Replication termination in Escherichia coli: structure and antihelicase activity of the Tus-Ter complex.

ABSTRACT: The arrest of DNA replication in Escherichia coli is triggered by the encounter of a replisome with a Tus protein-Ter DNA complex. A replication fork can pass through a Tus-Ter complex when traveling in one direction but not the other, and the chromosomal Ter sites are oriented so replication forks can enter, but not exit, the terminus region. The Tus-Ter complex acts by blocking the action of the replicative DnaB helicase, but details of the mechanism are uncertain. One proposed mechanism involves a specific interaction between Tus-Ter and the helicase that prevents further DNA unwinding, while another is that the Tus-Ter complex itself is sufficient to block the helicase in a polar manner, without the need for specific protein-protein interactions. This review integrates three decades of

SUBMITTER: Neylon C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1197808 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature