Structures of carbon catabolite protein A-(HPr-Ser46-P) bound to diverse catabolite response element sites reveal the basis for high-affinity binding to degenerate DNA operators

Nucleic Acids Res. 2011 Apr;39(7):2931-42. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkq1177. Epub 2010 Nov 23.

Abstract

In Gram-positive bacteria, carbon catabolite protein A (CcpA) is the master regulator of carbon catabolite control, which ensures optimal energy usage under diverse conditions. Unlike other LacI-GalR proteins, CcpA is activated for DNA binding by first forming a complex with the phosphoprotein HPr-Ser46-P. Bacillus subtilis CcpA functions as both a transcription repressor and activator and binds to more than 50 operators called catabolite response elements (cres). These sites are highly degenerate with the consensus, WTGNNARCGNWWWCAW. How CcpA-(HPr-Ser46-P) binds such diverse sequences is unclear. To gain insight into this question, we solved the structures of the CcpA-(HPr-Ser46-P) complex bound to three different operators, the synthetic (syn) cre, ackA2 cre and gntR-down cre. Strikingly, the structures show that the CcpA-bound operators display different bend angles, ranging from 31° to 56°. These differences are accommodated by a flexible linkage between the CcpA helix-turn-helix-loop-helix motif and hinge helices, which allows independent docking of these DNA-binding modules. This flexibility coupled with an abundance of non-polar residues capable of non-specific nucleobase interactions permits CcpA-(HPr-Ser46-P) to bind diverse operators. Indeed, biochemical data show that CcpA-(HPr-Ser46-P) binds the three cre sites with similar affinities. Thus, the data reveal properties that license this protein to function as a global transcription regulator.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacillus subtilis / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / chemistry*
  • Base Sequence
  • Binding Sites
  • Consensus Sequence
  • Crystallography, X-Ray
  • DNA, Bacterial / chemistry
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / chemistry*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Operator Regions, Genetic*
  • Phosphoproteins / chemistry*
  • Protein Binding
  • Response Elements
  • Transcription Factors / chemistry*

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • DNA, Bacterial
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Phosphoproteins
  • Transcription Factors

Associated data

  • PDB/3OQM
  • PDB/3OQN
  • PDB/3OQO