Expression, purification and preliminary structural analysis of the head domain of Deinococcus radiodurans RecN

Deinococcus radiodurans is well known for its extreme tolerance to harsh conditions and for its extraordinary ability to repair DNA. Double-strand breaks (DSBs) are the most hazardous lesions that can be induced by ionizing radiation, and homologous recombination (HR) is the principal mechanism by which the integrity of the DNA is restored. In D. radiodurans the RecFOR complex is the main actor in HR and the RecN protein is believed to play an important role in DSB recognition. Here, SAXS and preliminary X-ray diffraction studies are presented of the head domain, which is the globular region formed upon interaction of the N- and C-terminal domains of RecN. The crystal structure of this domain was solved using the single-wavelength anomalous dispersion method. Model building and refinement are in progress.