PMID: 20154704 , Related PDB ids: 3KHG, 3KHH, 3KHL, 3KHR

Authors:

Rechkoblit O, Kolbanovskiy A, Malinina L, Geacintov NE, Broyde S, Patel DJ

Title:

Mechanism of error-free and semitargeted mutagenic bypass of an aromatic amine lesion by Y-family polymerase Dpo4.

Journal:

Nat Struct Mol Biol. 2010 Mar;17(3):379-88. Epub 2010 Feb 14.

Abstract:

The aromatic amine carcinogen 2-aminofluorene (AF) forms covalent adducts with DNA, predominantly with guanine at the C8 position. Such lesions are bypassed by Y-family polymerases such as Dpo4 via error-free and error-prone mechanisms. We show that Dpo4 catalyzes elongation from a correct 3'-terminal cytosine opposite [AF]G in a nonrepetitive template sequence with low efficiency. This extension leads to cognate full-length product, as well as mis-elongated products containing base mutations and deletions. Crystal structures of the Dpo4 ternary complex, with the 3'-terminal primer cytosine base opposite [AF]G in the anti conformation and with the AF moiety positioned in the major groove, reveal both accurate and misalignment-mediated mutagenic extension pathways. The mutagenic template-primer-dNTP arrangement is promoted by interactions between the polymerase and the bulky lesion rather than by a base pair-stabilized misaligment. Further extension leads to semitargeted mutations via this proposed polymerase-guided mechanism.