scholarly journals A trypanosomal CCHC-type zinc finger protein which binds the conserved universal sequence of kinetoplast DNA minicircles: isolation and analysis of the complete cDNA from Crithidia fasciculata.

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 7766-7773 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Abeliovich ◽  
Y Tzfati ◽  
J Shlomai

Replication of the kinetoplast DNA minicircle light strand initiates at a highly conserved 12-nucleotide sequence, termed the universal minicircle sequence. A Crithidia fasciculata single-stranded DNA-binding protein interacts specifically with the guanine-rich heavy strand of this origin-associated sequence (Y. Tzfati, H. Abeliovich, I. Kapeller, and J. Shlomai, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:6891-6895, 1992). Using the universal minicircle sequence heavy-strand probe to screen a C. fasciculata cDNA expression library, we have isolated two overlapping cDNA clones encoding the trypanosomatid universal minicircle sequence-binding protein. The complete cDNA sequence defines an open reading frame encoding a 116-amino-acid polypeptide chain consisting of five repetitions of a CCHC zinc finger motif. A significant similarity is found between this universal minicircle sequence-binding protein and two other single-stranded DNA-binding proteins identified in humans and in Leishmania major. All three proteins bind specifically to single-stranded guanine-rich DNA ligands. Partial amino acid sequence of the endogenous protein, purified to homogeneity from C. fasciculata, was identical to that deduced from the cDNA nucleotide sequence. DNA-binding characteristics of the cDNA-encoded fusion protein expressed in bacteria were identical to those of the endogenous C. fasciculata protein. Hybridization analyses reveal that the gene encoding the minicircle origin-binding protein is nuclear and may occur in the C. fasciculata chromosome as a cluster of several structural genes.

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 7766-7773
Author(s):  
H Abeliovich ◽  
Y Tzfati ◽  
J Shlomai

Replication of the kinetoplast DNA minicircle light strand initiates at a highly conserved 12-nucleotide sequence, termed the universal minicircle sequence. A Crithidia fasciculata single-stranded DNA-binding protein interacts specifically with the guanine-rich heavy strand of this origin-associated sequence (Y. Tzfati, H. Abeliovich, I. Kapeller, and J. Shlomai, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:6891-6895, 1992). Using the universal minicircle sequence heavy-strand probe to screen a C. fasciculata cDNA expression library, we have isolated two overlapping cDNA clones encoding the trypanosomatid universal minicircle sequence-binding protein. The complete cDNA sequence defines an open reading frame encoding a 116-amino-acid polypeptide chain consisting of five repetitions of a CCHC zinc finger motif. A significant similarity is found between this universal minicircle sequence-binding protein and two other single-stranded DNA-binding proteins identified in humans and in Leishmania major. All three proteins bind specifically to single-stranded guanine-rich DNA ligands. Partial amino acid sequence of the endogenous protein, purified to homogeneity from C. fasciculata, was identical to that deduced from the cDNA nucleotide sequence. DNA-binding characteristics of the cDNA-encoded fusion protein expressed in bacteria were identical to those of the endogenous C. fasciculata protein. Hybridization analyses reveal that the gene encoding the minicircle origin-binding protein is nuclear and may occur in the C. fasciculata chromosome as a cluster of several structural genes.


2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Itay Onn ◽  
Neta Milman-Shtepel ◽  
Joseph Shlomai

ABSTRACT Kinetoplast DNA, the mitochondrial DNA of the trypanosomatid Crithidia fasciculata, is a remarkable structure containing 5,000 topologically linked DNA minicircles. Their replication is initiated at two conserved sequences, a dodecamer, known as the universal minicircle sequence (UMS), and a hexamer, which are located at the replication origins of the minicircle L- and H-strands, respectively. A UMS-binding protein (UMSBP), binds specifically the conserved origin sequences in their single stranded conformation. The five CCHC-type zinc knuckle motifs, predicted in UMSBP, fold into zinc-dependent structures capable of binding a single-stranded nucleic acid ligand. Zinc knuckles that are involved in the binding of DNA differ from those mediating protein-protein interactions that lead to the dimerization of UMSBP. Both UMSBP DNA binding and its dimerization are sensitive to redox potential. Oxidation of UMSBP results in the protein dimerization, mediated through its N-terminal domain, with a concomitant inhibition of its DNA-binding activity. UMSBP reduction yields monomers that are active in the binding of DNA through the protein C-terminal region. C. fasciculata trypanothione-dependent tryparedoxin activates the binding of UMSBP to UMS DNA in vitro. The possibility that UMSBP binding at the minicircle replication origin is regulated in vivo by a redox potential-based mechanism is discussed.


2002 ◽  
Vol 277 (52) ◽  
pp. 50643-50653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa F. Rezende ◽  
Thomas Hollis ◽  
Tom Ellenberger ◽  
Charles C. Richardson

1998 ◽  
Vol 331 (2) ◽  
pp. 447-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dashzeveg BAYARSAIHAN ◽  
Ricardo J. SOTO ◽  
Lewis N. LUKENS

The promoter region of the chicken α2(I) collagen gene contains a pyrimidine-rich element that is well conserved in different mammalian species. This sequence can also form an unusual DNA structure as shown by its sensitivity to SI nuclease in vitro and it lies in a region that is DNase I-hypersensitive only when this promoter is active. We have recently reported that fibroblast nuclear proteins, including chicken Y-box-binding protein 1, bind to this single-stranded pyrimidine-rich sequence. Here we report the isolation, from a chick embryo fibroblast cDNA expression library, of a partial cDNA clone encoding a previously unknown protein, designated SSDP (sequence-specific single-stranded DNA-binding protein), that binds this single-stranded sequence. This clone contains 1199 bp of chicken sequence and has a single long open reading frame that encodes 284 amino acid residues. The affinity-purified recombinant protein encoded by this cDNA binds sequence-specifically to the single-stranded pyrimidine sequence. This cDNA sequence lacks significant similarity to any known gene in the data banks, but it is highly conserved in expressed sequence tags derived from both mouse and human. The corresponding amino acid sequence is remarkably conserved, having 97% identity with mouse and human expressed sequences. The corresponding mRNA is approx. 1800 nt in length and is expressed in both fibroblasts and chondrocytes. The high affinity of this protein for this conserved pyrimidine-rich region suggests that it might be involved in the transcriptional regulation of the α2(I) collagen gene.


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