this. It was hypothesized that a multi column plate adaptor (MCPA) can interface multiple chromatography columns of different resins with multi-well plates for parallel purification. This method offers an economical and versatile method of protein purification that can be used under gravity or vacuum, rivaling the speed of an automated system. The MCPA can be used to recover milligram yields of protein by an affordable and time efficient method for subsequent characterization and analysis. The MCPA has been used for high-throughput affinity purification of SH3 domains. Ion exchange has also been demonstrated via the MCPA to purify protein post Ni-NTA affinity chromatography, indicating how this system can be adapted to other purification types. Due to its setup with multiple columns, individual customization of parameters can be made in the same purification, unachievable by the current plate-based methods.

A multi-column plate adapter allows chromatography columns to be interfaced with multi-well collection plates for parallel affinity or ion exchange purification providing an economical high throughput protein purification method. It can be used under gravity or vacuum yielding milligram quantities of protein via affordable instrumentation.

Protein purification is imperative to the study of protein structure and function and is usually used in combination with biophysical techniques. It is ...

Eukaryotic Polyribosome Profile Analysis

Protein synthesis is a complex cellular process that is regulated at many levels. For example, global translation can be inhibited at the initiation phase or the elongation phase by a variety of cellular stresses such as amino acid starvation or growth factor withdrawal. Alternatively, translation of individual mRNAs can be regulated by mRNA localization or the presence of cognate microRNAs. Studies of protein synthesis frequently utilize polyribosome analysis to shed light on the mechanisms of translation regulation or defects in protein synthesis. In this assay, mRNA/ribosome complexes are isolated from eukaryotic cells.  A sucrose density gradient separates mRNAs bound to multiple ribosomes known as polyribosomes from mRNAs bound to a single ribosome or monosome. Fractionation of the gradients allows isolation and quantification of the different ribosomal populations and their associated mRNAs or proteins. Differences in the ratio of polyribosomes to monosomes under defined conditions can be indicative of defects in either translation initiation or elongation/termination. Examination of the mRNAs present in the polyribosome fractions can reveal whether the cohort of individual mRNAs being translated changes with experimental conditions. In addition, ribosome assembly can be monitored by analysis of the small and large ribosomal subunit peaks which are also separated by the gradient. In this video, we present a method for the preparation of crude ribosomal extracts from yeast cells, separation of the extract by sucrose gradient and interpretation of the results.  This procedure is readily adaptable to mammalian cells.

This article describes a protocol for the extraction of translating ribosomes from eukaryotic cells. Once extracted, ribosomes are separated into monosomes and polyribosomes by sucrose gradient fractionation to allow different ribosomal populations to be analyzed. As such, this method is the gold standard for examining the regulation of translation.

Protein synthesis is a complex cellular process that is regulated at many levels. For example, global translation can be inhibited at the initiation phase ...

Locus-Specific Chromatin Isolation from Yeast Cells

Single-Copy Gene Locus Chromatin Purification in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The basic organizational unit of eukaryotic chromatin is the nucleosome core particle (NCP), which comprises DNA wrapped ~1.7 times around a histone octamer. Chromatin is defined as the entity of NCPs and numerous other protein complexes, including transcription factors, chromatin remodeling and modifying enzymes. It is still unclear how these protein-DNA interactions are orchestrated at the level of specific genomic loci during different stages of the cell cycle. This is mainly due to the current technical limitations, which make it challenging to obtain precise measurements of such dynamic interactions. Here, we describe an improved method combining site-specific recombination with an efficient single-step affinity purification protocol to isolate a single-copy gene locus of interest in its native chromatin state. The method allows for the robust enrichment of the target locus over genomic chromatin, making this technique an effective strategy for identifying and quantifying protein interactions in an unbiased and systematic manner, for example by mass spectrometry. Further to such compositional analyses, native chromatin purified by this method likely reflects the in vivo situation regarding nucleosome positioning and histone modifications and is, therefore, amenable to further structural and biochemical analyses of chromatin derived from virtually any genomic locus in yeast.

