Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: De March M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5234079 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
De March Matteo M Merino Nekane N Barrera-Vilarmau Susana S Crehuet Ramon R Onesti Silvia S Blanco Francisco J FJ De Biasio Alfredo A
Nature communications 20170110
Sliding clamps encircle DNA and tether polymerases and other factors to the genomic template. However, the molecular mechanism of clamp sliding on DNA is unknown. Using crystallography, NMR and molecular dynamics simulations, here we show that the human clamp PCNA recognizes DNA through a double patch of basic residues within the ring channel, arranged in a right-hand spiral that matches the pitch of B-DNA. We propose that PCNA slides by tracking the DNA backbone via a 'cogwheel' mechanism based ...[more]