Controlling tetramer formation, subunit rotation and DNA ligation during Hin-catalyzed DNA inversion.

Two critical steps controlling serine recombinase activity are the remodeling of dimers into the chemically active synaptic tetramer and the regulation of subunit rotation during DNA exchange. We identify a set of hydrophobic residues within the oligomerization helix that controls these steps by the Hin DNA invertase. Phe105 and Met109 insert into hydrophobic pockets within the catalytic domain of the same subunit to stabilize the inactive dimer conformation. These rotate out of the catalytic domain in the dimer and into the subunit rotation interface of the tetramer. About half of residue 105 and 109 substitutions gain the ability to generate stable synaptic tetramers and/or promote DNA chemistry without activation by the Fis/enhancer element. Phe106 replaces Phe105 in the catalytic domain pocket to stabilize the tetramer conformation. Significantly, many of the residue 105 and 109 substitutions support subunit rotation but impair ligation, implying a defect in rotational pausing at the tetrameric conformer poised for ligation. We propose that a ratchet-like surface involving Phe105, Met109 and Leu112 within the rotation interface functions to gate the subunit rotation reaction. Hydrophobic residues are present in analogous positions in other serine recombinases and likely perform similar functions

Modulation of HU-DNA interactions by salt concentration and applied force.

HU is one of the most abundant proteins in bacterial chromosomes and participates in nucleoid compaction and gene regulation. We report experiments using DNA stretching that study the dependence of DNA condensation by HU on force, salt and HU concentration. Previous experiments at sub-physiological salt levels revealed that low concentrations of HU could compact DNA, whereas larger HU concentrations formed a DNA-stiffening complex. Here we report that this bimodal binding behavior depends sensitively on salt concentration. Only the compaction mode was observed for 150 mM and higher NaCl levels, i.e. for physiological salt concentrations. Similar results were obtained for the more physiological salt K-glutamate. Real-time studies of dissociation kinetics revealed that HU unbound slowly (minutes to hours under the conditions studied) but completely for salt concentrations at or above 100 mM NaCl; the lifetime of HU complexes was observed to increase with the HU concentration at which the complexes were formed, and to decrease with salt concentration. Higher salt levels of 300 mM NaCl completely eliminated observable HU binding to DNA. Finally, we observed that the dissociation kinetics depend on force applied to the DNA: increased applied force in the sub-piconewton range accelerates dissociation, suggesting a mechanism for DNA tension to regulate chromosome structure and gene expression

DNA Sequence Determinants Controlling Affinity, Stability and Shape of DNA Complexes Bound by the Nucleoid Protein Fis.

The abundant Fis nucleoid protein selectively binds poorly related DNA sequences with high affinities to regulate diverse DNA reactions. Fis binds DNA primarily through DNA backbone contacts and selects target sites by reading conformational properties of DNA sequences, most prominently intrinsic minor groove widths. High-affinity binding requires Fis-stabilized DNA conformational changes that vary depending on DNA sequence. In order to better understand the molecular basis for high affinity site recognition, we analyzed the effects of DNA sequence within and flanking the core Fis binding site on binding affinity and DNA structure. X-ray crystal structures of Fis-DNA complexes containing variable sequences in the noncontacted center of the binding site or variations within the major groove interfaces show that the DNA can adapt to the Fis dimer surface asymmetrically. We show that the presence and position of pyrimidine-purine base steps within the major groove interfaces affect both local DNA bending and minor groove compression to modulate affinities and lifetimes of Fis-DNA complexes. Sequences flanking the core binding site also modulate complex affinities, lifetimes, and the degree of local and global Fis-induced DNA bending. In particular, a G immediately upstream of the 15 bp core sequence inhibits binding and bending, and A-tracts within the flanking base pairs increase both complex lifetimes and global DNA curvatures. Taken together, our observations support a revised DNA motif specifying high-affinity Fis binding and highlight the range of conformations that Fis-bound DNA can adopt. The affinities and DNA conformations of individual Fis-DNA complexes are likely to be tailored to their context-specific biological functions

Controlled rotation mechanism of DNA strand exchange by the Hin serine recombinase.

