Atomic structure of a pyrimidine-dimer specific excision-repair enzyme from bacteriophage T4

T4 endonuclease V is an enzyme responsible for the first step of a pyrimidine-dimer specific excision-repair process. The three-dimensional structure of this enzyme has been determined at 1.6A resolution by X-ray crystallography. The enzyme consists of one single compact domain classified into the all alpha structure. This single domain possesses two distinct catalytic activities, a pyrimidine-dimer glycosylase and an apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease. The backbone of the enzyme represents a unique folding scheme incompatible with close packing of alpha-helices. The refined structure suggests possible residues that participate in interactions with DNA.