Major grooves

Figure 7.4 The edges of the base pairs in DNA that ate in the major groove are wider than those in the minor groove, due to the asymmetric-attachment of the base pairs to the sugar-phosphate backbone (a). These edges contain different hydrogen bond donors and acceptors for potentially specific interactions with proteins (b).

Figure 7.8 Sequence-specific recognition sites in the major groove of DNA for three restriction enzymes—Eco RI, Bal I, and Sma I. The DNA sequences that are recognized by these enzymes ate represented by tbe color code defined in Figure 7.7.

Only a rather limited number of base pairs is needed to provide unique and discriminatory recognition sites in the major groove. This is illustrated in Figure 7.8, which gives the color codes for the hexanucleotide recognition sites of three different restriction enzymes—Eco Rl, Bal 1, and Sma 1. It is clear that these patterns are quite different, and each can be uniquely recognized by specific protein-DNA interactions. 

Bacteriophage repressor proteins provide excellent examples of sequence-specific interactions between the side chains of a protein and bases lining the floor of the major groove of B-DNA. As we shall see, to fit the protein s recognition module into this groove it has to be made even wider in other words, the B-DNA has to be distorted. 

Matthews was able to show, by model building on a graphics display, that the two recognition helices of the Cro dimer indeed fitted very well into the major groove of a piece of regular B-DNA as seen in Figure 8.9. The orientation... 

Figure 8.9 The helix-turn-hellx motif in lambda Cro bound to DNA (orange) with the two recognition helices (red) of the Cro dimer sitting in the major groove of DNA.

The protein dimer binds so that the recognition a helices at opposite ends of the protein molecule are in the major groove of the DNA as predicted, where they interact with base pairs at the end of the DNA molecule. Since these binding sites are separated by one turn of the DNA helix, it follows that at the center of the DNA molecule the narrow groove faces the protein... 

The side chain of Gin 28 forms two hydrogen bonds (b) to the edge of the adenine base of base pair T14-Al in the major groove of the DNA. (Adapted from J. Anderson et al.. Nature 326 846-852, 1987.)... 

Structural studies of a repressor-DNA complex have shown that helices 4 and 5 form a helix-turn-helix motif and that side chains from the recognition helix 5 form water-mediated interactions with bases in the major groove. 

Figure 8.22 The lac repressor molecule is a V-shaped tetramer in which each arm is a dimer containing a DNA-hinding site. The helix-tum-helix motifs (red) of each dimer bind in two successive major grooves and the hinge helices (purple) bind adjacent to each other in the minor groove between the two major groove binding sites. The four subunits of the tetramer are held together by the four C-terminal helices (yellow) which form a four helix bundle. The bound DNA fragments are bent. (Adapted from M. Lewis et al., Science 271 1247-1254, 1996.)...

Figure 8.23 The helix-turn-helix motifs of the subunits of both the PurR and the lac repressor subunits bind to the major groove of DNA with the N-terminus of the second helix, the recognition helix, pointing into the groove. The two hinge helices of each arm of the V-shaped tetramer bind adjacent to each other in the minor groove of DNA, which is wide and shallow due to distortion of the B-DNA structure. (Adapted from M.A. Schumacher et al.. Science 266 763-770, 1994.)...

Some of the procaryotic DNA-binding proteins are activated by the binding of an allosteric effector molecule. This event changes the conformation of the dimeric protein, causing the helix-tum-helix motifs to move so that they are 34 A apart and able to bind to the major groove. The dimeric repressor for purine biosynthesis, PurR, induces a sharp bend in DNA upon binding caused by insertion of a helices in the minor groove between the two... 

Most sequence-specific regulatory proteins bind to their DNA targets by presenting an a helix or a pair of antiparallel p strands to the major groove of DNA. Recognition of the TATA box by TBP is therefore exceptional it utilizes a concave pleated sheet protein surface that interacts with the minor groove of DNA. Since the minor groove has very few sequence-specific... 

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