Protein diversity confers specificity in plasmid segregation

The ParG segregation protein (8.6 kDa) of multidrug resistance plasmid TP228 is a homodimeric DNA-binding factor. The ParG dimer consists of intertwined C-terminal domains that adopt a ribbon-helix-helix architecture and a pair of flexible, unstructured N-terminal tails. A variety of plasmids possess partition loci with similar organizations to that of TP228, but instead of ParG homologs, these plasmids specify a diversity of unrelated, but similarly sized, partition proteins. These include the proteobacterial pTAR, pVT745, and pB171 plasmids. The ParG analogs of these plasmids were characterized in parallel with the ParG homolog encoded by the pseudomonal plasmid pVS1. Like ParG, the four proteins are dimeric. No heterodimerization was detectable in vivo among the proteins nor with the prototypical ParG protein, suggesting that monomer-monomer interactions are specific among the five proteins. Nevertheless, as with ParG, the ParG analogs all possess significant amounts of unordered amino acid residues, potentially highlighting a common structural link among the proteins. Furthermore, the ParG analogs bind specifically to the DNA regions located upstream of their homologous parF-like genes. These nucleoprotein interactions are largely restricted to cognate protein-DNA pairs. The results reveal that the partition complexes of these and related plasmids have recruited disparate DNA-binding factors that provide a layer of specificity to the macromolecular interactions that mediate plasmid segregation.