Author Spotlight: Advancing Chromatin Research and Overcoming Limitations with a High-Enrichment Locus-Specific Chromatin Isolation Protocol 

This protocol presents a locus-specific chromatin isolation method based on site-specific recombination to purify a single-copy gene locus of interest in its native chromatin context from budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The basic organizational unit of eukaryotic chromatin is the nucleosome core particle (NCP), which comprises DNA wrapped ~1.7 times around a histone ...

OnePot PURE Cell-Free System

The defined PURE (protein synthesis using recombinant elements) transcription-translation system provides an appealing chassis for cell-free synthetic biology. Unfortunately, commercially available systems are costly, and their tunability is limited. In comparison, a home-made approach can be customized based on user needs. However, the preparation of home-made systems is time-consuming and arduous due to the need for ribosomes as well as 36 medium scale protein purifications. Streamlining protein purification by coculturing and co-purification allows for minimizing time and labor requirements. Here, we present an easy, adjustable, time- and cost-effective method to produce all PURE system components within 1 week, using standard laboratory equipment. Moreover, the performance of the OnePot PURE is comparable to commercially available systems. The OnePot PURE preparation method expands the accessibility of the PURE system to more laboratories due to its simplicity and cost-effectiveness.

We present a fast and cost-effective method to produce the recombinant PURE cell-free TX-TL system using standard laboratory equipment.

The defined PURE (protein synthesis using recombinant elements) transcription-translation system provides an appealing chassis for cell-free synthetic ...

Bioengineering

Budding Yeast Protein Extraction and Purification for the Study of Function, Interactions, and Post-translational Modifications

Homogenization by bead beating is a fast and efficient way to release DNA, RNA, proteins, and metabolites from budding yeast cells, which are notoriously hard to disrupt. Here we describe the use of a bead mill homogenizer for the extraction of proteins into buffers optimized to maintain the functions, interactions and post-translational modifications of proteins. Logarithmically growing cells expressing the protein of interest are grown in a liquid growth media of choice. The growth media may be supplemented with reagents to induce protein expression from inducible promoters (e.g. galactose), synchronize cell cycle stage (e.g. nocodazole), or inhibit proteasome function (e.g. MG132). Cells are then pelleted and resuspended in a suitable buffer containing protease and/or phosphatase inhibitors and are either processed immediately or frozen in liquid nitrogen for later use. Homogenization is accomplished by six cycles of 20 sec&#160;bead-beating (5.5 m/sec), each followed by one minute incubation on ice. The resulting homogenate is cleared by centrifugation and small particulates can be removed by filtration. The resulting cleared whole cell extract (WCE) is precipitated using 20% TCA for direct analysis of total proteins by SDS-PAGE followed by Western blotting. Extracts are also suitable for affinity purification of specific proteins, the detection of post-translational modifications, or the analysis of co-purifying proteins. As is the case for most protein purification protocols, some enzymes and proteins may require unique conditions or buffer compositions for their purification and others may be unstable or insoluble under the conditions stated. In the latter case, the protocol presented may provide a useful starting point to empirically determine the best bead-beating strategy for protein extraction and purification. We show the extraction and purification of an epitope-tagged SUMO E3 ligase, Siz1, a cell cycle regulated protein that becomes both sumoylated and phosphorylated, as well as a SUMO-targeted ubiquitin ligase subunit, Slx5.

The preparation of high quality yeast cell extracts is a necessary first step in the analysis of individual proteins or entire proteomes. Here we describe a fast, efficient, and reliable homogenization protocol for budding yeast cells that has been optimized to preserve protein functions, interactions, and post-translational modifications.

Homogenization by bead beating is a fast and efficient way to release DNA, RNA, proteins, and metabolites from budding yeast cells, which are notoriously ...

