Copper Sensing Function of Drosophila Metal-Responsive Transcription Factor-1 Is Mediated By a Tetranuclear Cu(I) Cluster
Drosophila melanogaster MTF-1 (dMTF-1) is a copper-responsive transcriptional activator that mediates resistance to Cu, as well as Zn and Cd. Here, we characterize a novel cysteine-rich domain which is crucial for sensing excess intracellular copper by dMTF-1. Transgenic flies expressing mutant dMTF-1 containing alanine substitutions of two, four or six cysteine residues within the sequence {sup 547}CNCTNCKCDQTKSCHGGDC{sup 565} are significantly or completely impaired in their ability to protect flies from copper toxicity and fail to up-regulate MtnA (metallothionein) expression in response to excess Cu. In contrast, these flies exhibit wild-type survival in response to copper deprivation thus revealing that the cysteine cluster domain is required only for sensing Cu load by dMTF-1. Parallel studies show that the isolated cysteine cluster domain is required to protect a copper-sensitive S. cerevisiae ace1 strain from copper toxicity. Cu(I) ligation by a Cys-rich domain peptide fragment drives the cooperative assembly of a polydentate [Cu{sub 4}-S{sub 6}] cage structure, characterized by a core of trigonally S{sub 3} coordinated Cu(I) ions bound by bridging thiolate ligands. While reminiscent of Cu{sub 4}-L{sub 6} (L = ligand) tetranuclear clusters in copper regulatory transcription factors of yeast, the absence of significant sequence homology is consistent with convergent evolution of a sensing strategy particularly well suited for Cu(I).
- Research Organization:
- SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-76SF00515
- OSTI ID:
- 958599
- Report Number(s):
- SLAC-REPRINT-2009-090; NARHAD; TRN: US201001%%756
- Journal Information:
- Nucleic Acids Res 36:3128,2008, Vol. 36, Issue 9; ISSN 0305-1048
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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