Download MendeleyCharacterisation of Schizosaccharomyces pombe alpha-actinin.
Addario, B., Sandblad, L., Persson, K., Backman, L.(2016) PeerJ 4: e1858-e1858
- PubMed: 27069798 Search on PubMedSearch on PubMed Central
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1858
- Primary Citation Related Structures:
5BVR - PubMed Abstract:
The actin cytoskeleton plays a fundamental role in eukaryotic cells. Its reorganization is regulated by a plethora of actin-modulating proteins, such as a-actinin. In higher organisms, α-actinin is characterized by the presence of three distinct structural domains: an N-terminal actin-binding domain and a C-terminal region with EF-hand motif separated by a central rod domain with four spectrin repeats. Sequence analysis has revealed that the central rod domain of α-actinin from the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe consists of only two spectrin repeats. To obtain a firmer understanding of the structure and function of this unconventional α-actinin, we have cloned and characterized each structural domain. Our results show that this a-actinin isoform is capable of forming dimers and that the rod domain is required for this. However, its actin-binding and cross-linking activity appears less efficient compared to conventional α-actinins. The solved crystal structure of the actin-binding domain indicates that the closed state is stabilised by hydrogen bonds and a salt bridge not present in other α-actinins, which may reduce the affinity for actin.
- Cell Biology Laboratory, School of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, BioScience Institute, University College Cork , Cork , Ireland.
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