The crystal structure of the herpes simplex virus 1 ssDNA-binding protein suggests the structural basis for flexible, cooperative single-stranded DNA binding.
Mapelli, M., Panjikar, S., Tucker, P.A.(2005) J Biol Chem 280: 2990-2997
- PubMed: 15507432 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M406780200
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
1URJ - PubMed Abstract: 
All organisms including animal viruses use specific proteins to bind single-stranded DNA rapidly in a non-sequence-specific, flexible, and cooperative manner during the DNA replication process. The crystal structure of a 60-residue C-terminal deletion construct of ICP8, the major single-stranded DNA-binding protein from herpes simplex virus-1, was determined at 3.0 A resolution. The structure reveals a novel fold, consisting of a large N-terminal domain (residues 9-1038) and a small C-terminal domain (residues 1049-1129). On the basis of the structure and the nearest neighbor interactions in the crystal, we have presented a model describing the site of single-stranded DNA binding and explaining the basis for cooperative binding. This model agrees with the beaded morphology observed in electron micrographs.
Organizational Affiliation: 
European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Hamburg Outstation, c/o DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22603 Hamburg, Germany.