Decoupling the bridge helix of Cas12a results in a reduced trimming activity and impaired conformational transitions

Abstract

The widespread and versatile prokaryotic CRISPR-Cas systems (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and associated Cas proteins) constitute powerful weapons against foreign nucleic acids. Recently, the single-effector nuclease Cas12a that belongs to the type V CRISPR-Cas system was added to the Cas enzymes repertoire employed for gene editing purposes. Cas12a is a bilobal enzyme composed of the REC and Nuc lobe connected by a central structural element, the so-called bridge helix (BH). We generated BH mutants and integrated biochemical and single-molecule FRET (smFRET) studies to elucidate the role of the BH for the enzymatic activity and conformational flexibility of Francisella novicida Cas12a. We demonstrate that the BH impacts the trimming activity of Cas12a resulting in Cas12a variants with improved cleavage accuracy. Single-molecule FRET measurements reveal the hitherto unknown open and closed state of apo Cas12a. BH mutants preferentially adopt the open state. Transition to the closed state of the Cas12a-crRNA complex is inefficient in BH mutants but the semi-closed state of the ternary complex can be adopted even if the BH is deleted in its entirety. Taken together, these insights reveal that the BH is a structural element that influences the catalytic activity and impacts conformational transitions of FnCas12a.