Abstact

The recently discovered Rrf2 family transcriptional regulator RsrR coordinates a [2Fe-2S] cluster. Remarkably, binding of the protein to RsrR-regulated promoter DNA sequences is switched on and off through the facile cycling of the [2Fe-2S] cluster between +2 and +1 states. Here, we report high resolution crystal structures of the RsrR dimer, revealing that the [2Fe-2S] cluster is asymmetrically coordinated across the RsrR monomer-monomer interface by two Cys residues from one subunit and His and Glu residues from the other. To our knowledge, this is the first example of a protein bound [Fe-S] cluster with three different amino acid side chains as ligands, and of Glu acting as ligand to a [2Fe-2S] cluster. Analyses of RsrR structures revealed a conformational change, centered on Trp9, which results in a significant shift in the DNA-binding helix-turn-helix region.