The earliest of a series of copper efflux genes in Escherichia coli are controlled by CueR, a member of the MerR family of transcriptional activators. Thermodynamic calibration of CueR reveals a zeptomolar (10(-21) molar) sensitivity to free Cu+, which is far less than one atom per cell. Atomic details of this extraordinary sensitivity and selectivity for +1transition-metal ions are revealed by comparing the crystal structures of CueR and a Zn2+-sensing homolog, ZntR. An unusual buried metal-receptor site in CueR restricts the metal to a linear, two-coordinate geometry and uses helix-dipole and hydrogen-bonding interactions to enhance metal binding. This binding mode is rare among metalloproteins but well suited for an ultrasensitive genetic switch.

Ribonuclease (RNase) P is the universal ribozyme responsible for 5′-end tRNA processing. We report the crystal structure of the Thermotoga maritima RNase P holoenzyme in complex with tRNAPhe. The 154 kDa complex consists of a large catalytic RNA (P RNA), a small protein cofactor, and mature tRNA. The structure shows that RNA-RNA recognition occurs through shape complementarity, specific intermolecular contacts, and base pairing interactions. Soaks with a pre-tRNA 5′ leader sequence with and without metal help identify the 5′ substrate path and potential catalytic metal ions. The protein binds on top of a universally conserved structural module in P RNA and interacts with the leader, but not with mature tRNA. The active site is composed of phosphate backbone moieties, a universally conserved uridine nucleobase, and at least two catalytically important metal ions. The active site structure and conserved RNase P/tRNA contacts suggest a universal mechanism of catalysis by RNase P.

Spectrin is a vital component of the cytoskeleton, conferring flexibility on cells and providing a scaffold for a variety of proteins. It is composed of tandem, antiparallel coiled-coil repeats. We report four related crystal structures at 1.45 A, 2.0 A, 3.1 A, and 4.0 A resolution of two connected repeats of chicken brain alpha-spectrin. In all of the structures, the linker region between adjacent units is alpha-helical without breaks, kinks, or obvious boundaries. Two features observed in the structures are (1) conformational rearrangement in one repeat, resulting in movement of the position of a loop, and (2) varying degrees of bending at the linker region. These features form the basis of two different models of flexibility: a conformational rearrangement and a bending model. These models provide novel atomic details of spectrin flexibility.

The three-dimensional structure of the 67K amino-terminal fragment of Escherichia coli DNA topoisomerase I has been determined to 2.2 A resolution. The polypeptide folds in an unusual way to give four distinct domains enclosing a hole large enough to accommodate a double-stranded DNA. The active-site tyrosyl residue, which is involved in the transient breakage of a DNA strand and the formation of a covalent enzyme-DNA intermediate, is present at the interface of two domains. The structure suggests a plausible mechanism by which E. coli DNA topoisomerase I and other members of the same DNA topoisomerase subfamily could catalyse the passage of one DNA strand through a transient break in another strand.

Most continuous antigenic determinants of tobacco mosaic virus protein (TMVP), myoglobin and lysozyme correspond to those surface regions in the protein structure, as determined by X-ray crystallography, which possess a run of high-temperature factors along the polypeptide backbone, that is, a high segmental mobility. The mobility of an antigenic determinant may make it easier to adjust to a pre-existing antibody site not fashioned to fit the exact geometry of a protein. The correlation found between temperature factors and antigenicity is better than that between hydrophilicity and antigenicity.

Assuming that the lepton, quark and Higgs fields belong to the three-dimensional reducible representation of the permutation group S_3, we suggest a minimal S_3 invariant extension of the standard model. We find that in the leptonic sector, the exact S_3 x Z_2 symmetry, which allows 6 real independent parameters with two CP-violating phases, is consistent with experimental data and predicts a maximal mixing of the atmospheric neutrinos, and that the third neutrino is the lightest neutrino. With the exact S_3 only, there are 10 real parameters and five phases in the quark sector. A set of values of these parameters that are consistent with experimental observations is given.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX, 1 figure, erros correcte

Many transcriptional activators act at a distance from core promoter elements and work by recruiting RNA polymerase through protein-protein interactions. We show here how the prokaryotic regulatory protein CueR both represses and activates transcription by differentially modulating local DNA structure within the promoter. Structural studies reveal that the repressor state slightly bends the promoter DNA, precluding optimal RNA polymerase-promoter recognition. Upon binding a metal ion in the allosteric site, CueR switches into an activator conformation. It maintains all protein-DNA contacts but introduces torsional stresses that kink and undertwist the promoter, stabilizing an A-DNA-like conformation. These factors switch on and off transcription by exerting dynamic control of DNA stereochemistry, reshaping the core promoter and making it a better or worse substrate for polymerase.

RNase P is the only endonuclease responsible for processing the 5' end of transfer RNA by cleaving a precursor and leading to tRNA maturation. It contains an RNA component and a protein component and has been identified in all organisms. It was one of the first catalytic RNAs identified and the first that acts as a multiple-turnover enzyme in vivo. RNase P and the ribosome are so far the only two ribozymes known to be conserved in all kingdoms of life. The RNA component of bacterial RNase P can catalyse pre-tRNA cleavage in the absence of the RNase P protein in vitro and consists of two domains: a specificity domain and a catalytic domain. Here we report a 3.15-A resolution crystal structure of the 154-nucleotide specificity domain of Bacillus subtilis RNase P. The structure reveals the architecture of this domain, the interactions that maintain the overall fold of the molecule, a large non-helical but well-structured module that is conserved in all RNase P RNA, and the regions that are involved in interactions with the substrate.