DNA strand exchange by serine recombinases has been proposed to occur by a large-scale rotation of halves of the recombinase tetramer. Here we provide the first direct physical evidence for the subunit rotation mechanism for the Hin serine invertase. Single-DNA looping assays using an activated mutant (Hin-H107Y) reveal specific synapses between two hix sites. Two-DNA "braiding" experiments, where separate DNA molecules carrying a single hix are interwound, show that Hin-H107Y cleaves both hix sites and mediates multi-step rotational relaxation of the interwinding. The variable numbers of rotations in the DNA braid experiments are in accord with data from bulk experiments that follow DNA topological changes accompanying recombination by the hyperactive enzyme. The relatively slow Hin rotation rates, combined with pauses, indicate considerable rotary friction between synapsed subunit pairs. A rotational pausing mechanism intrinsic to serine recombinases is likely to be crucial for DNA ligation and for preventing deleterious DNA rearrangements

Assembly of a Tightly Interwound DNA Recombination Complex Poised for Deletion

In a recent issue of Molecular Cell, Mouw et al. (2008) report a crystal structure of a serine recombinase bound to a regulatory DNA site in an unexpected synaptic complex configuration, which forms the framework for a new model of the entire 12 subunit, 186 bp deletion complex

Multiple interfaces between a serine recombinase and an enhancer control site-specific DNA inversion.

Serine recombinases are often tightly controlled by elaborate, topologically-defined, nucleoprotein complexes. Hin is a member of the DNA invertase subclass of serine recombinases that are regulated by a remote recombinational enhancer element containing two binding sites for the protein Fis. Two Hin dimers bound to specific recombination sites associate with the Fis-bound enhancer by DNA looping where they are remodeled into a synaptic tetramer competent for DNA chemistry and exchange. Here we show that the flexible beta-hairpin arms of the Fis dimers contact the DNA binding domain of one subunit of each Hin dimer. These contacts sandwich the Hin dimers to promote remodeling into the tetramer. A basic region on the Hin catalytic domain then contacts enhancer DNA to complete assembly of the active Hin tetramer. Our results reveal how the enhancer generates the recombination complex that specifies DNA inversion and regulates DNA exchange by the subunit rotation mechanism. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.01211.001

Control of DNA minor groove width and Fis protein binding by the purine 2-amino group.

The width of the DNA minor groove varies with sequence and can be a major determinant of DNA shape recognition by proteins. For example, the minor groove within the center of the Fis-DNA complex narrows to about half the mean minor groove width of canonical B-form DNA to fit onto the protein surface. G/C base pairs within this segment, which is not contacted by the Fis protein, reduce binding affinities up to 2000-fold over A/T-rich sequences. We show here through multiple X-ray structures and binding properties of Fis-DNA complexes containing base analogs that the 2-amino group on guanine is the primary molecular determinant controlling minor groove widths. Molecular dynamics simulations of free-DNA targets with canonical and modified bases further demonstrate that sequence-dependent narrowing of minor groove widths is modulated almost entirely by the presence of purine 2-amino groups. We also provide evidence that protein-mediated phosphate neutralization facilitates minor groove compression and is particularly important for binding to non-optimally shaped DNA duplexes

Architecture of the Hin Synaptic Complex during Recombination The Recombinase Subunits Translocate with the DNA Strands

AbstractMost site-specific recombinases can be grouped into two mechanistically distinct families. Whereas tyrosine recombinases exchange DNA strands through a Holliday intermediate, serine recombinases such as Hin generate double-strand breaks in each recombining partner. Here, site-directed protein crosslinking is used to elucidate the configuration of protein subunits and DNA within the Hin synaptic complex and to follow the movement of protein subunits during DNA strand exchange. Our results show that the protein interface mediating synapsis is localized to a region within the catalytic domains, thereby positioning the DNA strands on the outside of the Hin tetrameric complex. Unexpected crosslinks between residues within the dimerization helices provide evidence for a conformational change that accompanies DNA cleavage. We demonstrate that the Hin subunits, which are linked to the cleaved DNA ends by serine-phosphodiester bonds, translocate between synapsed dimers to exchange the DNA strands