Metal cofactors in the structure and activity of the fowlpox resolvase.

ABSTRACT: Poxvirus DNA replication generates linear concatemers containing many copies of the viral genome with inverted repeat sequences at the junctions between monomers. The inverted repeats refold to generate Holliday junctions, which are cleaved by the virus-encoded resolvase enzyme to form unit-length genomes. Here we report studies of the influence of metal cofactors on the activity and structure of the resolvase of fowlpox virus, which provides a tractable model for in vitro studies. Small-molecule inhibitors of related enzymes bind simultaneously to metal cofactors and nearby surface amino acid residues, so understanding enzyme-cofactor interactions is important for the design of antiviral agents. Analysis of inferred active-site residues (D7, E60, K102, D132, and D135) by mutagenesis and m

SUBMITTER: Culyba MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2880857 | biostudies-literature | 2010 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature