1ni8
H-NS dimerization motif
Structural highlights
FunctionHNS_ECOLI A DNA-binding protein implicated in transcriptional repression (silencing) as well as in bacterial chromosome organization. H-NS binds tightly to AT-rich dsDNA, increases its thermal stability and inhibits transcription. Also binds to ssDNA and RNA but with a much lower affinity. H-NS has possible histone-like function. May be a global transcriptional regulator through its ability to bind to curved DNA sequences, which are found in regions upstream of a certain subset of promoters. Plays a role in the thermal control of pili and adhesive curli fimbriae production, by inducing transcription of csgD. Represses the CRISPR-cas promoters, permits only weak transcription of the crRNA precursor; its role is antagonized by LeuO. Subject to transcriptional auto-repression. Binds preferentially to the upstream region of its own gene recognizing two segments of DNA on both sides of a bend centered around -150.[1] [2] [3] [4] Evolutionary Conservation Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf. Publication Abstract from PubMedH-NS, a protein found in Gram-negative bacteria, is involved in structuring the bacterial chromosome and acts as a global regulator for the expression of a wide variety of genes. These functions are correlated with both its DNA-binding and oligomerization properties. We have identified the minimal dimerization domain of H-NS, a 46 amino acid-long N-terminal fragment, and determined its structure using heteronuclear NMR spectroscopy. The highly intertwined structure of the dimer, reminiscent of a handshake, defines a new structural fold, which may offer a possibility for discriminating prokaryotic from eukaryotic proteins in drug design. Using mutational analysis, we also show that this N-terminal domain actively contributes to DNA binding, conversely to the current paradigm. Together, our data allows us to propose a model for the action of full length H-NS. The H-NS dimerization domain defines a new fold contributing to DNA recognition.,Bloch V, Yang Y, Margeat E, Chavanieu A, Auge MT, Robert B, Arold S, Rimsky S, Kochoyan M Nat Struct Biol. 2003 Mar;10(3):212-8. PMID:12592399[5] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. References
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