scholarly journals Switching DNA-binding specificity by unnatural amino acid substitution

2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (18) ◽  
pp. 5896-5903 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Maiti
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Dna Binding ◽  
Amino Acid Substitution ◽  
Binding Specificity ◽  
Unnatural Amino Acid ◽  
Dna Binding Specificity

scholarly journals The C6 zinc finger and adjacent amino acids determine DNA-binding specificity and affinity in the yeast activator proteins LAC9 and PPR1.

1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 5128-5137 ◽  
Author(s):  
M M Witte ◽  
R C Dickson
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Dna Binding ◽  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Binding Specificity ◽  
Binding Domain ◽  
Dna Binding Domain ◽  
Transcription Activator ◽  
Activator Proteins ◽  
Dna Binding Specificity

LAC9 is a DNA-binding protein that regulates transcription of the lactose-galactose regulon in Kluyveromyces lactis. The DNA-binding domain is composed of a zinc finger and nearby amino acids (M. M. Witte and R. C. Dickson, Mol. Cell. Biol. 8:3726-3733, 1988). The single zinc finger appears to be structurally related to the zinc finger of many other fungal transcription activator proteins that contain positively charged residues and six conserved cysteines with the general form Cys-Xaa2-Cys-Xaa6-Cys-Xaa6-9-Cys-Xaa2-Cys-Xaa 6-Cys, where Xaan indicates a stretch of the indicated number of any amino acids (R. M. Evans and S. M. Hollenberg, Cell 52:1-3, 1988). The function(s) of the zinc finger and other amino acids in DNA-binding remains unclear. To determine which portion of the LAC9 DNA-binding domain mediates sequence recognition, we replaced the C6 zinc finger, amino acids adjacent to the carboxyl side of the zinc finger, or both with the analogous region from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae PPR1 or LEU3 protein. A chimeric LAC9 protein, LAC9(PPR1 34-61), carrying only the PPR1 zinc finger, retained the DNA-binding specificity of LAC9. However, LAC9(PPR1 34-75), carrying the PPR1 zinc finger and 14 amino acids on the carboxyl side of the zinc finger, gained the DNA-binding specificity of PPR1, indicating that these 14 amino acids are necessary for specific DNA binding. Our data show that C6 fingers can substitute for each other and allow DNA binding, but binding affinity is reduced. Thus, in a qualitative sense C6 fingers perform a similar function(s). However, the high-affinity binding required by natural C6 finger proteins demands a unique C6 finger with a specific amino acid sequence. This requirement may reflect conformational constraints, including interactions between the C6 finger and the carboxyl-adjacent amino acids; alternatively or in addition, it may indicate that unique, nonconserved amino acid residues in zinc fingers make sequence-specifying or stabilizing contacts with DNA.

Acquisition of NFKB1-selective DNA binding by substitution of four amino acid residues from NFKB1 into RelA

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3850-3859
Author(s):  
T A Coleman ◽  
C Kunsch ◽  
M Maher ◽  
S M Ruben ◽  
C A Rosen
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Dna Binding ◽  
Fusion Protein ◽  
Binding Specificity ◽  
Single Amino Acid ◽  
Nf Kappa B ◽  
Dna Binding Specificity ◽  
Dna Motif ◽  
Single Amino Acid Change

The subunits of NF-kappa B, NFKB1 (formerly p50) and RelA (formerly p65), belong to a growing family of transcription factors that share extensive similarity to the c-rel proto-oncogene product. The homology extends over a highly conserved stretch of approximately 300 amino acids termed the Rel homology domain (RHD). This region has been shown to be involved in both multimerization (homo- and heterodimerization) and DNA binding. It is now generally accepted that homodimers of either subunit are capable of binding DNA that contains a kappa B site originally identified in the immunoglobulin enhancer. Recent studies have demonstrated that the individual subunits of the NF-kappa B transcription factor complex can be distinguished by their ability to bind distinct DNA sequence motifs. By using NFKB1 and RelA subunit fusion proteins, different regions within the RHD were found to confer DNA-binding and multimerization functions. A fusion protein that contains 34 N-terminal amino acids of NFKB1 and 264 amino acids of RelA displayed preferential binding to an NFKB1-selective DNA motif while dimerizing with the characteristics of RelA. Within the NFKB1 portion of this fusion protein, a single amino acid change of His to Arg altered the DNA-binding specificity to favor interaction with the RelA-selective DNA motif. Furthermore, substitution of four amino acids from NFKB1 into RelA was able to alter the DNA-binding specificity of the RelA protein to favor interaction with the NFKB1-selective site. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the presence of a distinct subdomain within the RHD involved in conferring the DNA-binding specificity of the Rel family of proteins.

A single amino acid can determine the DNA binding specificity of homeodomain proteins

Cell ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 553-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Trelsman ◽  
Pierre Gönczy ◽  
Malini Vashishtha ◽  
Esther Harris ◽  
Claude Desplan
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Dna Binding ◽  
Binding Specificity ◽  
Single Amino Acid ◽  
Homeodomain Proteins ◽  
Dna Binding Specificity

The C6 zinc finger and adjacent amino acids determine DNA-binding specificity and affinity in the yeast activator proteins LAC9 and PPR1

1990 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 5128-5137
Author(s):  
M M Witte ◽  
R C Dickson
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Dna Binding ◽  
Zinc Finger ◽  
Binding Specificity ◽  
Binding Domain ◽  
Dna Binding Domain ◽  
Transcription Activator ◽  
Activator Proteins ◽  
Dna Binding Specificity

LAC9 is a DNA-binding protein that regulates transcription of the lactose-galactose regulon in Kluyveromyces lactis. The DNA-binding domain is composed of a zinc finger and nearby amino acids (M. M. Witte and R. C. Dickson, Mol. Cell. Biol. 8:3726-3733, 1988). The single zinc finger appears to be structurally related to the zinc finger of many other fungal transcription activator proteins that contain positively charged residues and six conserved cysteines with the general form Cys-Xaa2-Cys-Xaa6-Cys-Xaa6-9-Cys-Xaa2-Cys-Xaa 6-Cys, where Xaan indicates a stretch of the indicated number of any amino acids (R. M. Evans and S. M. Hollenberg, Cell 52:1-3, 1988). The function(s) of the zinc finger and other amino acids in DNA-binding remains unclear. To determine which portion of the LAC9 DNA-binding domain mediates sequence recognition, we replaced the C6 zinc finger, amino acids adjacent to the carboxyl side of the zinc finger, or both with the analogous region from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae PPR1 or LEU3 protein. A chimeric LAC9 protein, LAC9(PPR1 34-61), carrying only the PPR1 zinc finger, retained the DNA-binding specificity of LAC9. However, LAC9(PPR1 34-75), carrying the PPR1 zinc finger and 14 amino acids on the carboxyl side of the zinc finger, gained the DNA-binding specificity of PPR1, indicating that these 14 amino acids are necessary for specific DNA binding. Our data show that C6 fingers can substitute for each other and allow DNA binding, but binding affinity is reduced. Thus, in a qualitative sense C6 fingers perform a similar function(s). However, the high-affinity binding required by natural C6 finger proteins demands a unique C6 finger with a specific amino acid sequence. This requirement may reflect conformational constraints, including interactions between the C6 finger and the carboxyl-adjacent amino acids; alternatively or in addition, it may indicate that unique, nonconserved amino acid residues in zinc fingers make sequence-specifying or stabilizing contacts with DNA.

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