Using a structural and logics systems approach to infer bHLH-DNA binding specificity determinants
Authors
De Masi, FedericoGrove, Christian A.
Vedenko, Anastasia
Alibés, Andreu
Gisselbrecht, Stephen S.
Serrano, Luis
Bulyk, Martha L.
Walhout, Albertha J. M.
Document Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2011-06-01Keywords
Gene Regulatory NetworksTranscription Factors
Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factors
DNA-Binding Proteins
Genetics and Genomics
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Numerous efforts are underway to determine gene regulatory networks that describe physical relationships between transcription factors (TFs) and their target DNA sequences. Members of paralogous TF families typically recognize similar DNA sequences. Knowledge of the molecular determinants of protein-DNA recognition by paralogous TFs is of central importance for understanding how small differences in DNA specificities can dictate target gene selection. Previously, we determined the in vitro DNA binding specificities of 19 Caenorhabditis elegans basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) dimers using protein binding microarrays. These TFs bind E-box (CANNTG) and E-box-like sequences. Here, we combine these data with logics, bHLH-DNA co-crystal structures and computational modeling to infer which bHLH monomer can interact with which CAN E-box half-site and we identify a critical residue in the protein that dictates this specificity. Validation experiments using mutant bHLH proteins provide support for our inferences. Our study provides insights into the mechanisms of DNA recognition by bHLH dimers as well as a blueprint for system-level studies of the DNA binding determinants of other TF families in different model organisms and humans.Source
Nucleic Acids Res. 2011 Jun 1;39(11):4553-4563. Epub 2011 Feb 18. Link to article on publisher's siteDOI
10.1093/nar/gkr070Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/43945PubMed ID
21335608Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedRights
© The Author(s) 2011. Published by Oxford University Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1093/nar/gkr070