Structural Basis of O6-Alkylguanine Recognition by a Bacterial Alkyltransferase-like DNA Repair Protein

Alkyltransferase-like proteins (ATLs) are a novel class of DNA repair proteins related to O-6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferases (AGTs) that tightly bind alkylated DNA and shunt the damaged DNA into the nucleotide excision repair pathway. Here, we present the first structure of a bacterial ATL, from Vibrio parahaemolyticus (vpAtl). We demonstrate that vpAtl adopts an AGT-like fold and that the protein is capable of tightly binding to O-6-methylguanine-containing DNA and disrupting its repair by human AGT, a hallmark of ATLs. Mutation of highly conserved residues Tyr(23) and Arg(37) demonstrate their critical roles in a conserved mechanism of ATL binding to alkylated DNA. NMR relaxation data reveal a role for conformational plasticity in the guanine-lesion recognition cavity. Our results provide further evidence for the conserved role of ATLs in this primordial mechanism of DNA repair.