An integrative approach to the study of filamentous oligomeric assemblies, with application to RecA

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TitleAn integrative approach to the study of filamentous oligomeric assemblies, with application to RecA
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2015
AuthorsBoyer B, Ezelin J, Poulain P, Saladin A, Zacharias M, Robert CH, Prévost C
JournalPlos One
Volumein press
Paginatione0116414
Abstract

Oligomeric macromolecules in the cell self-organize into a wide variety of geometrical motifs such as helices, rings or linear filaments. The recombinase proteins involved in homologous recombination present many such assembly motifs. Here, we examine in particular the polymorphic characteristics of RecA, the most studied member of the recombinase family, using an integrative approach that relates local modes of monomer/monomer association to the global architecture of their screw-type organization. In our approach, local modes of association are sampled via docking or Monte Carlo simulations. This enables shedding new light on fiber morphologies that may be adopted by the RecA protein. Two distinct RecA helical morphologies, the so-called "extended" and "compressed" forms, are known to play a role in homologous recombination. We investigate the variability within each form in terms of helical parameters and steric accessibility. We also address possible helical discontinuities in RecA filaments due to multiple monomer-monomer association modes. By relating local interface organization to global filament morphology, the strategies developed here to study RecA self-assembly are particularly well suited to other DNA-binding proteins and to filamentous protein assemblies in general.

DOI10.1371/journal.pone.0116414
Citation Key2015|1965