Structural Basis of Transcription Activation: The CAP-αCTD-DNA Complex
Abstract
The Escherichia coli catabolite activator protein (CAP) activates transcription at Plac, Pgal, and other promoters through interactions with the RNA polymerase α subunit carboxyl-terminal domain (αCTD). We determined the crystal structure of the CAP-αCTD-DNA complex at a resolution of 3.1 angstroms. CAP makes direct protein-protein interactions with αCTD, and αCTD makes direct protein-DNA interactions with the DNA segment adjacent to the DNA site for CAP. There are no large-scale conformational changes in CAP and αCTD, and the interface between CAP and αCTD is small. These findings are consistent with the proposal that activation involves a simple ``recruitment'' mechanism.
- Publication:
-
Science
- Pub Date:
- August 2002
- DOI:
- 10.1126/science.1076376
- Bibcode:
- 2002Sci...297.1562B
- Keywords:
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- BIOCHEM