title: Zinc is required for assembly and function of the anti-trp RNA-binding attenuation protein, AT.
abstract: The anti-TRAP protein (AT) of Bacillus subtilis regulates expression of the trp operon and other genes concerned with tryptophan metabolism. AT acts by inhibiting the tryptophan-activated trp RNA-binding attenuation protein (TRAP). AT is an oligomer of identical 53-residue polypeptides; it is produced in response to the accumulation of uncharged tRNA(Trp). Each AT polypeptide has two cysteine-rich clusters that correspond to the signature motif of the cysteine-rich zinc-binding domain of the chaperone protein DnaJ. Here we characterize the putative zinc-binding domain of AT and establish the importance of zinc for AT assembly and activity. AT is shown to contain Zn(II) at a ratio of one ion per monomer. Bound zinc is necessary for maintenance of the quaternary structure of AT; the removal of zinc converts the AT complex into inactive monomers. All four cysteine residues in the AT polypeptide are involved in Zn(II) coordination. Chemical cross-linking analyses indicate that the AT functional oligomer is a hexamer composed of two trimers. Substituting alanine for any cysteine residue of AT results in rapid degradation of the mutant protein in vivo. We propose a model for the AT trimer in which three AT chains are held together by three zinc atoms, each coordinated by the N-terminal segment and the C-terminal segment of separate AT polypeptides.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valbuzzi
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yanofsky
mesh_terms: D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D016296:Mutagenesis; D011487:Protein Conformation; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D015032:Zinc / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D015032:Zinc