1. Transcription of the ant gene during lytic growth of bacteriophage P22 is regulated by the cooperative binding of two Arc repressor dimers to a 21-base-pair operator site. Pabo and Sauer at MIT have solved the co-crystal structure of Arc tetramer-operator complex. Please find the article that they published this structure and show the abstracrt on your homepage.

Title: DNA recognition by beta-sheets in the Arc repressor-operator crystal structure.

Author: Raumann BE; Rould MA; Pabo CO; Sauer RT

Address: Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139.

Source: Nature, 1994 Feb 24, 367:6465, 754-7

Abstract: Transcription of the ant gene during lytic growth of bacteriophage P22 (ref. 1) is regulated by the cooperative binding of two Arc repressor dimers to a 21-base-pair operator site. Here we report the co-crystal structure of this Arc tetramer-operator complex at 2.6 A resolution. As expected from genetic and structural studies and from the co-crystal structure of the homologous Escherichia coli MetJ repressor, each Arc dimer uses an antiparallel beta-sheet to recognize bases in the major groove. However, the Arc and MetJ complexes differ in several important ways: the beta-sheet-DNA interactions of Arc are far less symmetrical; DNA binding by Arc is accompanied by important conformational changes in the beta-sheet; and Arc uses a different part of its protein surface for dimer-dimer interactions.

Language of Publication: English

Unique Identifier: 94150708

2. Smith and Sauer have also studied the role of operator subsites in Arc repression. They described the results in a paper. Please find this paper and show the full article on your homepage in PDF format.

Title: Role of operator subsites in Arc repression.

Author: Smith TL; Sauer RT

Address: Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 02139, USA.

Source: J Mol Biol, 1996 Nov 29, 264:2, 233-42

Full Article's PDF format.