Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA-repair helicase UvrD1 is activated by redox-dependent dimerization via a conserved 2b domain cysteine

Abstract

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) causes Tuberculosis and, during infection, is exposed to reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen intermediates (RNI) from the host immune response that can cause DNA damage. UvrD-like proteins are involved in DNA repair and replication and belong to the SF1 family of DNA helicases that use ATP hydrolysis to catalyze DNA unwinding. In Mtb, there are two UvrD-like enzymes where UvrD1 is most closely related to other family members. Previous studies have suggested that UvrD1 is exclusively monomeric, however, it is well-known that E.