title: Crystal structure of the site-specific recombinase gamma delta resolvase complexed with a 34 bp cleavage site.
abstract: The structure of gamma delta resolvase complexed with a 34 bp substrate DNA has been determined at 3.0 A resolution. The DNA is sharply bent by 60 degrees toward the major groove and away from the resolvase catalytic domains at the recombination crossover point. The C-terminal one third of resolvase, which was disordered in the absence of DNA, forms an arm and a 3-helix DNA-binding domain on the opposite side of the DNA from the N-terminal domain. The arms wrap around the minor groove of the central 16 bp, and the DNA-binding domains interact with the major grooves near the outer boundaries of the binding site. The resolvase dimer is asymmetric, particularly in the arm region, implying a conformational adaptability that may be important for resolvase binding to different DNA sites in the synaptosome. It also raises the possibility of a sequential single-strand cleavage mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Steitz
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004278:DNA, Superhelical / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009713:Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D019895:Transposases
chemical_list: D004278:DNA, Superhelical; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D009713:Nucleotidyltransferases; D019895:Transposases