scholarly journals TraA and its N-terminal relaxase domain of the Gram-positive plasmid pIP501 show specific oriT binding and behave as dimers in solution

2005 ◽  
Vol 387 (2) ◽  
pp. 401-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolanta KOPEC ◽  
Alexander BERGMANN ◽  
Gerhard FRITZ ◽  
Elisabeth GROHMANN ◽  
Walter KELLER

TraA is the DNA relaxase encoded by the broad-host-range Grampositive plasmid pIP501. It is the second relaxase to be characterized from plasmids originating from Gram-positive organisms. Full-length TraA (654 amino acids) and the N-terminal domain (246 amino acids), termed TraAN246, were expressed as 6×His-tagged fusions and purified. Small-angle X-ray scattering and chemical cross-linking proved that TraAN246 and TraA form dimers in solution. Both proteins revealed oriTpIP501 (origin of transfer of pIP501) cleavage activity on supercoiled plasmid DNA in vitro. oriT binding was demonstrated by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Radiolabelled oligonucleotides covering different parts of oriTpIP501 were subjected to binding with TraA and TraAN246. The KD of the protein–DNA complex encompassing the inverted repeat, the nick site and an additional 7 bases was found to be 55 nM for TraA and 26 nM for TraAN246. The unfolding of both protein constructs was monitored by measuring the change in the CD signal at 220 nm upon temperature change. The unfolding transition of both proteins occurred at approx. 42 °C. CD spectra measured at 20 °C showed 30% α-helix and 13% β-sheet for TraA, and 27% α-helix and 18% β-sheet content for the truncated protein. Upon DNA binding, an enhanced secondary structure content and increased thermal stability were observed for the TraAN246 protein, suggesting an induced-fit mechanism for the formation of the specific relaxase–oriT complex.

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. e201800291
Author(s):  
Theresa Schwarz ◽  
Yasmin Striedner ◽  
Andreas Horner ◽  
Karin Haase ◽  
Jasmin Kemptner ◽  
...  

PRDM9 is a trans-acting factor directing meiotic recombination to specific DNA-binding sites by its zinc finger (ZnF) array. It was suggested that PRDM9 is a multimer; however, we do not know the stoichiometry or the components inducing PRDM9 multimerization. In this work, we used in vitro binding studies and characterized with electrophoretic mobility shift assays, mass spectrometry, and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy the stoichiometry of the PRDM9 multimer of two different murine PRDM9 alleles carrying different tags and domains produced with different expression systems. Based on the migration distance of the PRDM9–DNA complex, we show that PRDM9 forms a trimer. Moreover, this stoichiometry is adapted already by the free, soluble protein with little exchange between protein monomers. The variable ZnF array of PRDM9 is sufficient for multimerization, and at least five ZnFs form already a functional trimer. Finally, we also show that only one ZnF array within the PRDM9 oligomer binds to the DNA, whereas the remaining two ZnF arrays likely maintain the trimer by ZnF–ZnF interactions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (22) ◽  
pp. 12509
Author(s):  
Joana Angélica Loureiro ◽  
Stéphanie Andrade ◽  
Lies Goderis ◽  
Ruben Gomez-Gutierrez ◽  
Claudio Soto ◽  
...  

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. An important hallmark of PD involves the pathological aggregation of proteins in structures known as Lewy bodies. The major component of these proteinaceous inclusions is alpha (α)-synuclein. In different conditions, α-synuclein can assume conformations rich in either α-helix or β-sheets. The mechanisms of α-synuclein misfolding, aggregation, and fibrillation remain unknown, but it is thought that β-sheet conformation of α-synuclein is responsible for its associated toxic mechanisms. To gain fundamental insights into the process of α-synuclein misfolding and aggregation, the secondary structure of this protein in the presence of charged and non-charged surfactant solutions was characterized. The selected surfactants were (anionic) sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), (cationic) cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC), and (uncharged) octyl β-D-glucopyranoside (OG). The effect of surfactants in α-synuclein misfolding was assessed by ultra-structural analyses, in vitro aggregation assays, and secondary structure analyses. The α-synuclein aggregation in the presence of negatively charged SDS suggests that SDS-monomer complexes stimulate the aggregation process. A reduction in the electrostatic repulsion between N- and C-terminal and in the hydrophobic interactions between the NAC (non-amyloid beta component) region and the C-terminal seems to be important to undergo aggregation. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) measurements show that β-sheet structures comprise the assembly of the fibrils.


