DNA bending by Fos and Jun: the flexible hinge model.

DNA bending is essential for the assembly of multiprotein complexes that contact several DNA sequence elements. An approach based on phasing analysis was developed that allows determination of both the directed DNA bend angle and the orientation of DNA bending. This technique has been applied to the analysis of DNA bending by the transcription regulatory proteins Fos and Jun. Complexes that contained different combinations of full-length and truncated Fos and Jun induced DNA bends of different magnitudes and orientations. The DNA bends induced by the individual proteins were determined on the basis of a quantitative model for DNA bending by dimeric complexes. This information was used to visualize the consequences of DNA bending by Fos and Jun for the structures of Fos-Jun-DNA and Jun-DNA complexes.