title: Crystal structure of the bacteriophage P2 integrase catalytic domain.
abstract: Bacteriophage P2 is a temperate phage capable of integrating its DNA into the host genome by site-specific recombination upon lysogenization. Integration and excision of the phage genome requires P2 integrase, which performs recognition, cleavage and joining of DNA during these processes. This work presents the high-resolution crystal structure of the catalytic domain of P2 integrase, and analysis of the structure-function relationship of several previously identified non-functional P2 integrase mutants. The DNA binding area is characterized by a large positively charged patch, harboring key residues. The structure reveals potential for large dimer flexibility, likely essential for rearrangement of DNA strands upon integration and excision of the phage DNA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Skaar
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Claesson
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Odegrip
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Högbom
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haggård-Ljungquist
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: stenmark@dbb.su.se.
authors.forename: Pål
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stenmark
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017901:Bacteriophage P2 / Q000201:enzymology*; D020134:Catalytic Domain; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D019426:Integrases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D055503:Protein Multimerization; D020836:Protein Structure, Quaternary; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D004247:DNA; D019426:Integrases
keywords: Bacteriophage P2; Integrase; Integration; Site-specific recombination; Tyrosine recombinase