BackgroundDouble-stranded DNA translocation is ubiquitous in living systems. Cell mitosis, bacterial binary fission, DNA replication or repair, homologous recombination, Holliday junction resolution, viral genome packaging and cell entry all involve biomotor-driven dsDNA translocation. Previously, biomotors have been primarily classified into linear and rotational motors. We recently discovered a third class of dsDNA translocation motors in Phi29 utilizing revolution mechanism without rotation. Analogically, the Earth rotates around its own axis every 24 hours, but revolves around the Sun every 365 days.ResultsSingle-channel DNA translocation conductance assay combined with structure inspections of motor channels on bacteriophages P22, SPP1, HK97, T7, T4, Phi29, and other dsDNA translocation motors such as bacterial FtsK and eukaryotic mimiviruses or vaccinia viruses showed that revolution motor is widespread. The force generation mechanism for revolution motors is elucidated. Revolution motors can be differentiated from rotation motors by their channel size and chirality. Crystal structure inspection revealed that revolution motors commonly exhibit channel diameters larger than 3 nm, while rotation motors that rotate around one of the two separated DNA strands feature a diameter smaller than 2 nm. Phi29 revolution motor translocated double- and tetra-stranded DNA that occupied 32% and 64% of the narrowest channel cross-section, respectively, evidencing that revolution motors exhibit channel diameters significantly wider than the dsDNA. Left-handed oriented channels found in revolution motors drive the right-handed dsDNA via anti-chiral interaction, while right-handed channels observed in rotation motors drive the right-handed dsDNA via parallel threads. Tethering both the motor and the dsDNA distal-end of the revolution motor does not block DNA packaging, indicating that no rotation is required for motors of dsDNA phages, while a small-angle left-handed twist of dsDNA that is aligned with the channel could occur due to the conformational change of the phage motor channels from a left-handed configuration for DNA entry to a right-handed configuration for DNA ejection for host cell infection.ConclusionsThe revolution motor is widespread among biological systems, and can be distinguished from rotation motors by channel size and chirality. The revolution mechanism renders dsDNA void of coiling and torque during translocation of the lengthy helical chromosome, thus resulting in more efficient motor energy conversion.

Biological motors are ubiquitous in living systems. Currently, how the motor components coordinate the unidirectional motion is elusive in most cases. Here, we report that the sequential action of the ATPase ring in the DNA packaging motor of bacteriophage ϕ29 is regulated by an arginine finger that extends from one ATPase subunit to the adjacent unit to promote noncovalent dimer formation. Mutation of the arginine finger resulted in the interruption of ATPase oligomerization, ATP binding/hydrolysis, and DNA translocation. Dimer formation reappeared when arginine mutants were mixed with other ATPase subunits that can offer the arginine to promote their interaction. Ultracentrifugation and virion assembly assays indicated that the ATPase was presenting as monomers and dimer mixtures. The isolated dimer alone was inactive in DNA translocation, but the addition of monomer could restore the activity, suggesting that the hexameric ATPase ring contained both dimer and monomers. Moreover, ATP binding or hydrolysis resulted in conformation and entropy changes of the ATPase with high or low DNA affinity. Taking these observations together, we concluded that the arginine finger regulates sequential action of the motor ATPase subunit by promoting the formation of the dimer inside the hexamer. The finding of asymmetrical hexameric organization is supported by structural evidence of many other ATPase systems showing the presence of one noncovalent dimer and four monomer subunits. All of these provide clues for why the asymmetrical hexameric ATPase gp16 of ϕ29 was previously reported as a pentameric configuration by cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) since the contact by the arginine finger renders two adjacent ATPase subunits closer than other subunits. Thus, the asymmetrical hexamer would appear as a pentamer by cryo-EM, a technology that acquires the average of many images.

The AAA+ superfamily of proteins is a class of motor ATPases performing a wide range of functions that typically exist as hexamers. The ATPase of phi29 DNA packaging motor has long been a subject of debate in terms of stoichiometry and mechanism of action. Here, we confirmed the stoichiometry of phi29 motor ATPase to be a hexamer and provide data suggesting that the phi29 motor ATPase is a member of the classical hexameric AAA+ superfamily. Native PAGE, EMSA, capillary electrophoresis, ATP titration, and binomial distribution assay show that the ATPase is a hexamer. Mutations in the known Walker motifs of the ATPase validated our previous assumptions that the protein exists as another member of this AAA+ superfamily. Our data also supports the finding that the phi29 DNA packaging motor uses a revolution mechanism without rotation or coiling (Schwartz et al., this issue).

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