title: The Bacillus subtilis RNA helicase YxiN is distended in solution.
abstract: The Bacillus subtilis YxiN protein is a modular three-domain RNA helicase of the DEx(D/H)-box protein family. The first two domains form the highly conserved helicase core, and the third domain confers RNA target binding specificity. Small angle x-ray scattering on YxiN and two-domain fragments thereof shows that the protein has a distended structure in solution, in contrast to helicases involved in replication processes. These data are consistent with a chaperone activity in which the carboxy-terminal domain of YxiN tethers the protein to the vicinity of its targets and the helicase core is free to transiently interact with RNA duplexes, possibly to melt out misfolded elements of secondary structure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
authors.forename: Shuying
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Overgaard
authors.forename: YaoXiong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: McKay
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D004548:Elasticity; D008956:Models, Chemical; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011489:Protein Denaturation; D017510:Protein Folding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C401542:yxiN protein, Bacillus subtilis; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases