Solution structure of the DNA-binding domain of TraM.

The solution structure of the DNA-binding domain of the TraM protein, an essential component of the DNA transfer machinery of the conjugative resistance plasmid R1, is presented. The structure has been determined using homonuclear 2-dimensional NMR spectroscopy as well as 15N labeled heteronuclear 2- and 3-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. It turns out that the solution structure of the DNA binding domain of the TraM protein is globular and dominantly helical. The very first amino acids of the N-terminus are unstructured.