Lusetti Shelley L, Cox Michael M
Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 433 Babcock Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1544, USA.
Annu Rev Biochem. 2002;71:71-100. doi: 10.1146/annurev.biochem.71.083101.133940. Epub 2001 Nov 9.
The primary function of bacterial recombination systems is the nonmutagenic repair of stalled or collapsed replication forks. The RecA protein plays a central role in these repair pathways, and its biochemistry must be considered in this context. RecA protein promotes DNA strand exchange, a reaction that contributes to fork regression and DNA end invasion steps. RecA protein activities, especially formation and disassembly of its filaments, affect many additional steps. So far, Escherichia coli RecA appears to be unique among its nearly ubiquitous family of homologous proteins in that it possesses a motorlike activity that can couple the branch movement in DNA strand exchange to ATP hydrolysis. RecA is also a multifunctional protein, serving in different biochemical roles for recombinational processes, SOS induction, and mutagenic lesion bypass. New biochemical and structural information highlights both the similarities and distinctions between RecA and its homologs. Increasingly, those differences can be rationalized in terms of biological function.
细菌重组系统的主要功能是对停滞或崩溃的复制叉进行无诱变修复。RecA蛋白在这些修复途径中起着核心作用，因此必须在此背景下考虑其生物化学特性。RecA蛋白促进DNA链交换，这一反应有助于叉状回归和DNA末端侵入步骤。RecA蛋白的活性，尤其是其细丝的形成和解聚，会影响许多其他步骤。到目前为止，大肠杆菌RecA在其几乎无处不在的同源蛋白家族中似乎是独一无二的，因为它具有一种类似马达的活性，能够将DNA链交换中的分支移动与ATP水解偶联起来。RecA也是一种多功能蛋白，在重组过程、SOS诱导和诱变损伤旁路中发挥不同的生化作用。新的生化和结构信息突出了RecA与其同源物之间的异同。越来越多地，这些差异可以根据生物学功能来合理化解释。