2007 ◽  
Vol 282 (46) ◽  
pp. 33326-33335 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Corbett ◽  
Hayley J. Bennett ◽  
Hamdia Askar ◽  
Jeffrey Green ◽  
Ian S. Roberts

In this paper, we present the first evidence of a role for the transcriptional regulator SlyA in the regulation of transcription of the Escherichia coli K5 capsule gene cluster and demonstrate, using a combination of reporter gene fusions, DNase I footprinting, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays, the dependence of transcription on the functional interplay between H-NS and SlyA. Both SlyA and H-NS bind to multiple overlapping sites within the promoter in vitro, but their binding is not mutually exclusive, resulting in a remodeled nucleoprotein complex. In addition, we show that expression of the E. coli slyA gene is temperature-regulated, positively autoregulated, and independent of H-NS.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 3446-3451
Author(s):  
N F Lue ◽  
D I Chasman ◽  
A R Buchman ◽  
R D Kornberg

The GAL80 protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, synthesized in vitro, bound tightly to GAL4 protein and to a GAL4 protein-upstream activation sequence DNA complex, as shown by (i) coimmunoprecipitation of GAL4 and GAL80 proteins with anti-GAL4 antiserum, (ii) an electrophoretic mobility shift of a GAL4 protein-upstream activation sequence DNA complex upon the addition of GAL80 protein, and (iii) GAL4-dependent binding of GAL80 protein to upstream activation sequence DNA immobilized on Sepharose beads. Anti-GAL4 antisera were raised against a GAL4-URA3 fusion protein, which could be purified to homogeneity in a single step with the use of an affinity chromatographic procedure for the URA3 gene product.


Microbiology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 160 (8) ◽  
pp. 1637-1647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satya Deo Pandey ◽  
Mitali Choudhury ◽  
Manjula Sritharan

The influence of iron levels on the transcription of the hupB gene in Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the focus of this study. Studies in our laboratory showed HupB to be co-expressed with the two siderophores in low-iron organisms. Mycobactin biosynthesis is repressed by the IdeR–Fe2+ complex that binds the IdeR box in the mbtB promoter. Recently, we demonstrated the positive regulatory effect of HupB on mycobactin biosynthesis by demonstrating its binding to a 10 bp HupB box in the mbtB promoter. Earlier, we observed that HupB, expressed maximally in low-iron media (0.02 µg Fe ml−1; 0.36 µM Fe) was still detectable at 8 µg Fe ml−1 (144 µM Fe) when the siderophores were absent and complete repression was seen only at 12 µg Fe ml−1 (216 µM Fe). In this study, we observed elevated levels of hupB transcripts in iron-limited organisms. IdeR, and not FurA, functioned as the iron regulator, by binding to two IdeR boxes in the hupB promoter. Interestingly, the 10 bp HupB box, first reported in the mbtB promoter, was identified in the hupB promoter. Using DNA footprinting and electrophoretic mobility shift assays, we demonstrated the functionality of the HupB box and the two IdeR boxes. The high hupB transcript levels expressed by the organism and the in vitro protein–DNA interaction studies led us to hypothesize the sequence of events occurring in response to changes in the intracellular iron concentration, emphasizing the roles played by IdeR and HupB in iron homeostasis.


1997 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Fen Zhang ◽  
Leonard J. Francl ◽  
James G. Jordahl ◽  
Steven W. Meinhardt

Cultivar-specific toxic metabolites of Pyrenophora tritici-repentis are involved in the appearance of necrotic and chlorotic foliar lesions characteristic of tan spot. A P. tritici-repentis necrosis-inducing toxin, Ptr necrosis toxin, was purified from isolate 86-124, sequenced by gas-phase amino acid microsequencing, and characterized by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and isoelectric focusing. The purified protein had a similar amino acid composition and molecular weight as previously reported. Analysis of the CD spectrum from 178 to 250 nm indicated a protein consisting of 13% α-helix, 36% antiparallel β-sheet, 25% turns, and 25% other structures. The Ptr necrosis toxin from isolate 86-124 has an isoelectric point near pH 10. Using overlapping proteolytic fragments obtained from the toxin, a sequence of 101 continuous amino acids was obtained, but the amino terminus was blocked and 9 to 16 amino acids could not be sequenced. Secondary structure prediction based on the amino acid sequence indicated a β-sheet protein with little α-helix, which is in agreement with the structure determined by CD spectroscopy. Sequence analysis indicated the presence of a possible membrane adhesion site and several possible phosphorylation sites that may be involved in phytotoxicity.


2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (12) ◽  
pp. 4351-4359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Goss

ABSTRACT The lysine-sensitive factor that binds to the upstream region of the Klebsiella pneumoniae gdhA promoter and stimulates gdhA transcription during growth in minimal medium has been proposed to be the K. pneumoniae ArgP protein (M. R. Nandineni, R. S. Laishram, and J. Gowrishankar, J. Bacteriol. 186:6391-6399, 2004). A knockout mutation of the K. pneumoniae argP gene was generated and used to assess the roles of exogenous lysine and argP in the regulation of the gdhA promoter. Disruption of argP reduced the strength and the lysine-dependent regulation of the gdhA promoter. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays using crude extracts prepared from wild-type and argP-defective strains indicted the presence of an argP-dependent factor whose ability to bind the gdhA promoter was lysine sensitive. DNase I footprinting studies using purified K. pneumoniae ArgP protein indicated that ArgP bound the region that lies approximately 50 to 100 base pairs upstream of the gdhA transcription start site in a manner that was sensitive to the presence of lysine. Substitutions within the region bound by ArgP affected the binding of ArgP to the gdhA promoter region in vitro and the argP-dependent stimulation of the gdhA promoter in vivo. These observations suggest that elevated intracellular levels of lysine reduce the affinity of ArgP for its binding site at the gdhA promoter, preventing ArgP from binding to and stimulating transcription from the promoter in vivo.


