Crystal Structure of the Smc Head Domain: An Abc ATPase with 900 Residues Antiparallel Coiled-Coil Inserted
Lowe, J., Cordell, S.C., van den Ent, F.(2001) J Mol Biol 306: 25
- PubMed: 11178891
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1006/jmbi.2000.4379
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
1E69 - PubMed Abstract:
SMC (structural maintenance of chromosomes) proteins are large coiled-coil proteins involved in chromosome condensation, sister chromatid cohesion, and DNA double-strand break processing. They share a conserved five-domain architecture with three globular domains separated by two long coiled-coil segments. The coiled-coil segments are antiparallel, bringing the N and C-terminal globular domains together. We have expressed a fusion protein of the N and C-terminal globular domains of Thermotoga maritima SMC in Escherichia coli by replacing the approximately 900 residue coiled-coil and hinge segment with a short peptide linker. The SMC head domain (SMChd) binds and condenses DNA in an ATP-dependent manner. Using selenomethionine-substituted protein and multiple anomalous dispersion phasing, we have solved the crystal structure of the SMChd to 3.1 A resolution. In the monoclinic crystal form, six SMChd molecules form two turns of a helix. The fold of SMChd is closely related to the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) ATPase family of proteins and Rad50, a member of the SMC family involved in DNA double-strand break repair. In SMChd, the ABC ATPase fold is formed by the N and C-terminal domains with the 900 residue coiled-coil and hinge segment inserted in the middle of the fold. The crystal structure of an SMChd confirms that the coiled-coil segments in SMC proteins are anti-parallel and shows how the N and C-terminal domains come together to form an ABC ATPase. Comparison to the structure of the MukB N-terminal domain demonstrates the close relationship between MukB and SMC proteins, and indicates a helix to strand conversion when N and C-terminal parts come together.
Organizational Affiliation:
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, MRC, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 2QH, UK. jyl@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk