PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Martin R Singleton

Publications and source records attributed to Martin R Singleton.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Communication between subunits within an archaeal clamp-loader complex.

We have investigated the communication between subunits in replication factor C (RFC) from Archaeoglobus fulgidus. Mutation of the proposed arginine finger in the small subunits results in a complex that can still bind ATP but has impaired clamp-loading activity, a process that normally only requires binding of nucleotide. The small subunit alone forms a hexameric ring that is six-fold symmetric in the absence of ATP. However, this symmetry is broken when the nucleotide is bound to the complex. A conformational change associated with nucleotide binding may relate to the opening of PCNA rings by RFC during the loading reaction. The structures also reveal the importance of the N-terminal helix of each subunit at the ATP-binding site. Analysis of mutant protein complexes containing subunits lacking this N-terminal helix reveals key distinct regulatory roles during clamp loading that are different for the large and small subunits in the RFC complex.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed2004

Crystal structure of RecBCD enzyme reveals a machine for processing DNA breaks.

RecBCD is a multi-functional enzyme complex that processes DNA ends resulting from a double-strand break. RecBCD is a bipolar helicase that splits the duplex into its component strands and digests them until encountering a recombinational hotspot (Chi site). The nuclease activity is then attenuated and RecBCD loads RecA onto the 3' tail of the DNA. Here we present the crystal structure of RecBCD bound to a DNA substrate. In this initiation complex, the DNA duplex has been split across the RecC subunit to create a fork with the separated strands each heading towards different helicase motor subunits. The strands pass along tunnels within the complex, both emerging adjacent to the nuclease domain of RecB. Passage of the 3' tail through one of these tunnels provides a mechanism for the recognition of a Chi sequence by RecC within the context of double-stranded DNA. Gating of this tunnel suggests how nuclease activity might be regulated.

Crystallization↗
PubMed2004

Conformational changes induced by nucleotide binding in Cdc6/ORC from Aeropyrum pernix.

Archaea contain one or more proteins with homology to eukaryotic ORC/Cdc6 proteins. Sequence analysis suggests the existence of at least two subfamilies of these proteins, for which we propose the nomenclature ORC1 and ORC2. We have determined crystal structures of the ORC2 protein from the archaeon Aeropyrum pernix in complexes with ADP or a non-hydrolysable ATP analogue, ADPNP. Between two crystal forms, there are three crystallographically independent views of the ADP complex and two of the ADPNP complex. The protein molecules in the three complexes with ADP adopt very different conformations, while the two complexes with ADPNP are the same. These structures indicate that there is considerable conformational flexibility in ORC2 but that ATP binding stabilises a single conformation. We show that the ORC2 protein can bind DNA, and that this activity is associated with the C-terminal domain of the protein. We present a model for the interaction of the winged helix (WH) domain of ORC2 with DNA that differs from that proposed previously for Pyrobaculum aerophilum ORC/Cdc6.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed2003

Multiple roles for ATP hydrolysis in nucleic acid modifying enzymes.

Enzymes that operate on nucleic acid substrates are faced with the unusual situation where the substrate is much larger than themselves. Despite the potential to promote catalysis by utilizing the significant binding energy available through their interaction with substrate, ATP hydrolysis is frequently a part of the mechanism of these enzymes. The reasons for this have become clearer in recent years, and a surprising range of ways that these enzymes utilize the free energy of hydrolysis of ATP has been revealed. This review describes these different mechanisms in the context of the biochemical reactions that they support.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed2002

Biochemical characterisation of the clamp/clamp loader proteins from the euryarchaeon Archaeoglobus fulgidus.

Replicative polymerases of eukaryotes, prokaryotes and archaea obtain processivity using ring-shaped DNA sliding clamps that are loaded onto DNA by clamp loaders [replication factor C (RFC) in eukaryotes]. In this study, we cloned the two genes for the subunits of the RFC homologue of the euryarchaeon Archaeoglobus fulgidus. The proteins were expressed and purified from Escherichia coli both individually and as a complex. The afRFC subunits form a heteropentameric complex consisting of one copy of the large subunit and four copies of the small subunits. To analyse the functionality of afRFC, we also expressed the A.fulgidus PCNA homologue and a type B polymerase (PolB1) in E.coli. In primer extension assays, afRFC stimulated the processivity of afPolB1 in afPCNA-dependent reactions. Although the afRFC complex showed significant DNA-dependent ATPase activity, which could be further stimulated by afPCNA, neither of the isolated afRFC subunits showed this activity. However, both the large and small afRFC subunits showed interaction with afPCNA. Furthermore, we demonstrate that ATP binding, but not hydrolysis, is needed to stimulate interactions of the afRFC complex with afPCNA and DNA.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed2002

Structure of the single-strand annealing domain of human RAD52 protein.

In eukaryotic cells, RAD52 protein plays a central role in genetic recombination and DNA repair by (i) promoting the annealing of complementary single-stranded DNA and (ii) stimulation of the RAD51 recombinase. The single-strand annealing domain resides in the N-terminal region of the protein and is highly conserved, whereas the nonconserved RAD51-interaction domain is located in the C-terminal region. An N-terminal fragment of human RAD52 (residues 1-209) has been purified to homogeneity and, similar to the full-size protein (residues 1-418), shown to promote single-strand annealing in vitro. We have determined the crystal structure of this single-strand annealing domain at 2.7 A. The structure reveals an undecameric (11) subunit ring with extensive subunit contacts. A large, positively charged groove runs along the surface of the ring, readily suggesting a mechanism by which RAD52 presents the single strand for reannealing with complementary single-stranded DNA.

Binding Sites↗