Transcription factors in Escherichia coli prefer the holo conformation.

ABSTRACT: The transcriptional regulatory network of Escherichia coli K-12 is among the best studied gene networks of any living cell. Transcription factors bind to DNA either with their effector bound (holo conformation), or as a free protein (apo conformation) regulating transcription initiation. By using RegulonDB, the functional conformations (holo or apo) of transcription factors, and their mode of regulation (activator, repressor, or dual) were exhaustively analyzed. We report a striking discovery in the architecture of the regulatory network, finding a strong under-representation of the apo conformation (without allosteric metabolite) of transcription factors when binding to their DNA sites to activate transcription. This observation is supported at the level of individual regulatory interacti

SUBMITTER: Balderas-Martinez YI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3680503 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature