title: A variant of lambda repressor with an altered pattern of cooperative binding to DNA sites.
abstract: The bacteriophage lambda repressor binds cooperatively to pairs of adjacent sites in the lambda chromosome, one repressor dimer binding to each site. The repressor's amino domain (that which mediates DNA binding) is connected to its carboxyl domain (that which mediates dimerization and the interaction between dimers) by a protease-sensitive linker region. We have generated a variant lambda repressor that lacks this linker region. We show that dimers of the variant protein are deficient in cooperative binding to sites at certain, but not all, distances. The linker region thus extends the range over which carboxyl domains of DNA-bound dimers can interact. In particular, the linker is required for cooperative binding to a pair of sites as found in the lambda chromosome, and thus is essential for the repressor's physiological function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Astromoff
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ptashne
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009875:Operator Regions, Genetic; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014764:Viral Proteins; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D014764:Viral Proteins; D054334:Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins; C016649:phage repressor proteins; D004247:DNA