Fpg protein of Escherichia coli is a zinc finger protein whose cysteine residues have a structural and/or functional role.

The Fpg protein of Escherichia coli is a DNA repair enzyme with DNA glycosylase, abasic site nicking, and deoxyribose excising activities. Analysis of the amino acid sequence of this protein suggests that the Fpg protein is a zinc finger protein with a Cys-X2-Cys-X16-Cys-X2-Cys motif. Competition experiments show that the Fpg protein substitutes Cu(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II), metal ions classically associated with substitutions in zinc finger proteins. The Fpg protein activities are inhibited following the reaction with a Cys-specific reagent at low protein:reagent ratios, suggesting that these residues are important for the enzymatic activities. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to produce 6 mutant Fpg proteins with Cys-->Gly mutations. Substitution of the zinc in these proteins by 65Zn(II) indicates that all the proteins bind zinc, but the Zn(II) is not retained as strongly in the zinc finger mutants. The mutations in the Fpg protein outside the zinc finger consensus sequence do not eliminate the Fapy-DNA glycosylase and abasic site nicking. One of the Fpg mutant proteins outside the zinc finger has a reduced capacity to release deoxyribose from abasic sites. Cys-->Gly mutations in the zinc finger consensus sequence reduce all three aforementioned activities substantially. The purified Fpg proteins with Cys-->Gly mutations in the zinc finger consensus sequence do not incise DNA at abasic sites with the same efficiency nor mechanism as the native Fpg protein. The wild type Fpg protein and the Fpg proteins mutated outside the zinc finger sequence bind an oligonucleotide with a unique chemically reduced abasic site in a defined sequence as assayed by retention on nitrocellulose filters, whereas the mutant Fpg proteins within the zinc finger sequence do not bind to the same oligonucleotide. Therefore, the disruption of zinc coordination in the zinc finger of the Fpg protein is associated with decreased binding capacity to DNA as well as decreased enzymatic activities.