Crystal Structure of TetR Family Repressor AlkX from Dietzia sp. Strain DQ12-45-1b Implicated in Biodegradation of n-Alkanes.

ABSTRACT: n-Alkanes are ubiquitous in nature and are widely used by microorganisms as carbon sources. Alkane hydroxylation by alkane monooxygenases is a critical step in the aerobic biodegradation of n-alkanes, which plays important roles in natural alkane attenuation and is used in industrial and environmental applications. The alkane oxidation operon, alkW1-alkX, in the alkane-degrading strain Dietzia sp. strain DQ12-45-1b is negatively autoregulated by the TetR family repressor AlkX via a product positive feedback mechanism. To predict the gene regulation mechanism, we determined the 3.1-Å crystal structure of an AlkX homodimer in a non-DNA-bound state. The structure showed traceable long electron density deep inside a hydrophobic cavity of each monomer along the long

SUBMITTER: Liang JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5648916 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature