Insights into the Molecular Recognition of the 5’-GNN-3’Family
of DNA Sequences by Zinc Finger Domains
Chien Kuo Yuan
Abstract
The goal of this study was to investigate zinc finger
recognition of the 16-member family of 5’-GNN-3’ DNA sequences in order to understand better zinc finger/DNA-binding
mechanisms. Phage-display studies and the rational design of mutant zinc finger
domains were used to accomplish this goal. A total of 84 mutants of a
three-domain zinc finger protein have been analyzed for their DNA-binding specificity.
We report the results of mutagenesis experiments and obtain new insights into
zinc finger/DNA interactions from combining specificity data with computer modeling
and comparison with known structural data from NMR and crystallographic
studies. We may get some information that the orientation of the recognition
helix relative to the DNA is a critical determinant of specificity. However, it
is clear that zinc finger recognition of DNA is substantially more complex than
a simple one to one amino acid to base code.
Source
J Mol Biol. 2000 Nov 3;303(4):489-502.
Reference
1.
Segal,
D. J., Dreier, B., Beerli, R. R. & Barbas, C. F., III (1999). Toward
controlling gene expression at will: selection and design of zinc finger
domains recognizing each of the 5’-GNN-3’ DNA target sequences. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, 96,
2758-2763.
2.
Introduction
to Protein Structure 2ed edition , Carl Branden & John Tooze