cAMP Receptor Protein from <i>Escherichia coli</i> as a Model of Signal Transduction in Proteins – A Review

In Escherichia coli, cyclic AMP receptor protein (CRP) is known to regulate the transcription of about 100 genes. The signal to activate CRP is the binding of cyclic AMP. It has been suggested that binding of cAMP to CRP leads to a long-distance signal transduction from the N-terminal cAMP-binding domain to the C-terminal domain of the protein, which is responsible for interaction with specific sequences of DNA. The signal transduction plays a crucial role in the activation of the protein. The most sophisticated spectroscopic techniques, other techniques frequently used in structural biochemistry, and site-directed mutagenesis have been used to investigate the details of cAMP-mediated allosteric control over CRP conformation and activity as a transcription factor. The aim of this review is to summarize recent works and developments pertaining to cAMP-dependent CRP signal transduction in E. coli.