title: The zinc finger-associated domain of the Drosophila transcription factor grauzone is a novel zinc-coordinating protein-protein interaction module.
abstract: About one-third of the more than 300 C2H2 zinc finger proteins of Drosophila contain a conserved sequence motif, the zinc finger-associated domain (ZAD). Genes that encode ZAD proteins are specific for and expanded in the genomes of insects. Only three ZAD-encoding gene functions are established, and the role of ZAD is unknown. Here we present the crystal structure of the ZAD of Grauzone (ZAD(Grau)), a Drosophila transcription factor that specifically controls the maternal Cdc20-like APC subunit Cortex. ZAD forms an atypical treble-clef-like zinc-coordinating fold. Head-to-tail arrangement of two ZAD(Grau) molecules in the crystals suggests dimer formation, an observation supported by crosslinking and dynamic light scattering. The results indicate that ZAD provides a novel protein-protein interaction module that characterizes a large family of insect transcription factors.
authors: Max-Planck Institut für biophysikalische Chemie, Abteilung Molekulare Entwicklungsbiologie, Röntgenkristallographie, Am Fassberg 11, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany.
authors: Ralf
authors: R
authors: Jauch
authors: Gleb P
authors: GP
authors: Bourenkov
authors: Ho Ryun
authors: HR
authors: Chung
authors: Henning
authors: H
authors: Urlaub
authors: Ulrich
authors: U
authors: Reidt
authors: Herbert
authors: H
authors: Jäckle
authors: Markus C
authors: MC
authors: Wahl
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents / Q000494:pharmacology; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry; D019992:Databases as Topic; D019281:Dimerization; D004330:Drosophila / Q000378:metabolism*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D007313:Insecta; D008027:Light; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017510:Protein Folding; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013997:Time Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D015032:Zinc / Q000737:chemistry; D016335:Zinc Fingers
chemical_list: D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C406415:grau protein, Drosophila; D004247:DNA; D015032:Zinc