title: Structure of the bacteriophage Mu transposase core: a common structural motif for DNA transposition and retroviral integration.
abstract: The crystal structure of the core domain of bacteriophage Mu transposase, MuA, has been determined at 2.4 A resolution. The first of two subdomains contains the active site and, despite very limited sequence homology, exhibits a striking similarity to the core domain of HIV-1 integrase, which carries out a similar set of biochemical reactions. It also exhibits more limited similarity to other nucleases, RNase H and RuvC. The second, a beta barrel, connects to the first subdomain through several contacts. Three independent determinations of the monomer structure from two crystal forms all show the active site held in a similar, apparently inactive configuration. The enzymatic activity of MuA is known to be activated by formation of a DNA-bound tetramer of the protein. We propose that the connections between the two subdomains may be involved in the cross-talk between the active site and the other domains of the transposase that controls the activity of the protein.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-0540, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mizuuchi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D010583:Bacteriophage mu / Q000201:enzymology*; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray / Q000379:methods; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000201:enzymology; D019426:Integrases; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009713:Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D019895:Transposases; D016662:Virus Integration
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases; D019426:Integrases; D009713:Nucleotidyltransferases; D019895:Transposases