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. 1998 Jan 15;26(2):645–649. doi: 10.1093/nar/26.2.645

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometric characterization of photocrosslinked DNA-EcoRI DNA methyltransferase complexes.

D L Wong 1, J G Pavlovich 1, N O Reich 1
PMCID: PMC147290  PMID: 9421528

Abstract

We describe a novel strategy combining photocrosslinking and HPLC-based electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to identify UV crosslinked DNA-protein complexes. Eco RI DNA methyltransferase modifies the second adenine within the recognition sequence GAATTC. Substitution of 5-iodouracil for the thymine adjacent to the target base (GAATTC) does not detectably alter the DNA-protein complex. Irradiation of the 5-iodouracil-substituted DNA-protein complex at various wavelengths was optimized, with a crosslinking yield >60% at 313 nm after 1 min. No protein degradation was observed under these conditions. The crosslinked DNA-protein complex was further analyzed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The total mass is consistent with irradiation-dependent covalent bond formation between one strand of DNA and the protein. These preliminary results support the possibility of identifying picomole quantities of crosslinked peptides by similar strategies.

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Selected References

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