Role of Salt Valency in the Switch of H-NS Proteins between DNA-Bridging and DNA-Stiffening Modes.

ABSTRACT: This work investigates the interactions of H-NS proteins and bacterial genomic DNA through computer simulations performed with a coarse-grained model. The model was developed specifically to study the switch of H-NS proteins from the DNA-stiffening to the DNA-bridging mode, which has been observed repeatedly upon addition of multivalent cations to the buffer but is still not understood. Unraveling the corresponding mechanism is all the more crucial, as the regulation properties of H-NS proteins, as well as other nucleoid proteins, are linked to their DNA-binding properties. The simulations reported here support a mechanism, according to which the primary role of multivalent cations consists in decreasing the strength of H-NS/DNA interactions compared to H-NS/H-NS interactions, with the lat

SUBMITTER: Joyeux M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6129573 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature