Structures and functions of zinc cluster proteins in fungi

Abstract:

Zinc cluster proteins, or Zn₂Cys₆ binuclear cluster proteins, are a family of transcription factors unique to the fungal kingdom. They are involved in diverse cellular processes of fungi, such as primary and secondary metabolism, stress response, and cell division. Zinc cluster proteins contain the DNA binding domain at the N-terminus, the regulatory domain in the middle, and the acidic activating domain at the C-terminus. The DNA binding domain, comprising a zinc finger motif, is responsible for binding to promoters of the target genes. At the moment, the three-dimensional structures of the DNA binding domains of some zinc cluster transcription factors have been resolved, and some proteins in this family have been verified to regulate the expression of multiple genes. However, no comprehensive report on the structures, dynamics and functions of them is available. Therefore, we analyzed the structural characteristics of different zinc cluster proteins, summarized the relationship between the domains and functions, and pointed out the future research focuses, hoping to provide a reference for in-depth research on zinc cluster proteins in the future.

Key words:fungi;zinc cluster protein;structure;conformational dynamics;function