Structural highlights
Function
[MTERF_HUMAN] Transcription termination factor. Binds to a 28 bp region within the tRNA(Leu(uur)) gene at a position immediately adjacent to and downstream of the 16S rRNA gene; this region comprises a tridecamer sequence critical for directing accurate termination. Binds DNA along the major grove and promotes DNA bending and partial unwinding. Promotes base flipping. Probably requires one or more components for termination activity.[1]
Evolutionary Conservation
Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
Defects in mitochondrial gene expression are associated with aging and disease. Mterf proteins have been implicated in modulating transcription, replication and protein synthesis. We have solved the structure of a member of this family, the human mitochondrial transcriptional terminator MTERF1, bound to dsDNA containing the termination sequence. The structure indicates that upon sequence recognition MTERF1 unwinds the DNA molecule, promoting eversion of three nucleotides. Base flipping is critical for stable binding and transcriptional termination. Additional structural and biochemical results provide insight into the DNA binding mechanism and explain how MTERF1 recognizes its target sequence. Finally, we have demonstrated that the mitochondrial pathogenic G3249A and G3244A mutations interfere with key interactions for sequence recognition, eliminating termination. Our results provide insight into the role of mterf proteins and suggest a link between mitochondrial disease and the regulation of mitochondrial transcription.
Helix unwinding and base flipping enable human MTERF1 to terminate mitochondrial transcription.,Yakubovskaya E, Mejia E, Byrnes J, Hambardjieva E, Garcia-Diaz M Cell. 2010 Jun 11;141(6):982-93. PMID:20550934[2]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
References
- ↑ Yakubovskaya E, Mejia E, Byrnes J, Hambardjieva E, Garcia-Diaz M. Helix unwinding and base flipping enable human MTERF1 to terminate mitochondrial transcription. Cell. 2010 Jun 11;141(6):982-93. PMID:20550934 doi:10.1016/j.cell.2010.05.018
- ↑ Yakubovskaya E, Mejia E, Byrnes J, Hambardjieva E, Garcia-Diaz M. Helix unwinding and base flipping enable human MTERF1 to terminate mitochondrial transcription. Cell. 2010 Jun 11;141(6):982-93. PMID:20550934 doi:10.1016/j.cell.2010.05.018
