AlkB recognition of a bulky DNA base adduct stabilized by chemical cross-linking

摘要

E.coli AlkB is a direct DNA/RNA repair protein that oxidatively reverses N1 alkylated purines and N3 alkylated pyrimidines to regular bases.Previous crystal structures have revealed N1-methyl adenine(1-meA) recognition by AlkB and a unique base flipping mechanism,but how the AlkB active site can accommodate bulky base adducts is largely unknown.Employing a previously developed chemical cross-linking technique,we crystallized AlkB with a duplex DNA containing a caged thymine base(cagedT).The structure revealed a flexible hairpin lid and a reorganized substrate recognition loop used by AlkB to accommodate cagedT.These observations demonstrate,at the molecular level,how bulky DNA adducts may be recognized and processed by AlkB.