Structural highlights
Function[VG4_BPPH2] This protein is believed to be a positive regulator of late transcription. It may function as a sigma-like component of the host RNA polymerase. Binds to a region of the A3 promoter located between nucleotides -50 and -100 relative to the transcription start site, that presents a sequence-directed curvature. Full induction of this curvature is needed for the transcription activation process. Publication Abstract from PubMedProtein p4 affects the transcriptional switch that divides bacteriophage phi29 infection in early and late phases. The synthesis of DNA replication proteins and p4 takes place in the early phase, while structural, morphogenesis, and lysis proteins are synthesized in the late phase. Transcriptional switch by p4 is achieved by activating the late promoter A3 and repressing the early promoters A2b and A2c. The crystal structure of p4 alone and in complex with a 41 bp DNA, including the A3 promoter binding site, helps us to understand how the phage cycle is controlled. Protein p4 has a unique alpha/beta fold that includes a DNA recognition motif consisting of two N-terminal beta turn substructures, or N-hooks, located at the tips of an elongated protein homodimer. The two N-hooks enter the major groove of the double helix, establishing base-specific contacts. A high DNA curvature allows p4 N-hooks to reach two major groove areas three helical turns apart, like a bow and its string. The structure of phage phi29 transcription regulator p4-DNA complex reveals an N-hook motif for DNA.,Badia D, Camacho A, Perez-Lago L, Escandon C, Salas M, Coll M Mol Cell. 2006 Apr 7;22(1):73-81. PMID:16600871[1] From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. References
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