Serva S, Weinhold E, Roberts R J, Klimasauskas S
Institute of Biotechnology, Laboratory of Biological DNA Modification, Graiciuno 8, LT-2028 Vilnius, Lithuania.
Nucleic Acids Res. 1998 Aug 1;26(15):3473-9. doi: 10.1093/nar/26.15.3473.
The DNA cytosine-C5 methyltransferase M. Hha I flips its target base out of the DNA helix during interaction with the substrate sequence GCGC. Binary and ternary complexes between M. Hha I and hemimethylated DNA duplexes were used to examine the suitability of four chemical methods to detect flipped-out bases in protein-DNA complexes. These methods probe the structural peculiarities of pyrimidine bases in DNA. We find that in cases when the target cytosine is replaced with thymine (GTGC), KMnO4proved an efficient probe for positive display of flipped-out thymines. The generality of this procedure was further verified by examining a DNA adenine-N6 methyltransferase, M. Taq I, in which case an enhanced reactivity of thymine replacing the target adenine (TCGT) in the recognition sequence TCGA was also observed. Our results support the proposed base-flipping mechanism for adenine methyltransferases, and offer a convenient laboratory tool for detection of flipped-out thymines in protein-DNA complexes.
DNA胞嘧啶 - C5甲基转移酶Hha I在与底物序列GCGC相互作用时,会将其目标碱基翻转出DNA螺旋。利用Hha I与半甲基化DNA双链体之间的二元和三元复合物,研究了四种化学方法检测蛋白质 - DNA复合物中翻转碱基的适用性。这些方法探测DNA中嘧啶碱基的结构特性。我们发现,当目标胞嘧啶被胸腺嘧啶取代(GTGC)时,高锰酸钾被证明是一种有效的探针,可用于阳性显示翻转出的胸腺嘧啶。通过研究DNA腺嘌呤 - N6甲基转移酶Taq I进一步验证了该方法的通用性,在这种情况下,还观察到在识别序列TCGA中,胸腺嘧啶取代目标腺嘌呤(TCGT)时反应性增强。我们的结果支持所提出的腺嘌呤甲基转移酶的碱基翻转机制,并为检测蛋白质 - DNA复合物中翻转出的胸腺嘧啶提供了一种便捷的实验室工具。