title: DNA binding by the meningococcal RdgC protein, associated with pilin antigenic variation.
abstract: The RdgC protein of Neisseria gonorrhoeae is required for efficient pilin antigenic variation, although its precise role has yet to be established. We demonstrate that the nearly identical RdgC from Neisseria meningitidis binds DNA with little specificity for sequence or structure, like the Escherichia coli protein. We also show that neither protein is able to constrain torsional tension in relaxed DNA. These data exclude several possible roles for RdgC in pilin antigenic variation and suggest that RdgC performs a similar function in both E. coli and the Neisseria spp.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Genetics, Queen's Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2UH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Gary J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Sharples
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Lloyd
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000940:Antigenic Variation; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C103478:RdgC protein, E coli; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins; D004247:DNA