But what do the surgeons look like that conduct these intricate snip-and-solder procedures?
While scientists have studied site-specific recombination for about 30 years, much remains a mystery. In the current issue of Nature, a Brown University and Harvard Medical School team reveals the crystal structure of λ-integrase (λ-INT), the protein responsible for this DNA doctoring in the lambda virus, which infects and lives off Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria.
The findings are important because lambda is a model virus used to understand mobile DNA, according to Arthur Landy, professor of medical science in the Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry at Brown. "Once you see the parts and how they fit together, you have a much better understanding of how the process works," Landy said. "So this work represents a major leap."
When the lambda virus inserts its DNA into E. coli, λ-INT is the major player in the process, literally snipping the E. coli DNA strands before insertion and then sealing them up afterward. The research also suggests how three "helper" proteins think of them as nurses intricately fold the DNA strands during this surgery.
Marta Radman-Livaja, a postdoctoral research associate at Brown, conducted the biological and biochemical aspects of the experiments. The Harvard team Tapan Biswas, Hideki Aihara, David Filman and Tom Ellenberger used X-ray crystallography, a technique that combines strong X-rays and sophisticated computer softw
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Contact: Wendy Lawton
Wendy_Lawton@brown.edu
401-863-1862
Brown University
22-Jun-2005