A. Kryzaniak et al., Specific induction of Z-DNA conformation by a nuclear localization signal peptide of lupin glutaminyl tRNA synthetase, MOL BIOL RP, 27(1), 2000, pp. 51-54
Recently we have sequenced cDNA of plant glutaminyl-tRNA synthetase (GlnRS)
from Lupinus luteus. At the N terminal port the protein contains a lysine
rich polypeptide (KPKKKKEK), which is identical to a nuclear localization s
ignal (NLS). In this paper we showed that two synthetic peptides (20 and 8
amino acids long), which were derived fi om lupin GlnRS containing the NLS
sequence interact with DNA, but one of them (8aa long) changing its conform
ation from the B to the Z form. This observation clearly suggests that the
presence of the NLS polypeptide in a leader sequence of GlnRS is required n
ot only for protein transport into nucleus but also for regulation of a gen
e expression. This is the first report suggesting a role of the NLS signal
peptide in structural changes of DNA.