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. 1996 May 1;24(9):1780–1786. doi: 10.1093/nar/24.9.1780

Examining the contribution of a dA+dT element to the conformation of Escherichia coli integration host factor-DNA complexes.

L M Hales 1, R I Gumport 1, J F Gardner 1
PMCID: PMC145845  PMID: 8650000

Abstract

DNA binding proteins that induce structural changes in DNA are common in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Integration host factor (IHF) is a multi-functional DNA binding and bending protein of Escherichia coli that can mediate protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions by bending DNA. Previously we have shown that the presence of a dA+dT element 5'-proximal to an IHF consensus sequence can affect the binding of IHF to a particular site. In this study the contribution of various sequence elements to the formation of IHF-DNA complexes was examined. We show that IHF bends DNA more when it binds to a site containing a dA+dT element upstream of its core consensus element than to a site lacking a dA+dT element. We demonstrate that IHF can be specifically crosslinked to DNA with binding sites either containing or lacking this dA+dT element. These results indicate the importance of flanking DNA and a dA+dT element in the binding and bending of a site by IHF.

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Selected References

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