Structure
The 3-D structure of RNase H commonly consists of a 5-stranded β-sheet surrounded by a distribution of α-helices. In some RNase H, such as the one found in HIV-1, the enzyme is missing one of the helices known as the C-helix, a positively charged α-helix whose protrusive shape increases substrate binding capacity. The active site of the enzyme is centered around a conserved DEDD motif (composed of residues: D443, E478, D498, and D549) which performs the hydrolysis of the RNA substrate. A magnesium ion is commonly used as a cofactor during the hydrolysis step. It is also a potential but unconfirmed mechanism in which multiple ions are necessary for to perform the hydrolysis. The enzyme also contains a nucleic acid binding cleft about 60 Å in length that can encompass a region of 18 bound RNA/DNA base pairs.
Read more about this topic: RNase H
Famous quotes containing the word structure:
“... the structure of a page of good prose is, analyzed logically, not something frozen but the vibrating of a bridge, which changes with every step one takes on it.”
—Robert Musil (1880–1942)
“A special feature of the structure of our book is the monstrous but perfectly organic part that eavesdropping plays in it.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)
“A committee is organic rather than mechanical in its nature: it is not a structure but a plant. It takes root and grows, it flowers, wilts, and dies, scattering the seed from which other committees will bloom in their turn.”
—C. Northcote Parkinson (1909–1993)