DM domain

DM domain

drosophila melanogaster doublesex (dsx), nmr, 18 structures
Identifiers
Symbol DM
Pfam PF00751
InterPro IPR001275
SMART SM00718
SCOP 1rvv
SUPERFAMILY 1rvv

In molecular biology the DM domain is a protein domain first discovered in the doublesex proteins of Drosophila melanogaster and is also seen in proteins from Caenorhabditis elegans.[1] In D. melanogaster the doublesex gene controls somatic sexual differentiation by producing alternatively spliced mRNAs encoding related sex-specific polypeptides.[2] These proteins are believed to function as transcription factors on downstream sex-determination genes, especially on neuroblast differentiation and yolk protein genes transcription.[3][4] The DM domain binds DNA as a dimer, allowing the recognition of pseudopalindromic sequences .[2][5][6] The NMR analysis of the DSX DM domain [6] revealed a novel zinc module containing 'intertwined' CCHC and HCCC zinc-binding sites. The recognition of the DNA requires the carboxy-terminal basic tail which contacts the minor groove of the target sequence.

References

  1. Raymond CS, Shamu CE, Shen MM, Seifert KJ, Hirsch B, Hodgkin J, Zarkower D (February 1998). "Evidence for evolutionary conservation of sex-determining genes". Nature 391 (6668): 691–5. doi:10.1038/35618. PMID 9490411.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Erdman SE, Chen HJ, Burtis KC (December 1996). "Functional and genetic characterization of the oligomerization and DNA binding properties of the Drosophila doublesex proteins". Genetics 144 (4): 1639–52. PMC 1207715. PMID 8978051.
  3. Burtis KC, Coschigano KT, Baker BS, Wensink PC (September 1991). "The doublesex proteins of Drosophila melanogaster bind directly to a sex-specific yolk protein gene enhancer". EMBO J. 10 (9): 2577–82. PMC 452955. PMID 1907913.
  4. Shen MM, Hodgkin J (September 1988). "mab-3, a gene required for sex-specific yolk protein expression and a male-specific lineage in C. elegans". Cell 54 (7): 1019–31. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(88)90117-1. PMID 3046751.
  5. Yi W, Zarkower D (February 1999). "Similarity of DNA binding and transcriptional regulation by Caenorhabditis elegans MAB-3 and Drosophila melanogaster DSX suggests conservation of sex determining mechanisms". Development 126 (5): 873–81. PMID 9927589.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Zhu L, Wilken J, Phillips NB, Narendra U, Chan G, Stratton SM, Kent SB, Weiss MA (July 2000). "Sexual dimorphism in diverse metazoans is regulated by a novel class of intertwined zinc fingers". Genes Dev. 14 (14): 1750–64. PMC 316782. PMID 10898790.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Pfam and InterPro IPR001275