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Journal of Bacteriology, April 2003, p. 2251-2258, Vol. 185, No. 7
0021-9193/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.185.7.2251-2258.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The src Homology 3-Like Domain of the Diphtheria Toxin Repressor (DtxR) Modulates Repressor Activation through Interaction with the Ancillary Metal Ion-Binding Site

Department of Microbiology,¹ Evans Department of Clinical Research and Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02118²

Received 13 November 2002/ Accepted 15 January 2003

The diphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR) is a transition metal ion-activated repressor that acts as a global regulatory element in the control of iron-sensitive genes in Corynebacterium diphtheriae. We recently described (L. Sun, J. C. vanderSpek, and J. R. Murphy, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 95:14985-14990, 1998) the isolation and in vivo characterization of a hyperactive mutant of DtxR, DtxR(E175K), that appeared to be constitutively active. We demonstrate here that while DtxR(E175K) remains active in vivo in the presence of 300 µM 2,2'dipyridyl, the purified repressor is, in fact, dependent upon low levels of transition metal ion to transit from the inactive apo form to the active metal ion-bound form of the repressor. Binding studies using 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid suggest that the E175K mutation stabilizes an intermediate of the molten-globule form of the repressor, increasing exposure of hydrophobic residues to solvent. We demonstrate that the hyperactive DtxR(E175K) phenotype is dependent upon an intact ancillary metal ion-binding site (site 1) of the repressor. These observations support the hypothesis that metal ion binding in the ancillary site facilitates the conversion of the inactive apo-repressor to its active, operator-binding conformation. Furthermore, these results support the hypothesis that the C-terminal src homology 3-like domain of DtxR plays an active role in the modulation of repressor activity.

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