Mapping the protein regions responsible for the functional specificities of the Arabidopsis MADS domain organ-identity proteins.

The Arabidopsis MADS domain proteins AP1, AP3, PI, and AG specify floral organ identity. All of these proteins contain a MADS domain required for DNA binding and dimerization; a region termed L (linker between MADS domain and K domain), which plays an important role in dimerization specificity; the K domain, named for its similarity to the coiled-coil domain of keratin; and a C-terminal region of unknown function. To determine which regions of these proteins are responsible for their abilities to specify different organs, we have made a number of chimeric MADS box genes. The in vivo function of these chimeric genes was investigated by ectopic expression in transgenic Arabidopsis plants. The four proteins fall into two classes on the basis of regions responsible for their functional specificities. The L region and K domain define the functional specificities of AP3 and PI, while the MADS domain and L region define the functional specificities of AP1 and AG.

The single Cys2-His2 zinc finger domain of the GAGA protein flanked by basic residues is sufficient for high-affinity specific DNA binding.

Specific DNA binding to the core consensus site GAGAGAG has been shown with an 82-residue peptide (residues 310-391) taken from the Drosophila transcription factor GAGA. Using a series of deletion mutants, it was demonstrated that the minimal domain required for specific binding (residues 310-372) includes a single zinc finger of the Cys2-His2 family and a stretch of basic amino acids located on the N-terminal end of the zinc finger. In gel retardation assays, the specific binding seen with either the peptide or the whole protein is zinc dependent and corresponds to a dissociation constant of approximately 5 x 10(-9) M for the purified peptide. It has previously been thought that a single zinc finger of the Cys2-His2 family is incapable of specific, high-affinity binding to DNA. The combination of an N-terminal basic region with a single Cys2-His2 zinc finger in the GAGA protein can thus be viewed as a novel DNA binding domain. This raises the possibility that other proteins carrying only one Cys2-His2 finger are also capable of high-affinity specific binding to DNA.

Distance determination in proteins using designed metal ion binding sites and site-directed spin labeling: application to the lactose permease of Escherichia coli.

As shown in the accompanying paper, the magnetic dipolar interaction between site-directed metal-nitroxide pairs can be exploited to measure distances in T4 lysozyme, a protein of known structure. To evaluate this potentially powerful method for general use, particularly with membrane proteins that are difficult to crystallize, both a paramagnetic metal ion binding site and a nitroxide side chain were introduced at selected positions in the lactose permease of Escherichia coli, a paradigm for polytopic membrane proteins. Thus, three individual cysteine residues were introduced into putative helix IV of a lactose permease mutant devoid of native cysteine residues containing a high-affinity divalent metal ion binding site in the form of six contiguous histidine residues in the periplasmic loop between helices III and IV. In addition, the construct contained a biotin acceptor domain in the middle cytoplasmic loop to facilitate purification. After purification and spin labeling, electron paramagnetic resonance spectra were obtained with the purified proteins in the absence and presence of Cu(II). The results demonstrate that positions 103, 111, and 121 are 8, 14, and > 23 A from the metal binding site. These data are consistent with an alpha-helical conformation of transmembrane domain IV of the permease. Application of the technique to determine helix packing in lactose permease is discussed.