@article {3633,
	title = {Structural underpinnings of nitrogen regulation by the prototypical nitrogen-responsive transcriptional factor NrpR.},
	journal = {Structure},
	volume = {18},
	year = {2010},
	month = {2010 Nov 10},
	pages = {1512-21},
	abstract = {<p>Plants and microorganisms reduce environmental inorganic nitrogen to ammonium, which then enters various metabolic pathways solely via conversion of 2-oxoglutarate (2OG) to glutamate and glutamine. Cellular 2OG concentrations increase during nitrogen starvation. We recently identified a family of 2OG-sensing proteins{\textendash}the nitrogen regulatory protein NrpR{\textendash}that bind DNA and repress transcription of nitrogen assimilation genes. We used X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of NrpR regulatory domain. We identified the NrpR 2OG-binding cleft and show that residues predicted to interact directly with 2OG are conserved among diverse classes of 2OG-binding proteins. We show that high levels of 2OG inhibit NrpRs ability to bind DNA. Electron microscopy analyses document that NrpR adopts different quaternary structures in its inhibited 2OG-bound state compared with its active apo state. Our results indicate that upon 2OG release, NrpR repositions its DNA-binding domains correctly for optimal interaction with DNA thereby enabling gene repression.</p>
},
	keywords = {Archaeal, Electron, Gene Expression Regulation, Ketoglutaric Acids, Methanococcus, Microscopy, Models, Molecular, Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Nitrogen, PII Nitrogen Regulatory Proteins, Protein Conformation, Quaternary Ammonium Compounds, Transcription Factors},
	issn = {1878-4186},
	doi = {10.1016/j.str.2010.08.014},
	author = {Wisedchaisri, Goragot and Dranow, David M and Lie, Thomas J and Bonanno, Jeffrey B and Patskovsky, Yury and Ozyurt, Sinem A and Sauder, J Michael and Almo, Steven C and Wasserman, Stephen R and Burley, Stephen K and Leigh, John A and Gonen, Tamir}
}
