MTERF1
Description
The MTERF1 (mitochondrial transcription termination factor 1) is a protein-coding gene located on chromosome 7.
MTERF1, encoded by the MTERF gene, is a mitochondrial transcription termination factor that plays a role in regulating gene expression within mitochondria. It helps control the levels of transcription from the mitochondrial genome, specifically reducing the expression of tRNA genes while allowing higher levels of 16S ribosomal RNA expression. MTERF1 contains three leucine zipper motifs and two basic domains, all essential for its binding to DNA. These zipper motifs likely participate in intramolecular interactions that shape the protein's three-dimensional structure, which is crucial for DNA binding.
MTERF1 is a transcription termination factor that binds to a 28 base pair region within the tRNA(Leu(uur)) gene, located immediately downstream of the 16S rRNA gene. This region contains a tridecamer sequence crucial for accurate termination. MTERF1 binds to DNA along the major groove, promoting DNA bending and partial unwinding, and facilitating base flipping. Its transcription termination activity shows a preference for transcripts initiated on the light strand.
MTERF1 is also known as MTERF.
