Open AccessZinc (II) and the single-stranded DNA binding protein of bacteriophage T4.
Author(s) -
Peter Gauss,
Kathy Boltrek Krassa,
David S. McPheeters,
Mary Anne Nelson,
Larry Gold
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.84.23.8515
Subject(s) - zinc finger , gene , dna , biology , dna binding protein , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteriophage , transcription (linguistics) , zinc finger nuclease , ring finger domain , transcription factor , genetics , escherichia coli , linguistics , philosophy
The DNA binding domain of the gene 32 protein of the bacteriophage T4 contains a single "zinc-finger" sequence. The gene 32 protein is an extensively studied member of a class of proteins that bind relatively nonspecifically to single-stranded DNA. We have sequenced and characterized mutations in gene 32 whose defective proteins are activated by increasing the Zn(II) concentration in the growth medium. Our results identify a role for the gene 32 protein in activation of T4 late transcription. Several eukaryotic proteins with zinc fingers participate in activation of transcription, and the gene 32 protein of T4 should provide a simple, well-characterized system in which genetics can be utilized to study the role of a zinc finger in nucleic acid binding and gene expression.