Broken TALEs: Transcription Activator-like Effectors Populate Partly Folded States.

ABSTRACT: Transcription activator-like effector proteins (TALEs) contain large numbers of repeats that bind double-stranded DNA, wrapping around DNA to form a continuous superhelix. Since unbound TALEs retain superhelical structure, it seems likely that DNA binding requires a significant structural distortion or partial unfolding. In this study, we use nearest-neighbor "Ising" analysis of consensus TALE (cTALE) repeat unfolding to quantify intrinsic folding free energies, coupling energies between repeats, and the free energy distribution of partly unfolded states, and to determine how those energies depend on the sequence that determines DNA-specificity (called the "RVD"). We find a moderate level of cooperativity for both the HD and NS RVD sequences (stabilizing interfaces combined with unstable r

SUBMITTER: Geiger-Schuller K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5153609 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature