Transcription inhibition by the depsipeptide antibiotic salinamide A
- Rutgers University, United States
- University of California, San Diego, United States
Abstract
We report that bacterial RNA polymerase (RNAP) is the functional cellular target of the depsipeptide antibiotic salinamide A (Sal), and we report that Sal inhibits RNAP through a novel binding site and mechanism. We show that Sal inhibits RNA synthesis in cells and that mutations that confer Sal-resistance map to RNAP genes. We show that Sal interacts with the RNAP active-center 'bridge-helix cap,' comprising the 'bridge-helix N-terminal hinge,' 'F-loop,' and 'link region.' We show that Sal inhibits nucleotide addition in transcription initiation and elongation. We present a crystal structure that defines interactions between Sal and RNAP and effects of Sal on RNAP conformation. We propose that Sal functions by binding to the RNAP bridge-helix cap and preventing conformational changes of the bridge-helix N-terminal hinge necessary for nucleotide addition. The results provide a target for antibacterial drug discovery and a reagent to probe conformation and function of the bridge-helix N-terminal hinge.
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© 2014, Degen et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Transcription inhibition by the depsipeptide antibiotic salinamide A
eLife 3:e02451.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02451
Further reading
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