Substrate-independent activation pathways of the CRISPR-Cas9 HNH nuclease
Wang J, Maschietto F, Qiu T, Arantes P, Skeens E, Palermo G, Lisi G, Batista V. Substrate-independent activation pathways of the CRISPR-Cas9 HNH nuclease. Biophysical Journal 2023, 122: 4635-4644. PMID: 37936350, PMCID: PMC10754686, DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2023.11.005.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsHNH domainHNH nucleaseHigh fidelity enzymesInduced-fit mechanismActivation pathwayActive stateMolecular dynamics trajectoriesCognate substratesConformation 2Conformational selectionObligate stepAla mutantBackbone amidesΑ-helixSide chainsSingle LysEssential roleNucleasePathwayDynamics trajectoriesResiduesConformationMutantsInterconversion pathwaysCRISPR