AFM-based force spectroscopy unravels stepwise formation of the DNA transposition complex in the widespread Tn3 family mobile genetic elements.

ABSTRACT: Transposon Tn4430 belongs to a widespread family of bacterial transposons, the Tn3 family, which plays a prevalent role in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance among pathogens. Despite recent data on the structural architecture of the transposition complex, the molecular mechanisms underlying the replicative transposition of these elements are still poorly understood. Here, we use force-distance curve-based atomic force microscopy to probe the binding of the TnpA transposase of Tn4430 to DNA molecules containing one or two transposon ends and to extract the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of transposition complex assembly. Comparing wild-type TnpA with previously isolated deregulated TnpA mutants supports a stepwise pathway for transposition complex formation and activation duri

SUBMITTER: Fernandez M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10250215 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature