Non-independence of Mnt repressor-operator interaction determined by a new quantitative multiple fluorescence relative affinity (QuMFRA) assay

Nucleic Acids Res. 2001 Jun 15;29(12):2471-8. doi: 10.1093/nar/29.12.2471.

Abstract

Salmonella bacteriophage repressor Mnt belongs to the ribbon-helix-helix class of transcription factors. Previous SELEX results suggested that interactions of Mnt with positions 16 and 17 of the operator DNA are not independent. Using a newly developed high-throughput quantitative multiple fluorescence relative affinity (QuMFRA) assay, we directly quantified the relative equilibrium binding constants (K(ref)) of Mnt to operators carrying all the possible dinucleotide combinations at these two positions. Results show that Mnt prefers binding to C, instead of wild-type A, at position 16 when wild-type C at position 17 is changed to other bases. The measured K(ref) values of double mutants were also higher than the values predicted from single mutants, demonstrating the non-independence of these two positions. The ability to produce a large number of quantitative binding data simultaneously and the potential to scale up makes QuMFRA a valuable tool for the large-scale study of macromolecular interaction.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Bacteriophage P22 / genetics*
  • Base Sequence
  • Binding Sites
  • DNA / genetics
  • DNA / metabolism*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism
  • Fluorescence
  • Fluorescent Dyes / metabolism
  • Models, Molecular
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Operator Regions, Genetic / genetics
  • Protein Binding
  • Repressor Proteins / metabolism*
  • Salmonella / genetics
  • Salmonella / virology
  • Substrate Specificity
  • Thermodynamics
  • Viral Proteins / metabolism*
  • Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins

Substances

  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Fluorescent Dyes
  • Repressor Proteins
  • Viral Proteins
  • Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins
  • phage repressor proteins
  • DNA