title: X-ray structure of the GCN4 leucine zipper, a two-stranded, parallel coiled coil.
abstract: The x-ray crystal structure of a peptide corresponding to the leucine zipper of the yeast transcriptional activator GCN4 has been determined at 1.8 angstrom resolution. The peptide forms a parallel, two-stranded coiled coil of alpha helices packed as in the "knobs-into-holes" model proposed by Crick in 1953. Contacts between the helices include ion pairs and an extensive hydrophobic interface that contains a distinctive hydrogen bond. The conserved leucines, like the residues in the alternate hydrophobic repeat, make side-to-side interactions (as in a handshake) in every other layer of the dimer interface. The crystal structure of the GCN4 leucine zipper suggests a key role for the leucine repeat, but also shows how other features of the coiled coil contribute to dimer formation.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cambridge, MA 02142.
authors.forename: E K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: O'Shea
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Klemm
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Alber
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D016350:Leucine Zippers; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011494:Protein Kinases; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; D011494:Protein Kinases