title: Structural insights into HetR-PatS interaction involved in cyanobacterial pattern formation.
abstract: The one-dimensional pattern of heterocyst in the model cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 is coordinated by the transcription factor HetR and PatS peptide. Here we report the complex structures of HetR binding to DNA, and its hood domain (HetRHood) binding to a PatS-derived hexapeptide (PatS6) at 2.80 and 2.10 Å, respectively. The intertwined HetR dimer possesses a couple of novel HTH motifs, each of which consists of two canonical α-helices in the DNA-binding domain and an auxiliary α-helix from the flap domain of the neighboring subunit. Two PatS6 peptides bind to the lateral clefts of HetRHood, and trigger significant conformational changes of the flap domain, resulting in dissociation of the auxiliary α-helix and eventually release of HetR from the DNA major grove. These findings provide the structural insights into a prokaryotic example of Turing model.
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Xi
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Yong-Liang
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Meng-Xi
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Sanling
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Pei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Yonghui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Junhui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Mei
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Changlin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Qingfa
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Arrhenius Laboratories of Natural Sciences, Stockholm University, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oliveberg
authors.affiliation: Aix Marseille Université and Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne, Unité Mixte de Recherche 7283, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 31 Chemin Joseph Aiguier, 13402 Marseille Cedex 20, France.
authors.forename: Cheng-Cai
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Yuxing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei Anhui 230027, China.
authors.forename: Cong-Zhao
authors.initials: CZ
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D017033:Anabaena / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D059372:Nucleotide Motifs; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C115380:PatS protein, Anabaena; C067403:HetR protein, Bacteria