The mitochondrial transcription factor Tfam has a role in organizing the mitochondrial genome, in addition to its transcriptional function. Structural studies of human Tfam in complex with a mitochondrial DNA promoter show that Tfam imposes a U-turn on the DNA similarly to the unrelated HU family of proteins, which play analogous architectural roles in organizing bacterial nucleoids.
- Huu B Ngo
- Jens T Kaiser
- David C Chan
