Intersubunit allosteric communication mediated by a conserved loop in the MCM helicase.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 19164574.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.0809192106 and PMC identifier 2633543.
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Abstract
The minichromosome maintenance (MCM) helicase is the presumptive replicative helicase in archaea and eukaryotes. The archaeal homomultimeric MCM has a two-tier structure. One tier contains the AAA+ motor domains of the proteins, and these are the minimal functional helicase domains. The second tier is formed by the N-terminal domains. These domains are not essential for MCM helicase activity but act to enhance the processivity of the helicase. We reveal that a conserved loop facilitates communication between processivity and motor tiers. Interestingly, this allostery seems to be mediated by interactions between, rather than within, individual protomers in the MCM ring.
Medical subject headings
- Conserved Sequence
- DNA Helicases
- Protein Subunits
- Sulfolobus solfataricus