4JND

Structure of a C.elegans sex determining protein


Experimental Data Snapshot

  • Method: X-RAY DIFFRACTION
  • Resolution: 1.65 Å
  • R-Value Free: 0.203 
  • R-Value Work: 0.177 
  • R-Value Observed: 0.178 

wwPDB Validation   3D Report Full Report


This is version 1.2 of the entry. See complete history


Literature

Structural insight into Caenorhabditis elegans sex-determining protein FEM-2.

Zhang, Y.Zhao, H.Wang, J.Ge, J.Li, Y.Gu, J.Li, P.Feng, Y.Yang, M.

(2013) J Biol Chem 288: 22058-22066

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M113.464339
  • Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
    4JND

  • PubMed Abstract: 

    In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, fem-1, fem-2, and fem-3 play crucial roles in male sexual development. Among these three genes, fem-2 encodes a PP2C (serine/threonine phosphatase type 2C)-like protein, whose activity promotes the development of masculinity. Different from the canonical PP2Cs, FEM-2 consists of an additional N-terminal domain (NTD) apart from its C-terminal catalytic domain. Interestingly, genetic studies have indicated indispensable roles for both of these two domains of FEM-2 in promoting male development, but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. In the present study, we solved the crystal structure of full-length FEM-2, which revealed a novel structural fold formed by its NTD. Structural and functional analyses demonstrated that the NTD did not directly regulate the in vitro dephosphorylation activity of FEM-2, but instead functioned as a scaffold domain in the assembly of the FEM-1/2/3 complex, the executioner in the final step of the sex determination pathway. Biochemical studies further identified the regions in the NTD involved in FEM-1 and FEM-3 interactions. Our results not only identified a novel fold formed by the extra domain of a noncanonical PP2C enzyme, but also provided important insights into the molecular mechanism of how the NTD works in mediating the sex-determining role of FEM-1/2/3 complex.


  • Organizational Affiliation

    Ministry of Education (MOE) Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.


Macromolecules
Find similar proteins by:  (by identity cutoff)  |  3D Structure
Entity ID: 1
MoleculeChains Sequence LengthOrganismDetailsImage
Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase phosphatase454Caenorhabditis elegansMutation(s): 0 
Gene Names: fem-2T19C3.8
EC: 3.1.3.16
UniProt
Find proteins for P49594 (Caenorhabditis elegans)
Explore P49594 
Go to UniProtKB:  P49594
Entity Groups  
Sequence Clusters30% Identity50% Identity70% Identity90% Identity95% Identity100% Identity
UniProt GroupP49594
Sequence Annotations
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  • Reference Sequence
Experimental Data & Validation

Experimental Data

  • Method: X-RAY DIFFRACTION
  • Resolution: 1.65 Å
  • R-Value Free: 0.203 
  • R-Value Work: 0.177 
  • R-Value Observed: 0.178 
  • Space Group: C 2 2 21
Unit Cell:
Length ( Å )Angle ( ˚ )
a = 81.399α = 90
b = 160.093β = 90
c = 77.422γ = 90
Software Package:
Software NamePurpose
HKL-2000data collection
SHELXSphasing
PHENIXrefinement
HKL-2000data reduction
HKL-2000data scaling

Structure Validation

View Full Validation Report



Entry History 

Deposition Data

Revision History  (Full details and data files)

  • Version 1.0: 2013-06-19
    Type: Initial release
  • Version 1.1: 2015-06-17
    Changes: Database references
  • Version 1.2: 2024-03-20
    Changes: Data collection, Database references, Derived calculations