1997 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
SG Ball ◽  
J Sokolov ◽  
WW Chin

Recent data have suggested that the iodothyronine, 3,5-diiodo-l-thyronine (T2), has selective thyromimetic activity. In vivo, T2 has been shown to suppress TSH levels at doses that do not produce significant peripheral manifestations of thyroid hormone activity. Furthermore, T2 has been shown to produce smaller increments in peripheral indices of thyroid status than does T3, when doses resulting in equivalent suppression of circulating TSH are compared. We have assessed the selective thyromimetic activity of T2 in vivo and in vitro, and performed in vitro studies to assess the potential molecular basis for these selective properties. T2 was 100-fold less potent than T3 in stimulating GH mRNA levels in GH3 cells. In contrast, the iodothyronines were almost equivalent in their ability to downregulate TRbeta2 mRNA levels in this cell line. Both 3,3'-diiodo-L-thyronine and thyronine exhibited no significant thyromimetic effects on either process. In vivo, doses of T2 and T3 that were equivalent in their induction of hepatic malic enzyme (ME) mRNA did not produce equivalent suppression of circulating TSH, with T2 being only 27% as effective as T3. T2 was up to 500-fold less potent than T3 in displacing [125I]-T3 from in vitro translated specific nuclear receptors (TRs) and GH3 cell nuclear extracts. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays, assessing the ability of T2 to produce dissociation of TRbeta1 homodimers from inverted palindrome T3 response elements, indicated that T2 was also 1000-fold less potent than T3 in this respect. These data confirm that T2 has significant thyromimetic activity, and that this activity is selective both in vivo and in vitro. However, there are no data to support a selective central effect, T2 being relatively more potent in stimulating hepatic ME mRNA than in suppression of TSH in vivo. The basis for this differential thyromimetic activity is not selective affinity of the different TR isoforms for T2, or divergent properties of T2 in competitive binding and functional assays in vitro.


2009 ◽  
Vol 77 (8) ◽  
pp. 3402-3411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Labandeira-Rey ◽  
Jason R. Mock ◽  
Eric J. Hansen

ABSTRACT The LspA1, LspA2, and LspB proteins of Haemophilus ducreyi comprise a two-partner secretion system that has been shown to be necessary for H. ducreyi to inhibit phagocytosis by immune cells in vitro. Inactivation of lspA1 resulted in increased levels of LspA2, suggesting that these two proteins are differentially controlled (C. J. Ward et al., Infect. Immun. 71:2478-2486, 2003). Expression of LspA2 but not LspA1 was shown to be both growth phase dependent and affected by the presence of fetal calf serum (FCS) in the growth medium. In addition, neither LspA1 nor LspA2 could be detected in culture supernatant fluid in the absence of FCS. DNA microarray analysis revealed that 324 H. ducreyi genes were differentially regulated after growth in the presence of FCS. Among these, the CpxRA two-component sensory transduction system was downregulated by the presence of FCS. Inactivation of cpxR resulted in increased expression of both LspB and LspA2. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays showed that a recombinant H. ducreyi CpxR protein bound the promoter region of the lspB-lspA2 operon. The cpxR and cpxA genes were shown to be part of an operon containing two additional genes in H. ducreyi 35000HP. This is the first description of a two-component sensory transduction system regulating a proven virulence factor of H. ducreyi.


1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 3446-3451 ◽  
Author(s):  
N F Lue ◽  
D I Chasman ◽  
A R Buchman ◽  
R D Kornberg

The GAL80 protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, synthesized in vitro, bound tightly to GAL4 protein and to a GAL4 protein-upstream activation sequence DNA complex, as shown by (i) coimmunoprecipitation of GAL4 and GAL80 proteins with anti-GAL4 antiserum, (ii) an electrophoretic mobility shift of a GAL4 protein-upstream activation sequence DNA complex upon the addition of GAL80 protein, and (iii) GAL4-dependent binding of GAL80 protein to upstream activation sequence DNA immobilized on Sepharose beads. Anti-GAL4 antisera were raised against a GAL4-URA3 fusion protein, which could be purified to homogeneity in a single step with the use of an affinity chromatographic procedure for the URA3 gene product.


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