Summary information and primary citation
- PDB-id
-
6ryd;
SNAP-derived features in text and
JSON formats
- Class
- DNA binding protein
- Method
- X-ray (1.575 Å)
- Summary
- Wus-hd bound to tgaa DNA
- Reference
-
Sloan J, Hakenjos JP, Gebert M, Ermakova O, Gumiero A,
Stier G, Wild K, Sinning I, Lohmann JU (2020): "Structural
basis for the complex DNA binding behavior of the plant
stem cell regulator WUSCHEL." Nat Commun,
11, 2223. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-16024-y.
- Abstract
- Stem cells are one of the foundational evolutionary
novelties that allowed the independent emergence of
multicellularity in the plant and animal lineages. In
plants, the homeodomain (HD) transcription factor WUSCHEL
(WUS) is essential for the maintenance of stem cells in the
shoot apical meristem. WUS has been reported to bind to
diverse DNA motifs and to act as transcriptional activator
and repressor. However, the mechanisms underlying this
remarkable behavior have remained unclear. Here, we
quantitatively delineate WUS binding to three divergent DNA
motifs and resolve the relevant structural underpinnings.
We show that WUS exhibits a strong binding preference for
TGAA repeat sequences, while retaining the ability to
weakly bind to TAAT elements. This behavior is
attributable to the formation of dimers through
interactions of specific residues in the HD that stabilize
WUS DNA interaction. Our results provide a mechanistic
basis for dissecting WUS dependent regulatory networks in
plant stem cell control.
