Nerina Jusufovic, Andrew C Krusenstjerna, Christina R Savage, Timothy C Saylor, Catherine A Brissette, Wolfram R Zückert, Paula J Schlax, Md A Motaleb, Brian Stevenson
The PilZ domain-containing protein, PlzA, is the only known cyclic di-GMP binding protein encoded by all Lyme disease spirochetes. PlzA has been implicated in the regulation of many borrelial processes, but the effector mechanism of PlzA was not previously known. Here, we report that PlzA can bind DNA and RNA and that nucleic acid binding requires c-di-GMP, with the affinity of PlzA for nucleic acids increasing as concentrations of c-di-GMP were increased. A mutant PlzA that is incapable of binding c-di-GMP did not bind to any tested nucleic acids...
March 25, 2024: Molecular Microbiology