Desjarlais J R, Berg J M
Thomas C. Jenkins Department of Biophysics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 20218.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Aug 15;89(16):7345-9. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.16.7345.
Zinc finger proteins of the Cys2-His2 type consist of tandem arrays of domains, where each domain appears to contact three adjacent base pairs of DNA through three key residues. We have designed and prepared a series of variants of the central zinc finger within the DNA binding domain of Sp1 by using information from an analysis of a large data base of zinc finger protein sequences. Through systematic variations at two of the three contact positions (underlined), relatively specific recognition of sequences of the form 5'-GGGGN(G or T)GGG-3' has been achieved. These results provide the basis for rules that may develop into a code that will allow the design of zinc finger proteins with preselected DNA site specificity.
Cys2-His2型锌指蛋白由一系列串联的结构域组成，每个结构域似乎通过三个关键残基与DNA的三个相邻碱基对相接触。我们利用对锌指蛋白序列的大型数据库分析所获得的信息，设计并制备了Sp1的DNA结合结构域内中央锌指的一系列变体。通过在三个接触位置中的两个位置（下划线标注）进行系统变化，已实现了对5'-GGGGN(G或T)GGG-3'形式序列的相对特异性识别。这些结果为可能发展成一种编码规则奠定了基础，该编码规则将允许设计具有预先选定DNA位点特异性的锌指蛋白。
