title: Dimerization and DNA-binding of ASR1, a small hydrophilic protein abundant in plant tissues suffering from water loss.
abstract: The Asr gene family is present in Spermatophyta. Its members are generally activated under water stress. We present evidence that tomato ASR1, one of the proteins of the family, accumulates in seed during late stages of embryogenesis, a physiological process characterized by water loss. In vitro, electrophoretic assays show a homo-dimeric structure for ASR1 and highlight strong non-covalent interactions between monomers prone to self-assemble. Direct visualization of single molecules by atomic force microscopy (AFM) confirms that ASR1 forms homodimers and that uncovers both monomers and dimers bind double stranded DNA.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Fisiología y Biología Molecular, IFIBYNE-CONICET, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, 1428 Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maskin
authors.forename: Nicolás
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Frankel
authors.forename: Gustavo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gudesblat
authors.forename: María J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Demergasso
authors.forename: Lía I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Pietrasanta
authors.forename: Norberto D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Iusem
mesh_terms: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D019281:Dimerization; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010957:Plasmids / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011485:Protein Binding; D012639:Seeds / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D014867:Water