scholarly journals Noncanonical DNA-binding mode of repressor and its disassembly by antirepressor

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (18) ◽  
pp. E2480-E2488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minsik Kim ◽  
Hee Jung Kim ◽  
Sang Hyeon Son ◽  
Hye Jin Yoon ◽  
Youngbin Lim ◽  
...  

DNA-binding repressors are involved in transcriptional repression in many organisms. Disabling a repressor is a crucial step in activating expression of desired genes. Thus, several mechanisms have been identified for the removal of a stably bound repressor (Rep) from the operator. Here, we describe an uncharacterized mechanism of noncanonical DNA binding and induction by a Rep from the temperate Salmonella phage SPC32H; this mechanism was revealed using the crystal structures of homotetrameric Rep (92–198) and a hetero-octameric complex between the Rep and its antirepressor (Ant). The canonical method of inactivating a repressor is through the competitive binding of the antirepressor to the operator-binding site of the repressor; however, these studies revealed several noncanonical features. First, Ant does not compete for the DNA-binding region of Rep. Instead, the tetrameric Ant binds to the C-terminal domains of two asymmetric Rep dimers. Simultaneously, Ant facilitates the binding of the Rep N-terminal domains to Ant, resulting in the release of two Rep dimers from the bound DNA. Second, the dimer pairs of the N-terminal DNA-binding domains originate from different dimers of a Rep tetramer (trans model). This situation is different from that of other canonical Reps, in which two N-terminal DNA-binding domains from the same dimeric unit form a dimer upon DNA binding (cis model). On the basis of these observations, we propose a noncanonical model for the reversible inactivation of a Rep by an Ant.

2018 ◽  
Vol 293 (46) ◽  
pp. 17888-17905 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús Fernández-Zapata ◽  
Ricardo Pérez-Castaño ◽  
Juan Aranda ◽  
Francesco Colizzi ◽  
María Carmen Polanco ◽  
...  

Newly discovered bacterial photoreceptors called CarH sense light by using 5′-deoxyadenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl). They repress their own expression and that of genes for carotenoid synthesis by binding in the dark to operator DNA as AdoCbl-bound tetramers, whose light-induced disassembly relieves repression. High-resolution structures of Thermus thermophilus CarHTt have provided snapshots of the dark and light states and have revealed a unique DNA-binding mode whereby only three of four DNA-binding domains contact an operator comprising three tandem direct repeats. To gain further insights into CarH photoreceptors and employing biochemical, spectroscopic, mutational, and computational analyses, here we investigated CarHBm from Bacillus megaterium. We found that apoCarHBm, unlike monomeric apoCarHTt, is an oligomeric molten globule that forms DNA-binding tetramers in the dark only upon AdoCbl binding, which requires a conserved W-X9-EH motif. Light relieved DNA binding by disrupting CarHBm tetramers to dimers, rather than to monomers as with CarHTt. CarHBm operators resembled that of CarHTt, but were larger by one repeat and overlapped with the −35 or −10 promoter elements. This design persisted in a six-repeat, multipartite operator we discovered upstream of a gene encoding an Spx global redox-response regulator whose photoregulated expression links photooxidative and general redox responses in B. megaterium. Interestingly, CarHBm recognized the smaller CarHTt operator, revealing an adaptability possibly related to the linker bridging the DNA- and AdoCbl-binding domains. Our findings highlight a remarkable plasticity in the mode of action of B12-based CarH photoreceptors, important for their biological functions and development as optogenetic tools.


Development ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 122 (9) ◽  
pp. 2673-2685 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Bertuccioli ◽  
L. Fasano ◽  
S. Jun ◽  
S. Wang ◽  
G. Sheng ◽  
...  

The Drosophila pair-rule gene paired is required for the correct expression of the segment polarity genes wingless, engrailed and gooseberry. It encodes a protein containing three conserved motifs: a homeodomain (HD), a paired domain (PD) and a PRD (His/Pro) repeat. We use a rescue assay in which paired (or a mutated version of paired in which the functions of the conserved motifs have been altered) is expressed under the control of its own promoter, in the absence of endogenous paired, to dissect the Paired protein in vivo. We show that both the HD and the N- terminal subdomain of the PD (PAI domain) are absolutely required within the same molecule for normal paired function. In contrast, the conserved C-terminal subdomain of the PD (RED domain) appears to be dispensable. Furthermore, although a mutation abolishing the ability of the homeodomain to dimerize results in an impaired Paired molecule, this molecule is nonetheless able to mediate a high degree of rescue. Finally, a paired transgene lacking the PRD repeat is functionally impaired, but still able to rescue to viability. We conclude that, while Prd can use its DNA-binding domains combinatorially in order to achieve different DNA-binding specificities, its principal binding mode requires a cooperative interaction between the PAI domain and the homeodomain.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 3006-3014 ◽  
Author(s):  
E A Golemis ◽  
R Brent

Many studies of transcription activation employ fusions of activation domains to DNA binding domains derived from the bacterial repressor LexA and the yeast activator GAL4. Such studies often implicitly assume that DNA binding by the chimeric proteins is equivalent to that of the protein donating the DNA binding moiety. To directly investigate this issue, we compared operator binding by a series of LexA-derivative proteins to operator binding by native LexA, by using both in vivo and in vitro assays. We show that operator binding by many proteins such as LexA-Myc, LexA-Fos, and LexA-Bicoid is severely impaired, while binding of other LexA-derivative proteins, such as those that carry bacterially encoded acidic sequences ("acid blobs"), is not. Our results also show that DNA binding by LexA derivatives that contain the LexA carboxy-terminal dimerization domain (amino acids 88 to 202) is considerably stronger than binding by fusions that lack it and that heterologous dimerization motifs cannot substitute for the LexA88-202 function. These results suggest the need to reevaluate some previous studies of activation that employed LexA derivatives and modifications to recent experimental approaches that use LexA and GAL4 derivatives to detect and study protein-protein interactions.


