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Title: Staphylococcal SCCmec elements encode an active MCM-like helicase and thus may be replicative

Journal Article · · Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb.3286· OSTI ID:1347024
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [1]
  1. Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States). Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  2. Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States). Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Abbott Lab., North Chicago, IL (United States)
  3. Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States). Dept. of Pediatrics; Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States). MRSA Research Center
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Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a public-health threat worldwide. Although the mobile genomic island responsible for this phenotype, staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCC), has been thought to be nonreplicative, we predicted DNA-replication-related functions for some of the conserved proteins encoded by SCC. We show that one of these, Cch, is homologous to the self-loading initiator helicases of an unrelated family of genomic islands, that it is an active 3'-to-5' helicase and that the adjacent ORF encodes a single-stranded DNA–binding protein. Our 2.9-Å crystal structure of intact Cch shows that it forms a hexameric ring. Cch, like the archaeal and eukaryotic MCM-family replicative helicases, belongs to the pre–sensor II insert clade of AAA+ ATPases. Additionally, we found that SCC elements are part of a broader family of mobile elements, all of which encode a replication initiator upstream of their recombinases. Replication after excision would enhance the efficiency of horizontal gene transfer.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Advanced Photon Source (APS)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Institutes of Health (NIH)
DOE Contract Number:
R21AI117593
OSTI ID:
1347024
Journal Information:
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Vol. 23, Issue 10; ISSN 1545-9993
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH

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