Accessory factors determine the order of strand exchange in Xer recombination at psi.
Xer site-specific recombination in Escherichia coli converts plasmid multimers to monomers, thereby ensuring their correct segregation at cell division. Xer recombination at the psi site of plasmid pSC101 is preferentially intramolecular, giving products of a single topology. This intramolecular selectivity is imposed by accessory proteins, which bind at psi accessory sequences and activate Xer recombination at the psi core. Strand exchange proceeds sequentially within the psi core; XerC first exchanges top strands to produce Holliday junctions, then XerD exchanges bottom strands to give final products. In this study, recombination was analysed at sites in which the psi core was inverted with respect to the accessory sequences. A plasmid containing two inverted-core psi sites recombined with a reversed order of strand exchange, but with unchanged product topology. Thus the architecture of the synapse, formed by accessory proteins binding to accessory sequences, determines the order of strand exchange at psi. This finding has important implications for the way in which accessory proteins interact with the recombinases.
Bregu
Migena
M
Microbiology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QU, UK.
Sherratt
David J
DJ
Colloms
Sean D
SD
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002384:Catalysis; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D019426:Integrases; D009154:Mutation; D045522:Recombinases; D011995:Recombination, Genetic
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D045522:Recombinases; C473360:XerC protein, E coli; D004254:DNA Nucleotidyltransferases; D019426:Integrases; C473361:XerD protein, E coli