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Letif Mones, István Simon, Monika Fuxreiter

Metal-binding sites at the active site of restriction endonuclease BamHI can conform to a one-ion mechanism

Keywords: metal ion cofactors, phosphoryl transfer, restriction endonucleases, two-metal ion mechanism

The number of metal ions required for phosphoryl transfer in restriction endonucleases is still an unresolved question in molecular biology. The two Ca²⁺ and Mn²⁺ ions observed in the pre- and post-reactive complexes of BamHI conform to the classical two-metal ion choreography. We probed the Mg²⁺ cofactor positions at the active site of BamHI by molecular dynamics simulations with one and two metal ions present and identified several catalytically relevant sites. These can mark the pathway of a single ion during catalysis, suggesting its critical role, while a regulatory function is proposed for a possible second ion.

Biological Chemistry, Walter de Gruyter

Print ISSN: 1431-6730
Volume: 388, 01/2007
Pages: 73 - 78

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