Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
53
pubmed:dateCreated
2000-2-8
pubmed:abstractText
MerR-like DNA distortion mechanisms have been proposed for a variety of stress-responsive transcription factors. The Escherichia coli ZntR protein, a homologue of MerR, has recently been shown to mediate Zn(II)-responsive regulation of zntA, a gene involved in Zn(II) detoxification. To determine whether the MerR DNA distortion mechanism is conserved among MerR family members, we have purified ZntR to homogeneity and shown that it is a zinc receptor that is necessary and sufficient to stimulate Zn-responsive transcription at the zntA promoter. Biochemical, DNA footprinting, and in vitro transcription assays indicate that apo-ZntR binds in the atypical 20-base pair spacer region of the promoter and distorts the DNA in a manner that is similar to apo-MerR. The addition of Zn(II) to ZntR converts it to a transcriptional activator protein that introduces changes in the DNA conformation. These changes apparently make the promoter a better substrate for RNA polymerase. We propose that this zinc-sensing homologue of MerR restructures the target promoter in a manner similar to that of other stress-responsive transcription factors. The ZntR metalloregulatory protein is a direct Zn(II) sensor that catalyzes transcriptional activation of a zinc efflux gene, thus preventing intracellular Zn(II) from exceeding an optimal but as yet unknown concentration.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Dec
pubmed:issn
0021-9258
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
31
pubmed:volume
274
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
37517-24
pubmed:dateRevised
2008-11-21
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1999
pubmed:articleTitle
DNA distortion mechanism for transcriptional activation by ZntR, a Zn(II)-responsive MerR homologue in Escherichia coli.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.