title: Crystal structure of activated HutP; an RNA binding protein that regulates transcription of the hut operon in Bacillus subtilis.
abstract: HutP is an L-histidine-activated RNA binding protein that regulates the expression of the histidine utilization (hut) operon in Bacillus subtilis by binding to cis-acting regulatory sequences on the hut mRNA. The crystal structure of HutP complexed with an L-histidine analog showed a novel fold; there are four antiparallel beta strands in the central region of each monomer, with two alpha helices each on the front and back. Two HutP monomers form a dimer, and three dimers are arranged in crystallographic 3-fold symmetry to form a hexamer. A histidine analog was located in between the two monomers of HutP, with the imidazole group of L-histidine hydrogen bonded to Glu81. An activation mechanism is proposed based on the identification of key residues of HutP. The HutP binding region in hut mRNA was defined: it consists of three UAG trinucleotide motifs separated by four spacer nucleotides. Residues of HutP potentially important for RNA binding were identified.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biological Resources and Functions, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba Central 6, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan.
authors.forename: Thirumananseri
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kumarevel
authors.forename: Zui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.forename: Ponnuraj
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Karthe
authors.forename: Masanao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oda
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mizuno
authors.forename: Penmetcha K R
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001665:Binding Sites; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D003625:Data Collection; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006639:Histidine / Q000378:metabolism; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009876:Operon; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D006639:Histidine