C. Krafft et al., RAMAN-SPECTROSCOPIC ANALYSIS OF TET REPRESSOR-OPERATOR DNA INTERACTION IN DEUTERIUM-OXIDE, Cellular and molecular biology, 44(1), 1998, pp. 239-250
Tet repressor (TetR) plays a central role in the regulation of its own
gene and in that of TetA, a resistance protein against the antibiotic
tetracycline (Tc). In the absence of Tc, the TetR dimer binds with tw
o alpha-helix-turn-alpha-helix motifs to two successive major grooves
of operator DNA. In order to elucidate structural features of the TetR
:operator complex, we measured the Raman spectra of the TetR protein,
a 18-mer oligonucleotide with sequence corresponding to TetR operator
DNA, and the TetR:operator complex in D2O. The spectra confirm and ext
end previously obtained results in H2O: i) B-DNA conformation is conse
rved with only small perturbations of the backbone geometry; ii) TetR
and operator DNA interact at major groove sites, as evident from inten
sity changes of thymine and guanine bands; iii) Minor changes of TetR
secondary structure are indicated upon operator binding, and iv) Local
environments of aromatic amino acids are altered in the complex. Thes
e spectroscopic findings are consistent with a molecular model propose
d of the basis of genetic and biochemical studies.