Protein Purification Technique that Allows Detection of Sumoylation and Ubiquitination of Budding Yeast Kinetochore Proteins Ndc10 and Ndc80

Post-translational Modifications (PTMs), such as phosphorylation, methylation, acetylation, ubiquitination, and sumoylation, regulate the cellular function of many proteins. PTMs of kinetochore proteins that associate with centromeric DNA mediate faithful chromosome segregation to maintain genome stability. Biochemical approaches such as mass spectrometry and western blot analysis are most commonly used for identification of PTMs. Here, a protein purification method is described that allows the detection of both sumoylation and ubiquitination of the kinetochore proteins, Ndc10 and Ndc80, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A strain that expresses polyhistidine-Flag-tagged Smt3 (HF-Smt3) and Myc-tagged Ndc10 or Ndc80 was constructed and used for our studies. For detection of sumoylation, we devised a protocol to affinity purify His-tagged sumoylated proteins by using nickel beads and used western blot analysis with anti-Myc antibody to detect sumoylated Ndc10 and Ndc80. For detection of ubiquitination, we devised a protocol for immunoprecipitation of Myc-tagged proteins and used western blot analysis with anti-Ub antibody to show that Ndc10 and Ndc80 are ubiquitinated. Our results show that epitope tagged-protein of interest in the His-Flag tagged Smt3 strain facilitates the detection of multiple PTMs. Future studies should allow exploitation of this technique to identify and characterize protein interactions that are dependent on a specific PTM.

This manuscript describes the detection of sumoylation and ubiquitination of kinetochore proteins, Ndc10 and Ndc80, in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Post-translational Modifications (PTMs), such as phosphorylation, methylation, acetylation, ubiquitination, and sumoylation, regulate the cellular ...

Rapid In Vivo Fixation and Isolation of Translational Complexes from Eukaryotic Cells

Rapid responses involving fast redistribution of messenger(m)RNA and alterations of mRNA translation are pertinent to ongoing homeostatic adjustments of the cells. These adjustments are critical to eukaryotic cell survivability and &#39;damage control&#39; during fluctuating nutrient and salinity levels, temperature, and various chemical and radiation stresses. Due to the highly dynamic nature of the RNA-level responses, and the instability of many of the RNA:RNA and RNA:protein intermediates, obtaining a meaningful snapshot of the cytoplasmic RNA state is only possible with a limited number of methods. Transcriptome-wide, RNA-seq-based ribosome profiling-type experiments are among the most informative sources of data for the control of translation. However, absence of a uniform RNA and RNA:protein intermediate stabilization can lead to different biases, particularly in the fast-paced cellular response pathways. In this article, we provide a detailed protocol of rapid fixation applicable to eukaryotic cells of different permeability, to aid in RNA and RNA:protein intermediate stabilization. We further provide examples of isolation of the stabilized RNA:protein complexes based on their co-sedimentation with ribosomal and poly(ribo)somal fractions. The separated stabilized material can be subsequently used as part of ribosome profiling-type experiments, such as in Translation Complex Profile sequencing (TCP-seq) approach and its derivatives. Versatility of the TCP-seq-style methods has now been demonstrated by the applications in a variety of organisms and cell types. The stabilized complexes can also be additionally affinity-purified and imaged using electron microscopy, separated into different poly(ribo)somal fractions and subjected to RNA sequencing, owing to the ease of the crosslink reversal. Therefore, methods based on snap-chilling and formaldehyde fixation, followed by the sedimentation-based or other type of RNA:protein complex enrichment, can be of particular interest in investigating finer details of rapid RNA:protein complex dynamics in live cells.

Rapid In Vivo Fixation and Isolation of Translational Complexes from Eukaryotic Cells

We present a technique to rapidly stabilize translational (protein biosynthesis) complexes with formaldehyde crosslinking in live yeast and mammalian cells. The approach enables dissecting transient intermediates and dynamic RNA:protein interactions. The crosslinked complexes can be used in multiple downstream applications such as in deep sequencing-based profiling methods, microscopy, and mass-spectrometry.

Rapid responses involving fast redistribution of messenger(m)RNA and alterations of mRNA translation are pertinent to ongoing homeostatic adjustments of ...

Chromatographic Purification of Highly Active Yeast Ribosomes

Summary

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Budding Yeast Protein Extraction and Purification for the Study of Function, Interactions, and Post-translational Modifications

Protein Purification Technique that Allows Detection of Sumoylation and Ubiquitination of Budding Yeast Kinetochore Proteins Ndc10 and Ndc80

Rapid In Vivo Fixation and Isolation of Translational Complexes from Eukaryotic Cells