The tryptophan cluster: a hypothetical structure of the DNA-binding domain of the myb protooncogene product.
In the DNA-binding domain of the c-myb protooncogene product (c-Myb) which consists of three repeats of 51-52 amino acids, there are 3 perfectly conserved tryptophans in each repeat. Site-directed mutagenesis of these tryptophans showed that any single or multiple mutations of tryptophan to hydrophilic residues or alanine abolished or greatly reduced the sequence-specific DNA-binding activity, but mutations to hydrophobic amino acids retained considerable activity. Raman spectroscopic study showed that these tryptophans were buried in the protein core. These 3 tryptophans are proposed to form a cluster in the hydrophobic core in each repeat. This hypothetical structure is referred to as the "tryptophan cluster," and it may represent a characteristic property of a group of DNA-binding proteins including the myb- and ets-related proteins.
Kanei-Ishii
C
C
Tsukuba Life Science Center, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN), Ibaraki, Japan.
Sarai
A
A
Sawazaki
T
T
Nakagoshi
H
H
He
D N
DN
Ogata
K
K
Nishimura
Y
Y
Ishii
S
S
D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D015394:Molecular Structure; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D010766:Phosphorylation; D010957:Plasmids; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020598:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myb; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014162:Transfection; D014364:Tryptophan
D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D020598:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myb; D014364:Tryptophan; D004247:DNA