Connelly J C, Kirkham L A, Leach D R
Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Edinburgh, Kings Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3JR, United Kingdom.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 Jul 7;95(14):7969-74. doi: 10.1073/pnas.95.14.7969.
Hairpin structures can inhibit DNA replication and are intermediates in certain recombination reactions. We have shown that the purified SbcCD protein of Escherichia coli cleaves a DNA hairpin. This cleavage does not require the presence of a free (3' or 5') DNA end and generates products with 3'-hydroxyl and 5'-phosphate termini. Electron microscopy of SbcCD has revealed the "head-rod-tail" structure predicted for the SMC (structural maintenance of chromosomes) family of proteins, of which SbcC is a member. This work provides evidence consistent with the proposal that SbcCD cleaves hairpin structures that halt the progress of the replication fork, allowing homologous recombination to restore DNA replication.
发夹结构可抑制DNA复制,并且是某些重组反应的中间体。我们已经证明,纯化的大肠杆菌SbcCD蛋白可切割DNA发夹。这种切割不需要游离的(3'或5')DNA末端存在,并产生具有3'-羟基和5'-磷酸末端的产物。对SbcCD的电子显微镜观察揭示了为SMC(染色体结构维持)蛋白家族预测的“头-杆-尾”结构,其中SbcC是该家族的一员。这项工作提供的证据与以下提议一致:SbcCD切割阻止复制叉前进的发夹结构,从而允许同源重组来恢复DNA复制。