Abstract
THE repair of DNA requires the removal of abasic sites, which are constantly generated in vivo both spontaneously1 and by enzymatic removal of uracil2, and of bases damaged by active oxygen species, alkylating agents and ionizing radiation3,4. The major apurinic/ apyrimidinic (AP) DNA-repair endonuclease in Escherichia coli is the multifunctional enzyme exonuclease III, which also exhibits 3′-repair diesterase, 3′→ 5′ exonuclease, 3′-phosphomonoesterase and ribonuclease activities5. We report here the 1.7 Å resolution crystal structure of exonuclease III which reveals a 2-fold symmetric, four-layered ap fold with similarities to both deoxyribo-nuclease I6 and RNase H7. In the ternary complex determined at 2.6 Å resolution, Mn2+ and dCMP bind to exonuclease III at one end of the αβ-sandwich, in a region dominated by positive electrostatic potential. Residues conserved among AP endonucleases from bacteria to man cluster within this active site and appear to participate in phosphate-bond cleavage at AP sites through a nucleophilic attack facilitated by a single bound metal ion.
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Mol, C., Kuo, CF., Thayer, M. et al. Structure and function of the multifunctional DNA-repair enzyme exonuclease III. Nature 374, 381–386 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/374381a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/374381a0
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