The crystal structure of flap endonuclease-1 from Methanococcus jannaschii.
Hwang, K.Y., Baek, K., Kim, H.Y., Cho, Y.(1998) Nat Struct Biol 5: 707-713
- PubMed: 9699635 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1406
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
1A76, 1A77 - PubMed Abstract: 
Flap endonuclease-1 (FEN-1), a structure specific nuclease, is an essential enzyme for eukaryotic DNA replication and repair. The crystal structure of FEN-1 from Methanococcus jannaschii, determined at 2.0 A resolution, reveals an active site with two metal ions residing on top of a deep cleft where several conserved acidic residues are clustered. Near the active site, a long flexible loop comprised of many basic and aromatic residues forms a hole large enough to accommodate the DNA substrate. Deletion mutations in this loop significantly decreased the nuclease activity and specificity of FEN-1, suggesting that the loop is critical for recognition and cleavage of the junction between single and double-stranded regions of flap DNA.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Structural Biology Center, Korea Institute of Science & Technology, Seoul, South Korea.