2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (21) ◽  
pp. 8202-8213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate G. R. Quinlan ◽  
Alexis Verger ◽  
Alister Kwok ◽  
Stella H. Y. Lee ◽  
José Perdomo ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT C-terminal binding proteins (CtBPs) are multifunctional proteins that can mediate gene repression. CtBPs contain a cleft that binds Pro-X-Asp-Leu-Ser (PXDLS) motifs. PXDLS motifs occur in numerous transcription factors and in effectors of gene repression, such as certain histone deacetylases. CtBPs have been depicted as bridging proteins that self-associate and link PXDLS-containing transcription factors to PXDLS-containing chromatin-modifying enzymes. CtBPs also recruit effectors that do not contain recognizable PXDLS motifs. We have investigated the importance of the PXDLS binding cleft to CtBP's interactions with various partner proteins and to its ability to repress transcription. We used CtBP cleft mutant and cleft-filled fusion derivatives to distinguish between partner proteins that bind in the cleft and elsewhere on the CtBP surface. Functional assays demonstrate that CtBP mutants that carry defective clefts retain repression activity when fused to heterologous DNA-binding domains. This result suggests that the cleft is not essential for recruiting effectors. In contrast, when tested in the absence of a fused DNA-binding domain, disruption of the cleft abrogates repression activity. These results demonstrate that the PXDLS binding cleft is functionally important but suggest that it is primarily required for localization of the CtBP complex to promoter-bound transcription factors.


eLife ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvatore Botta ◽  
Elena Marrocco ◽  
Nicola de Prisco ◽  
Fabiola Curion ◽  
Mario Renda ◽  
...  

Transcription factors (TFs) operate by the combined activity of their DNA-binding domains (DBDs) and effector domains (EDs) enabling the coordination of gene expression on a genomic scale. Here we show that in vivo delivery of an engineered DNA-binding protein uncoupled from the repressor domain can produce efficient and gene-specific transcriptional silencing. To interfere with RHODOPSIN (RHO) gain-of-function mutations we engineered the ZF6-DNA-binding protein (ZF6-DB) that targets 20 base pairs (bp) of a RHOcis-regulatory element (CRE) and demonstrate Rho specific transcriptional silencing upon adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector-mediated expression in photoreceptors. The data show that the 20 bp-long genomic DNA sequence is necessary for RHO expression and that photoreceptor delivery of the corresponding cognate synthetic trans-acting factor ZF6-DB without the intrinsic transcriptional repression properties of the canonical ED blocks Rho expression with negligible genome-wide transcript perturbations. The data support DNA-binding-mediated silencing as a novel mode to treat gain-of-function mutations.


1992 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 3006-3014
Author(s):  
E A Golemis ◽  
R Brent

Many studies of transcription activation employ fusions of activation domains to DNA binding domains derived from the bacterial repressor LexA and the yeast activator GAL4. Such studies often implicitly assume that DNA binding by the chimeric proteins is equivalent to that of the protein donating the DNA binding moiety. To directly investigate this issue, we compared operator binding by a series of LexA-derivative proteins to operator binding by native LexA, by using both in vivo and in vitro assays. We show that operator binding by many proteins such as LexA-Myc, LexA-Fos, and LexA-Bicoid is severely impaired, while binding of other LexA-derivative proteins, such as those that carry bacterially encoded acidic sequences ("acid blobs"), is not. Our results also show that DNA binding by LexA derivatives that contain the LexA carboxy-terminal dimerization domain (amino acids 88 to 202) is considerably stronger than binding by fusions that lack it and that heterologous dimerization motifs cannot substitute for the LexA88-202 function. These results suggest the need to reevaluate some previous studies of activation that employed LexA derivatives and modifications to recent experimental approaches that use LexA and GAL4 derivatives to detect and study protein-protein interactions.


2014 ◽  
Vol 289 (31) ◽  
pp. 21605-21616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuo Wang ◽  
Miles H. Linde ◽  
Manoj Munde ◽  
Victor D. Carvalho ◽  
W. David Wilson ◽  
...  

2003 ◽  
Vol 278 (25) ◽  
pp. 22586-22595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alpana Ray ◽  
Papiya Ray ◽  
Nicole Guthrie ◽  
Arvind Shakya ◽  
Deepak Kumar ◽  
...  

2005 ◽  
Vol 79 (13) ◽  
pp. 8661-8664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Schuck ◽  
Arne Stenlund

ABSTRACT Viral initiator proteins are polypeptides that form oligomeric complexes on the origin of DNA replication (ori). These complexes carry out a multitude of functions related to initiation of DNA replication, and although many of these functions have been characterized biochemically, little is understood about how the complexes are assembled. Here we demonstrate that loss of one particular interaction, the dimerization between E1 DNA binding domains, has a severe effect on DNA replication in vivo but has surprisingly modest effects on most individual biochemical activities in vitro. We conclude that the dimer interaction is primarily required for initial recognition of ori.


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