Binding of the universal minicircle sequence binding protein at the kinetoplast DNA replication origin

Itay Onn, Irit Kapeller, Kawther Abu-Elneel, Joseph Shlomai*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Scopus citations

Abstract

Kinetoplast DNA, the mitochondrial DNA of trypanosomatids, is a remarkable DNA structure that contains, in the species Crithidia fasciculata, 5000 topologically linked duplex DNA minicircles. Their replication initiates at two conserved sequences, a dodecamer, known as the universal minicircle sequence (UMS), and a hexamer, which are located at the replication origins of the minicircle L and H strands, respectively. A UMS-binding protein (UMSBP) binds specifically the 12-mer UMS sequence and a 14-mer sequence that contains the conserved hexamer in their single-stranded DNA conformation. In vivo cross-linking analyses reveal the binding of UMSBP to kinetoplast DNA networks in the cell. Furthermore, UMSBP binds in vitro to native minicircle origin fragments, carrying the UMSBP recognition sequences. UMSBP binding at the replication origin induces conformational changes in the bound DNA through its folding, aggregation and condensation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)37468-37476
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Biological Chemistry
Volume281
Issue number49
DOIs
StatePublished - 8 Dec 2006

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Binding of the universal minicircle sequence binding protein at the kinetoplast DNA replication origin'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this